HI All

Just a quick update on how Hamish is doing, he is still very unwell and seems to be getting worse, his energy levels are at an all time low and he has got no interest in anything, the thyroid tests came back normal as they first thought it was this that was causing it, they now want to send him to see a specialist as they feel it is either liver or heart problems that are the cause of this, he is only eating his evening meal as he never feels like breakfast and some nights doesn't eat all of this, he goes crazy when he goes out to go to toilet scratching his feet on the concrete slabs as his paws are very bad at the moment ( he also suffers from atopy), i took him out for a short walk yesterday as i needed to post a letter, got round the road which is around 100 yards and he was panting and struggling to breathe and looked like he was going to pass out, i ended up having to carry him home where he just couldn't walk any further, i just feel so sorry for him and am so worried as to what is wrong with him, the blood tests they did showed up mild liver damage but no cancer or anything to worry about.
He just sleeps all day on his bed and has no interest in anything going on around him, when he does play with his toys he plays for 5 mins then is so worn out he pants and goes and lays back on his bed. We are waiting for an appointment to see the cardiologist and see what this shows up, i just don't know what else to do for him, he acts like he wants to go out for a walk but when he gets out in no time he is out of breathe and panting and struggling to walk, it is never right for a 4 year old westie, the vet said that a terrier should wear us out before we wear him out and that he should be able to walk for miles but poor old Hamish just doesn't have any energy in him at all these days.
Will keep you all updated as soon as we get any news, i am just so worried about him now as i feel he is getting worse.
Helen and Hamish

I'm so sorry. I hope the specialists can find out what's wrong with the poor chap and do something to improve his quality of life. :(

You are right, it isn't right for a 4 year old dog to be like this. I hope you get some answers soon.

Helen,

Has Hamish been tested for Pyruvate kinase deficiency?  "PK deficiency". the symptoms you describe sound similar in ways to this.  It is apparently over looked often by vets.  I had not heard of it till about a year ago when I started to look at genetic health problems etc.

If he hasn't been tested for it , I would insist the vet tests for it.

The AHT do testing and screening for it now look at their site  http://www.aht.org.uk/

Here is some info about the condition on the westie club of American.

http://www.westieclubamerica.com/health/pk.html

BFN

Also what blood tests have they done to exclude thyroid problems, I believe that many vets don't do the correct on?

Hi All

The vets have done thyroid tests on him and said they have come back fine, not sure which 1's they did though so am going to double check this when we see the specialist, the vet has done the referral and faxed it over to the specialist and has asked for an urgent referral to try and get him a diagnosis of what is going on ASAP, he said he is certainly unwell and not a healthy dog he said to take him out for only short walks if you think he can handle it, but after the other day having to carry him home i am worried about taking him out now incase he collapses on me.
He has lost weight this week again but the vet said he is not too concerned about this because he hasn't been eating much and this would be the cause of this but he said we need to find out what the problem is as soon as we can.
I will keep you all updated as to what happens when we see the specialist hopefully it won't be long as i just want to find out whats wrong with him and get him better.

Helen

http://www.westiefoundation.org/newsletter/03addisons.htm

Hi

I did ask whether he could have addisons disease a few months ago but i was told that his symptoms didn't match these of the disease, but again i am going to ask the specialist what they think as there are a few diseases coming up that his symptoms seem to match too, i am also going to get them to recheck thyroid problems aswell. Just keeping my fingers crossed that we can get him seen quickly.

Helen

I would push for blood tests as he seems to me to have signs looking towards this illness lethargy tiredness being one!
try changing your vet or ask for a second opinion get referred to  a hospital.

R

My vet is referring me to see a specialist with him i just have to wait now to get an appt as he sent the urgent referral off on Friday afternoon, he went over to the vets Thursday evening and the vet agreed that he is not a well dog at all and thats why he wants an appt ASAP, i cannot do any more now until the specialist contacts me with an appt, the vet said i should hear early next week so will keep you all posted.

Helen

Does mitochondrial myopathy run in westies?  Just ask as a friend with a clumber is in similar situation and this is the road that her vet is going down at the moment.

