Oh, my doggie.
So, Mikey's an old dog. He's around 15 now, and that's in people years. In dog years, that's a damned lot - he's a senior citizen. He's been on Rimadyl for a while for his hips (arthritis - see: old dog) and they have him come back every six months for blood tests to make sure it's not toasting his liver.
A few weeks back, we got the bloodwork back and it wasn't normal. They told me to stop the rimadyl and gave me tramadol (which is a pain reliever, narcotic type, as opposed to Rimadyl which is an anti-inflammatory like advil for dogs). This probably meant he had cancer, too - which is exactly how it presented with Shiva. They recommended an ultrasound and chest x-rays, and I had to think about it. I guess in my mind I was sure Mikey had cancer too, since it had been the same way it went down with Shiva. But with Mikey, he also had diarrhea, and I thought it was because he had a tapeworm (ickiness). We got the medicine to get rid of the tapeworm, but his appetite continued to go south, and I remembered that's what happened with Shiva, too. I was also thinking the tramadol might be causing nausea, so I cut back on the dose for a day or two like the vet tech suggested to see if it helped. It didn't seem to a lot - he was just so damned picky. But in the last few days, Mikey ate the ground turkey I cooked for him like nobody's business, though, so I was a bit confused. Finally I called the vet back and said let's do all the diagnostic stuff, and brought him in today.
I was prepared for the worst - cancer that had spread to his lungs (on the chest x-ray) because that had happened with a female rottie we rescued a long time ago who had breast cancer that had spread all over and we had to have her put down. I was thinking they'd say there were tumors all over on the ultrasound. But that's not what happened at all. They said the chest x-rays are fine, he's got "old dog lungs" whatever that means (I guess they're not like the best but they're okay?) but they're fine. The abdominal ultrasound, however, showed that his pancreas was...inflamed I guess i the word? The vet said it was dark, not like with a tumor, but like the whole thing is inflamed. I guess sometimes it's hard to see on an ultrasound but it was very prominent. So I'm asking if it's a tumor or something, and she's saying it's possible, but she thinks it might be Addison's causing pancreas inflammation. I asked if older dogs get Addison's, and she said it was a good question because you normally see it in younger dogs but the internist (I'm guessing it's the person who does the ultrasound - Jamei's worked for VCA so she probably knows how that goes) said she'd see it present in older dogs, too. We talked about all of it, I asked a lot of questions, and remembered that my usual vet had said there were some other abnormal levels in Mikey's bloodwork that led to this and I remember words like calcium and other stuff she said might be secondary to cancer. Those things can also be caused by Addison's, which means the adrenal glands don't produce cortisol. My usual vet wasn't there on Tuesday when the ultrasound person came so she talked to this vet I was with today to let her know what was going on, so I didn't think to say "oh yeah, there was some other stuff off in the blood work."
So the upshot of all of this is that Mikey may not have cancer after all. If it is Addison's, it's treatable. They did a blood test for cortisol right before I left, and also gave him a shot of steroids to help tide him over until the bloodwork comes back and gave me antibiotics for the inflammation of his intestines that might be causing his diarrhea (although I was getting a bit confused at that point how everything hangs together - so much information!). She also said to give him pepcid AC (more people drugs dogs can take, who knew), and he's on a bland food diet - chicken and rice. I said I'd been giving him ground turkey that I cooked and drained the fat from, and she said that should be okay - I just want to be sure he keeps eating. When the blood test comes back, if the cortisol is low, then he has to go in for the day and they give him a test where they check his cortisol level, then stimulate him with some drug, and if the cortisol level doesn't go up, it means he probably has Addison's. The treatment for that is a monthly injection. If it means I get to keep the big furry guy longer, I'm totally cool with it.
So I got Mikey back, and he was *so* ready to come home. I gave him a cooked chicken breast and managed to hide all of his new pills in the pieces and the only one he noticed was the antibiotic (the pills are kind of big). Luckily, that went in the back of his mouth and went right down - I guess it doesn't taste as horrible as the tramadol (which he hates the taste of). He went outside and proceeded to flop down and survey his domain, and I could just imagine him saying "damn, it's good to be home."
If the cortisol levels aren't the problem, then it might be time for a biopsy, but I'll know in a couple of days. It might still be cancer, and I asked the vet if it's cancer to where the whole pancreas looks inflamed, wouldn't it have spread and she said it doesn't always work that way. I know cancer's a big, fucked up evil thing that takes people and animals away too soon (or in any case sooner than we want them to, which is probably "never" if we were honest, even if we know it's not possible), and I was prepared for the worst. But this was totally a curveball, and I'm trying both to hold out hope and not get my hopes up too much. I love all my dogs so much, and I'll do whatever I can. At least now I feel like I'm doing something and have a plan, which is a relief.
Mikey's sleeping on the rug and seems pretty content at the moment. I love that big, furry bub.
....Mikey, shot over my shoulder (without looking at him, I kept my eyes on the road) on the ride home. I feel bad they had to shave his tummy - I forgot about that part. I remember it when they did the ultrasound on Shiva - her poor, bare tummy - she was so proud, and probably hated the indignity. But he seems very happy to be home. We both are.
