Eddie's eye is still in the same state - no worse, maybe a little smaller, but he still has his ulcer! I have given up submitting weekly photos to the vet as they think he will need to have his cornea debrided and the third eyelid stitching across while it heals. As he is comfortable enough, they would rather leave it till CV19 recommendations are relaxed, and so the six times daily eyedrops continue. The wood at the end of the road has provided some shady walks while it has been so hot. Not a brilliant photo, but here they are, perched on their favourite rock this weekend. The wood is usually very quiet, but since lockdown I think it has seen more footfall than it has for over 100 years, when this was a mining area. The wood adjoins a more or less disused graveyard. There is an area where some of the graves are visited, but the older section would make a good location for a spooky movie. The trees have taken over and are now wrapping themselves round the gravestones. I love it, and it is a haven for wildlife. My hip, rather less so, - there are not many level walks in these parts!
Those are very cool photos of the trees enveloping the grave stones. Bandit has a slightly turned in eyelid. Last checkup they gave me some antibiotic ointment for it, which I used for 7 days as suggested. It’s his right eye, and it’s always been a little goopy
Eddie is so patient, letting you put drops in his eye all the time - how on earth do you remember? Pereg's meds were only three times a day but I still had to have alarms and reminders set for them. Those photographs are rather beautiful and in a way, by walking through the graveyard it somehow shows that the people are not forgotten, even if they are unknown. It is a pity that the walking does not help your hip though.
Ed's eye was more inflamed last week, so I phoned the vets and had an appointment on Thursday, with the senior partner. I am never sure what I am looking for when I take these photos, - apart from the amount of inflammation, and whether the size of the ulcer has altered. I wouldn't know how to judge things like the how invasive it was, or whether there was any ocular pressure. He took Ed into the surgery for his examination, but our discussion took place in the car park. SP's opinion is that the ulcer is not going to heal after this length of time, and his recommendation is a corneal graft - using some kind of a gel mesh. There was no raised pressure in the eyeball. I asked about the possibility of the graft not healing, or even being rejected, and he said that as we have the option of stem cell therapy these days, he is sure we would have a good result. He was prepared to do the op. this week, but yesterday I chickened out, and I'm really not sure why - perhaps I'm worrying about the aftercare, or maybe he doesn't look ill enough! This week there has been more moisture in the air, so his eye is less inflamed, and it seems a lot to put him through at his age, when he is otherwise happy and playful. The vets have accepted my decision, saying that if I change my mind again, they are still willing to go ahead with the op. I suppose it is inevitable that there will be a future flare-up, and all I will have done is waste time. The options for treating his inflammation are narrowing, as he was allergic to some of the gels and drops, and the vets say that hydrocortisone would only do more damage to his eye.
It is a lot to think about Carole and as Eddie is comfortable and his eye does not seem to be bothering him too much at the moment, I think you are right to postpone surgery at least for the time being. Please give both Eddie and Merry cuddles from me. xx
Thanks Vee and Juli. I wish I knew someone who had to have one of those procedures done, so I knew what to expect. I have done a lot of Googling, and the results of debridement, scarification, and corneal grafting do appear to be quite good, going from 70% to 95% in the order that I have listed them. Chas gets annoyed with me for obsessing over him as he can be OK for 75% of the time - he is usually worse at the end of the day. However, Ed is overdue for his thyroid blood test, so I think I will use that as an opportunity to have another word with Eddie's usual vet.
Hi Carol. I have been a member of the forum since it started but never posted although look in from time to time and have been interested in your post about Eddie's eye. Some years ago one of my Afghans had corneal ulcer problems and like Eddie she had hypothyroidism and this can result in corneal ulcers. One of her corneas ruptured and she lost her eye and then the remaining eye started to develop them. It got to the point that her cornea was thining so I had a corneal graft done. It worked to stop the ulcers but it left her with peripheral vision for some time before it began to thin. She managed very well for another two years before I lost her to heart failure at the age of 12. She was auto immune and a walking vet bill but very much loved. Hope this gives you something to think about and help you reach a decision which you will be happy with. There is no right or wrong way to go as long as he is happy and not in pain.