Hi All

Just to update you on Hamish, i heard from the specialist clinic yesterday and they have fitted him in next Tuesday the 14th August to be seen, i have got to starve him from 6pm the night before and get him there for 10am where we will see the specialist for the consultation then they will keep him in the same day and run whatever tests they feel are needed to diagnose the problem, i just want to know now what we are dealing with and what the prognosis is for him long term as he certainly isn't a happy dog and i just cannot watch him like this for much longer.
Will keep you all updated as to what happens.

Helen

good luck Helen fingers crossed he will be sorted out soon .

Roni

I do hope you can get to the bottom of all this Helen, and wish for a diagnosis that can be treated.

Margot

Hi

Thank you all so much for your support, i just want to get to the bottom of this now for my poor little man as he certainly isn't a happy little dog, i just hope its nothing serious as he has been through so much already with his skin allergies that i don't think i could put him through much more.

Helen

I really hope they can give you an answer and a course of treatment that will make your little guy happy, well and comfortable Helen. Tuesday must seem like a lifetime away.

Keeping fingers and paws crossed they find out what is up with poor Hamish :)

Lucy
xx

Hi Helen,
Just to add my best wishes for Hamish too, {{Hugs for you both}} x

Hi All

Saw the specialist this morning with Hamish, he checked him over thoroughly and took down LOADS of questions, he has decided to keep him in overnight to carry out all the tests that he needs to do on him, he wants to carry out more blood tests to rule out addisons disease, pk deficiency also more liver tests and a couple of other blood tests aswell, they are also doing chest, stomach and hip,leg xrays as when he checked Hamish over he noticed he is very tender over the spine and also his back hip does not move very easily and he was turning round on the vet as if he was in discomfort, also when the vet felt his stomach he wasn't very keen either, the vet also found that his lymph glands in the neck were up and also his other glands are swollen so they are putting a needle into the neck to draw some fluid off and check on this aswell, he said the glands could be swollen due to the skin problems he has but he wants to be on the safe side, they are also going to re ultrasound his heart,liver and pancreas as they want to see for themselves what the other vets said the found, he also is going to do a gastroscopy to check down in the gut, he said if they suspect the lungs are damaged they will carry out a lung wash tomorrow to clear the lungs through, but they will decide this once all the other tests are done and see what they have shown first.
I have just phoned them to see how he is but the vet is still busy at the moment and they said he will call me later as they are there until late anyway, today has dragged like mad as i just feel so lost without him here, and i just want to find out what is wrong with him now, i just miss him so much the house doesn't seem the same without him.
Will keep you all posted as to what happens but just wanted to update you with what has happened up to now.
Helen and Hamish

They certainly seem to be being very thorough. Poor little chap - and poor you, having all the worry. Fingers crossed they can finally find out what's wrong. Good luck to you and Hamish.

Hi Helen

Been thinking of you both for the past few days, I am glad that at last something is being done, please keep us informed of hamish's progress.  They at least are doing plenty of tests to find out what is wrong with him, the problem with the back hip/leg could be a sign of legge perthes, get them to check that as well.

Will keep fingers and toes crossed everything sorts itself out in the next few days.

Hi

Sorry to post again just spoken to the vet, all the tests have been carried out the bloods are gonna take till the end of the week to come back, the ultrasound on the heart seems fine he said that 1 of the valves is leaking slightly but nothing to worry about, the pancreatic area looks fine, the liver is abnormal like the other vets found and they have redone the bial test on starving him taking blood then feeding him and taking blood again after 2 hrs, the xrays on the hips/spine have not shown anything but he said they only show bone not soft tissue so he may need a scan in the future if these problems get any worse as he said there is definitely some pain there as he is not comfortable at all and he said on the spine there is an area of fuzziness and also he is very hot on that area when you touch it so they are gonna draw some fluid off tomorrow and send to the labs, the chest xrays have shown lung disease which he said is like us having asthma/bronchitus and they need to do a bronchoscopy tomorrow where they inject fluid into the lungs then draw some off and send to the labs to see what is going on, this is the best test to do as the other 1 is taking a lung biopsy which he said is more risky and doesn't always tell them a lot more, so they are gonna knock him out in the morning and do this procedure and take some fluid from the spine while he is out, he should be able to come home tomorrow afternoon if all is well and he comes round okay. They have taken some fluid from the swollen gland in the neck to rule out lymphoma, they are also checking for addisons disease.
I really don't know what this lung problem will mean for him at the moment and he said we need to wait for the sample to come back from the labs, he said that westies can get this lung disease so its not unknown, i will probably know a bit more tomorrow when we go to pick him up and see what they say then, he said that as soon as the bloods come back he will phone me and let me know.
He said that they will put him on some painkillers for his spine and hip to see if this helps him when he comes out, just really as a drugs trial at first.
Will let you all know tomorrow how things go, they said he is fine and has settled in well, i think i am more worried about this than he is he is such a special little man and never complains, i am gonna give him such a big kiss and cuddle when i see him tomorrow as he has been so brave, he is my little star!
Thank you for all your kind support we really appreciate it.
Helen and Hamish

