Hi! My Westie, Willie, has just recently been diagnosed with TCC. He had a small polyp removed from his bladder two weeks ago. The urine test that my vet ran showed that it was not malignant so we went ahead and removed it via laparoscopy. Unfortunately the biopsy showed a malignancy after all. I am devastated but Willie is doing just fine after recovering from his surgery.
I have been reading this board to gather as much information as I could before beginning a piroxicam therapy for him. If he tolerates the piroxicam, I will then consider chemotherapy to try to eradicate any remaining malignant cells. However, I am a little confused about how to give him the piroxicam. He will also be taking Pepcid to start with. If that doesn't provide enough protection for his stomach & intestines we will switch to cytotec. My vet isn't specific on when to give these meds....except to say that I should give the piroxicam with food. The vet told me that it would be okay to give the piroxicam in the morning and the Pepcid at night (with meals). Does this sound like a good plan? Also, I have been reading about removing glucosamine from your dog's food when taking piroxicam. Is there an interaction problem? The food my Willie is used to does have glucosamine in it. I was hoping to get him going on piroxicam before trying to switch his food to a higher protein one. I think that it is preferable that he be eating regularly and switching foods might cause him to stop eating. He does have a sensitive system and I hope to give him the best chance possible to tolerate the piroxicam.
Many thanks for any information anyone can give me. My heart goes out to all those who read this on behalf of their beloved dogs.