I am so concerned about tootsy - can you give me any advice please - YorkieTalk.com Forums

Franceen · 09-25-2011, 05:42 AM

(I have put this on the breeder forum as well as I felt that they would have experience of some of the issues.)
Tootsy had her season about 7 weeks ago and towards the end of the bleeding, she seemed to be unwell and was drinking more and seemed to be panting, for no good reason, every now and then. It was the weekend and we spoke to a vet we did not know, who felt it safe to wait until the morning as she had no temperature and he felt it was a little early for pyometria. By the morning she seemed better and improved, but she did not want to go for a walk, which was very unusual. She was eating normally and her stools were normal. She just did not seem herself. She was listless, did not want to jump up onto the sofa or bed and had to be lifted up, she was panting, when she was not hot or tired, and she started to drink more. She also started to itch and scatched and scratched everywhere, especially her ears. Then HORROR!! we found a lump on one of her mammory glands. This was also over a weekend and we had to see another vet. She said just too keep an eye on the lump for 10 days and see if it gets smaller. She said her ears looked okay, but she gave her an antihistamine shot and some antibiotics, Ceporex. We noticed that three times after taking the antibiotic, she started to pant and breathe fast and shallowly. We were too frightened to give her another tablet so stopped giving them to her. Toosy then started to eat ravenously and wanted as much food as we would give her!! We made an appointment with another vet the next week (our normal vet at the practice, had gone to live abroad) and this vet examined her far more thoroughly and found that she had an ear infection, milk in her teats, an irritated skin and a slight fever. She said that the lump must be removed and a mastectomy performed. She said that Tootsy was showing signs of a false pregnancy and that we must have her spayed at the same time as the mastectomy. This concerns me. It will be so painful for a little dog to have two big operations at the same time and I don't think the vet showed much interest in the fact that she would be in a great deal of pain. She said 'of course, she will be in pain but I will give you some painkillers and anyway, they are usually fine after 24-48hrs' (?!! is this true? are they painfree after 48hrs?) I spoke to a couple on one of my walks with Tootsy, and they had told me that their Yorkie had a great deal of pain with her spaying. They said it really upset them watching her suffer so much. They go to the same vet. I do know that the vet we are seeing (the last one) is very good and is highly thought of, but she is quite a hard person. I am trying to overlook that, as I want a good vet treating my baby. She is giving Tootsy hormones to halt the false pregnancy - I chose the drops, Galastop, as opposed to the injection, as she needs to be spayed after 4wks after the injection and I did not want to feel rushed into anything before finding out as much as I can. She has given her antibiotics, Clavucil, for 10 days and antibiotic ear drops. Tootsy is vomiting some mornings and her tummy is still distended. The lump is bigger! She is very uncomfortable and cannot rest comfortably at night. I have placed her on very soft cushions and she rests for a while and then tosses and turns. She is still not herself and does not want to walk. Her ears have cleared up completely and her skin has stopped itching. I took her temperature and it was 99 degrees, which is low isn't it? Another thing, she is wetting in the house which is so unusual. Today she is eating less, thank heavens. The ranvenous appetite has finally gone but she is shivering! I feel sick with worry about her.

The advice I want is: should I wait for 4 weeks to have that lump removed. The vet wants it done at the same time as the spaying so she only has one anaesthetic, but it is growing quickly. I feel it is too much surgery to do to a small dog at the same time, and I would like the lump removed next week anyway, not 4 wks time! Should I ask for the lump to be removed and tested for cancer before having the mastectomy? I feel that doing a mastectomy when it may not be necessary is not good. I do realise it may mean another anaesthetic. What do you think? Secondly, should she still be vomiting after having the Galastop for three days (three more doses to go)? Would you let your dog have a mastectomy and spay at the same time. Could you let me know your experiences with spaying as regards pain and most effective painkillers? ANY advice on any of the above would be so much appreciated. I am feeling very, very upset about the whole thing and terrified that my baby may have cancer. If she does have it, how do they treat it? I better stop now as this is getting far too long. Thank you so much for taking the time to read it all.

xxx

BabyGirl Rosie · 09-25-2011, 01:34 PM

I wish I had some advice for you. However, the only advice I have is I would follow the advice of my vet. I trust my vet and respect what he says. If you are comfortable with yours, then go with the advice they give you. I am so sorry you are dealing with this. Prayers and hugs for your baby.

Franceen · 09-25-2011, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BabyGirl Rosie

I wish I had some advice for you. However, the only advice I have is I would follow the advice of my vet. I trust my vet and respect what he says. If you are comfortable with yours, then go with the advice they give you. I am so sorry you are dealing with this. Prayers and hugs for your baby.

