Tucker doesn't like kibble ...

[julie64]

I hope they find out what's going on with him. The not knowing things sucks. Good thoughts to you Tucker that you are on the mend soon.

[BabyReba]

OK, just had our followup with the vet, and I left him for x-rays. Had a long talk with the vet, who made me feel better about how they've been handling things.

If Misskiwi checks in, I got the levels from the bloodwork that were off.

Red blood count was 3.95
Hemoglobin was 9.7
Hematocrit was 28.5

They took more blood today, and we should have results back by tomorrow morning.

As for the urinary issues, there were two kinds of crystals that the doc said were extremely high and he said that despite no obvious presence of bacteria in the urine, in his experience, dogs with crystal issues that high are at risk for developing stones, so he didn't want to take chance, especially since Tucker is already sick. Today the urinalysis came back with a normal PH and far fewer crystals than before ... He cannot feel stones, but today's xrays will be to look for stones and to also check the other organs for signs of cysts or tumors or any other abnormalities that could be causing problems.

So hopefully we'll have some ideas and answers.

[starrlamia]

good thoughts for you and tucker, waiting for results is awful.

[BabyReba]

x-rays were not great but still inconclusive. he has basically got little/no body fat left to speak of, since he's lost so much weight, so his abdominal xrays were sort of a jumble of organs sort of smushed together, which was a little bit weird to see. his liver is very small right now, vet thinks probably due to body tapping all of its fat reserves to keep going ... no signs of stones at all in the bladder or urethra, which is good. slightly enlarged spleen, which is not so good, but also not so large that he thinks it's a problem in and of itself right now. maybe indicative of or related to a larger problem, though.

but the big problem looks like his heart and maybe lungs. he has a reverse D on one side of his heart, which means that one side of his heart is, literally, shaped like a backward D. it's not huge, but it's misshapen. also, his heart is also abnormally tall so it's starting to push up on his trachea, and his lungs aren't filling as well as they should be as a result, though he's not having any obvious breathing difficulties. could be a couple of things going on ... he also has what he called premature changes in his lungs, things that usually come with age but are not common in a young dog. interstitial patterns is what he said.

best-case scenario would be that he's got something else systemic wrong that's causing anemia and that's making his heart and lungs to work harder and as a result is causing changes in the heart and lungs, or a treatable heart disease/cardiomyopathy.

worst-case scenario, which made me almost vomit, would be hemangiosarcoma in his heart, which would be virtually untreatable ... but we're hoping that's not the case, and he said that if tucker's bloodwork comes back showing improvement in his anemia and RBC, that'll be a good sign.

looks like we're going to be doing an ultrasound -- and here's the kicker: there is no veterinary cardiologist anywhere near orlando. so we have to wait for the traveling ultrasound guy to make his rounds in orlando or try to get time off to get up to the university of florida in gainesville to have it done sooner.

the vet said we can make our decision after we see the bloodwork. if it's stable or improved, he said he thinks we can wait since tucker's condition is stable and he's not in pain. if the bloodwork shows that his condition is worsening, he'd recommend trying to get the US done ASAP.

in the meantime, he wants him off the urinary diet, on a food that high protein and calories, preferably a puppy food or a performance food and depending on the bloodwork, we may try something that'll help boost his iron, too.

and i'm just about tapped out emotionally today, after all that. i was somehow expecting to go in there and find that my worrying was for nothing. i wish that was the case.

[julie64]

his bloodwork shows improvement. Continued healthy thoughts coming that everything will be ok.
to you.

[jamielvsaustin]

Sorry to hear this, and hope with all my might that is not only NOT hemangiosarcoma but anything like it.

You're not the only one stressing...I know other people stressing out for you really does no good, but sometimes it's nice to know you're not the only one feeling that way.

If you opt to go to Gainesville and want a driving buddy, I might be able to go with you.

[Amie]

Love you both. And the rest of your boys, too.

[dogs4jen]

Sending you guys the good thoughts, hoping for the best.

[Leslie H]

My what a terrible waiting game. It sounds like you have a really good vet, practical and it sounds like he's pretty straightforward. Still, that's some scary stuff. I'm hoping for positive blood work results. Keeping Tucker in my thoughts.

[Murfins]

Sending tons of positive thoughts.

[Stormi]

Just now getting around to reading this thread. Poor Tucker and poor you! Here's hoping for an optimistic turnout and that he's feeling better soon. Not knowing is the worst

[BabyReba]

Vet just called me at 7:30 tonight, an hour and a half after the practice closed. He said he checked the server and the results were in and they showed that his levels are getting worse. So he's going to call around to the traveling internal med ultrasound tech tomorrow and try to get them to fit us in ASAP rather than have us wait to get to a cardiologist. He thinks it's pretty important to try to figure this out before his condition worsens.

[Enigma]

I'm so sorry to hear this... I know how stressfull it is to have a dog with a bunch health problems... I hope Tucker gets better soon

[Leslie H]

Oh, that just sucks. I'm so sorry for this crappy news.

[patty]

Prayers for Tucker

You both will be on my mind.