Dog Squinting Right Eye

[Dagmar]

Hey. Just an update. Went to the ophthalmologist today and they said the problem wasn't dry eye and the vets were probably wrong about that and the low score on the schirmer was probably due to something else. turns out he has glaucoma and the pressure in his eye is really high and the retina is detached. not sure what could have caused it since he is young and his other eye looks normal and doesn't look like glaucoma is likely to develop in it. im really upset right now because he's going to have to get the eye removed and i tried so hard to save it. hes staying overnight at the hospital and is going to be operated on tomorrow.

Wow - good that you got a diagnosis, bad that he will loose his eye. Make sure, they give him enough painkillers after the surgery and if you can, get some Emergency Essence (Australian Bush Flower Essence), put it on your hands when you visit him and just rub it onto his fur. It does make a difference. It is sad, when a young dog looses an eye, on the other hand the younger, the better they adjust to it. He will be fine in the end.

[waffle]

Thanks yeah I feel a bit better, pretty sure he will cope well because the ophthalmologist asked me if he could get up and down the stairs the morning of the consult and i said yes and he said he was probably blind then and if he could do that then he probably will adjust very easily.

and yep will make sure i ask for painkillers and the essence sounds like a great idea, i think it will calm him. im seeing him today and maybe he will be discharged but not sure yet.

right now im just thinking about how i should protect the other eye.. was thinking of buying doggles or something. ahah i don't know if he'd wear them but right now i just want to make sure that eye stays normal.

[Dagmar]

Thanks yeah I feel a bit better, pretty sure he will cope well because the ophthalmologist asked me if he could get up and down the stairs the morning of the consult and i said yes and he said he was probably blind then and if he could do that then he probably will adjust very easily.

and yep will make sure i ask for painkillers and the essence sounds like a great idea, i think it will calm him. im seeing him today and maybe he will be discharged but not sure yet.

right now im just thinking about how i should protect the other eye.. was thinking of buying doggles or something. ahah i don't know if he'd wear them but right now i just want to make sure that eye stays normal.

You seem to be concerned the same could happen to the other eye as well?

If he was my dog, I would definitely detox him once he is off the medication as according to TCM the eyes and the liver are related.

Good luck with the doggles :-) I tried them on my dogs once and I was amazed how quickly they came off!

Have a chat with the ophthalmologist, maybe he has an idea what else can be done preventative?

All the best!

Dagmar

[Jacklands]

Poor baby

Please don't feel bad. If the pressures were high there was nothing you could have done to prevent this. Did the specialist ask you to come back for more checks in the future?

[[[ hugs ]]]

[waffle]

Hey yeah the past few weeks have been hell. Ollies eye had to come out and i was feeling really terrible about that but then the biopsy came back for the eye and it turns out it was a tumour that caused the glaucoma. So they suggested immunohistochemistry staining on that eye and the results came back two days ago and they said it was lymphoma. They said they've only seen a few cases like this so far and that it is really rare for this to happen in a dog as young as him (10 months).

Right now i really don't know what to do because i love my pup he means everything to me.. but the cost is just way too much... iv spent $2500 on the eye and theyve quoted the chemo at about $6000 and i'm already in debt. Then if the chemo doesnt work or if he relapses then it would all be for nothing. I really don't know what to do. I was determined to save him before i found out the cost because i hate to think that i'm not saving him because of money. but i just don't know where id get the money because i study full time and work casually..

I'm going to talk to one of the vets tomorrow and hopefully will decide by then because i think if i'm going to treat it then the sooner the better.

[Jacklands]

I would get a second opinion if I were you, before you make a definite decision. Eye Specialist, Dr. Bruce Robertson in Sydney is one of the very best. I think his phone number is (02) 98729877

[persephone]

Oh poor you, and poor Ollie

hard call .

I agree with a second opinion - perhaps a cancer specialist, too ? Then at least you will know what you and Ollie are up for, and if you want to go down that road.