At least you know they are testing everything and being very thorough about it all which would certainly indicate that they should be able to find out what is wrong and the prognosis for the poor wee chap. Could the lung thing be related to his skin problems - i know that certain allergies in people can cause allergy related asthma as well as dermatitis, (my mum has allergy related asthma and I get it with certain cat/dog hair). i hope all goes well for him and you. will be keeping my fingers crossed for somepositive news for you

Marion

  Will be thinking of you both Helen and Hamish.....
  Hopeful that some thing good will come from all these tests!
  Kind wishes from Jill and Barney  (Westie cross with his own health problems!)

Hopefully you should know what you are dealing with very soon - it is always easier to deal with the known than the unknown :)  Wishing you and Hamish all the best and keeping fingers and paws crossed that you get some good news :)

Hope that you find out what the problem is very soon and that Hamish is soon  on the road to recovery.

Keeping fingers crossed your hear some good news soon

Lucy
xx

Thinking of you both and hoping for the best possible outcome for Hamish. He sounds a real little treasure :)
xx

Poor Hamish and poor you.  If there is an area of fuzziness on the spine, have the vets spoken of doing a myelogram?
Best of luck.
  

Hi

What is a myelogram? Have got to go down and collect him later today so will find out more then, just cannot wait to go and get him, i really miss him, just hope that the procedure this morning goes okay and he is fine have been up since 6am as couldn't sleep.

Fingers and paws crossed for you and Hamish xx

Rooting for you both here too.........
Karen :-) xx

Hope all goes well for you, my heart goes out to you and poor little Hamish.
Hopefully the cause of his problem will be soon sorted out, you must be out of your mind with worry and no doubt had little or no sleep last night.
Keep us informed
Sadie

Got everything crossed for you both.

Hi All

The vets have just phoned to say that the procedure went well and Hamish has come round from the anaesthetic ok (phew), they want me to go and pick him up at 5.30pm the specialist wants to have a chat with me when i go down about how things went and what happens next.
Will keep you all informed as to how things go with him over the next few days.

Helen

Hi
Glad everything seems to have gone ok and Hamish is ok, can't wait for your next post

Hi All

Not sure where to start really, have just got home with him and he is not very good at all, i know he is still very sleepy from the aneasthetic but he just keeps crying and its worrying me, he doesn't seem to know where he is so perhaps if he has a little sleep he may feel better, i am going to stay up with him tonight and if he is no better in the morning i am going to take him to our local vet and get them to check him out.
The vet went through the procedure with us he said that before they did the bronchoscopy the nurse did an exercise test with him he said that he ran out of energy very quickly with her which he shouldn't have done that quickly and was panting in know time, he said she brought him in and checked his heart rate and that was fine but on checking the blood gases these were on the low side, which when i researched the westie lung disease on the internet this is 1 of the symptoms, he has said that this could be normal for Hamish but i am not convinced with this because how do they know what is normal for him!! He said that on doing the procedure they managed to get a lot of fluid off of his lungs as he had quite a bit of fluid on the lung which he said is unusual for a dog he said also there was quite a bit of debree came away aswell so this has now gone off to the lab, he said that the tubes had some debree in aswell but he said he has seen a lot worse, but he said we know need to wait for the lab report before we can go any further on this part.
He said that they took some fluid off of the spine area where he is tender while he was under anaesthetic and have also sent this to the lab as he said they need to check this out, the xrays of the hip/spine he said are all okay just that he has got that fuzziness over the spine area which is tender he said the only other thing would be to scan him to really check him out.
He said he mainly thinks this is a pain issue and that once all the tests are back if there is nothing seriously wrong going on in the lungs he wants to get our vet to try him on some painkillers for 2 weeks and see if he improves if he does then take him back off and if he then deteriorates again send him to a neurologist to see what is happening with the spine/hip area to be causing him pain, i am not totally convinced by this because i feel there must be something wrong to be affecting him breathing the way he is but i just don't know what to think anymore we just don't seem to be getting anywhere as quickly as i had hoped as we never thought we were looking at spine/hip pain as we thought it was breathing problems, perhaps i am just over reacting but i just want to get to the bottom of this and i feel if there is abnormalities on his lung xrays and on doing the procedure there was more fluid on his lungs and debree than there should be surely this would have some impact on his breathing.
sorry such a long post but just wanted to let you all know how he is, i will keep you informed as to what the tests show on Friday and to where we go from here.

