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Maggie Update -- Rough Night - Long ...

2940 Views 19 Replies 13 Participants Last post by  Ashley Hellen
Long night and long story ...forgive me if I ramble. Only got 3 hours sleep from 5-8 this morning. To back-track ... Maggie had her ultrasound and liver biopsy yesterday and also a dermatology consult for a non-healing sore related to her October surgery. I met with the internist at about 5:00 p.m. yesterday: Maggie's liver was very enlarged and irregular; lots of sludge in her gallbladder; mineralization in her kidneys; and, both adrenal glands were very "prominent". No obvious signs of tumors (hooray!!). Depending on results of biopsy (which we won't know until next Wednesday), he is leaning towards Cushings. Maggie has been symptomatic of Cushings for a couple of years but her testing a year and half ago was negative.
Then the dermatology tech came in with Maggie. As I leaned towards Maggie, she tried to bite me -- uh, oh ... this is a primary sign of her anxiety attacks. As the tech kept talking, I watched Maggie whose tail was tucked way between her legs and she wouldn't allow me to touch her anywhere. I really didn't hear anything the tech told me. I took Maggie out of the room, paid the bill ( /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif ) and then put Maggie in the car. She started clawing the car seat and I realized I could never drive the hour back home with Maggie in the throes of an attack. I took her back inside and told the folks up front that Maggie was having an anxiety attack and needed a shot of valium. When one of the techs took her from me, she commented that Maggie had tried to bite her earlier in the day (duh!! they have her complete hx, the internist and I had discussed her attacks/symptoms, including biting -- if they had given her a valium shot earlier, the situation might not have escalated). I called my vet from the hospital and talked about what to do during the evening/night. To make a long story a bit shorter, Maggie sat up all night, crying. Whenever she tried to lay down, she grimaced, starting clawing and pacing. She was definitely in pain. I gave her valium and Deramaxx during the night as often I safely could. She finally crashed at 8:00 this morning. I went to work for a while and, when I got home, Maggie was up and about, getting back to normal. She is still not moving very quickly -- only wanted to go for a short walk - but she ate dinner. Thank goodness I had meds in the house -- at one point last night I did consider taking her back to the hospital but, since they didn't recognize her symptoms initially, I doubted they would know what to do for her. I have to say that I was very upset last night about her attack -- I was just so hopeful that the anal gland surgery would mean the end of these attacks. Her reactions to pain are just so extreme. Will deal with what to do for her physically after we get the biopsy results. Not sure I want to put her through any more tests --
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Judy, I've been out of town and have just logged on to read of Maggie's latest problems. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif Both you and she have been through so much, and you're such a wonderful beagle mom. I'll keep you in my prayers. Hopefully, tonight will be more restful for both of you.
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poor Maggie and you to Judy......this is one of the times that I wish they could tell us what to do to make it better. I wish that she could have told the vet tech earlier in the day she needed a valium.

I'm glad she was better today and I will keep praying that the lab work comes back for the good.

Hope that both of you get a good nights sleep.
Oh, Judy...I'll pray for everything to turn out just fine for poor Maggie and for you, too.
Poor, sweet Maggie. What a fighter she is, and so are you, Judy. I'm sorry you had such a rough go of it last night, and I really hope things improve and the news on the U/S is good. Gentle tummy rubs from us here in Ottawa.
I'm sorry. Its so hard when they hurt and you can't fix it. We will think good thoughts for you.
Sending good thoughts to sweet Maggie. And hugs and kisses from Hunter and Casey. :heart: Keep positive Judy your a great beagle mom.
As hard as that initial night was on you, Maggie is much better off with you than at the hospital.

Nobody knows how to make things better than "Mommy". And you did.

Now time for the slow crawl back to normalcy. But next time, if the vet forgets, make sure she gets her sedation. Lesson learned for them.

