CockersOnline Forum

Cocker Specific Discussion => Health => Topic started by: *Jay* on June 15, 2005, 05:49:46 PM

Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: *Jay* on June 15, 2005, 05:49:46 PM
............and there was nothing of any real significance on any of the biopsies :rolleyes:  There was lymphatic dilatation in the small intestine which coould have been of significance if the blood sample showed abnormal levels of cholesterol and protein, which it didn't.  Now its just a case of doing a follow up blood sample at the end of next month to check on the kidney situation.

I think we have gone as far as we can diagnostically, so am just going to accept that he will be skinny forever.  I am going to study my nutrition book and look into the possibility of putting him onto a homemade diet rather than the prescription stuff that he is currently on and see if that makes any difference.
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Pammy on June 15, 2005, 06:23:37 PM
well I guess there's nothing seriously wrong then - but not knowing why he is so think must be such a nightmare. Good luck with all the home cooking. The boys had a side of salmon tonight - lucky boys - needed eating and I couldn't face it - so they were happy :lol:
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: suzysu on June 15, 2005, 06:37:17 PM
:) Aw pleased to hear nothing showed up Gill ;) ..... but I know its awful not knowing what is causing the problem.

I really hope the diet does the trick  ;) xxxxxxxx
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Shirley on June 15, 2005, 07:40:53 PM
Men!  Anything for a home-cooked meal  :D   Glad the results didn't show up any nasties, Gill  ;)  Hope the test at the end of the month comes back normal  :)   Sending him hugs  :D
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Annette on June 15, 2005, 07:48:38 PM
That's quite a relief really, but it is frustrating to not know why etc.

At least it wasn't a nasty.

All the best with the diet searches. He'll be eating better than you :P
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Gilly on June 15, 2005, 09:26:26 PM
Well Gill, you can't say you haven't tried  ;) Good luck with the cooking  :D
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Michele on June 15, 2005, 10:59:51 PM
Quote
Men!  Anything for a home-cooked meal  :D   Glad the results didn't show up any nasties, Gill  ;)  Hope the test at the end of the month comes back normal  :)   Sending him hugs  :D
[snapback]132277[/snapback]

Couldn't put it better myself Shirley  :D
Just to add what a lucky boy he is, having such a caring Mummy  :P
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: daunting on June 15, 2005, 11:10:13 PM
All i can say is he is lucky not to have me as his cook :ph34r:  :ph34r:

Seriously though - very glad it wasn't anything nasty and hope the results at the end of this month are positive for you both :)
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Silver Surfer (indiesnan) on June 16, 2005, 09:10:49 AM
So pleased nothing nasty showed up Gill  :D  although it must be frustrating for you, trying to get weight on him. Hope the diet works  :)
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Jo & Dennis on June 16, 2005, 09:27:12 AM
Hi Gill

Pleased the results were good. But it must still be a worry for you. Hope all goes well with his new diet, what about full fat goats milk? I have had to stop giving it to Holly because she was getting a little chubby do you think it would help?

Good Luck with it and Hugs & cocker kisses to you both.
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Penel on June 16, 2005, 09:56:23 AM
Would you consider feeding him a raw diet Gill - or have you tried that already ?
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Magic Star on June 16, 2005, 12:16:46 PM
:) Gill, so glad to hear its nothing sinister :)
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: *Jay* on June 16, 2005, 05:41:58 PM
Quote
what about full fat goats milk? .
[snapback]132388[/snapback]

Hi Jo,

Thanks for the suggestion. He can't have cows milk but I'm not sure about goats milk - I will def get some to try him with it ;)

Quote
Would you consider feeding him a raw diet Gill
[snapback]132399[/snapback]

I have considered it and it is something I would like to try but my only concern would be difficulty in obtaining bones. The only meats he can have are chicken & turkey, and he does enjoy chicken wings and thighs(at least I can get them in Tesco ;) ). Would that be sufficient for the bone part of the diet? He also enjoys the AMP frozen minced chicken that I get from Pets at Home.  I don't know if the lack of variety would defeat the purpose of feeding raw or not???

Edited to add: woohoo - I've sussed the double quotes :D
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Penel on June 16, 2005, 06:35:25 PM
Quote
my only concern would be difficulty in obtaining bones. The only meats he can have are chicken & turkey, and he does enjoy chicken wings and thighs(at least I can get them in Tesco  ). Would that be sufficient for the bone part of the diet? He also enjoys the AMP frozen minced chicken that I get from Pets at Home. I don't know if the lack of variety would defeat the purpose of feeding raw or not???

wish I could do double quotes  :D

Lots of raw feeders only feed chicken wings as their bones.... you could also feed the AMP turkey necks too which come in 2kg bags.  Turkey mince and chicken mince - either from the supermarket or AMP are also fine.
Can you feed eggs - a raw egg a couple of times a week, including shell, would be a good addition.
If you are interested in feeding raw you certainly should consider joining the Yahoo Britbarf group - the members on there are all really helpful and knowledgable.
How about pilchards and sardines can he eat those ?  when my lurcher was first with us he was very underweight - pilchards and pasta was one of his staple meals.
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: *Jay* on June 16, 2005, 06:58:20 PM
Have requested membership to the yahoo group so will no doubt be spending my weekend compiling a menu for his majesty :rolleyes:

Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Mary on June 16, 2005, 07:04:48 PM
Quote
Quote
what about full fat goats milk? .
[snapback]132388[/snapback]

Edited to add: woohoo - I've sussed the double quotes :D
[snapback]132477[/snapback]

You've got one up on me then, I've still not sussed it :rolleyes:

So glad the results are fine Gill ;)  
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: scoobie on June 16, 2005, 09:20:24 PM
Gill so glad that the results are good  :)
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Becky on June 21, 2005, 09:42:11 PM
Glad to hear the results are nothing horrid :D .  Good luck with the diet change, sounds like he will be getting better meals than I feed my hubbie. :lol:
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Laura on June 29, 2005, 08:20:32 PM
Hi Gill - Stranger out of hiding  :D (for 5 minutes)  Was just having a quick trawl through the 35 pages of posts and saw this one - I am really pleased that all Vegas's tests have come back negative. :D   Sending him a big hug.  Back into hiding again now  :lol: will drop you a pm as soon as I get a chance!
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: fi61 on June 29, 2005, 08:24:53 PM
So pleased to hear the results were negative, good luck with the diet

Fiona, Milly & Lucy :rolleyes:
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: *Jay* on July 01, 2005, 10:06:19 PM
Honestly, these dogs are going to have me grey by the time I'm 30 :rolleyes:

Took more blood from Vegas yesterday to recheck his kidney levels which were elevated in the last one. Decided to do a comprehensive profile again but wish I hadn't bothered :rolleyes:  Kidney levels now fine but we now have the following abnormalities: low globulin, high ALT, high GGT, high ALKP, high phos, high sodium(increased since the last test), and low platelets. Now the funny thing is that the comment on the bottom of the report was "test results unremarkable" :unsure: The vet is going to call the lab on Monday morning to find out if we should be testing for anything other than what we already have been doing because they are stumped!!  I also asked them to do a total t4 test on the blood submitted to check thyroid function(not that i think thats what the problem is) and should have those in beginning of the week.
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Gilly on July 01, 2005, 10:52:12 PM
Gill, sorry to hear that Vegas results are still inconclusive  :unsure: I really hope they get to the bottom of this soon, can't imagine you with grey hair  ;)
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Laura on July 02, 2005, 11:39:41 AM

Gill so sorry that yet again you are faced with the unknown with Vegas  :( Hoping that the lab can throw you some light next week!!  Thinking of you!!  Everything still crossed that all your news is good!!!
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Penel on July 03, 2005, 11:26:59 AM
Remember that if there is anything wrong with him, that the Free T4 could well be low anyway - its referred to as non thyroidal illness - or euthyroid syndrome.

How weird that the lab wrote tests unremarkable - they don't sound unremarkable to me - he did have an ACTH test didn't he ?
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Mary on July 03, 2005, 05:42:02 PM
It goes on and on doesn't it Gill? :rolleyes:   That was all double dutch to me but I do hope it's nothing to give you grey hairs ;)
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: *Jay* on July 04, 2005, 08:15:50 PM
Quote
Remember that if there is anything wrong with him, that the Free T4 could well be low anyway - its referred to as non thyroidal illness - or euthyroid syndrome.

How weird that the lab wrote tests unremarkable - they don't sound unremarkable to me - he did have an ACTH test didn't he ?
[snapback]134877[/snapback]


Yes, he had an ACTH stim test and that was ok. The post ACTH test result was quite a bit below the ref range but it had obviously risen enough to rule out Addisons.  

The thyroid results came in and was all within normal range. Tomorrow, he will get a bile acids test, pre and post feeding which will determine true liver function. Poor boy will be resembling a pin cushion at this rate :rolleyes:  And needless to say, nobody from the lab got back to us today :rolleyes:
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Annette on July 05, 2005, 11:59:25 AM
So sorry to see all this Gill.

Do hope you can get to the bottom if it all soon.
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: *Jay* on July 08, 2005, 09:16:02 AM
Ok, final update on this (cos I'm even boring myself silly with it all :P ). Vet spoke to the lab yesterday for ages - basically all the abnormalities that have come back on his samples aren't of any real significance. She did however advise us to check his blood glucose instead of relying on the result within the comprehensive biochemistry package as that is not altogether reliable (fills you with confidence eh :rolleyes: ). So I'm going to nip him round to work in about 5 mins to have that done and to test another urine sample. If those two results are fine, then she thinks it would be worthwhile to feed him little and often instead of two larger meals incase he is having difficulty processing larger amounts of food and see if that helps.

I also found TopLife formula in Tescos which is goats milk for dogs. I only bought a few to see if he would be able to tolerate it (which he can) and he LOVES it :D  The cartons are only 200ml so he has one split up over the course of the day. Needless to say, went back to get more and all sold out!! Can you just use the stuff for humans instead?
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Penel on July 08, 2005, 09:49:38 AM
How bout the stuff I posted about in another thread about the elderly cat.... Liquivite, Nutriplus Gel - that sort of thing, which is complete meals, vitamins and minerals, in a liquid or a gel...
Title: Biopsy Results In For Vegas.......
Post by: Magic Star on July 08, 2005, 10:25:04 AM
Hiya Gill

Sorry to hear things are no further on :(   Yes as far as I know you can give dogs just normal goats milk, Indie has this all the time, I put a dot of natural honey in it too :)