Hey all,
Here's a quick summary:
In July I lost my baby, Burnie (10 years old) to what was most likely abdominal cancer or lymphoma (no biopsy) along with kidney inflamation and he was pts at home. It came on so fast and was so devastating to us, as he hid it well for what we're thinking was about a year or so.
His littermate, Crash (also 10 years old), within a week of losing his brother suddenly had an over-the-top allergy attack with swollen red, weeping itchy eyes and he scratched his ears bald and bloody. The vet gave him a steroid shot, as he stopped eating. Come to find out that he has developed a sudden, massive allergy to chicken and duck, as well as turkey to a lesser degree (I know because within 10 minutes of ingesting these culprits he starts obsessively rubbing his eyes and scratching again).
The steroid shot helped for a few weeks and he was eating really well, and then as it started to wear off he began scratching and acting nauseous, not eating again.
We've done 2 blood panels and a pancreatic test as well as 2 xrays, (and an enema because our vet saw via xray that he was quite backed-up). Everything came out "flawless" in my vet's words, so she tried all she could with Cerenia and an appetite stimulant and Miralax in his food and that had him good for another 5 days.
Well, we're back to not eating again for the past 24 hours. I called the internal specialist and took him in for an ultrasound... which also came back clear and perfect. She said his organs are all absolutely great, and she is leaning towards it being the dreaded IBD, but is insisting on doing a biopsy (endoscopy) to rule-out small cell lymphoma.
The cost is a lot. $1500-$2000, and of course that is after the $1600 I've already spent on his tests and meds up to now, and add to that $2500 in July when his brother Burnie was sick. I also don't want to put the little guy through any more stress than necessary, and anesthesia has me scared to death.
I've been researching IBD and Lymphoma via some of the threads on this site, and have learned so much. I was hoping to get your opinions on whether or not to do this biopsy, or to just treat Crash for IBD and skip it. I don't want to put him through anymore poking and prodding, as he has already suffered so much stress, discomfort and sadness this summer.
I would love to hear your experiences and opinions so that I can make a better-educated decision for my little love bug. The second we got home, he ran over to his food dish and gobbled down about 1/8 cup of his dry hypoallergenic kibble, and this has me thinking I could at least put off the biopsy for a bit and think it over and talk it over with my vet.
Here's a quick summary:
In July I lost my baby, Burnie (10 years old) to what was most likely abdominal cancer or lymphoma (no biopsy) along with kidney inflamation and he was pts at home. It came on so fast and was so devastating to us, as he hid it well for what we're thinking was about a year or so.
His littermate, Crash (also 10 years old), within a week of losing his brother suddenly had an over-the-top allergy attack with swollen red, weeping itchy eyes and he scratched his ears bald and bloody. The vet gave him a steroid shot, as he stopped eating. Come to find out that he has developed a sudden, massive allergy to chicken and duck, as well as turkey to a lesser degree (I know because within 10 minutes of ingesting these culprits he starts obsessively rubbing his eyes and scratching again).
The steroid shot helped for a few weeks and he was eating really well, and then as it started to wear off he began scratching and acting nauseous, not eating again.
We've done 2 blood panels and a pancreatic test as well as 2 xrays, (and an enema because our vet saw via xray that he was quite backed-up). Everything came out "flawless" in my vet's words, so she tried all she could with Cerenia and an appetite stimulant and Miralax in his food and that had him good for another 5 days.
Well, we're back to not eating again for the past 24 hours. I called the internal specialist and took him in for an ultrasound... which also came back clear and perfect. She said his organs are all absolutely great, and she is leaning towards it being the dreaded IBD, but is insisting on doing a biopsy (endoscopy) to rule-out small cell lymphoma.
The cost is a lot. $1500-$2000, and of course that is after the $1600 I've already spent on his tests and meds up to now, and add to that $2500 in July when his brother Burnie was sick. I also don't want to put the little guy through any more stress than necessary, and anesthesia has me scared to death.
I've been researching IBD and Lymphoma via some of the threads on this site, and have learned so much. I was hoping to get your opinions on whether or not to do this biopsy, or to just treat Crash for IBD and skip it. I don't want to put him through anymore poking and prodding, as he has already suffered so much stress, discomfort and sadness this summer.
I would love to hear your experiences and opinions so that I can make a better-educated decision for my little love bug. The second we got home, he ran over to his food dish and gobbled down about 1/8 cup of his dry hypoallergenic kibble, and this has me thinking I could at least put off the biopsy for a bit and think it over and talk it over with my vet.