latest on Morgan
Well, as usual, not sure I did the right thing. The lump is now softball sized - not an abcess from what I can tell and he is on antibiotics anyway. it seems to be contributing to him feeling crappy - he doesn't seem to have any pain (not panting which is his usual pain signal) but he is pretty lethargic and he appears to hav elost considerable weight in th elast three weeks - of course he didn't eat for 10 days when he was sick so that may be part of it.  |
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What can I say except
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| Hope its nothing serious. The letharic would bother me more than the lump...but would a lump just appear that quickly? Could he have eaten something that got caught? Good luck. I think you are a wonderful Mom not letting things go and getting them to the Vet right away. Keep us posted. |
| that everything is ok and that you get a good diagnosis tomorrow at the vet. |
| Poor Morgan. I hope it is nothing serious. It seems when we have multiple dogs ,it is always something. Hope he feels better . |
| Gee that came up quickly to be that size, hoping nothing too serious just a fatty growth.
If a benign fatty lymphoma, they usally just leave it, unless it is increasing in size fast or interfering with them moving around. He seems so young to be sprouting cysts and lumps, I can understand as they get elderly but not at that age 
Best wishes with Morgan, hoping nothing too drastic. |
| ack!
Good luck at the vet. Is it hard, or liquid filled? On the surface and moveable, or seem to be attached? The growth rate is too much to ignore, that's for sure. And even if it is benign, the location makes it a hazard. 
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| Kerry...I feel your pain. Always at the vet and problems always come in the off hours. Hoping that all will be ok. |
 Apparently its just an abcess- although both the vet and I were surprised because it looked more menacing. He is there now having it drained and I assume he is coming home with new meds.
Just another symptom of his poor immune system I assume. Of course I have to pick him up at the same time I was suppossed to be at a private class with Marley and B. in the opposite direction.....  |
| I guess I am happy it is just an abcess but nothing at all wrong with him would be better. Hopefully the new meds will have him good as new Please give sweet morgan an extra butt scratch . He will soon be feeling good as new .Hope this is not a sign of what the new year brings ( I soooo feel your pain.....)
4dognight cindy crazy person site still keeps kicking me out when I go to post  |
| thanks Cindy - it is always something with him. But - he is soooo sweet.
Hugs to Guiness. |
| Cindy,
I'm sorry the forum isn't working well for you. Two things to try: 1) When you try to post and it "kicks you out" (not a very helpful explanation....  ) can you try holding down the shift key on your keyboard while you click on refresh? Right on that error page, perhaps.
If that doesn't work, 2) Clear your browsing history "cache". |
| So glad to hear it wasn't anything terribly serious. Hope Morgan is feeling better soon.
Give Morgan pets and hugs. Lisa and Frankie |
So glad it wasnt anything more sinister.  |
| Okay - some more info when I went back to get Morgan.
1) The vet can't think of any other tests or prophylactic treatments we should try 2) the vet confirmed most of his issues are immune system related 3) they wouldn't even give him an antibiotic shot because he reacts so violently - and sporadically to such things 4) we have to go back Tuesday to have the drains taken out, in the meantime Morgan will continue to drain all over the place - so he is confined to the breakfast room with towels and sheets all over the floor 5) Most important to take note of - Morgan was still under when I picked him up, so had to be carried to my car - I only live 20 minutes away so he was still under when I got home which meant Dan and I had to try to carry 110 pound Morg (yes he did lose weight) in the house. I really need to by a sling or a travois, our Newf club sells them. So any suggestions to improve a really bad immune system in a dog? He already gets probiotics and colostrum with his meals. I thought about posting pictures for any one who is interested in seeing the drains - they are pretty graphic |
I'm up for the pics. Been there done that with drain tubes on a cat with a cat bite abscess the size of a plate. I friend who visited nearly fainted at the site. 
I forgot other people get freaked out by the site of a cat who has most of one side shaved with 4 big drain tubes sticking out and leaking pus. Shoulder shrug icon here The only thing I've heard of that might help is a friends Mom took her King Charles Cav to a chinese medicine vet. The dog was a mess after years of immune related gut issues. The regular vet was starting to talk euthanasia as the dog was permanently on rice and boiled chicken. Any other food caused horrendous painful, bloody diarrhea that had the dog crying in pain and then anaemia. Antibiotics and many other drugs also caused the same. Due to the inflamed gut and anaemia the dog was sick with something or other all the time. The treatment was some acupuncture and chinese herbs. Apparently its almost miraculous. They still have to be careful with her food but she is a completely different dog. The regular vet is amazed at the turn around. After the initial acupuncture treatment she's just on the herbs daily now. |
| hmm we already have a chiropracter and a physical therapist, why not an acupunturist? Thansk i'll look into it. |
| Kerry make sure they are trained as a chinese physician not just acupuncture.
