White discharge- multiple treatments with no clear diagnosis - advice?

[Kelly & Zoe]

About 8 weeks ago our 13 month female spayed F1B standard GD started having white discharge from her vaginal area.  Other than her licking at it more than normal, she was not urinating more frequently, or scooting - her diet and energy levels have been normal.  We took her to the vet where, for the first course of treatment, had her on an aggressive antibiotic regiment (for 3 weeks)  and he also took a urine analysis, which came back negative for a UTI.  During the time she was on antibiotics, the discharge was less, but didn't fully go away. 2 weeks after she ended the antibiotics, the discharge came back, so we took her back to the vet, where he did a culture, put her under for a scope of her reproductive area and also did a sonogram of her abdomen.  The scope and the sonogram didn't show anything out of the ordinary (the vet thought perhaps an incomplete spay or some other abnormality with her reproductive area - but negative).  He did a more extensive culture of the discharge and said it was likely infection from fecal material, which he said the antibiotics should have cleared up.  I asked if we could put her on another dose of antibiotics, but he doesnt seem to think that will help, so he's recommending a specialist, which may recommend surgery to correct her (in his terms) narrow vulva/vaginal area - the thought being that since it's somewhat inward, matter/hair/etc is more likely to get pushed up in there.

Frustrated that there hasnt been a more conclusive diagnosis, and wondering if anyone else has experienced anything like this?  IMO, I'd like to try another round of antibiotics - to me surgery should be a last resort.  Our vet has tried everything he can, which is why he's recommending the specialist.

Any advice would be welcome!

Kelly & Zoe

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm a firm believer in veterinary specialists (JD has 4 besides his regular vet) and you are lucky to have a GP vet who acknowledges that some conditions are beyond the scope of his expertise and is willing to refer you to a specialist rather than continue to try to make money from treatments that may be useless and even harmful. 

I wish that my vet had referred me to an internist sooner for JD's Inflammatory Bowel Disease. I would have saved at least $1000 on useless tests and meds that actually made things worse, not to mention that JD would have been spared 3 weeks of discomfort and not gotten to the point where he was seriously ill. 

Repeated courses of antibiotics can have serious health consequences down the line and should never be used without a good reason. I urge you to follow your vet's advice and make an appointment with the specialist ASAP. You will be glad you did. 

[Kelly & Zoe]

Thanks for the reply - I do appreciate that our vet has understood he's not getting anywhere with hist treatments and wants to recommend a specialist rather than just try stuff willy-nilly.  I'm just frustrated that there's nothing conclusive and sort of wanting to vent and/or see if anyone has experienced anything similar with their doods.  We're definitely going to see the specialist and I *really* hope the first course of action isn't surgery.  As a rule of thumb for myself, avoid opening up the body if at all possible.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Let me present a different way of looking at surgery and opening up the body, if I may.

It may be a choice, as is often the case, between fixing something once and for all, actually curing it, versus a recurring disease process that causes infection, discomfort, and the necessity for ongoing treatments with medications that carry their own risks: Curing the source of the problem with one simple procedure versus just treating symptoms that periodically cause pain or discomfort and that never go away. 

If you did do another round of antibiotics, it might clear up the current infection, but if there is a physical defect that caused the infection in the first place, it won't be long before another infection occurs. 

If you yourself had a condition that caused you great discomfort on a regular and ongoing basis, and you had the option of just taking medications to control the symptoms when they occur or having a simple procedure that would ensure that you never had to suffer the symptoms or take the meds again, which would you choose?

Both JD and I have conditions for which there is no cure, and I can tell you that I would give anything in the world if there was a surgical procedure that would fix them once and for all.  Surgery would be a blessing. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And of course, surgery may very well not be the first option. It may not even be a possibility. But hopefully you will get a definite diagnosis, which is what you need. Once you know what you are dealing with, there may be effective non-surgical options for treating it, and at least you will be able to make an informed decision on how to proceed. :)

[Kelly & Zoe]

Thanks for that perspective- and you're right, if there's a 'simple' procedure to correct once versus a regiment of medications, surgery is probably the better option.  I forgot to mention that the vet said there could be multiple surgeries needed to correct - which I am very much hoping is not the case.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Me too. 

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

I apologize, I have no advice, but I do wish you and Zoe all the best, and like Karen said, I applaud your vet for referring you to a specialist.

I hope you get some answers! Please do keep us posted!

[Kelly & Zoe]

Will do and thanks!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I agree that over-use of antibiotics is not good, however what we found when our Springer had a skin condition, after consulting with a dermatologist, he needed different antibiotics than his regular vet had proscribed and for a much longer time span.  He was on that antibiotic for 60 days. That was about two years ago.  He began with the same problem again recently and we headed straight for the specialist.  Again, he is on the antibiotics for 60 days.  He is on day 45 and the problem is totally cleared up but, of course, we will finish the meds.  So sometimes it really does take a longer time on the antibiotic to really clear up the infection.  I sincerely advocate going to a specialist to get  a specific diagnosis and treatment.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Another really good point; specialists have more knowledge of which drugs are most efficient at clearing up which conditions, and at what dosage for what length of time. 

 

[Kelly & Zoe]

true -

[Kelly & Zoe]

Just thought I'd post an update.  We went to a specialist, who, after much poking and prodding, (as well as with a surgeon who indicated it was not likely due to her abnormal vaginal area and did not need any surgery to correct), concluded that she really didn't have a diagnosis and wanted to recommend a (very expensive) internal scope.  She didn't have a sense of urgency about it, but also did not think the discharge would just go away either.

We decided to just watch Zoe for a few weeks, and continue to wash her in the area once a day.  The discharge went away after a couple of days and has not returned.  We're going to continue monitoring her and will take her back to the specialist if it gets bad again.  Since she had no other symptoms and was in all other aspects healthy, I'm feeling a lot more comfortable that this was just a persistent infection that decided to clear itself up.

Thanks for everyone's responses - very helpful!