Hope things are better today. Please give her some extra love from Henry and I.
I ditto Gingergoose's post. I'm sorry it was such a stressful event and night.
I hope all is better today.....hoping for good news soon.
Judy,

I'm sorry to hear Maggie and you are having such a bad time. Hopefully the biopsy will give some insight into Maggie's problem and some way to ease her pain.

You know where to find me if you need me.
Thank you all for your good thoughts and prayers. Maggie is resting comfortably (and so am I!). She does have some bleedng under her skin near the biopsy site (that wasn't there last night) so I have a call in to the internist. Somewhat odd that this occurred now when biopsy was done mid-day on Thursday. She is not in pain and bleeding spot is not tender or hot so am hopeful it is just delayed bruising, etc. We went for a walk this morning and Maggie's appetite is definitely back to normal!
Loving thoughts and prayers going out to you, Judy and Maggie :heart:

Waiting for test results is SOOO HARD!!

I do know how you feel. Glad to hear that Maggie is acting pretty normal today so far. They are so stoic at times.

Just remember, you're doing everything you can and are a GREAT MOM. Maggie knows that!! Hope everything gets better soon.

Monica and Daisy /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif
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Sending positive, healing thoughts your way. I'm so sorry to hear about all this. Keep us posted.
Oh Judy, I'm so sorry to hear this! I'm glad that Maggie is feeling better today. I know how hard it is when your Beagle becomes a senior and the health issues start to increase. My Amber had Cushings and spent the last few years I had her on Lysodrine with pretty good results. You're a very good mom to Maggie and she's lucky to have you. Sweet kisses to Miss Maggie...just in case a belly rub is too much for her right now. :heart:
Judy, thinking of you and Maggie. You are both going through so much. Shall pray that this has a happy ending.
Hi Judy!

How are you and Maggie today?
Hi Judy-
Sorry I just read this post-wow it sounds like you two have been thru a lot!
Your Maggie is SO lucky to have a mommy like you who knows her and can help her though. I tried to imagine what I would do if one of my beags got sick, that would be tough. Going to school to be a nurse for people-but doesnt always work the same for pups!!

Well-let us know how things are going-keep us updated, and I will definitely be adding your Maggie's pics to my power point for school-the one you emailed me-and will make sure to point out that your Maggie has a wonderful Mom-- all of our beags on here do ! (moms and dads that is!)

Hugs
Judi
Harley and lil Maggie!
Hi, folks! Thanks for your kind words and inquiries about Maggie and I. Maggie is still somewhat restless and still has a quivering lower lip but otherwise okay -- vet said that it was not unusual to have a subdural hematoma two days after at biopsy site and, as long as it was not warm or swollen, it would go away on its own. We both are trying to catch up on sleep. Fortunately, I have tomorrow off from work so can rest a bit more. I will be calling the internist on Wednesday to get biopsy results. My vet is away for this week at a conference so will talk with him when he gets back, after he has reviewed results, and we can decide where to go from here.
Jen -- I had forgotten you had mentioned before about Amber having had Cushings. Did she have the symptoms of increased hunger and increased thirst? Maggie is always hungry but then, again, she is a beagle! Some days she almost empties her water bowl -- other days not. If the Cushings ends up being Maggie's diagnosis, I will definitely have other questions for you!
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Judy, yes Amber had increased appetite (was hard to tell because even though she was only half Beagle, her appetite was all Beagle!) but more it was the increased water consumption. She'd drink several bowls of water in a day sometimes. Sometimes she would just stand over the bowl and drink the entire thing. Our vet did some tests and bloodwork and the results showed Cushings the first time. The x-rays showed an enlarged liver as well. He put her on Lysodrine (it's a human drug that was only available through a pharmacy...it is very costly...about $70/month but Amber was worth it). She had pretty good results with it. Her appetite didn't change much but at least she stopped gulping down the water.
Hi Judy. Hope Maggie is a little better and you get some answers soon, fingers crossed!!!

Hellen
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