Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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So my tripawd of two months, 12 year old beagle named Kasey has been drinking LOTS of water and urinating very frequently, even in the house. So I took her to the vet today and they did a blood count, urinalysis, and chem 17 panel (just read what was on my inovcie). The vet said there were no signs of infection, but part of her blood count was high (can't remember exactly, want to say one of the panels that shows liver activity). He said her urine was very clear too, like water clear. So I was trying to follow along, but I got so confused and lost. He said something about possible Cushings disease (familiar with this b/c my dog from high school had it), a form of diabetes, or (this is where he lost me) something with her pituitary gland, adrenal gland and her kidneys. He said something in her kidneys may not be functioning properly and that is why the water is going straight through her. I know he said something too about he can't rule out the possibility of a tumor on her adrenal gland (or at least that's what I thought he said).
Anyway, I have to take her back in on Tuesday for an ultrasound to check her abdomen and IDEXX Dexamethasone Suppression (I believe this is bloodwork, it's on the estimate). If someone can make sense of my post and try to explain to me what in the world could possibly be happening I would appreciate it!
Thanks,
Danell & Kasey
Hi there... I don't have experience with these things however.. if your vet is talking to technical for you, or talking to fast and giving you TONS of info... don't be afraid to tell them to slow down! It's important for us to get all the info and they need to come to our level. We are already running on high emotions as it is! Also, taking a notepad can be helpful too if you want to write things down and refer to them later.
Hoping this all gets worked out!!
Cody and family
Cody is our 7 year old Australian Heeler mix boy. Diagnosed on 2/20/14 and became a tripawd 2/21/14! We chose a homeopathic approach and he is being treated by Dr. Loops our of NC.
Hi Danell, I'm sorry I don't really know anything about this area either but hopefully others will chime in. I agree with Cody's people, write things down and ask your vet to repeat the information, it will help you later on when you go home to check with Dr. Google.
Good luck with the follow up tests, hopefully this is nothing too crazy, and manageable. Keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Danell,
Don't be afraid to call your vet before your next appointment and ask for further clarifications on what's going on. While I'm not a vet, I have several years experience working in vet hospitals and I know what goes on behind the scenes.
Veterinarians dedicate at least an hour of their day (if not more) to returning phone calls and answering questions clients have. A lot of times, what happens is exactly what happened to you. You're in the room with your pet and things are being explained to you; but because the vet only has so much time to dedicate to you before moving on to the next appointment (never an ideal situation, but always what happens) and you're trying to process all of this information at once, things get missed or glazed over. It's completely understandable that once you got home, took a few breaths, and thought things over, you realized that you have no idea what was just said to you!
Take some time to write down some questions that you have. Being specific helps, but it's ok if you can't be. Call your vet's office and ask to leave a message for the doctor that saw Kasey, explaining that you have some questions about your last appointment.
If Kasey's doctor can't answer your questions, he or she should be able to direct you to websites that can. That way you aren't searching the internet wondering which sites are trustworthy and which sites aren't.
I hope that helps, and good luck to Kasey!
-Amy (and Steve)
Right rear leg amp due to injury from unknown cause (but don't tell her she's missing her spare...yes HER!)
Read our blog here: http://stevetheprettytripawdkitty.tripawds.com/
And find Steve's new Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/stevetheprettytripawdkitty
Amy and Steve, thank you so much for hopping over here to share your very valuable experience! If you are ever interested in writing a guest blog post about a topic like this, and/or becoming a Tripawds veterinary expert (techs can be one too), just holler. We're so glad you're here! Thank you so much for all you do to help the Tripawds nation!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi...just wanted to say that my sweet black Lab Maggie, my Polly's older sister, had a small adrenal gland tumor her entire life.....she always seemed on the borderline of cushings disease, and seemingly diabetes, but blood work and such was always good. She just had an insatiable thirst and urination problems that started when she was about 4 months old. We only found her adrenal tumor by accident during an ultrasound at aged 11, when the vets found her hemangiosarcoma. We got an answer for the drinking and urination problems, just heartbreaking to find this awful cancer.
Since this seems to have come up suddenly with your Kasey, it is something to definitely investigate, ultrasound is a very good idea....Kasey's urine is very clear because of it being very diluted like Maggie's always was. The best time to get a better urine sample is first thing in the morning, it is usually much more concentrated. I also used to have to take Maggie's water away from her by 11 pm her entire life, so she would not have accidents overnight.
Don't know if this helped at all, but you will hopefully get some answers next week.
Bonnie & Angel Polly
Bonnie and Angel yes your information was helpful. Kasey has had a lot of bloodwork done within the past year due to the tumor found in her leg and then she had pancreatitis this past summer (not to mention and ACL repair at the beginning of 2013)! She has had an ultrasound in the past, but can't recall when. Maggie's symptoms sound very similar to Kasey's. I took her water up last night before bed and she made it through the night, yay, and she only had one accident while I was at work today. When I really thing back she has had some issues with urinating in the house for awhile, but I just figured it was due to old age. The drinking lots of water just became an issue.
Amy and Steve- I will take your advice into consideration. My vet was off today so I may give him a call Monday morning. You are exactly right though, you sit in the exam room, listen, try to take in key words and remember them but when you get home it's like what in the world is going on?
Thanks everyone!
Hey Darnell and ADORABLE KASEY!
Just wanted you to knwo you are in our thoughts and hopefully this can be resolved quicky with some meds. May just be some UTII stuff going on, as well as "aging"!
Evdryting will be okay! Kasey is a trooper!
Hugs!
Sally and Happy Hannah
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
I think your vet is referring to diabetes insipidus (DI) which is quite rare and involves an abnormality of ADH (antidiuretic hormone). Instead of having high blood and urine sugar these dogs can't concentrate their urine and this disease is divided into nephrogenic (kidney) DI and central DI which means that the brain is not sending the signal to the kidney. I have only seen 3 of these dogs in over 20 years and Cushings disease is much more common. That is a disease that causes increased liver enzymes, increased thirst, diluted urine, and increased appetite. Essentially the body is producing too much cortisol so the dog is acting like a dog on too much prednisone. This disease is also divided into 2 types; pituitary-dependent and adrenal. Over 85 % of dogs have pituitary-dependent Cushings where the gland in the brain causes the adrenal gland to make too much cortisol. Larger breed dogs tend to get an adrenal tumor which is more serious.
Most vets will do a low-dose dexamethasone suppression test to confirm Cushings and determine if it is the pituitary type. If the clinical signs are not severe you can monitor Cushings for a while However many dogs will require treatment with either Lysodren or Trilostane both of which can have side effects and are pricey.
Your dog could also have iatrogenic Cushings from being on prednisone and that can resolve if the prednisone is gradually tapered or stopped.
Sorry for the long and technical post but there is no easy way to explain those hormonal diseases!!
Pam
Pam,
Your post definitely helped to clear things up. As I was reading your post I was thinking to myself, yes that sounds familiar, I remember my vet saying that...so you were right on track. It's easier for me to read it and think about it. I take her in tomorrow and hopefully will have some answers soon. She hasn't been urinating in the house over the past few days as much as she was last week.
Thanks,
Danell
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