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Winnie had her hind leg amputated at the end of January 2021 due to Osteosarcoma, ervtything was fine and she was getting around great up until month five-six, noticed she slowed down and would shake. Went to on call vet did X-rays and lungs were clear, they mentioned some white patch (maybe fluid). Was put on Gabapentin for the pain. Bloods tests revealed low platelets so was put on Prednisone once a day, that helped 100%. We lowered it to every other day and was fine then vet switched to twice a week. By day two of no Prednisone we were back to shaking and not wanting to walk. So back to every other day. Now back to everyday as the days in between she was slower moving again. Platelets are still up and good. Went to vet yesterday because I was concerned about her fast breathing and for more blood tests and xrays. Blood tests great, xrays show chest all white (fluid). Vet drew a sample from her chest and it was bloody so vet said it was Pleural Effusion another type of cancer not related to her Osteosarcoma. She said she had 50-60% good tissue lefthand put her on Furosemide (20mg) once a day along with the Prednisone and Gabapentin. She told me she may have weeks to three months. Going back in a few weeks to see if the fluid pills are working. Just looking for another set of ears.
Thanks,
Kim and Winnie
Heres a quicker breakdown 🙂
# Winnie starts shaking and cant walk
# Vet does bloodwork says platelets are low and may be autoimmune issue. Wants to address with Prednisone . No xrays were done at that point.
# Bloodwork improves and walking improves with Pred.
# Shaking, panting starts again when Pred is tapered back to every other day.
# Chest xray done the other day. Fluid shows up. Says all white on xray. 50 to 60% good tissue. Vet says Pleural Effusion. Told this is another type of cancer unrelated to Osteo but no mets.
# No fluid was pulled off other than sample amount. on Prednisone (everyday), Gabapentin (everyday) and Furosemide (20mg once a day).
8:11 am
Vet Expert
Vets
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23 August 2008
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I would be concerned if the fluid was bloody and if her platelets were normal then the main cause for bloody fluid often is hemangiosarcoma that has metastasized from another site. If they remove the fluid then take an xray they might be able to see tumors in the lungs. Osteosarcoma lung lesions typically do not bleed but may cause a clear fluid. I do agree that this is never good. I would try increasing the pred since that may decrease inflammation and tapping the fluid will make the dog feel better but if lesions are bleeding then then the fluid often builds up again quickly.
If the platelet count is low then the body can't clot blood so increasing the pred can be very helpful. The other cause that seems less likely is exposure to rat poison in which case Vitamin K may help.
Pam
9:10 am
Team Tripawds
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25 September 2009
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Dr. Pam you are SO SMART! Thank you for this important information, we all learn from you.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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The vet did draw fluid and she said it was quite bloody, but no xrays after she did that. We increased her Prednisone, Gabapentin and Furosemide to twice daily and Winnie is looking and acting more herself 🙂 Her platelets were good on her blood tests too.
I know this is no good and my vet said maybe she has a few weeks to three months, do you agree with this?
Was there any coughing? Our boy with metastasized osteosarcoma has had a few coughing episodes. This evening he coughed several times over a period of about 2 hours. The last time he coughed up some blood, very red. Hasn't had xrays since June. Osteo showed that he had metastasized in lungs but hasn't shown any discomfort until this coughing episode. He goes to vet for blood draw lab work on Thursday, not scheduled for xrays yet.
Sending you best wishes, give belly rubs from Ryder.
8:26 am
Vet Expert
Vets
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23 August 2008
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It is hard to say without taking chest xrays; if the prednisone stabilizes the disease then your dog might have longer.
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