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Thread: Winston, 8 year old westie with adrenal tumor

  1. #21
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    Jul 2017
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    Default Re: Winston, 8 year old westie with adrenal tumor

    He has continued to do great. I was hoping to get the staples out today or tomorrow, but our surgeon is on vacation until Thursday and the IMS can't fit him in for an ACTH stim until Friday. They said it would be okay to keep the staples in a couple extra days so I don't have to make two separate trips. I will drop him off Friday morning and they'll take care of both the staples and the ACTH while he is there, since I have to work all day.

    Actually, I realized I forgot part of the drama with this whole thing in our previous posts. I chose this clinic based on the recommendation to see one specific IMS. This IMS did our monitoring all last year and the workup prior to surgery. The night before the surgery I find out that our IMS had a major family emergency and will be out for over three weeks! There was another IMS (older lady but pretty new to that practice) in the hospital who was going to be handling Winston post-op! I talked them into a short 10 minute meeting with this new IMS upon dropping off for surgery to quickly recap everything and meet her, but I was nervous! Our regular IMS is still out of town, so this fill-in IMS will be doing the ACTH this week. I am glad things are going well but I am looking forward to seeing our regular IMS as soon as she is back on Sept 1. I think even if things are perfect on Friday we will still schedule with her to check in once she is back.

    As of today, Winston is completely off of medications. He only took tramadol for a week. We had more but he didn't seem to need them. His last dose of prednisone was on Friday, and luckily he hasn't shown any signs of Addisons. I was/am a little nervous about waiting a while week before doing the stim, but things are good so far. His last antibiotic was yesterday. I moved my mattress onto the living room floor so he could continue to sleep with me without excessive jumping on and off the bed, and though it might be a little crazy, it has worked out well. Another couple days and I can move back into my bedroom!

    Apparently there is some concern about the accuracy of the biopsy result from the pancreas, since it is just so rare that dogs get a benign pancreas tumor. A second opinion on the histopathology has been ordered just to be sure its really benign and make sure we don't need to plan another surgery soon to remove part of his pancreas. The surgeon emailed me that she was going on vacation and we could talk about it more on Friday at the staple removal appointment.

    But overall, he's done better than my wildest hopes and expectations. He's been going to work with me and no one can believe that he had this major, risky surgery less than two weeks ago! If not for the awkward shaving on all his legs and a bare belly, you probably wouldn't be able to tell at all.
    Last edited by WinstonTheWestie; 08-21-2017 at 08:59 PM.
    Kellie, dog-mom to Winston

  2. #22
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    Jun 2012
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    Canada
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    Default Re: Winston, 8 year old westie with adrenal tumor

    Awww, that's fantastic that he is doing so well.

    I would have been freaking if my IMS had an emergency right as my dog needed surgery! I practically was hyperventilating when our own IMS went on maternity leave while my molly was under her care. Luckily my IMS was just a doll and emailed and we sat up appointments to be spaced out so that she got the reports for all mollys testing, but no major changes until she got back in the clinic.

    I would be on a mattress on the floor too. In fact, most all of us would be, and have been at various times with our furbabies. You got to do what you got to do after all. Bet you'll both be glad to see your bed again though once winston has full jump status back.

    Lucky you that you can take him to work with you. That's wonderful!
    Sharlene and the late great diva - Molly muffin (always missed and never forgotten)

  3. #23
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    Jul 2017
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    Florida
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    Default Re: Winston, 8 year old westie with adrenal tumor

    Yeah, I seriously considered postponing the surgery (at that time the receptionist said the IMS was going to be gone 'at least a week' though now it's closer to three or four so in hindsight I am glad we didn't try to wait on the IMS to come back), but my mother had flown from Oklahoma to Florida to be there with me (especially because if he hadn't made it, I would have been an absolute wreck) and to help take care of him the first few days. She was already in the air when I was told the IMS was gone, so I didn't feel like I could reschedule since my mom had already taken off the entire week and spent money on a pretty last minute flight. Luckily it all worked out okay.
    Kellie, dog-mom to Winston

  4. #24
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    Default Re: Winston, 8 year old westie with adrenal tumor

    It definitely has worked out okay and I wouldn't have been able to postpone it either. Doesn't mean I wouldn't have been a wreck throughout though. hahahaha

    I think you did the right thing. After all the surgeon who did the surgery was the one that you expected it to be right? It was the after care, IMS that you had to worry about and that turned out alright.

