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[ptaub]

I am looking for a vet with extensive experience with blastomycosis to speak to as soon as possible.  NYC area would be ideal - but anywhere if not NYC.  I am trying to determine best course of testing to see if my dog, Junior has blastomycosis and we're trying to do the least invasive test possible (as Junior is 13 years old), but that would also give us real information to decide to treat or not.  he was diagnosed with pneumonia 2 weeks ago and now they have switched diagnoses to cancer with the emergence of nodules in the lungs. The symptoms of blasto described here are a very good match for his symptoms.  we have traveled through ohio river valley multiple times prior to his symptoms beginning and reside in NYC.  Thank you for any help anyone can give us.

[evayola]

I am from the Chicago area so really wouldnt be much help finding a vet for you. What I can tell you though is that you can send out Juniors urine to MiraVista Labs in IN and have it test for blasto. That would be your best bet. You can look at MiraVIstas website and I am pretty sure there is a form you fill out, send a money order and Miravista will send the results back to your vet. My vet offers this service for me so maybe see if your vet will also. There are many here who have sent the test out themselves. Have you done chest xrays? Does Junior have any lesions? His eyes look clear?

[ptaub]

hi, thanks for your quick reply.  he had chest xray which showed 2 nodules (i assume it would be consider lesions - yes) in lungs.  his eyes have been discharging a lot of fluid and look swollen and red underneath the eye. i will look into the urine test. it seems that it is not common in nyc area so the couple of vets have knowledge, but i'm not sure how many cases they have seen etc...and it seems the testing is not straightforward with blood / urine to  be definitive enough...but i have not confirmed that for myself yet.  so looking for a vet anywhere that has much experience with this disease and could advise the best path...

[evayola]

In a chest xray with a dog that has blasto, you would see a "snowstorm" pattern. It is something that even you and I can see. The lesions woud be something on the skin. The miravista urine test is pretty accurate and definitely something I would use for an initial diagnosis. Does your doc have any connections at teaching hospitals, universities, etc? My vet had a great connection that she communicated with regularly. Has your vet listened to you in regards to other possibilities than cancer?

[ptaub]

i dont think it is the snowstorm pattern. it is two or three nodules. does it have to be the snowstorm pattern? he has 3 or 4 spots where he has lost hair and there is flaking, but no pus filled lesions etc...
yes, once i mentioned that we had been in the ohio river valley area prior to the symptoms -she thought it was definitely worth pursuing. she is sending me to a different lung vet to get a second opinion and consider a procedure that would need anesthesia as she was told that was the only way to get a real diagnosis. how is your dog (i assume) doing after being treated etc..?

[evayola]

If I was in your shoes, I would print out the info on the MiraVista website and give it to your vet. It really is the least invasive way to diagnose your dog if you think that is what it may be. Marge was diagnosed by miravista and her chest xray. Marge had the most horrible lung infection and her lungs just looked pure white on the xrays. Marge had been battling blasto for nearly 3 years and is now off of meds. Like many others, it was definitely a struggle for her but she pulled through it with the support of everyone here. This disease can be so different in every case so you just never know what to expect. Please keep us posted, I will be thinking of you and Junior.

Eva

[carolh]

I'm with Eva on the Mira Vista test.  It is more than a good beginning.  Re the chest x-ray, my dog got blasto in the eye and never showed the snow storm pattern.  If it is in the eye, I know of no other test than Mira Vista that could identify the presence of blasto as I really wouldn't have wanted to puncture the eye to get a fluid sample.  Has your dog had a high fever?  That usually is part of the package, too.

Eva's suggestion of vet hospitals in area is such a good one.  Here's another possible avenue.  The U of WI Vet School has been doing extensive research on blasto.  I'm betting some vets there (sorry, I have no connections there) would be able to recommend someone in your area.

Good luck.  This is a tough disease for a 13 year old.  I'm glad you got to the forum.  QUICK ACTION if it is blasto is the absolute best action.  It was quick action that saved our Mika (we began treatment even before we had test results back).

Carol

[ptaub]

Thank you Eva and Carol,

I spoke to a vet in Ontario where they see alot of blasto and she confirmed miravista was the way to go.  My vet here in nyc sent blood and urine samples overnight last night and we just got back the results and unfortunately (as odd as that seems to say) it was negative for both blastomycosis and histoplasmosis.  As bad as Blasto sounds - it is treatable and Junior is probably one of the strongest and most active 13 year old dogs you have ever seen - so i think he could have gotten better with the medications - but now that i guess we've ruled that out...the alternatives are probably not as attractive, but we shall see.  thank you for your concern and thoughts - we will take all of the positive thoughts for junior we can get.  thank you again.

philip

[Wilson3]

so sorry Junior is sick... I hope you soon find out what is causing him to not feel well
I also wanted to say the pee test is not always 100%
Wilson was having issues with things so we tested his pee 1st time came back very high positive for blasto re sent it came back neg then we did blood work that was neg and all levels good but high proteins so I kept testing and searching Wilson has cancer now if I would have went with the 1st pee test saying he had blasto again and starting treating him again it would have been wrong treatment  instead went with my gutt feelings and kept searching for the answer
he is doing well because it was caught very earily
but please do not give up and it sounds like Junoir is in wonderful hands with you and yes just because he is a bit older does not mean he is not a fighter
PLEASE keep us posted and never giv eup
Wilson3

[jefndebbacon]

Hi, Don't give up - Glad it is not Blasto though.  You guys are in my thoughts and prayers....  Deb

[ptaub]

Hi Deb and Wilson3,

thank you for your encouragement.  i think the vets are now believing it is some kind of metastatic cancer - although without doing a needle aspirate of the lung they cant say for certain.  so we are planning on doing that on wednesday morning. in theory it could also be some other kind of fungal infection (other than blasto) or bacterial infection - but, unfortunately, the vets are telling me that it is a lower likelihood.

