Bladder Stones

[Janet White]

We just learned this weekend that our boy, Boss, has developed bladder stones. He's been crying coming down the stairs in the morning (when his bladder is full) and his tummy has been really sensitive to pressure. He'll be getting them removed tomorrow. He and Tsuki (his littermate brother) will be 13 this Valentine's Day. I always fuss so when they have to have any type of surgery, especially when they're older guys like this -- so any prayers & thoughts sent his way would be greatly appreciated! :)

[Chudo1]

Hi Janet,

I had a dog with that several years ago and we actually put her on a diet and the stones were getting smaller. I will say some prayers. :run:

[SammyLover]

I'm so sorry to hear your baby is hurting, Janet. That must be so terrible for you.

The prospect of any of our babies having surgery is always a scary one and my thoughts and prayers will be with you and your baby, Janet. I'll tell my furkids that they need to think good thoughts for one of their furry "cousins", too! :pawprint:

A special diet can help greatly once those stones are removed. Most dogs who get them are very prone to getting them again, unfortunately.

The good news is that, in my experience with assisting in surgeries for 5 years with a veterinarian, I've seen and helped with this very procedure several times and it always had a good outcome! :dance: The recovery process can be a bit long sometimes, but please don't let that discourage you. The relief of pain for the dog from the stones always seemed to outweigh the post op discomfort.

Best of luck to your sweet baby, Janet! I will pray the vet's hands are guided by a higher power!

Hugs,

Cari

[Janet White]

Thanks, guys! I really appreciate it!

We did discuss changing him over to a different diet to see if the stones would grow smaller, but he's in quite a bit of discomfort that switches over to pain when his bladder is full...and...her has a tooth that needs yanked anyway.

I'll find out what his bloodwork is like when we go in tomorrow, but we did a baseline full blood panel last year and they said it was bloodwork that looked like it belonged to a 5-6 yr old dog. None of them can believe Tsuki and Boss are doing SOOOO well at 13.

We'll be switching Boss over to the food to keep more bladder stones from forming -- I doubt he'll notice as I don't think food ever stays in his mouth long enough for him to taste it!

[MOSams]

Janet,

I hope that Boss feels better soon. It's always such a worry when they're that age. Our Sam, 14-plus years has lost 10 lbs. since last August, don't know why. But the vet found that he had a bad bladder infection. The medicine has cleared it up, thank heavens, but there was a possibility of bladder cancer. We know we won't have him for long, but bless every day because that's one more memory we'll keep of him.

Sue

[Janet White]

Well, Mike should be picking up Boss about now. I talked with the vet who said Boss had about 10 small BB sized stones in his bladder. They didn't necessarily look like the normal ones he sees, so they could be forming in the kidneys. He was thinking this might be the case since Boss has had some lower back pain on and off this past year that we just couldn't figure out. He did take a peek at the spine and saw a slight spur in one spot, but it didn't look really bad (though if it's pressing in the wrong direction it could hurt). Great news is that the bloodwork is still just incredibly normal -- they still can't believe he'll be 13 in a couple of weeks. Wished they all aged so well!

I remembered why we did the bloodwork last year...it ended up as a baseline, but the scrapped page (I gotta rework the page...not terribly happy with it as it is now) will speak more effectively. I think you have to register and be logged in to view the jpeg.

[Janet White]

UGH!!!!!!!!!!! Boss is back at the vet today after two very uncomfortable days. The incision site looks GREAT! We tried various pain meds, and at 1:20 last night, he finally could try acepromazine -- and it took effect by 2:00 and he was finally sleeping by 2:30. The vet is thinking it could be his back that's hurting...whe he was on the table and we were checking the incision, he didn't budge. But as the vet moved his hand down his back, he let out a slight whimper and raised his head. Vet said he saw one vertebrae that had a slight bone spur, and perhaps the position he was in during surgery wasn't good.

My poor boy!! I feel so sorry for him! He's staying at the vet's today so they can see how he moves when he's hurting and try a couple of other pain meds, and keep him quiet in a kennel (I've had him leashed to me as much as possible to keep him quiet, but a day of sleep in a kennel might also help).

Anyway...if anyone has any other thoughts or ideas, I'd love to hear them!

