Old Age, Medical Concern or Proin Side Effects?

My 10 year old Golden, Riley seems to have her health deteriorating pretty quickly- or so it seems. At the end of March she went in for a complete CBC panel and a physical exam. A few things came from it. She was found to have an anal abscess for which they gave her some antibiotics. Within a week that was better. When the test results came in 2 things came up: First-she was diagnosed with Urinary Incontinence and placed on Proin. ( I was worried about starting her on that medication and posted a past discussion about it and ultimately started giving her the medication after that). Secondly, they found reactive lymphocytes in her white blood cells. The vet said that he believed they were due to the infection from the anal abscess and did not seem worried about them. He said after about a month or so we could have them tested again and if they were no longer reactive it confirms it was due to the abscess since they typically show as reactive when they are fighting an infection. He said if they were still reactive then we would continue the testing. He again stressed that he did not believe that would be the case.

Fast forward one month later and one month into taking Proin. Riley is still leaking urine and the Proin has not shown any positive results yet. She is eating normal but is losing weight. It has me baffled. She eats over the recommended amount and in fact I even put her food in an auto feeder to let her eat as much as she wanted just because I started to worry about her weight loss. She is eating a lot of food but not gaining any weight. She doesn't have any irregular bathroom habits and isn't vomiting so I don't know how she isn't gaining weight. She seems more irritable at times than I'm used to but nothing too crazy. She's fine with me and my daughter but she does her grumpy 'leave me alone' growl to Goldie more than usual. Her hair is literally falling out in chunks. This is far more than the typical shedding of the spring coat. Last week I took a furminator to her for 3 HOURS and walked away with a walmart bag full of hair- that is normal for us this time of year to do that ONCE but then she's good for the season. But now it looks like I never touched her with any brush and in fact when I look at this picture it looks like she is being neglected... which I ASSURE YOU SHE IS NOT!

I am calling the vet in the morning to go ahead and set an appointment for the blood test for peace of mind on that. I honestly feel like that will come back negative. I'm extremely worried about the weight loss and am concerned about the hair loss though that doesn't seem as alarming as the weight loss. I'm wondering if I should stop the Proin and see if some things clear up.

I'm open to any thoughts or shared experiences! But I cannot stress enough that I AM TAKING HER BACK TO THE VET so I'm not trying to get a diagnosis from anyone rather I'm looking for support and advice. I feel like I'm doing everything I possibly can but when I see her health declining I just feel terrible.

UPDATE- 5/6/13: Riley's blood work came back ALL CLEAR! Her white blood cells were clear and there were not any reactive lymphocytes. The vet also confirmed all testing that was done in March and that her thyroid is not of a concern. When I took her back to the vet, they weighed her and surprisingly she had only lost 1 pound over the last month- I really thought it was much more! The vet said we would watch her weight but he believed it was just due to her older age that her muscle mass was shifting. He also decreased her dosage of Proin to see if we noticed anything different while we were waiting on the blood work. Within just a few days I started seeing a noticeable difference. Then once the blood work came back clear that was even better news!

So the answer to my original question is: Old Age AND a Proin Side Effect!

I am thrilled that there is not a greater concern here. The Proin is used for her Urinary Incontinence and that is absolutely manageable. When she was much younger she had to have surgery to remove a bladder stone the size of an extra large muffin and at that time I was told that due to how extreme that was that it was possible that it could cause problems with her as she got older. That is always in the back of my mind when anything comes up.

Thank you to everyone for your concern and your support. Even though Riley is not a Doodle I love that you all have welcomed her with warm hearts. My sweet baby Riley does still seem to be aging rather quickly but she is back to her happy self and her hair loss has calmed down significantly since reducing the Proin!

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