Wilson3 - what kind of cancer does your wilson have and how are you treating him that he is doing well? my understanding is the blasto test at miravista (if you do the urine and blood) is 95 percent accurate - so i think the vets feel it is ruled out.

just a few weeks ago - junior was an incredibly active 13 year old dog and we did our 1.5-2 hour morning hike each morning through central park up hills and down hills etc...with no problems. now i have to help him to get up and we can only walk a couple of blocks at most and he has all of a sudden become anemic (very low hemoglobin and hematocrit)...so it is a bit scary to see him struggle so much so suddenly.
thank you both again for your kind words, thoughts and prayers..we appreciate it. i will keep you posted.  any thoughts are always welcome.
sincerely
philip

[Wilson3]

Has Junior been on any meds yet? For anything they think he may have?
Usually if antibiotics are not working anti-fungals are needed
if I recall right (need to go back and look) I think Teddy did not get a positive reading but they treated anyways
Has any new symptoms appeared?
Is he still eating?
Vets are fast to rule out the "in common"
Have they tested for any other fungal?
Did you ask about starting treatment with a anti-fungal to see how he does?
what tests have they all done?

Wilson long story but I am using the old world med. He is seeing a Native American Indian Medicine man and reiki Also we talk with a animal communicator not traditional ways but they work for us
he does see his vet also for check ups and amazing he is doing well not 100% but that will come

Stay positive and strong always! VERY IMPORTANT! your energy sent out to the universe gives him strength to fight believe that you will find the answer and soon see it in your mind (black and white) believe it with your heart very important!
Weather it is the answer you want or not you have to believe in it and it will come. God will always do what is right weather we understand it or not at the time

You see I know Wilson will beat cancer because he was sent to me to teach me things and he has not completed these lessons for me yet I know sounds strange ...
I don't know if I am making any sense not to good with writing what I want to say
wilson3

[carolh]

Skin lesions of interest to me.  When you do find out what it is, would you please tell us what those are?  Our 13 year old has allergy issues and I've assumed that is what is causing his flaking, small circular lesions.  But these seem more virulent that his usual summertime flaking (he's been tested for allergies and has many.  He's getting shots for them.).

Be GLAD Junior doesn't have blasto or histo.  Frankly, the folks still active on this board are the ones whose dogs survived for the most part.  The ones who have lost their dogs (a fair number) usually drop off the forum.  Blasto is a tricky, always worrisome disease.

You're in our thoughts with Junior.  It sounds as if you've found a good, open-minded vet.  That's such a big part of handling our animal's disease, the partnership you form with that vet.

Carol

[ptaub]

Junior was on doxicycline for a few days when they thought it was kennel cough then on baytrill and unisyn and (the unisyn was switched to clavamox when we went home and put on tablets instead of IV) for 2 weeks or so. and so the vets then were fairly sure it was cancer in the lungs. we tested for blasto - but it came up negative - so they have ruled it out.  they did not test for any other fungal that i am aware of, but we did a needle aspirate of the lung this morning and just got the results back and they say it showed carcinoma and that there's not much that can be done and that it has progressed very fast in the last 10 days between xrays on the june 13th and today. just got the news ...  very difficult... they have painted a days to weeks picture.

carol - the skin lesions came up negative awhile back when tested and have cleared themselves up and are growing hair back in those 3 small circles/lesion areas.

wilson3 - we have been working with a couple of alternative therapies with junior since last july/aug when they found a large mass in his heart.  they gave him days to weeks and after exploring possible conventional therapies - we decided that there really were not any good options - so we started working with an energy healer and also have been using a homeopathic remedy along with all organic, home cooked food and anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory supplements.  he thrived with this regimen and for 9 months he had no symptoms at all.  then about 10 weeks ago he developed a light cough and it has gone from thinking it was gone from the vets thinking it was kennel cough to pneumonia to now carcinoma as of today and junior has gone from hiking 1 /1/2 - 2 hours each morning for 9 months almost everyday with me to being lethargic, finicky with food (although he's eating very well now again - with whatever i can find he likes; some canned food etc...), and in the last couple of weeks has become very anemic and the lungs are filling with what appears to be nodules, etc...), his back legs have become weaker and he needs help sometimes getting up on the hardwood floors or getting into and out of bed....his heart functioned has v=been fine throughout - so this may be unrelated to the heart mass - which to all the vets surprise did not ever give him any symptoms and they were all shocked that he was able to be so physically active all this time (as a side note - the energy healer always maintained that the heart mass was not cancerous and that it would not effect him at all).  any thoughts from you are welcome anytime. thank you for taking the time.  i have to just digest what the vets have said today and move forward..

[Cathy, Bailey and Duke]

So sorry to hear the news about Junior!