Thank you so much for your prayers and hugs. My vet has left the country and gone to live abroad in Europe. I was told by her before she left, that this vet I am seeing now, is the one she would want her dog treated by - that is a very good recommendation I think! The only failing she has is that she is a rather hard person, as I said, I am happy to overlook that if she is the best vet in the practice. I noticed straight away that she was far more thorough in her examination than the other two vets were and that gives me confidence.

Please keep praying for my baby and thanks again. xx

BabyGirl Rosie · 09-25-2011, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franceen

Thank you so much for your prayers and hugs. My vet has left the country and gone to live abroad in Europe. I was told by her before she left, that this vet I am seeing now, is the one she would want her dog treated by - that is a very good recommendation I think! The only failing she has is that she is a rather hard person, as I said, I am happy to overlook that if she is the best vet in the practice. I noticed straight away that she was far more thorough in her examination than the other two vets were and that gives me confidence.

Please keep praying for my baby and thanks again. xx

It is really hard to build a relationship with a new vet. Especially when you have something like this going on. Hopefully you will be able to build a relationship with her. It is hard when they have a different personality than we are used to. I understand sometimes it has to be overlooked. However, it is also nice to have someone on the same "page" as you are. Right now, just look at what is best for your baby. Then you can work on if this is the right vet or not. Hope it goes well for you and yes I will keep your baby in my thoughts and prayers.

Franceen · 10-01-2011, 09:27 AM

Sorry, I have taken a while to post an update. Tootsy is still not very well but has had a number of visits to the vet. She has stopped lactating and has finished the antibiotics, ear drops and Galastop. The lump is reducing!!!!! Wonderful news! I am trying not to get too excited, but the vet thinks it is just a cyst and not cancer now. She will be doing a spay in three weeks and if the lump is still there will remove it and send it for testing. She says that the way it is reducing in size, makes her doubt that it will be there in three weeks.

Tootsy is still very miserable and very nauseous. She was given an anti-nausea injection yesterday and I fed her some fish and rice this afternoon (vet said nothing else) and she ate about a third of a cup. It has stayed down. She also did not vomit this morning, which she has been doing from the beginning. Last night she felt awful though. She had dreadful nausea and we hardly had any sleep. She just needed comfort all the time, poor baby. The vet said to give her the comfort she needs and not to worry about spoiling her at this stage. She still does not want to go for her daily walk and just wants to sleep in our arms. She finished the Galastop two days ago and I thought that the nausea would go, once we stopped giving her the drug and her lactation had ceased? How long will this nausea go on? Has anyone had this happen after Galastop? The vet says she is not presenting as ill, although she has a slightly raised temperature. She is not sure whether this is a result of the hot weather we are experiencing at the moment. She says the next thing is blood tests and xrays to try and find out why she is vomiting, if it should continue. She does not want to do this unless it is really necessary, so is going to see how things go. I thought that once she had stopped lactating all the other pregnancy symptoms would go too? Is this not correct? Is this a possible side effect of Galastop and will take time to go even though she has finished taking the drug?

