I'm sitting here looking at my dog, who's kind of doped up from the needle biopsy she has today. She's wearing a diaper, her third of the evening...she peed in two so far. We just went on a walk and she acted pretty spry but she's definitely tired.
This morning I woke up at 5am to the sound of her panting. I couldn't get her to calm down. I had her get off the bed, which she had peed in her sleep, and she stopped panting but was breathing in short, shallow breaths. I immediately freaked out and brought her to the vet. We were supposed to be there at 6am anyway so it wasn't that much earlier. The tech or nurse, not so sure, took her back and measured her oxygen levels and they were great, 98%, which put me at ease. I took my bedding to work to wash the urine out of it.
The vet called around 9, said that Lola looked great and that they were waiting for the small needle aspirate results, which should show up around noon. I got called at about 2:20. The results were not definitive. When I spoke with Dr.Bowen she told me that she trusts the pathologist greatly so she believes that he couldn't get a clear picture of what we're looking at. He said it could look like mast cell tissue but he couldn't say. At this point I started to feel much better, as mast cell tumors have a much better outlook than lymphoma. Lymphoma seems to be a death sentence, be it four weeks or four years, everything I read says it will kill your dog. Dr. Bowen wanted to do a needle biopsy so we can get a clearer picture, which involves Lola being sedated. This is a little nerve racking because her lungs aren't working to capacity with the pneumonia, but she did fine.
I left work feeling hopeful that maybe they are mast cell tumors. Those two hours were pretty nice...imaging a future with my baby again. My hopes were dashed when I got the vet (as was my wallet. yikes!). When I asked if it was maybe mast cell tumors she said that she highly doubts it, that it looks very much like lymphoma and that the mediastinal tumor definitely looks like lymphoma but they didn't take a sample since it's so close to the heart, and is why she has megaesphagus and has trouble swallowing.
So, yeah, lymphoma is not a great diagnosis, especially if it's as far along as Dr. Bowen thinks it is.
They sent me home with two pages of instructions and six medications. Since I'll be at work for the next two days, Lola will go back to the hospital so they can administer the medication at it's proper time.
Although she ate well she's been freaking me out all evening. She's very groggy from the sedative and was acting like she was in slow motion. This diaper thing is tough too....I thought I'd put it on as a precaution but she used it twice which makes me wonder if she's losing control of her bladder.
This is not supposed to be happening to my six year old baby girl.
This morning I woke up at 5am to the sound of her panting. I couldn't get her to calm down. I had her get off the bed, which she had peed in her sleep, and she stopped panting but was breathing in short, shallow breaths. I immediately freaked out and brought her to the vet. We were supposed to be there at 6am anyway so it wasn't that much earlier. The tech or nurse, not so sure, took her back and measured her oxygen levels and they were great, 98%, which put me at ease. I took my bedding to work to wash the urine out of it.
The vet called around 9, said that Lola looked great and that they were waiting for the small needle aspirate results, which should show up around noon. I got called at about 2:20. The results were not definitive. When I spoke with Dr.Bowen she told me that she trusts the pathologist greatly so she believes that he couldn't get a clear picture of what we're looking at. He said it could look like mast cell tissue but he couldn't say. At this point I started to feel much better, as mast cell tumors have a much better outlook than lymphoma. Lymphoma seems to be a death sentence, be it four weeks or four years, everything I read says it will kill your dog. Dr. Bowen wanted to do a needle biopsy so we can get a clearer picture, which involves Lola being sedated. This is a little nerve racking because her lungs aren't working to capacity with the pneumonia, but she did fine.
I left work feeling hopeful that maybe they are mast cell tumors. Those two hours were pretty nice...imaging a future with my baby again. My hopes were dashed when I got the vet (as was my wallet. yikes!). When I asked if it was maybe mast cell tumors she said that she highly doubts it, that it looks very much like lymphoma and that the mediastinal tumor definitely looks like lymphoma but they didn't take a sample since it's so close to the heart, and is why she has megaesphagus and has trouble swallowing.
So, yeah, lymphoma is not a great diagnosis, especially if it's as far along as Dr. Bowen thinks it is.
They sent me home with two pages of instructions and six medications. Since I'll be at work for the next two days, Lola will go back to the hospital so they can administer the medication at it's proper time.
Although she ate well she's been freaking me out all evening. She's very groggy from the sedative and was acting like she was in slow motion. This diaper thing is tough too....I thought I'd put it on as a precaution but she used it twice which makes me wonder if she's losing control of her bladder.
This is not supposed to be happening to my six year old baby girl.
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