A few weeks back, we got the bloodwork back and it wasn't normal. They told me to stop the rimadyl and gave me tramadol (which is a pain reliever, narcotic type, as opposed to Rimadyl which is an anti-inflammatory like advil for dogs). This probably meant he had cancer, too - which is exactly how it presented with Shiva. They recommended an ultrasound and chest x-rays, and I had to think about it. I guess in my mind I was sure Mikey had cancer too, since it had been the same way it went down with Shiva. But with Mikey, he also had diarrhea, and I thought it was because he had a tapeworm (ickiness). We got the medicine to get rid of the tapeworm, but his appetite continued to go south, and I remembered that's what happened with Shiva, too. I was also thinking the tramadol might be causing nausea, so I cut back on the dose for a day or two like the vet tech suggested to see if it helped. It didn't seem to a lot - he was just so damned picky. But in the last few days, Mikey ate the ground turkey I cooked for him like nobody's business, though, so I was a bit confused. Finally I called the vet back and said let's do all the diagnostic stuff, and brought him in today.
I was prepared for the worst - cancer that had spread to his lungs (on the chest x-ray) because that had happened with a female rottie we rescued a long time ago who had breast cancer that had spread all over and we had to have her put down. I was thinking they'd say there were tumors all over on the ultrasound. But that's not what happened at all. They said the chest x-rays are fine, he's got "old dog lungs" whatever that means (I guess they're not like the best but they're okay?) but they're fine. The abdominal ultrasound, however, showed that his pancreas was...inflamed I guess i the word? The vet said it was dark, not like with a tumor, but like the whole thing is inflamed. I guess sometimes it's hard to see on an ultrasound but it was very prominent. So I'm asking if it's a tumor or something, and she's saying it's possible, but she thinks it might be Addison's causing pancreas inflammation. I asked if older dogs get Addison's, and she said it was a good question because you normally see it in younger dogs but the internist (I'm guessing it's the person who does the ultrasound - Jamei's worked for VCA so she probably knows how that goes) said she'd see it present in older dogs, too. We talked about all of it, I asked a lot of questions, and remembered that my usual vet had said there were some other abnormal levels in Mikey's bloodwork that led to this and I remember words like calcium and other stuff she said might be secondary to cancer. Those things can also be caused by Addison's, which means the adrenal glands don't produce cortisol. My usual vet wasn't there on Tuesday when the ultrasound person came so she talked to this vet I was with today to let her know what was going on, so I didn't think to say "oh yeah, there was some other stuff off in the blood work."
So the upshot of all of this is that Mikey may not have cancer after all. If it is Addison's, it's treatable. They did a blood test for cortisol right before I left, and also gave him a shot of steroids to help tide him over until the bloodwork comes back and gave me antibiotics for the inflammation of his intestines that might be causing his diarrhea (although I was getting a bit confused at that point how everything hangs together - so much information!). She also said to give him pepcid AC (more people drugs dogs can take, who knew), and he's on a bland food diet - chicken and rice. I said I'd been giving him ground turkey that I cooked and drained the fat from, and she said that should be okay - I just want to be sure he keeps eating. When the blood test comes back, if the cortisol is low, then he has to go in for the day and they give him a test where they check his cortisol level, then stimulate him with some drug, and if the cortisol level doesn't go up, it means he probably has Addison's. The treatment for that is a monthly injection. If it means I get to keep the big furry guy longer, I'm totally cool with it.
So I got Mikey back, and he was *so* ready to come home. I gave him a cooked chicken breast and managed to hide all of his new pills in the pieces and the only one he noticed was the antibiotic (the pills are kind of big). Luckily, that went in the back of his mouth and went right down - I guess it doesn't taste as horrible as the tramadol (which he hates the taste of). He went outside and proceeded to flop down and survey his domain, and I could just imagine him saying "damn, it's good to be home."
If the cortisol levels aren't the problem, then it might be time for a biopsy, but I'll know in a couple of days. It might still be cancer, and I asked the vet if it's cancer to where the whole pancreas looks inflamed, wouldn't it have spread and she said it doesn't always work that way. I know cancer's a big, fucked up evil thing that takes people and animals away too soon (or in any case sooner than we want them to, which is probably "never" if we were honest, even if we know it's not possible), and I was prepared for the worst. But this was totally a curveball, and I'm trying both to hold out hope and not get my hopes up too much. I love all my dogs so much, and I'll do whatever I can. At least now I feel like I'm doing something and have a plan, which is a relief.
Mikey's sleeping on the rug and seems pretty content at the moment. I love that big, furry bub.
....Mikey, shot over my shoulder (without looking at him, I kept my eyes on the road) on the ride home. I feel bad they had to shave his tummy - I forgot about that part. I remember it when they did the ultrasound on Shiva - her poor, bare tummy - she was so proud, and probably hated the indignity. But he seems very happy to be home. We both are.