Abbie in need of medical help

We met with a wonderful vet at VSG today at 12.15pm, and after many questions and then probing questions to see what we had tried etc. (And get my brain working, as I had told him my pain levels and lack of sleep were affecting my brain cohesion at present. (a better way of stating I'm as thick as two planks of wood I think.) ) A ring through to the vet we visited last week for the results of their tests it was decided that the best cause of action was to have a sonographar (think that's what they're called) do an ultrasound on Abbie today to confirm or rule out Ectopic Ureter, and that this would likely be the only test they would need to rule EU as problem or not.

The vet Dr Ryan said they would lightly sedate Abbie and start the ultrasound by looking at the kidney's, spleen, bladder wall etc and then give Abbie a drug to increase the amount of urine she produces to turn as he put it a trickle into a waterfall. So all up our bill was quoted at just under $900.

A consult booked for 4.30pm and at 1.45pm today off I went leaving Abbie to have her ultrasound, all up happy that at least it was fairly unobtrusive. At 4.15pm off I drove through Auckland traffic and back to VSG with a tight knot in my stomach and feeling overall sick with uncertainty. The wait in the lobby is the worst as you are surrounded by people in the same uncertain boat as you or the ones who have received the worst news and you wonder if you will be joining them crying before you pay and leave.

Our turn came and we went in to talk to Dr Ryan again about what they found.

To start he said Abbie had been a model patient and had just allowed them to insert the catheter and shave her tummy (Yes she is sporting a new haircut, bit chilly at the moment and not very photo worthy) with no issue, and as a bonus she just lay there and allowed them to use the ultrasound without need of sedation WAHOO, no sedative drugs to get out of her system equals no drunk walking to the car etc.

He went on to say that her kidneys were well formed with no sign of kidney stones or disease and when they gave her the drug they worked correctly, her bladder wall was inflamed but within normal range with no sign of stones or growths, that the urethra's were normal and when drug administered they functioned correctly and drained into the correct area of her bladder. They did confirm she has a pelvic bladder. And they also picked up a 4mm growth on her spleen (Which we have to go back in a month and have rescanned to see if it has changed in size) possibly benign, possibly not (Worry about that later). They also confirmed Abbie has a congenital conformational problem with her vulva, she suffers with what's called a hooded Vulva and this means she is more prone to urine infections.

Overall conclusion NOT ECTOPIC URETA. Most likely Urinary Sphincter Mechanism Incontinence, but the only test to conclusively confirm this is not done here in New Zealand anywhere.

So they are treating it as USMI and have given us many instructions.

First we have to get on top of this infection (because if we don't it will kill Abbie), so an increase in strength of antibiotics and length of time to try and get rid of it.

Second there are two drugs (Estrogens types) that they try (They start with one type at a medium dose to see if it works, we have to keep a diary of any behaviour changes or incidents of incontinence and go back to them, we can then review, if any anxiety based behaviour appears stop drug, we also have to monitor her blood pressure while on it.) So we are being sent a script (via our own vet) for more antibiotics and for a drug called Propolin (? on spelling). This works in a manner that binds things (he did say what, my brain didn't process it all) to areas that tighten up the sphincter muscles and stop the incontinence.

If this doesn't work on this dose we can increase the strength, if any side effects appear we try another drug, or if no side effects we can combine both drugs to help. Good news is that either one of these drugs work on 80% of dogs, which are better odds then before.

If she still gets urine infections none of this will help and we are back to Abbie being put to sleep.

Third we have to keep up with having her Vulva area shaved and keep washing and drying her genitals after she has been outside (especially in Winter). We were given a soap they use to wash their hands and arms with prior to surgery which has an antimicrobial property I believe (we are to use 1 teaspoon a time, lather and wash her genitals, then rinse completely out with warm water and dry her with microfibre clothes to keep her dry. So only thing different there is the soap to use and the type of cloths recommended to dry her with.

Ideally we would have her toilet on a non muddy backyard as the mud contributes to her issues. (Guess I will be saving like mad to get sand added to my soil, instead of pure clay that turns to mud in winter, and try and improve the drainage issues we suffer out there as well).

As a last resort they look at surgery but the vet stated upfront that it carry's high risk and isn't always successful but wouldn't go further into detail until we run out of medication options.

We are not out of the woods but as I stated from the beginning I wanted answers to my questions and to know what Abbie had not conflicting answers.

So in conclusion we are trying Abbie on these drugs and see if we still have our same Abbie, minus the UI's and a manageable USMI.

We have to go back to our vet five days after finishing the antibiotics and have a sterile urine test done, Abbie's a pro at this by now. Then we have to go from there. Another ultrasound in a month (Looking at another $800 - $900 bill), to see if we have any growth of the cyst? on her spleen, and again go from there.

We thank everyone for their help in getting Abbie seen today, your generosity is overwhelming.

We still need to raise some funds for a repeat ultrasound in a months time and am looking at around $300, as I will be saving all my earnings to cover the rest.