Eye Tumor

[dottiesyrky]

Great news that your baby was able to keep her eye and the surgery was successful. I am sure she is still not feeling good after the anesthetic and that is why she is not eating well. Have you tried her with canned food that is usually more appealing to sick dogs? So sad for her as she is crying, is she on pain meds? Sleeping with the cone is no fun for them either and very confusing. She also may be disturbed that she cannot see well yet?
How I feel for you with the challenging eye drop therapy. It is very hard to keep tabs on the dosing. I had a similar issue with my baby after cataract surgery, he needed the same regimen as yours but also oral meds with similar multi doses. It was so complex that i got some paper with squares ruled on it and made a grid of drug, time of dose, day etc. Every time I gave a med I marked it on the chart. It was a full time job for two of us and we were medicating all day with at most a two hour break per day of peace. The poor dog had a miserable life being constantly medicated wearing the cone. This went on for several weeks with reduced meds as time went on. The cone was on for nearly six weeks as my specialist vet was anal about the recovery regimen. I must say that as Lexi mentioned, there is a psychological price to pay. My dog also really feared my approach as it was usually for meds. He became very anxious and even aggressive when I tried to pick him up, long after the meds were over. It has been a long and tedious recovery. So I feel for you and your baby having to go through this. One can only take one day at a time and success is measured by the days marked off on the med chart. Oh how I longed for it to be over, but the day does come and your baby will get used to the routine. So take heart, this too will pass. Hugs and prayers for a successful recovery.

[linz06]

Thank you!

My friend from opthalmology just texted to ask how Layla is doing, and when I mentioned her crying all night, she told me that she shouldn't be in discomfort, and sometimes dogs will get dysphoric as the anesthesia is all wearing off and they will sometimes cry and carry on for a while, but it will pass. She hasn't been crying at all today so I think things are getting back to normal.

Poor Layla has had her share of medications. I actually think these eye drops are not as bad compared to the pills and oral liquid medications she had to take after her spinal surgery. We were setting alarms in the middle of the night to give her medications, and struggling to make her swallow pills when she just didn't want to eat anything anymore. At least with the eye drops, she can't decide she doesn't want them!

The drops she is on right now include one Voltarin Optha for pain/inflammation, Oflaxacin to avoid infection, and Optixcare eye lube (in both eyes) to keep her eyes moistened. So those are 4x per day, with 5 minutes in between each. Then 3 times per day she is also on amoxicillin for her UTI. I think all of the medications will be done at approximately the same time!

[dottiesyrky]

Good to know she is not in pain and that she is feeling a little better. Sounds like this is not the worst you have been through, poor baby. When I gave the drops it was 4 each "time" with 15 mins in between! That was very time consuming. It is amazing the way these little dogs put up with this.

[linz06]

Oh wow, 15 minutes in between is inconvenient! Not enough time to go do something else, but too much time to just sit and wait! I think we are lucky to only have the 5 minutes in between.

Here is a picture I took when we got home yesterday. She looked like the saddest doggy in the world!!!! But she's happier today

[lexi43]

Aw she is so cute. She really is an angel. She reminds me of Zach only smaller. Keep up the good work you are a good mom. She reminds me a little of my Zach. He is our only Yorkie.

[lexi43]

She is sooo cute she really is an angel. She reminds me of my Zach. I don't know if it's the photo but it looks kind of big. That's how Oliver's looked before we had it cut down. When we cut oliver's down his nose was sticking out a little. I could be wrong though every dog is different.

[dottiesyrky]

Thanks for sharing, both very cute babies.
Is the white spot in Layla's eye the graft? Will it improve so she can see later?
Yes 15 minutes meant 1 hr per eye drop session! Thats why we did not have a life! Again, get well soon baby doll.

[linz06]

Originally Posted by lexi43

She is sooo cute she really is an angel. She reminds me of my Zach. I don't know if it's the photo but it looks kind of big. That's how Oliver's looked before we had it cut down. When we cut oliver's down his nose was sticking out a little. I could be wrong though every dog is different.

Zach is adorable, and they really do look similar!!

Originally Posted by dottiesyrky

Thanks for sharing, both very cute babies.
Is the white spot in Layla's eye the graft? Will it improve so she can see later?
Yes 15 minutes meant 1 hr per eye drop session! Thats why we did not have a life! Again, get well soon baby doll.

That's actually just a glare from the flash. The tumor was in her other eye, which for some reason did not glare from the flash! Weird. The graft is just under her upper eyelid, so I actually haven't even seen it yet. It shouldn't be affecting her vision at all since it was not in the front of her eye. We're being as gentle as possible around that eye for now. This morning I had to wipe some of the bloody discharge from it and it was difficult to make sure I didn't put any pressure on the eye!

[lexi43]

The last post should have been edited but I ran out of time. Plese excuse. I just wanted to post a photo of Zach and some of my other babies

[linz06]

Originally Posted by lexi43

The last post should have been edited but I ran out of time. Plese excuse. I just wanted to post a photo of Zach and some of my other babies

Ohhh they are all so cute!!!!

[lexi43]

And last but not least. Oliver and Bassil

[dottiesyrky]

Wow, that is weird that the flash image was in the other eye! The 'bad' eye looks perfect with no swelling etc. Must be very delicate surgery as it is all under the lid. So happy the sight will not be affected.
I can imagine it is hard to clean without touching the eye. I guess the eye lube drops help clear any debris.
You must be so pleased it all turned out so well with her eye intact and working! The aftercare will be so worth it! Hang in there Layla and Mom!

[Britster]

I'm SO glad Layla kept her eye and is doing well!!!! Girl deserved a break!

[linz06]

Well, Layla slept through the night!!! She did wake me up crying at 4:30 am because she had accidently pooped in her bed (as some of you know, she has no bowel control and even though we express her bowels for her, she does have accidents every once in a while!) I cleaned it up, and she moved to another bed and went right back to snoring!

I think I will need to increase the number of times I try to clean around her eye. This morning she didn't want me to go at her face at all with that warm washcloth, so I could barely get anything, and I'm sure it will just get more and more crusty today.

[Maximo]

I'm glad to hear she is slept soundly and that she is recovering nicely.