by plebayo » November 16th, 2009, 1:59 am
Well, I really didn't want to post about this, but I feel if I talk about it it'll get it off my chest and I won't be so worried about it.
First of all, Sofie's skin was looking great until Thursday night. She was at my parents all day while I was at work. When I brought her home Thursday night I could feel bumps all over her. I shaved a large portion of her hind end and there were red bumps all over! I had my vet look at her, he of course tried to give me a hard time and say she had fleas. When I said there's no way he said that I must have shaved her too close, which again isn't possible because I shave her all the time, with a 10 blade in reverse. You really only get a rash if you shave with a 40 blade. Basically, she has a full blown skin infection. She's on cephalexin 250mg 2x a day for 7 days.
Saturday I talked to our other veterinarian [we have 3 on staff], he's usually pretty good about not messing with me and giving me a straight answer. Either she is having a reaction to the carboplatin, OR she really did get bit by a flea - she's the type of dog who will get itchy with one bite. Which then means the chemo just made the reaction 10 times worse because it wipes out the immune system. I am willing to try one more round of carboplatin, if it makes her itchy again we will NOT be using it. Doctor #2 said she could very well be sensitive to the chemo itself.
On top of it all, she started sneezing again. When I look at her it almost looks like her right eye is bigger than the left, that the tumor is potentially pushing it. I tried taking pictures of her and her eyes looked normal in the pictures. When I push on them they both feel like they go in, but it almost felt like the right one was harder to push, but then I wasn't sure if I was just messing with my own mind on the difference.
Needless to say I am disappointed with the carboplatin. I felt like the doxorubricin really worked because the sneezing had stopped, now she's sneezing and sounding more congested. Even if she doesn't have another 6 months which would put us in May I really hope she can make it past the holidays. EVERYONE euthanizes their pets around the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. I have no idea, I think that's just how it happens because the animals are having a hard time through the middle of the year and the owners end up having to make the decision by the end of the year. I just want her to make it through Christmas, I don't want to be with everyone else euthing their beloved pet.
Suzanne
Seth, CGC & LiLo
♥♥Sofie - Always in my heart. ♥♥