Bad news for older dog and I was potentially taken by vet practice

[Xanthoria]

Oh the time my male cat spent 5 days in hospital with a urinary blockage and they said right - it’s $$$urgery time. I asked to look at his chart and wondered aloud why they hadn’t given him the sedative, fluids, anti inflammatory, urethral relaxant and painkillers* in a time frame where they might all work together to get the job done… doctor pursed her lip and looked at the chart… cat peed away all his problems a couple hours after receiving the right combination…

I am not a vet. It was just a good common sense guess.

Sometimes you need to walk away and think things through. Best of luck with your pup!

• just found the complete list of drugs he had: ketamine, xanax, diazepam, buprenorphine, clavamox, acepromazine, prazosin, midazolam, butorphanol, ampicillin/sulbactam, propofol, metacam oh, and methadone.

[Laurierace]

Well if it makes you feel any better I spent over 3k on diagnostics and treatments for what ended up being a fungal infection in his lungs. Thankfully he recovered relatively quickly once we got the correct diagnosis.

[SMK]

I’m sorry to hear about your dog, and hope it turns out to be a treatable condition.

Unfortunately, several highly unrelated pathogens pulmonary fungal infections. This means that more than a single test is required to cover these disparate pathogens.

I am glad to hear more vets (and doctors) are more likely to consider fungal infections early on in diagnosis these days. Fungal pathogens are relatively rare compared to viruses and bacteria, but changes in climate and increased sprawl mean that we will continue to see more and more infections. Additionally, our increased understanding of secondary fungal infections in immunocompromised patients has developed our understanding of fungal pathogens of mammals.

-Your friendly neighborhood microbiologist

[hoopoe]

Fungal lung infection is far more common than primary, multi-lesion lung cancer in dogs

[EmilyM]

I think you did the right thing for your dog. That’s the best you can do in a difficult situation. I think if you treated her for cancer, and it was fungal, you would feel much much worse than you do about wasting $400.

[Lunabear1988]

I swear she seems a tad better after a few days of antibiotics. Not that she seems great (she’s getting elderly either way.)

Makes me interested to see what the results say. It could be wishful thinking but she isn’t breathing as labored. Still doesn’t have a great appetite though.

I would love it if it was fungal and that we caught it in time. They said the results won’t be back for three days to eight days.

[snowblaze]

Having almost lost a dog to a fungal disease, I think the test was worthwhile, especially if it included Valley Fever in the panel.

Here’s a Valley Fever map:

https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/coccidioidomycosis/maps.html

My dog got Valley Fever and it came close to killing him, as it disseminated and attacked his kidneys, which is a non-typical presentation. The fungus is frequently mistaken for lung or bone or other cancer when imaging is done, both in dogs and in people. It’s a weird imposter of a health issue, can be mistaken for many other things and can be deadly.

My dog was very lucky to be tested for Valley Fever, because the treatment for his kidney problem suppressed his body’s ability to fight off the cocci. It was touch and go, but after the test results came in and he got on the fluconazole to treat the Valley Fever and off the drugs they put him on for his kidneys, he started improving, and completely recovered.

[Lunabear1988]

I would have felt better if the vet had explained valley fever. I believe he was worried about Blasto which he stated was nearly non existent here but that maybe she picked it up 12 years ago.

I agree that it is really wise to test for valley fever but I was not aware of that in the vet did not bring it to my attention. Hopefully the panel does include that! It seems like there is a possibility.

[skydy]

Thinking of you @Lunabear1988. How is your dog?

[Lunabear1988]

Well I thought she seemed a bit better. I was hopeful that maybe it was fungal or some other infection And that maybe the antibiotics were helping.

Unfortunately, the vet told my husband that the results for the panel were negative on fungal. So now the thought is that it is a type of cancer… they want to put around steroids but I’ve heard that can be dicey. So I want to consult with a specialist. Mostly just with whatever we can do to keep her comfortable. They said her lungs were pretty full of tumors so I doubt there’s much to do at this point as far a cure

I really wish it was something else.

.

[skydy]

I’m so sorry to hear that. You’ll know when it’s time to let her go and you’ll do what is best for her, I’m sure.

When our beasties are very ill, we can only do our best for them and try our best to keep them from suffering.

Sending my best hopes for a peaceful resolution for all.

[lenapesadie]

So sorry. That’s awful.

[hoopoe]

I say get a second opinion for the best internal medicine practice you can find. Consider sending the radiographs to the vet school or a radiology specialist ( they do exist) for a consultants opinion.

There are rare granulomatous conditions that do exist. Another vet may wish to do a tracheal wash and culture to try and capture cells that may be diagnosis.

throwing drugs at a presumptive diagnosis is all you have right now.

[Lunabear1988]

I am very least want to consult with a oncologist.

She does have tumors/lumps elsewhere on the body. She’s had them for five or six years. No vet ever was concerned, thought they were benign. Maybe they weren’t so harmless after all ,

[skydy]

Could they aspirate/biopsy one of the lumps? Would that be helpful?

Sending hopeful thoughts your way.

[Lunabear1988]

We will see what the specialist in wants to do. Personally I’m pretty sure it is some type of cancer at this point but I know they like to know what type we are dealing with.

[volvo_240]

You will likely be looking at a bi-cavity ultrasound or CT scan +/- aspirates depending on location and appearance of the lesions.

Hopefully you can get some answers and at least peace of mind that you are doing the right thing, even if treatment options are limited.

[Lunabear1988]

Unfortunately she went downhill very quickly. She’s gone

I was trying to work with the vet to figure it out but unfortunately whatever was going on in her lungs was too quick. I couldn’t watch her suffer any longer And kept rescheduling the euthanasia appointment from a few days up to next day and then we ended up taking her to the emergency vet that night because she was so bad.

My poor girl. I keep thinking back if I’ve missed some signs earlier wondering if there had been anything we could have done. I had been taking her to the vet multiple times the last few years for regular senior checkups and blood work. I don’t know if we missed something or if whatever got her is just extremely aggressive.

I’ll miss her so much. She was truly a one of a kind dog. I really hoped she would be one of those dogs that would live until she was 17 years old.

[Jenerationx]

I’m so sorry for your loss. You did the right thing.

[Lunabear1988]

If anything, we waited too long which I regret. But it was hard to know without a hundred percent definite diagnosis and the hope that we could give her at least some palliative care. But we did the best with what we had at the time. It’s heartbreaking but I hope she knows how treasured she was.