Blood In Urine

Hi all, forrest, my 13 yr old baby who was diagnosed with tcc 9/07 has blood in his urine today. We have not seen this since the original diagnosis, and then it was not as bad as now. I was working so my husband saved his doggy diaper to show me. Claret red with a few very small clots... His appetite and attitude are still wonderful, no changes in that at all. Has anyone else experienced this? I have read on this site that this is common with tcc and uti's so i gave him a dose of oral keflex when i got home. I am a nurse and fortunate that i have access to certain meds through my hospital doctors. I want to take him to his vet tomorrow, but i also really don't want anything invasive done to him, he's been through so much with this and is already taking 9 meds daily ( carafate, pepcid, ultram and piroxicam) at 3 daily intervals. Would appreciate any input on this lousy situation!! Thanks, karen

Hi Karen--

Marty here. I was wondering how Forrest was doing (I feel a special attachment to him as I think he and Annie have similar characteristics).

Although it's not a good feeling to see the blood in the urine, it's probably no more concern than what you are already experiencing.  It's happened to Annie a few times, but on the board are folks whose dogs have it nearly all the time!!

Our oncologist has said that it could be just inflammation (I don't think that's the word he used) from the tumor. UTIs do cause it as well and sometimes when it's really a clot (which thankfully hasn't happened with Annie) it it could actually be a bit of the tumor or irritated lining breaking off.  In Annie's case, it just went away after showing up. So once again we were lucky.

Hope this makes you feel a bit better--good luck tomorrow.

Marty 

 

 

Hi Marty and Annie, Thanks for your input. Our vet said essentially the same thing you said, probably  a uti. Put him on a weeks worth of antibiotics, his urine has cleared up immensly after just 2 days worth. Just hate forcing another pill on him!! He is certainly starting to slow down, but his appetite is wonderful, he gets lots of good homemade food. Unfortunately he is still losing weight. Down to 37 lbs, was 40 lbs at diagnosis. Just want him to be as comfortable as possible. Hope Annie is doing great, and thanks again for your concern. Karen

Hi Karen--

I'm glad you are making some progress with Forrest.  I let Annie eat everything and just about anything she wants and her weight stays pretty good.

I don't know if this will help or not with Forrest's pills, but I give Annie her medicine in string cheese. I put the stick in the microwave and melt it so that it's stringy and melted. Then I wrap it around her pill--first I give some cheese plain to Annie and her sister, then I over the cheese around the pill. She wolves it down and we're all pretty happy about it.

Recently when she had diarrhea I had so many pills to give her, she started to be on to me, then I had to wrap it in cheese and then dip it in peanut butter.

So far so good.  Maybe it will work for Forrest as well--it's really great when there's another dog who is anxious for the "treat" as well.

Stay strong, Marty 

Thanks for the idea of the string cheese!! It makes all of our lives easier! It's horrible having to shove pills down Forrest's throat and we had tried everything we could think of. He's way too smart when it comes to his meds, but he really seems to enjoy the cheese, and ofcourse his 2 brothers love it as well! All is status-quo here thankful to say. Hated to hear about the dog that passed on 1/17. Yes, it is a day we all know is coming, but certainly try not to dwell on. Our motto is, if Forrest has a good day, than we have a good day! Hope you and Annie are doing great, and as always thanks for your input, this website has been such a great support for us. Karen

Hi Marty and Annie, just wanted to pop in and see how you are doing. Forrest and I are hanging in there. Happy to say we celebrated his 13th birthday on 2/2. Made him a ribeye steak and he enjoyed every bite!! Still having occasional blood in his urine, and he moves much slower on some days than others, but all in all o.k. I have taken to praying with him every night as you and Annie do, it seems to give me some peace. Any way, hope this finds you and everyone else on the website doing well. Karen

Hi Karen--

What an up it was to read a positive posting about Forrest--and happy birthday to him! Annie will turn 13 in April.  She has slowed down a good bit herself, but not from the cancer, I feel.  Her hearing is not as sharp and she she sleeps so much harder than when she was a young girl.  It used to be the second  I moved in my bed she was awake and wagging her tail.  Now I can get up and leave the room and she snores away.

She is still the first one up and in the breakfast line, however, so that's great.  After her diarrhea problem, I switched both the dogs over to Innova senior variety.  (Casey, my golden is already 6 and starting to get grey) They both love it and meal time is a very happy time here!

We have just passed our three year survival rate and I am truly astonished by our good fortune.  On one trip to the vet's a visiting doctor commented on Annie's funny shape (her body is definitely long and low) so maybe that has something to do with it and perhaps it will be for  Forrest as well.

Thanks for the note!
Marty