My dog Patches passed away before official diagnosis

[starcap]

My 14 yr old American Eskimo /mix dog was scheduled for a dental cleaning and extraction of premolar with wart removals on Sept 29. bloodwork was done ahead of time and there were some numbers elevated along with some symptoms at home that showed suspicion of Cushings. The vet felt that it would still be safe to go ahead with the procedure and I specifcally asked if a dental would affect the Cushings if she had it or would Cushings have an affect on the dental. She assured me that it wouldn't . One number that was VERY elevated in her bloodwork was a high platelet count. It went from 685 to753 to 993. Unfortuneately she didn't make it through surgery and the vet told me it was probably due to heart failure or blood clot . I have done research online about Cushings and have read on many sites that Cushings dogs can have an increased risk of clotting issues. I had another dog who died last year of complications due to the medication of treating Cushings and his platelets were NOT high and he had a dental procedure 6-8 weeks before diagnosis and came out ok. I feel like my vet missed the signs of risk of blood clots due to the elevated platelets. Am wondering if anyone on this forum has any insight on this. I am heartbroken over my loss and left the vet with the idea from them of being told that there was nothing in the bloodwork that could have predicted this happening but I am not so sure this is the case. Am searching for answers for my loss and would appreciate any input . I have lost 3 dogs in less than a year , 2 of which seemed to have passed due to complcations associated with Cushings. Thank you .

Starcap in remembrance of my Cushingoid Angel dogs Patches and Charlie

[mytil]

I am so very sorry for your loss and to have so many pass, my heart is with you. I have added your Patches to our very special Remembrance List (http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2865).

Please do stay with us.
(((((hugs)))))
Terry

[Skye]

oh my goodness......oh I am so very sadden to hear this.....i know your heart must be filled with such greif. I wish there was words to ease that, I know there isnt......otherwise i would be speaking them to you right now. I can tell you, you have found an incredible web site that will offer you tons of knowledge and support. They have held me up when I was crumbling, stood by with straight jacket handy for just in case I did completely go off the ledge.....just the jacket was their arms......that would hold me tight. Amazing folks here with tons of knowledge. sending you hugs for your hurting heart and soul, someone will probably be by shortly that knows more of the indepth things you asked about. blessings.....

[StarDeb55]

I'm so terribly sorry for your loss. I will tell you that I am a medical lab technologist with 30+ years experience, most of those years spent in hematology, so I know lots about platelets. Before I get started, I must remind you that even though I can give you a lot of insight, I'm still not a vet. I will also be making comparisons to what goes on in a human patient.

First of all, a plt. count of 993,000 in our human patients is considered to be critically high. Most often platelets counts will elevate because they are what we call an acute phase reactant or stress phase reactant. This means that the body can be suffering from some of other type of stress such as an infection, some type of injury, or even surgery, & the platelet count will go up, normally not this high, though. With an acute phase reactant elevation, it will normally resolve on its own, once the main stressor has resolved, but will take a little longer to go down. With a platelet count so very high, this tells me that there very well could have been an underlying illness with Patches that was undetected. This major elevation of platelets indicates that the bone marrow is being stressed for some reason. One of the most common reasons is some type of underlying malignancy such as leukemia or lymphoma. Platelets are the first step in the blood clotting mechanism in the body. With the count being this critically high, IMO, there is a much higher risk of a clot occurring. I'm posting a link which will give you some more information about thrombocytosis (high plt. counts) in canines which I feel has some good information. I do not believe Cushing's would elevate a platelet count this drastically, though.

I know you are looking for answers, & I would be pulling my hair out, if I had lost 3 pups in a year. I must tell you that without a necropsy on Patches, you will probably never know exactly what happened. Again, I am deeply sorry for the losses of all your babies.

