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by Lucciasmom on 10 December 2010 - 19:12
I am new to this site, but thankful to have found it. I have a beautiful, female 9 year old GS. She has just been diagnosed with Lymphoma in the last week. She will actually be 9 in January. Given our options from our vet for Chemo, Steroids, or nothing, we decided on steroids. It didn't seem like the statistics for the chemo looked good and my husband doesn't want to put her through any suffering. I am worried sick about her and can't imagine my life without her. She has been with me through hell and back. We adopted a baby girl from China about 2 years ago and my now 3 year old is so attached as well. I would just like some opinions on if I am making the correct decision. She is on a tapering dose of Prednisone. The vet was thinking that it would be about 2-3 months. Has anyone else been in this situation? Also, she pants very frequently and paces. The vet feels this is from the Prednisone, but I keep worrying that she is in pain. ?
by Keith Grossman on 10 December 2010 - 19:12
The vet is probably right as increased thirst and restlessness/anxiety are common side effects of prednisone. She should still be monitored closely and any changes reported to your vet.
When you said that the vet said 2-3 months, is that her prognosis? Did he explain to you that the prednisone will not extend her life but may help make her more comfortable in the meantime?
by Lucciasmom on 10 December 2010 - 20:12
Keith,
The vet did explain that the Prednisone would keep her more comfortable, but I was under the impression that it would also extend her life. Am I wrong? I take her with me everywhere now, I am afraid to leave her alone. She pants and paces the worst at night, so I get up with her and give her extra water in the bedroom. Any other suggestions and hard facts.
Thank you again for responding to me.
by Keith Grossman on 10 December 2010 - 20:12
Again, I'm sorry about your pup and to have to be the bearer of bad news. Let us know if you need to talk about it some more or need any more information.
by VIANDEN on 10 December 2010 - 20:12
I am sorry to hear about your girl.
I have a 12 in half yr old that was diagnosed with lymphoma last December I decided to do Prednisone to keep him comfortable heis doing really well with 10mg a day.I understand some lymphoma dogs do well with prednisone and others don't.I just take it one day at a time and thankful for every day I have with him.My prayers are with you and your girl.
by Jenni78 on 10 December 2010 - 21:12
Are you considering any alternative methodologies to make her more comfortable? Here are a few links that may be of interest to you. I QUICKLY browsed them but didn't have time to read them all throughly so do your own due diligence to see if they are legit and worth exploring. These seemed more pertinent than some others I found.
www.pyrbred.org/lymphoma.html
http://www.sparkyfightsback.com/lymphoma.htm
http://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu/neuro/AltMed/Cancer/Cancer_AltMed.htm
by DebiSue on 10 December 2010 - 22:12
by DKiah on 10 December 2010 - 23:12
So, we put him on prednisone and I was able to rather quickly reduce his dosage to 20mg 3x a week and that really reduced the restlessness and the extremely excessive drinking which leads to urinating at the same rate .. for this guy, mortifying that he would have an accident in his crate...
So, we also did some acupuncture, chinese herbs and tramadol along with the pred 3x a week... he ate whatever he wanted.....
We feed raw and I believe that helped him as well... he was extremely happy about eating
He also got to swim which was about all the exercise he could deal with since land exercise was tough on him..
All the research I did, didn't look very hopeful but we got almost another year which was substantially more than the prognosis we were given, he was 10 1/2 when diagnosed and almost 10 1/2 ... in the end, it was the spondylosis that ended things.. hard to be regal and dignified when you can't walk .. his only relief was in the water and sadly the house was not under water .....he was ready and so we let him go ..
I wish you luck and urge you to find an alternative vet and try some acupuncture and maybe some chinese herbs.. it certainly can't hurt .....
These are the hard times that we all must face in return for sharing their lives, a price I will gladly pay for the privilege and the joy we shared with each and every one of them.
Best of luck to you and your family.. feel free to email off list of you have more questions ..
kiahaus@aol.com
by Darcy on 11 December 2010 - 00:12
sorry to hear aobut your friend.... My girl was diagnosed with intravascular lymphoma at 6 and given 2 weeks to 2 months to live with chemo and if it had been b cell. she had t cell lymphoma and chemo was not good, she got so sick I quit. After that, I just did prednisone for her and she made it 8 more months and did very very well until the last day. It hink it depends on what part of the body the cancer affects the most. her cancer was laso pretty unusual. I put her down, as on her last day I had been sleeping on the floor with her, she had to drag herself by her front legs and she could not urinate.....she was happy and ate breakfast though. She did "watch me" in the vet's room while were were waiting.....
I gave her pred in the am as it seemed to make her very restless and I gave a constant 10 mg from start to end... she also got somethign for her stomach to counteract teh upset from the pred and I always gave the pred after a meal as well.
best wishes for you and your friend....
Darcy
by Lucciasmom on 11 December 2010 - 01:12
Thank you so much everyone for your wealth of knowledge and overall support. I now, have much more to think about and digest. I took my Bella Luccia (Beautiful Light) to my parents house for dinner tonight and she seemed so much like her self, so alive and well. On our drive home, I couldn't even figure out how this loving, healthy dog had become sick so fast. Your links, comments and personal experiences have given me hope, at lleast in doing what is best for her and not necessarily for me. I am so happy to have found this website. Lucci was from a kennel in upstate NY that bred German line shep's. She is such a working dog. She is very loyal and protective. Her father was from Germany and was a Schuz. champion. I was lucky to meet both her parents when she was 6 weeks old. I would trust this girl with not only my life, but the life of my child as well. I guess, I am not only considering the loss of a friend, but also of a guardian. Now, I will take some time to go over your comments and READ. Peace and blessings to you all. G.S dogs are truly amazing.
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