Helen

Thanks for the update Helen,
You must be in bit's with worry I know I would be.
Keeping everything crossed for Friday for you both and try and look on the positive side, I know that's easy for us to say but my heart really does go out to you.
Regards
Sadie

Gosh Helen what a time you and Hamish are having ....what did the vet say about Addisons ? are they testing for it ? sound like poor Hamish was put through the mill and you have no answers ...thinking of you and wishing Hamish well , I hope they get on top of this very  soon..{{HUG}}

Roni

This sounds just awful for you and your poor little dog. Every time I read your posts, they make me cry, so I can only imagine what it's doing to you?

We're all praying that the vets will be able to do something for Hamish and maybe give him that doggy life he so deserves. Even if he has to be on drugs for the rest of his days, it'll be worth it. But then if the worst happens and the prognosis is bleak,I wish you the strength and resolve you'll need to be brave and to make some very difficult choices for Hamish and his future. For now though we must be positive and believe that the vets WILL come up with the answers and soon.

God bless x
 

Gosh what a lot poor Hamish and you are going through :(

How is he this morning ?

Lucy
xx

Hi

Hamish and i had a rather restless night, i stayed up with him as he wasn't happy at all he did nod off to sleep at around 1pm this morning but was on and off most of the night he seemed to keep waking up and then started to whimper then fall asleep again, i think he needed to sleep the sedation off aswell, this morning we have been up since 6am and he has had a little bit to eat but not much he went out to toilet but keeps wandering around just whining all the time and whimpering its sound like his chest is a bit wheezy but i cannot tell whether its a whine or not?
I have phoned the specialist up to see if he should be doing this and am waiting for them to get back to me and have also phoned my vets up and got him an appt this evening to see our vet as i am not at all happy with him being this unsettled and he is obviously in some discomfort somewhere?
The addisons tests and liver and lung tests that they did are all due back tomorrow so its just a matter of waiting and seeing really, i just want to get him more stable and not uncomfortable so am working from home with him today as i don't want to leave him all the time he is this unsettled as i have never known him to be like this before.
Will let you all know how he goes throughout the day
Helen

Hi

Been to the vets this evening and he had spoken to the specialist this afternoon and also had a fax through from them, he said that good news the lymphoma has come back clear the glands in the neck are slightly reactive but he said this is down to the skin problem and not cancer which is great, the other tests are due back tomorrow so still waiting, he said that the xrays of the lung have shown disease starting and there are what they call doughnuts in the lung he said that this is scar tissue and will never go, he said unfortunately its like us suffering from asthma/bronchitus and there is no cure but he said unlike humans being put on an inhaler dogs cannot have these so they usually have something called bronchial dilators he said he doesn't want to put him on these at the moment because he wants to wait for the results as they will tell him whether there is infectious bronchitus there or not, he said once these are back he may need a course of steroids but it will depend, he has decided to put him on rimadyl for 1 week to see if this will help him incase there is some pain coming from his spine/hip he said its like a drugs trial to see if he improves he said if he does they will then take him back off and then look at sending him to a neurologist to see if there is a disc problem in the back causing him discomfort, its all a bit of a trial an error at the moment with him.
I asked him about the blood gases being lower once he had exercised and he said that a dog with lung disease will have lower blood gases because once exercised they do not have as much oxygen in their blood as normal dogs do so he said this is not a surprise to them.
He gave him an injection and i have got to start the tablets tomorrow for the pain and then go back in 1 week to see him, if not before depending on what the specialist says tomorrow.
He is still not brilliant tonight but is sleeping on his bed so a bit more settled than he has been all day i am just hoping tomorrow he will be brighter.
Will let you all know what happens
Helen

What a time you have both had. I hope that the painkiller helps Hamish and gives him some comfort.

