Katie with the nose, at the vet - update

[Stacy]

Small update for anyone who is interested: Katie had her nasal mass biopsied today. We should get results on Tuesday. But in the interim, she's doing really well and acting like nothing happened. Initally the Internal Med Vet thought it might be a polyp or a TVT, which is new to me, but I guess a sexually transmitted dog disease. Despite the fact that Katie's been spayed since she was 8 months old and hasn't ever been bred or really had any significant contact with other male dogs, or other dogs at all. The vet said she took a slide of the growth and it looked like "some sort of epithelial cels." So not the TVT, but we're not sure what it is. They are still very hopeful and encouraging that it's not anthing bad given her age and overall health. I have all my parts crossed that this is just a blip in an otherwise healthy life.

Apparently Katie has secretly been jealous of all of Ava’s vet visits. I don’t know why. Ava hates going to the vet, but maybe Katie thought it was her turn.

 

Saturday night when I got home from work Katie wasn’t feeling well. She had some vomiting and diarrhea, didn’t want her dinner and sounded congested. But her gums were pink and she was alert if a little less active than normal, so nothing that seemed life threatening. I decided to watch and monitor. But when I was looking at her I saw this thing in her right nare that looked like – a tumor. It didn’t look like just nasal congestion. The appearance of the tissue is irregular.

 

I look at the girls a lot. I think I would have noticed if it had been there for very long. She woke up Sunday feeling better. No more vomiting, ate breakfast, stools a little soft but not too concerning. But this thing in her nose is still there.

 

We went to the vet this morning and he was also concerned. He said it could be a polyp or a wart or a tumor. And for the first time ever he recommended going to a specialist to have a scope done to see how big it really is and possibly have it biopsied. He said he could try it, but the problem is bleeding. I don’t want him to do anything that he’s not confident in, so we would definitely go the route of the specialist. But first he wanted to try some steroids and doxycycline to see if it went away. But I don’t really feel like he was super optimistic about it.

 

I’ve been looking online a little bit, but I haven’t read anything that made me feel better yet. Has anyone seen anything that looked like this? I feel sort of numb right now. Katie is only 3. I just can’t hardly believe that something like this could be happening. I really want someone to say, oh she got stung by a wasp and that’s localized inflammation and it will be gone in four days. Can anyone say that?

 

Thanks for reading, Stacy

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Stacy, there's a duplicate of this discussion here in the forum, you might want to close it: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/katie-with-the-nose-at-the...

[Stacy]

I saw that, I don't know how it happened! I couldn't make it go away, but I edited the content out.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Once someone has replied, all you can do is edit and/or close the discussion so nobody else can reply to it. 

[Stacy]

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/nasal-tumors'

I just read this article, which says things I don't like. Length of survival of some of these things is measured in months. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Let's not jump ahead to worst case scenarios. Let's say it's the most common kind of nasal growth, a benign polyp. 

[Stacy]

I am trying with limited success not to freak out and give the antibiotics a chance to do something. I just have this feeling that if it had been there long I would have noticed it sooner, which indicates to me that it's something that is growing rapidly. And that can't be a good thing. She was running in the back yard today and when she came back she was definitely breathing hard. I've never seen her do that before. I think the unknown is the worst part. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It is. Have you found an IMS yet to schedule a consultation? 

[Stacy]

I've been looking at the internal med doctors at both of the specialty vet hospitals in the area. There is one whose bio I really like, but she's not board certified. There are others who are board certified. I'm not sure if board certification should be what I base the decision on. In my experience the ability to pass the test isn't an indicator of a great physician. One of the doctors I work with is a real dog person and I may ask him if he has a recommendation. I should probably get the consultation scheduled though. If we're going to do a surgical procedure I have some time off work at the end of the month and I would like to do it when I can stay home and take care of her. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I want you to get the consultation scheduled because the sooner you know what this is, the sooner you will feel better. :) 

[Stacy]

You're totally right! Waiting does not make me feel better.

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Stacy are you on Instagram? I follow a doodle who just had surgery to remove mold from his nose!! You can send his owner a message right on Instagram! The name is mrrockwell_the_doodle

[Stacy]

I am on instagram. I'll have to check it out!