09-25-2011, 05:42 AM	#1
Franceen YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 581	I am so concerned about tootsy - can you give me any advice please (I have put this on the breeder forum as well as I felt that they would have experience of some of the issues.) Tootsy had her season about 7 weeks ago and towards the end of the bleeding, she seemed to be unwell and was drinking more and seemed to be panting, for no good reason, every now and then. It was the weekend and we spoke to a vet we did not know, who felt it safe to wait until the morning as she had no temperature and he felt it was a little early for pyometria. By the morning she seemed better and improved, but she did not want to go for a walk, which was very unusual. She was eating normally and her stools were normal. She just did not seem herself. She was listless, did not want to jump up onto the sofa or bed and had to be lifted up, she was panting, when she was not hot or tired, and she started to drink more. She also started to itch and scatched and scratched everywhere, especially her ears. Then HORROR!! we found a lump on one of her mammory glands. This was also over a weekend and we had to see another vet. She said just too keep an eye on the lump for 10 days and see if it gets smaller. She said her ears looked okay, but she gave her an antihistamine shot and some antibiotics, Ceporex. We noticed that three times after taking the antibiotic, she started to pant and breathe fast and shallowly. We were too frightened to give her another tablet so stopped giving them to her. Toosy then started to eat ravenously and wanted as much food as we would give her!! We made an appointment with another vet the next week (our normal vet at the practice, had gone to live abroad) and this vet examined her far more thoroughly and found that she had an ear infection, milk in her teats, an irritated skin and a slight fever. She said that the lump must be removed and a mastectomy performed. She said that Tootsy was showing signs of a false pregnancy and that we must have her spayed at the same time as the mastectomy. This concerns me. It will be so painful for a little dog to have two big operations at the same time and I don't think the vet showed much interest in the fact that she would be in a great deal of pain. She said 'of course, she will be in pain but I will give you some painkillers and anyway, they are usually fine after 24-48hrs' (?!! is this true? are they painfree after 48hrs?) I spoke to a couple on one of my walks with Tootsy, and they had told me that their Yorkie had a great deal of pain with her spaying. They said it really upset them watching her suffer so much. They go to the same vet. I do know that the vet we are seeing (the last one) is very good and is highly thought of, but she is quite a hard person. I am trying to overlook that, as I want a good vet treating my baby. She is giving Tootsy hormones to halt the false pregnancy - I chose the drops, Galastop, as opposed to the injection, as she needs to be spayed after 4wks after the injection and I did not want to feel rushed into anything before finding out as much as I can. She has given her antibiotics, Clavucil, for 10 days and antibiotic ear drops. Tootsy is vomiting some mornings and her tummy is still distended. The lump is bigger! She is very uncomfortable and cannot rest comfortably at night. I have placed her on very soft cushions and she rests for a while and then tosses and turns. She is still not herself and does not want to walk. Her ears have cleared up completely and her skin has stopped itching. I took her temperature and it was 99 degrees, which is low isn't it? Another thing, she is wetting in the house which is so unusual. Today she is eating less, thank heavens. The ranvenous appetite has finally gone but she is shivering! I feel sick with worry about her. The advice I want is: should I wait for 4 weeks to have that lump removed. The vet wants it done at the same time as the spaying so she only has one anaesthetic, but it is growing quickly. I feel it is too much surgery to do to a small dog at the same time, and I would like the lump removed next week anyway, not 4 wks time! Should I ask for the lump to be removed and tested for cancer before having the mastectomy? I feel that doing a mastectomy when it may not be necessary is not good. I do realise it may mean another anaesthetic. What do you think? Secondly, should she still be vomiting after having the Galastop for three days (three more doses to go)? Would you let your dog have a mastectomy and spay at the same time. Could you let me know your experiences with spaying as regards pain and most effective painkillers? ANY advice on any of the above would be so much appreciated. I am feeling very, very upset about the whole thing and terrified that my baby may have cancer. If she does have it, how do they treat it? I better stop now as this is getting far too long. Thank you so much for taking the time to read it all. xxx

09-25-2011, 01:34 PM	#2
BabyGirl Rosie I ♥ my girls! Donating Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: With My Yorkies Posts: 18,980	I wish I had some advice for you. However, the only advice I have is I would follow the advice of my vet. I trust my vet and respect what he says. If you are comfortable with yours, then go with the advice they give you. I am so sorry you are dealing with this. Prayers and hugs for your baby. __________________ Momma to three sweet Yorkie girls Rosie Marie, Mikki Leigh , and Lily Mae Grace!

10-01-2011, 09:27 AM	#5
Franceen YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 581	Sorry, I have taken a while to post an update. Tootsy is still not very well but has had a number of visits to the vet. She has stopped lactating and has finished the antibiotics, ear drops and Galastop. The lump is reducing!!!!! Wonderful news! I am trying not to get too excited, but the vet thinks it is just a cyst and not cancer now. She will be doing a spay in three weeks and if the lump is still there will remove it and send it for testing. She says that the way it is reducing in size, makes her doubt that it will be there in three weeks. Tootsy is still very miserable and very nauseous. She was given an anti-nausea injection yesterday and I fed her some fish and rice this afternoon (vet said nothing else) and she ate about a third of a cup. It has stayed down. She also did not vomit this morning, which she has been doing from the beginning. Last night she felt awful though. She had dreadful nausea and we hardly had any sleep. She just needed comfort all the time, poor baby. The vet said to give her the comfort she needs and not to worry about spoiling her at this stage. She still does not want to go for her daily walk and just wants to sleep in our arms. She finished the Galastop two days ago and I thought that the nausea would go, once we stopped giving her the drug and her lactation had ceased? How long will this nausea go on? Has anyone had this happen after Galastop? The vet says she is not presenting as ill, although she has a slightly raised temperature. She is not sure whether this is a result of the hot weather we are experiencing at the moment. She says the next thing is blood tests and xrays to try and find out why she is vomiting, if it should continue. She does not want to do this unless it is really necessary, so is going to see how things go. I thought that once she had stopped lactating all the other pregnancy symptoms would go too? Is this not correct? Is this a possible side effect of Galastop and will take time to go even though she has finished taking the drug?