The acupuncture was to correct the energy in the meridians but its the herbs that keep things on an even keel. (sorry I'm not up on my chinese medicine and neither is my friend, so thats the best explanation I have) In Aus. there are lots of acupuncturists but they are not chinese physicians and dont do the other aspects of chinese medicine. May not be the case there but you need to know they have the right expertise. |
| Oh my poor morgan and poor you. I don't have a clue as to what to do Is there a forum on dogs with these immune problems?? I will check with my GSD buddies. |
| I've done alot of investigating herbal and homeopathic things for Frankie.
Things that are supposed to boost the immune system.. Vitamin c omega's Neem tea (doggiesparadise has some info on it) accupunture is supposed to be really good and I also looked into Laser Therapy. Its supposed to help your pet heal from the inside out. Best of luck for the both of you Lisa and Frankie |
| well I haven't had time to look up the acupuncturists yet and tonight morgan vomitted his dinner again
He has an appointment at the vet's in the morning to have his vents removed, I think I might just leave him for some fluids and an anti emetic  |
| Poor Morgan.
I have no suggestions. But I'm always game to see the pictures. 
I see humans with them a lot, and my Macy had penrose drains (I presume that's the ones Morgan has by your description) after her tumor was removed from her groin and mammaries. ps - can't be worse than the SBD Chewie just let loose next to me  |
| LMAO Dawn!!!! I had a cat that constantly got the worse end of a brawl. Nothing like being locked in a bathroom with a half Siamese boy howling and growling while you put peroxide on his shaved tail base and wiggled the drain tube.
I hope he feels better soon Kerry. |
| Have been there done that too Wendy.
The siamese nearly won too. He got me a beauty and only just missed my eye. I had to have the eyelid steristriped back together where it tore along the eyelashes but a few more millimetres and I'd have lost the eye altogether. Siamese are notorious for being bad patients. Remind me why did I get another siamese cat? |
| poor morgan Still no advice . Just cyber hugs. Guinness had laser treatments He always felt better after . |
4dognight wrote: poor morgan Still no advice . Just cyber hugs. Guinness had laser treatments He always felt better after .
laser treatments for? sorry my mind is preoccupied trying to figure out how to leave him at the vets tomorrow and keep my job and pay for the additional vet care |
kerry wrote: 4dognight wrote: poor morgan Still no advice . Just cyber hugs. Guinness had laser treatments He always felt better after . laser treatments for? sorry my mind is preoccupied trying to figure out how to leave him at the vets tomorrow and keep my job and pay for the additional vet care http://www.lasertherapyfordogs.com/ A guy that I work with did this for his 15 year old greyhound and described the dog as "in a blissful state" afterward. The guy's not a crackpot or anything either so I believe him.  |
| I had the laser done to my shoulder, in an attempt to ecourage the muscles to heal. It was 25/treatment, but only took 5-10 minutes. Not covered by insurance, of course, and took 4 treatments to decide if it helped. Not for me.
Totally out of the blue, but what about gammaglobulin? I'm thinking injection, as opposed to an IV infusion, for cost and time. I know it has been for anemia in dogs, but I am thinking as a support to the immune system. Repeat every 6 weeks. I'm not sure of the cost, it's human grade, but we did it for my son years ago and it was cheap back then. (My son had repeated upper respiratory infections - two weeks on antibiotics, two weeks off and repeat. Our GP suggested that we do a trial of GG every 6 weeks. We could have done the blood work first, but it was expensive - and wouldn't have stopped us from trying the GG. It was amazing - no more antibiotics. We repeated it every 6 weeks from Sept to April for 2 years - and no more probems). |
| Kerry
Each treatment for Guinness was 118 Kind of like when humans get PT and they use the warm thing with the jell(sorry my mind is just blown...talk about paying for vets ) but no goo He really relaxed when it was done It was to his hips ahoulders and heck I forget the name of the muscle. Did not help his screwed up hip but he really seemed to enjoy and would go in the treatment room and plop down for them to do it He was also on a magnet field . Poor morgan I hope you find some relief
Cindy |
| Kerry,
Have you tried contacting Cornell? Supposed to be one of the best vet schools in the country. And it's kinda in your backyard. |
| hmm Cornell is a good idea - I will try to talk to my vet about it, but since he is the only vet in the area who did not go there (yep it is in our backyard) I don't think he will be real receptive I may have to sweet talk this one. Really I know I can do that
But I just picked Morgan up - he had to be shaved more as he was developing hot spots, the good thing is he is drinking now - for some reason he hasn't been. If I can get some food to stay in his tummy he may start to heal. The vents are still in - I have to go back Thursday for that. (for those of you who are more adventurous I will post pictures tonight - but be warned if today's look bad to you - don't look at Satuday's - which I will post as well) But if you haven't had to deal with the vent (and yes dawn that is the kind of vent) it might be worth a peek in case you are ever faced with needing one. As far as the laser treatment, if I can get him healed up enough, he has a swim appointment next week - and he LOVES LOVES LOVES swimming so I think that will have to suffice for hir relaxation and PT. I feel so bad for the poor boy, but he is being so good about all of this. And some props to Miss Marley who i have caught a few times going to jump at him outside to initiate play and catch herself. She drops nicely into a down near him instead. I know she is so bored - maybe having two puppies at one time really saved my sanity because she seems a little needy this week |
| Kerry, so sorry to hear about Morgan.