[Janet White]

Boss is doing GREAT!!! That day of sleep really helped him out! We gave him a shot of a morphine type drug for one more day after that and made it the weekend on just Rimadyl, and now he's off of that as well. Back to the Goofy boy we love!

Hard to believe he and Tsuki will turn 13 in a week!

[krazydog]

That's great Boss is doing so well! I'd forgotten he's the can chewer. Ron, my partner and SFSR webmeister, has that page you did with the chewed can posted on our web site, he loved it so much. What a hoot!

I'd be interested in knowing how the vet diagnosed the stones. Mary's been having various problems we haven't been able to fully diagnose, including back pain and tenderness in the stomach area. She also gets bladder infections periodically and has had ongoing constipation for many months. X-rays showed some minor arthritis in her spine, but nothing that the vet thought should cause the back problems she's having. No hip problems either. The stomach tenderness could be from the constipation. But it seems worth looking into stones as a possible issue.

We started taking Mary to a chiropractic vet several weeks ago and it's definitely helped. She's moving her bowels better and has more energy. But she's still not "right". And I think she may have yet another bladder infection. Getting a test done tomorrow. Any suggestions for a diet or supplements for a dog with recurring bladder infections?

[SammyLover]

I'm so glad to hear that Boss is feeling better! :dance: Woo hoo! What that poor baby went through! Whew!

As for Bev's question about a supplement for frequent bladder infections, I would try this rather than continual antibiotics as bacteria like to build resistance to those.

According to Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health For Dogs & Cats:

"Vitamin C: Give this vitamin to aid in detoxification and to acidify the urine, which helps control bacterial infection and decreases the likelihood that stones will form. Twice daily, give 250mg to small dogs, 500mg to medium dogs. Large dogs get 500mg three times a day."

Acidification of the urine to prevent bacterial overgrowth is the exact reason for cranberry juice in humans so this makes perfect sense. :thumbup1:

I sure hope this has helped!

And on a side note for more serious bladder issues--my Mom used a combination of vitamin E and an anti-oxidant complex that she picked up at the regular drugstore when my Frosty was diagnosed with an inoperable bladder tumor. Even the vet couldn't believe it, but the tumor actually shrank (albeit slightly) and Frosty wasn't suffering (the carpet was because the tumor was right on the bladder sphincter) and we gained one whole year more with her! Definitely worth the supplements!

Cari

[krazydog]

Thanks for the vitamin C suggestion. And also for the idea about the antioxidants. Mary had surgery a few months back to remove what turned out to be a cancerous tumor on her tongue. (One of my concerns with her issues is that the cancer had already spread before we got it out. But no clear indication of that so far, so I'm proceeding on the premise that it's something else.)

Mary has been practically a medical miracle since coming into rescue. She's had more trips to the vet and been through more surgeries and tests in the past 2 years! But she's still happy and alert and doesn't seem inclined to leave us, so I just keep my credit card handy.

[Janet White]

I will definitely look into the vitamin C! The vet saw the stones on the x-rays...she pointed and said this is his bladder (pause). They really looked like little bb's on there.

I think a lot of Boss' back trouble in the past might be related to that spur as that's exactly where it's tender when he forgets he's an old dog and tries to keep up with Ullr & Taylor. The surgery just probably really tweaked it. I would massage him and he'd move until my hands were in that same spot on his back.

I had back surgery about 15 years ago and while they were in there, they scraped off a bunch of spurs. Said I'd probably need surgery again when I was in my 50's or 60's as they'll just keep growing.

Michelo, one of the fosters that decided to come and call this home for the rest of his years had such bad spurs that they all fused together. Basically, his spine was one solid bone. I took him to the vet from the shelter, really expecting to find severe HD, and looking at possibly euthanizing him, but his hips were fantastic! The vet asked permission to submit the x-ray on him to publications as an example of extreme spondylosis -- it really looked like a lumpy snake. He wasn't in pain at all...just moved like a mac truck. And if he fell, he needed help getting back up at first, but we slowly strengthened his muscles and he needed that less as time went on.

For Boss, I'll do some checking around, but I know there's a Canine Massage Therapist - one of the vet techs in the area that we might take him to and see what she can feel.