@Sue L Thank you so much Sue. That is very interesting. Eddie has also had a string of problems, which are likely to be autoimmune related. My vet only gives boosters every three years, but at her suggestion he has not had one since his second booster at four years old. Though I left it to approx.15 months, I really wish that I hadn't had him neutered - there's always an 'if only'. He was a determined worker, and is still a bundle of energy at 12 years, however, he started to lose a little blood from his rectum at four or five. I retired him at eight because he had three ops. for bowel tumours that year. He still has effects from the scar tissue. Next came the thyroid problem, and now this ulcer. Only tiny, but it just will not heal. Did you find that any drops or gels that helped your Afghan girl? Ed has reacted badly to gentamicin, and Optixcare. Chloromycetin and ExOcin drops don't seem to help very much. He is still on Blink human drops because they contain more hyaluronate than most of the alternative dry eye drops. Optrex Intensive should be similar, but he reacts to those! Viscotears are brilliant for keeping his eye lubricated and comfortable, but I don't think they do much to heal it. I have been out today to get Brolene drops. I came across these in a vet's reply to someone who was asking about a non healing corneal ulcer on Wikihow. It's got to be worth a try - at least he hasn't reacted to it yet. Ed was an Irish puppy farm bred rescue. My friend says I could have bought in a Champion with what he has cost me in vet bills, but he has done all that I have asked of him, and more - I owe him.
Hi Carol She was on cyclosporine eye drops as well as lacralube which all helped but did not stop the ulcers. Poor Eddie why is it some dogs have everything thrown at them but they are such sweet hearts to own.
Thanks Sue. Can I also ask about aftercare following the graft. Was this hard to manage? I have visions of having to sit up all night to stop him rubbing his eye. (Tweed's tail amputation was a nightmare that I can't forget - sleeping in shifts for 3 weeks, and 24 hour supervision). Also, I hate to mention cost, but was this a very expensive procedure? I never ask the vet because if it needs doing, that's all that matters, but alarm bells rang when he mentioned stem cell therapy if it wasn't healing!
It is some years ago now (more than 10 at least) but I think she had to wear the cone of shame for about a week and I also had to put drops in a few times a day other than that there were no problems. She adapted well to her poor vision.
Eddie has been a bit tender footed over the last few days, (he does have soft feet so I wasn't too worried), but yesterday he was limping and holding his left foreleg off the ground. I gave him some paracetamol, but he was a bit withdrawn this morning, so I booked an appointment. He saw a different vet this time, who was really nice, and is another with additional opthalmic qualifications. He spotted straight away that the problem was Ed's elbow, and took him into the surgery for an examination, and to take blood for Eddie's thyroid test. It seems that Ed can now add arthritis to his list of complaints! As he is on minimal medication due to the ulcer, the treatment - at least for now - is paracetamol. He already knew about Ed's eye problem, and suggested that we try having the debridement procedure done first, with one further repeat if necessary. If that proves unsuccessful, we will still have the corneal graft operation to fall back on. This seemed a good plan, so Ed is now booked in to have that done next Wednesday. As he is so good about having treatment, it is likely that he will be able to have it done under a local anaesthetic.
Eddie really is good, putting up with all he has gone through and now having arthritis on top of everything else. It is no wonder he was a bit withdrawn as arthritic pain, as we both know, can be really painful. Tbh I have given up on all the arthritic meds and find that paracetamol helps as much as any of the others did, although I am very strict about rationing it. It is also good that you have another vet who has opthalmic qualifications - is it a bit surgery with many vets? Hopefully the debridement procedure will be a success and as you say, you will still have the corneal graft operation to fall back on if it is not. As always, please give both Eddie and Merry cuddles from me. xx
We have been with this practice since it was a single vet mixed practice, but they now have three local small animal surgeries - but still independant, not part of a national chain. They do their own emergency cover. The vets rotate so you can usually get an appointment with the one that you prefer - or the one with the greatest experience in your pet's particular problem. Most of the vets, and the nurses too, have advanced qualifications in their specialism. They have built a brilliant reputation.
It sounds like an ideal practice. I was so lucky having Ram as my vet when Pereg's epilepsy started - I do not think I would have been able to give her as normal a life as I did without his knowledge, help and support.
Speaking of epilepsy, the RVA have published the results of their trials into controlling idiopathic epilepsy by diet, and found a 71% reduction in seizures when coconut oil was included in the diet. I have only speed read the article but it can be found at, https://Veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/180/8/188.3 This seems to be an abstract. Can't remember where I read the detail of the study!
I cannot get into that article Carole - it appears to be subscription only, but I do remember coconut oil being mentioned when a ketogenic diet was being discussed on the epi List. That was the main reason I changed Pereg to raw.