Debbie

http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Medicine/Increased-number-of-platelets-call-for-review-of-t/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/19204

[starcap]

Thank you all for your kind words , information and understanding at this difficult time . I've been researching so much to try to see if anything should/could have been done differently . I probably will not ever know the answer to that but it helps to talk about the situation with others going through the same thing. I lost my Casey to Kidney Failure 11 days after I lost my Patches a week before her year anniversary of being diagnosed. I was a memeber of the K9Kidneys group and that's how I found out about this group. I would never have made it through without their help and support and I can tell the care and support is the same here. I was prepared for Caseys loss and knew I had done all I could. My Patches was still suppose to be with me after Casey passed to ease me through her loss and was a loving companion that seemed to know I needed her as much as she needed me. I always felt guilty about putting so much focus into Casey and her Kidney disease and feeling like I wasn't giving Patches enough love , but I knew I would make it up to her 100 times over when Casey passed. It just didn't work that way. She always seemed to have a special sense of my emotions and was always there for me emotionally in a way my other 2 pets ( or any human for that matter ) weren't. I was trying to focus and do what I needed to help increase her life in quality and longevity and actually felt like I caused it to end sooner than it should even though I felt I did all I could to try to be sure it was safe. I just wish I could at least have one more day to focus all love and attention on her the way she deserved. Thanks again for the support.

starcap with Angels Patches , Charlie and Casey

[labblab]

I, too, am so deeply sorry. To have lost three babies in such a short amount of time is a burden that must feel overwhelming. I am so glad that Debbie had a chance to answer some of your questions. It does sound as if the platelet count was a red flag that you'd have wished the vet would have discussed prior to proceeding. If it were me, that part of things would be difficult to accept right now. It would take time, that's for sure. But perhaps there may be a shred of comfort in thinking that if Patches did indeed have an underlying malignancy, she ended up passing away peacefully while sedated for the surgery. There was no suffering and no need for a multitude of treatment decisions and vet visits. So in that way, she may have been spared.

But you were not spared, because you lost your sweet girl so suddenly and so unexpectedly. I know your fondest wish would be to hold her close again for just one day or even one hour in order to love her and spoil her and thank her. Although it is in no way the same, please know that we have a special place here where you can offer your written thanks to your babies and share memories and thoughts about your lives together. Here is the forum:

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=8

At any time you wish, you can start a thread of your own there, and write about each and every one of your babies. It will be our privilege to read anything that you would care to share. It can never make up for not being able to physically hug and kisss them. But I do believe that words can heal, and that love never dies.

Sending you many hugs, always in loving memory of your three babies.
Marianne

[jrepac]

I, too, am so deeply sorry. To have lost three babies in such a short amount of time is a burden that must feel overwhelming. I am so glad that Debbie had a chance to answer some of your questions. It does sound as if the platelet count was a red flag that you'd have wished the vet would have discussed prior to proceeding. If it were me, that part of things would be difficult to accept right now. It would take time, that's for sure. But perhaps there may be a shred of comfort in thinking that if Patches did indeed have an underlying malignancy, she ended up passing away peacefully while sedated for the surgery. There was no suffering and no need for a multitude of treatment decisions and vet visits. So in that way, she may have been spared.

But you were not spared, because you lost your sweet girl so suddenly and so unexpectedly. I know your fondest wish would be to hold her close again for just one day or even one hour in order to love her and spoil her and thank her. Although it is in no way the same, please know that we have a special place here where you can offer your written thanks to your babies and share memories and thoughts about your lives together. Here is the forum:

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=8

At any time you wish, you can start a thread of your own there, and write about each and every one of your babies. It will be our privilege to read anything that you would care to share. It can never make up for not being able to physically hug and kisss them. But I do believe that words can heal, and that love never dies.

Sending you many hugs, always in loving memory of your three babies.
Marianne

So sorry to read about this; it is very tragic and it's got to be tough. It's always hard to lose them unexpectedly like that, I know. You can take some solace in that she did not suffer and she had a long wonderful life.

Jeff, Angel Mandy & the girls