Great that his glands are okay!! I sincerely hope that you have some answers tomorrow.

Hugs to you both xxx

Well at least you did hear a bit of good news that it isn't a cancer. You never know, when the painkiller really kicks in he may be brighter and you will feel a bit better about him. One things for sure, you are doing everything humanly possible to get poor Hamish right or give him a good quality of life. Hope he feels better tomorrow.

Hang on in there Hamish and Helen !....Hugs from Jill & Barney.

Don't want to add to your worries but just in case you're not aware of Rimadyl's possible side effects :-

http://www.submityourarticle.com/articles/William-Smith-845/dog-health-4275.php

wishing you and Hamish all the best
xx

Oh Helen you and Hamish have had an awful lot to put up with, I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery- everything crossed for you both xx

Glad to hear you have had at least some good news and hopefully the news to follow will also be good.
Still keeping everything crossed for you.
Also there are side effects with every medication not just Rimadyl
Regards
Sadie

Hi All

Just spoken to specialist and am even more confused now than ever, the addisons tests has come back negative which is good, he said the lung culture is still not back yet so i need to phone up early next week for that, he said how was Hamish and how did he get on last night at the vets i said that the vet had put him on rimadyl and given him an injection last night as he said he certainly was under the weather, i said that up to now there was no change in him as he was still very unsettled and not eating very well, he said not to panic too much see how he goes over the weekend and then if no better take him back next week to see him, he said that he still feels there is some pain there causing this and certainly he is uncomfortable over the spine/hip he said he wants to see him again in 2 weeks to assess how he is then and if no better send him on to a neurologist to get him looked at.
I said what about this lung disease as my vet last night said back trouble would not make him lethargic and more to do with the lung disease the specialist has disagreed with this as he said he is not disputing he has got lung disease on his xrays but he said westies are prone to lung disease anyway and whats to say if you took 100 westies off the street and xrayed them that a high percentage too would not have 'doughnuts' on their xrays i said yes but Hamish is showing signs of lethargy and exercise intollerance and also his blood gases were low once exercising surely this shows that he is having problems breathing, he is still not convinced that this is the main cause and is still going on the pain theory although he admitted it could be a 'red herring', my vet last night was of the opinion that if there are 'doughnuts' in the lungs on the xrays then this means scarring and in turn means that he won't be getting the same amount of oxygen as a normal dog would, on doing the bronchoscopy the specialist admitted that his tubes were more inflamed than they should be and that there was a lot of debree down there but he is now back tracking and i am not at all happy with this, he said he certainly will need his lungs re xrayed in a few months to keep a check on this scarring and he is not denying that he is showing signs of pulminary fibrosis but he said that if the pain side comes back inconclusive they will then try him on bronchial dilators to see if that helps his breathing, he said another possibility for his lethargy could be behaviour/mental problems i said what rubbish as surely a dog would not act like this and look as poorly as he does with behaviour problems and our vet has said that he isn't a well dog just by looking at him, i am so annoyed as i feel we are just going round in circles here he is showing signs and xrays have proved there is a problem but i just don't know where to go from here, and in the meantime my poor wee dog is just not improving and he is the 1 thats suffering poor little mite, i am going to keep on fighting for him until i get an answer to this.
Today he has not eaten anything again and is up and down just wandering around the house as he just doesn't know where to get, he is not whining quite as much but the odd time he will suddenly get up and cry for no reason and then just wander off and lay down somewhere else until he can get comfortable, he didn't want to go our for a walk when my Mum went to take him out, the specialist said only to take him for limited exercise at the moment and not over exert him.
Will keep you all updated over the weekend, sorry its such a long post but i am just so annoyed at the moment that i just cannot get an answer for him, they are not the 1's watching him day after day and seeing him get worse before there eyes, i just don't believe that this is a dog with behaviour problems as even when he is sitting near you he will still be whining and crying occasionally when he moves and its uncomfortable for him, and when he goes to sleep he will suddenly wake up crying now that surely not attention seeking!!!

Helen and Hamish