We know your pain. Oscar is the poster child for immune mediated disease. Oscar has a "regular" vet, an internist (due to all of his funky infections), a holistic vet and a chiropractor. He suffers from IBD, and continuous skin infections, some from known pathogens like MRSI and Pseudamonas, and others from normal flora that gets completely out of control, like acinobacter and enterococcus. We constantly battle yeast overgrowth in his paws due to all of the antibiotics he has to take. He takes probiotics and colostrum, in addition to Flagyl (maintenance dose as opposed to therapeutic dose), Benadryl, Pepcid AC, and prednisone daily. We tried to do without the pred for FOUR YEARS, but honestly, it's the only thing that's kept him alive, and stopped his body from extreme inflammatory responses to everday things. (He currently takes 5 mg per day, a very low dose.) Oscar's vet just started him on amytriptiline, which is an anti-anxiety drug but has been found to help humans with IBD. We just started it this week, along with Clavamox for yet another crazy infection, so it's too early to tell how this will go, but we have high hopes......
If you ever want to chat live, or have any questions about our experiences with Oscar, please PM me and I'll be happy to give you my phone number. We are thinking good thoughts for Morgan. Laurie and Oscar |
| I am thinking Bella could use the prednisone. She has always broken out with little bumps like pimples that are itchy. She is on Chloraphenarimine and Hydroxizine (antihistimines). She takes proin for spay incontinence, and 2 other meds for the eye that didn't get the saliva gland relocation.
I would suspect an autoimmune too, as that is generally the cause of chronic dry eye because the tear glands are attacked by the body. That is why we use 2 anti-rejection drugs on the other eye. I feel your pain guys!!! |
| Have you tried CAS Options? I used it for Beau (he had synovi sarcoma)and it was recommended by our oncologist. You can get it from EntirelyPets and it's not that expensive.
CAS Options provides a nutritionally concentrated synergistic blend of Reishi, Maitake and Shiitake mushrooms, which are well researched and have been shown in numerous studies to be potent immune enhancers. The proteoglycans and polysaccharides from mushrooms have been shown to nutritionally assist the immune system, reduce inflammation and can stimulate natural killer (NK) and T-helper cell activity. Additionally, this formula includes strong antioxidants found in Coenzyme Q-10, Green Tea and Selenium. Suggested Use: Up to 25lbs...1/2 tablet twice daily, 25 to 50lbs...1 tablet twice daily, 50 to 100lbs...2 tablets twice daily, Over 100lbs...3 tablets twice daily Given orally between meals or crumbled and mixed with moist food. When a dog's immune system is being severely challenged, additional support can be given by doubling the suggested amount for 3-6 months. Responses to natural dietary supplements may vary by animal. One tablet guaranteed to contain: Vitamin A...1050 I.U., Vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol)...53 I.U., Selenium...26mcg, Reishi Mushroom...578mg, Shiitake Mushroom...446mg, Green Tea Powder...105mg, Maitake Mushroom...95mg, Vitamin C...105mg, N-acetylcysteine...79mg, Coenzyme Q-10...1mg Ingredients: A proprietary blend of Reishi Mushroom, Bone Meal, Shiitake Mushroom, Green Tea Powder, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Calcium Ascorbate, Glyceryl Monostearate, Maitake Mushroom, N-acetylcysteine, d-alpha tocopherol, Croscarmellose Sodium, Magnesium Stearate, Silica Dioxide, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Selenium, Vitamin A, and Coenzyme Q-10 |
| ^^^
thanks I'll look into it. |
| Give Morgan hugs from us
I was just looking up Yucca. It's in Frankies joint medicine. It says its great for intestinal things among many other things. It's supposed to detoxify the liver and kidneys from various things. I was thinking Frankie hasn't had loose poop since he's been on it and it has really helped his painful joints. When you ever get a free moment try looking it up. There might be something in it thats helpful. Best wishes Lisa and Frankie |
| I give mine Yucca. They sell it in the local grocery store in the organic dog section. |
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