[Dagmar]

Oh poor you, and poor Ollie

hard call .

I agree with a second opinion - perhaps a cancer specialist, too ? Then at least you will know what you and Ollie are up for, and if you want to go down that road.

I also agree - and if it is lymphoma indeed, discuss all (!) available options. It is heart-breaking, but there is no cure for cancer. The next consideration is to think about life quality. Chemo can extend the life, but to what costs? And I am not talking about money here... Eventually the cancer will come back and chemo will not work any more.

I know a number of people who voted against chemo and used good nutrition, supplements, a bit of sunshine, lots of fun and love and experienced the same survival time as with chemo, only with the difference, that the dog was happy and not suffering.

Please do not get me wrong, I am not discussing the pros and contras of chemo here, just giving you options to choose from. At the end of the day it is your dog and you decide what you feel most comfortable with. I believe it is important to get informed and get knowledge about what is available in order to make a decision you can live with.

All the best!

Dagmar

[yellowgirl]

What a terribly sad outcome for you . So very sorry to hear this. Hugs to you and little Ollie

xxx

[waffle]

Yeah i might go and get a second opinion but the thing is that most of the tests that have confirmed the cancer were done on the eye that was taken out. And that eye has been sliced and stained so if i were to get a second opinion not sure what theyd look at.. maybe his blood? or do a scan or something.. but my vet said that is quite costly because theyd need to use anaesthetic.

The vet suggested that if we decide on chemo then we should start treatment without staging the cancer because they said treatment will be pretty much the same regardless of results.

i talked to the vet today and they said the stains show he has t-cell lymphoma and apparently that doesn't respond as well to chemo when compared to b-cell lymphoma. And since he is such an unusual case because of his age they don't what's likely to happen because there are really no statistics out there.

but they said that for this type of cancer, chemo usually allows dogs to live for up to 12 months after diagnosis

and yeah i've been thinking about the effects of chemo... my dad had cancer and he said it was the chemo that almost killed him because he couldnt eat and he felt sick all the time because of it.

the vet also said its different for dogs because people at least know the chemo is helping them but for dogs they don't know what it is that's making them sick so its distressing for them.

still thinking about what to do...

12 months sounds really appealing but then again 1 good month is better than 12 months of pain?

and the vet said that if we decide against chemo then steroids would help him and he'd be pretty comfortable for the rest of his life but then he wont live as long as if he was treated with chemo

[yellowgirl]

Such a hard decision for you! . If it was me, I think I'd go with keeping my dog as comfortable as possible, lots of pain meds if necessary and spoil them rotten for the time they have left. But then, it's not happening to me right now, so who really knows until you're faced with such an awful situation .

An Adelaide DOLer's dog has been diagnosed with lymphoma and she has opted for chemo. The dog is doing well and there's been no sickness or apparent discomfort. She says the chemo for dogs is different to the chemo for humans.

Whatever you decide for Ollie will be the right decision. Most importantly, he will spend the rest of his days being loved.

Hugs, blessings and healing vibes to dear Ollie

xxx

[persephone]

Waffle- you may get some help if you pop into THIS forum on DOL -

If the vet is 'offering' 12 mths ..and if it were my pup - I would be going the good nutrition and spoiling and looking at alternatives.

[Kirty]

Dogs don't usually react to chemo in the same way as humans. They generally don't feel as sick or suffer hairloss, etc. However, it is a huge gamble for a huge amount of money. If it were my dog, I would probably opt to keep him comfortable and not do chemo. I'm so sorry its turned out this way.

[waffle]

Ohh ok its nice to know dogs don't have the same side effects as people do.. never really noticed that dogs whov had chemo don't lose their fur.. I will talk to the vet a bit more and i've gotten some contacts from other dolers about some alternative treatments.

And persephone somehow i never took notice of that forum.. i think maybe i thought i wouldn't be reading that for a long time. completely forgot it existed! thanks.