Confused and Overwhelmed-Diagnosed Anal Sac Carcinoma (Woody has passed)

[Woodydog]

Hi all

Well Woody is just the same drinking,peeing eating like no tomorrow. I know give him a carrot when I need to. His weight gain is starting to really worry me as when lying down he looks like a beached whale.

I am going to go for the ultrasound as soon as I can save the money (should be within the next two weeks). But I'm really apprehensive about this as the last time I got a US done on my old dog it was a tumour and he died 2 months later I know Woody is. Different dog but still can't help thinking what if.

Question for you what will they scan my vet said kidneys, bladder would I need to ask them to scan his liver and adrenals what else would I need to ask or other places for them to scan sorry I know that sounds a bit stupid but I want to be prepared. I went into panic mode with my last dog at his US and after they said tumour I heard nothing else so I need to be prepared to ask, even demand the right things for Woody

Tracy

[Roxee's Dad]

I would ask for all the vital organs. including the adrenals, Heart, spleen, liver, bladder, gall bladder.

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi all
Question for you what will they scan my vet said kidneys, bladder would I need to ask them to scan his liver and adrenals what else would I need to ask or other places for them to scan sorry I know that sounds a bit stupid but I want to be prepared. I went into panic mode with my last dog at his US and after they said tumour I heard nothing else so I need to be prepared to ask, even demand the right things for Woody

Tracy

All the internal organs, as John mentioned, should be viewed and hopefully both the right and left adrenal glands will be visualized.

One important thing I want you to know is that there are never any questions asked that we would deem stupid. Always feel free to ask any and all the questions you want, ok?

Love and hugs, Lori

[molly muffin]

Absolutely, what Lori said, no stupid questions here.

I did find out something from an internal medicine specialist here last week that you might be interested in.
When dogs have Diabetes Insipidus, their urine concentrate will usually be much lower than what is seen with cushings, under 1.008. That wasn't something that I knew about before.

Definitely ask to for what John mentioned, the internal organs. Might not be any tumors, so don't go there yet in your mind. Could be anything and then again, maybe nothing will show up.

We have another dog on the forum that is also a mystery with peeing, etc, ultrasound is fine, just a bit of enlargement on the liver that is likely from a medicine it was on. It is not unknown to have a hard time figuring out what is going on with these pups of ours. I wish it was much easier to figure out.

Hang in there.
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[goldengirl88]

Tracy:
You are doing a good job with Woody. I am sorry you and he are having these issues. I know what you mean about them looking like beached whales when laying down. I think part of that look is from the muscle loss. The muscles used to hold the rib cage up and in place and now it is really low and broad. My IMS said everything just kinda lets go and goes south. It is hard to see my Tipper this way, she was so muscular and built like a little truck. I hope you are able to get answers with the ultra sound. Blessings
Patti

[Woodydog]

Hi all sorry I need to rant, I had a fallen out with my vet today I called him today to ask him to refer us for an Ultrascan as I,ve saved the money now. He doesn't think Woody needs one, after a long discussion of Woody,s symptoms and the fact that he isn't getting any better I wanted a US he wanted me to monitor woody for another 2 weeks then contact him again. I told him I wasn't going to do that as I wanted to know what was up with Woody he answered "maybe that is just Woody" I was gutted and politely hung up the phone. I,ve used this vet for 10 yrs and normally he is really good, I,ll have to wait till tomorrow till the locum vet Emma is in see if she will refer me. I don,t think my vet believes me.

In other news Woody is still the same, last week was really bad, he was very unsettled, drinking 3.5 pints of water and up most of the night peeing (although he is using the pee pads occasionally) ravenous hungry and can now open the fridge door so have had to put a child lock on it, he was also barking constantly for food even during the night, kept just pacing, the only way to settle him was to sit with him petting him. My neighbour mentioned to me that she hears Woody barking during the night, so I felt really bad about this, but she was fine once I explained everything but I try not to let him do it.

I,m kinda at my wits end and just feel like I keep hitting a brick wall at every turn

[FemaleK9]

So sorry for this long drawn out diagnosis process for you and Woody.

Did you ever get a copy of the results of the LDDS test from your vet? It seems so strange that Woody is exhibiting such Cushinoid symptoms with a "normal" LDDS. We would love to see the actual numbers.

You might want to try a Thundershirt for Woody at night; it might help him calm down and give you (and your neighbor) a better night's sleep.

[Woodydog]

So sorry for this long drawn out diagnosis process for you and Woody.

Did you ever get a copy of the results of the LDDS test from your vet? It seems so strange that Woody is exhibiting such Cushinoid symptoms with a "normal" LDDS. We would love to see the actual numbers.

You might want to try a Thundershirt for Woody at night; it might help him calm down and give you (and your neighbor) a better night's sleep.

I,ve not managed to get his test results yet, I keep asking and getting asked why I want them and that they,ll send them to me but not got them yet will ask again tomorrow. I will look into a thundershirt for Woody he does have an equafleece which I believe is similar I may try that.

[FemaleK9]

If I hadn't seen my own dog's results I wouldn't understand her condition half as well as I do.

If they ask again why you want to see them, I would answer with my own question, "Is there any reason why I shouldn't see them?" Their reluctance to let you see the results of the test you paid for make me wonder what it is that they don't want you to see.

While you're waiting for them to make a copy and mail it to you, perhaps they could just give you the numbers over the phone. There should be a least three numbers; pre-dex, 4 hours post-dex and 8 hours post-dex. Sometimes there is a 6 hour post-dex as well.

[Little Britches]

Goodness, I have just read through this whole thread and can't believe you are having to wait so long for some kind of diagnosis. You have every right to request a scan, you are a paying customer Tracy and they are not doing you a favour for free. Woody is your dog and its up to you to demand what you think he requires - if it turns out clear so what? You will be paying the bill and you have the say with your dog. You also have every right to get print outs of his results - all of them. You paid for those treatments/tests and they are yours. I have x rays of one of my boys, I asked for them and they e mailed them to me, they didn't ask why I wanted them because it's none of their business. Tracy, get in touch with The British Veterinary Association - phone them and tell them the problems you are having, they will often work as your advocate and contact your vet themselves, they did for me when a vet tried to stitch me up charging an excessive fee for hip scoring. The vet then did it for the £45 that it actually was, rather than the £110 he had asked me for.

It sounds like Woody desperately needs treatment, sounds like Cushings to me and quite honestly if I were you I'd be out of that veterinary practice like a bat out of hell. There must be another practice somewhere near you and remember that seeing Emma the locum probably won't bring much better results, she is just a locum and will be guided by her senior at the practice. You really need a different practice altogether.

This isn't the NHS where treatment is free (well sort of) you are a paying customer and should be treated with respect. I asked for print outs of all of Britches ACTH tests from my vet, going back two years - they haven't questioned me and the results are waiting there for me to pick up. Who does this vet of yours think he is? Stand up against him Tracy because he's treating you so disrespectfully.

http://www.bva.co.uk/contact.aspx
Or better still, the professional conduct department here:
http://www.rcvs.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/