    I'm hoping the pancreas is truly benign and nothing, but if they have any doubts it is good they are rechecking. You'll feel better too I'm sure with a double benign pathology.
    Sharlene and the late great diva - Molly muffin (always missed and never forgotten)

  5. #25
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    Jul 2017
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    Florida
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    Default Re: Winston, 8 year old westie with adrenal tumor

    Staples are out! The surgeon is happy with his progress so far and said he looks great.

    Our second opinion on the pancreas biopsy was a bit wishy-washy...apparently they were concerned that the tumor itself looked a little more aggressive than the first pathologist said and they were concerned it was an insulinoma, but they agreed that it would be weird for this thing to be malignant if it has been there for so long and not obviously grown or caused him problems. So we still don't know about that. The surgeon and our backup IMS chatted today and tried to come up with the best way for us to monitor it. Apparently they'd prefer CT or MRI, but the surgeon had to use some sort of staple thingy inside him to seal off the blood vessels and they think that would interfere with the pictures they could get from CT or MRI. They suggested an ultrasound, and even offered one today (and it was already 6 pm!) since I was worried about it. Our regular IMS is back in a week or so though, so I just told them I'd wait until she was back before doing another ultrasound. It worked out well that way because our regular IMS did his last two scans and the backup IMS there today was really busy with a dog who was sicker than mine.

    They did the ACTH stimulation today too. I guess because it was a Friday they won't have results until Monday. I think probably they'll come back tomorrow, but no one will be there until Monday to call us about them. That's frustrating! But at least they don't think he's acting like an Addisonian.

    So overall, a good report. Winston seems happy he can play (still gently), jump on the furniture a little, and sleep without that tshirt on!
    Kellie, dog-mom to Winston

  6. #26
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    Jan 2016
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    Glen Cove, NY
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    Default Re: Winston, 8 year old westie with adrenal tumor

    Yay! So happy he's feeling good!
    Joan, mom to my Angel Lena, Angel Gable, Angel Phoenix, Angel Doree, Cooper, Sibble, and now Raina.

  7. #27
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    Default Re: Winston, 8 year old westie with adrenal tumor

    This is the best news! I'm thrilled he is doing so good.
    Sharlene and the late great diva - Molly muffin (always missed and never forgotten)

  8. #28
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    Jul 2017
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    Florida
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    Default Re: Winston, 8 year old westie with adrenal tumor

    I realized I didn't come back and post his ACTH stim results from two weeks ago:
    Cortisol (pre) 1.0 [ref range 2-6]
    Cortisol (2h post) 6.8 [ref range 6-18]
    The backup IMS who did this said it was a little low but not scary low since he seems to feel good and at that time his lone remaining adrenal had only had about 10 days to start 'kicking back into gear' after being a little shriveled from the tumor on the other one. I don't think we plan to recheck it unless he has problems. The regular IMS we checked in with today thought it was okay too. She pointed out that even before surgery when he had the adrenal tumor his resting/pre cortisol from the LDDS was only 1.3, so a value of 1 isn't that much lower, and he did respond to the stimulation drug. Maybe he just has lower than average cortisol like a weirdo.

    Today was our consult with our regular IMS. Winston was happy to see her. She was really happy with how he looks. She hadn't seen him since the week before surgery. She did an ultrasound today to check on the pancreas nodule and it looks the same size it always has been. She thinks it's probably benign too, but we're going to keep an eye on things. Re-ultrasound and bloodwork in 3-4 months. I'm supposed to watch him for signs that his blood sugar is low (acting tired, stumbling, seizures) because of the pancreas.

    Even before all this I had been wanting to get his teeth cleaned. He usually needs it every 18 months or so, and it's past that since the last one. We put it off with everything that happened in the last month (for obvious reasons). Today the IMS okayed us for anesthesia for a dental cleaning. I'm going to call to schedule one in 2-4 weeks to give him just a little more time to recover before the procedure.

    I'm so happy with how he handled all this.
    Last edited by WinstonTheWestie; 09-05-2017 at 08:28 PM.
    Kellie, dog-mom to Winston

  9. #29
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    Default Re: Winston, 8 year old westie with adrenal tumor

    I'm so happy that Winston continues to do well, Kellie!
    Joan, mom to my Angel Lena, Angel Gable, Angel Phoenix, Angel Doree, Cooper, Sibble, and now Raina.

  10. #30
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    Apr 2009
    Location
    Georgia
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    Default Re: Winston, 8 year old westie with adrenal tumor

    Awww Kellie, we're all so happy with the way your little boy (and you!) have handled this. Kudos all the way around!!!

    It's wonderful to read these great updates, so please keep them coming!

    Marianne

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