biopsy results - frustration!!

   Gee, that's tough Cathy. I don't blame you at all for not wanting to wait another day to know the results.
 

Oh boy - waiting is the worst!  I sympathize.
 
I had some tests run at the local hospital and came home on a Friday to a message that I needed to schedule an appt to go over the results.  Soonest I could get an appt was Tuesday - nurse would not say anything over the phone - just I had to see the doctor!   Saturday the book club delivered a book about miracle cancer cures!  I took it as a sign and panicked!  On Tuesday the dr told me I had gallstones!  I about stroked out and all it was were gallstones!  What a relief but I could have killed him and his nurse! 

SO frustrating!  I'm so sorry you have wait it out like that.  horrible.  Good luck with the results.  I'd like to think that if it were something serious, they wouldn't leave such a casual message, you know?   I would take it as a good thing?

Thanks Christine - I was thinking the same thing.  Listening to the message she left, it didn't have a dismal tone to it.  Then I thought "well, yeah, cause it's 5:10 and they're done for the day".  Just kidding - I'm just getting so crabby about this whole thing.  I first took Sassy in on Jan 12th and here it is March 29th, so on one hand another day won't hurt but on the other, I feel like it's been long enough!!   

You're right, one more day won't make a difference, but when you're waiting for biopsy results - each day is pure torture!!!  (I'm waiting for some results for Slick as well).  Seriously, if it were going to be a heavy, emotional discussion (in the Vet's mind) - wouldn't she have left a completely different message?  That's what I'm going with!!  I'm *sure* now that I've thought about it, that the treatment is some topical cream, applied lightly for 10 days..  []

You know, I HATE doctors for just this reason!   They just go about their way and do whatever they are going to do, sometimes with no thoughts that their patient is worried to death!
I feel for you Cathy!   I guess you just have to wait a bit longer!

Cathy
 
Im sure its nothing you don't already know...LOL With Alley I use to think they were calling with the almighty answer to her problem when in reality it was just to go over everything I already knew and how stumped they are.....
 
Your like me ... we think they found the answer to misery of our dogs...
 
I do hope in your case its something good. But with these vets I don't hold my breath anymore....
 
Keep us posted
Kim

Kim - you must be psychic!!  No kidding - I just hung up from the vet (finally!!) and the news is good (she said "and bad" but not to me).  The biopsy showed no Lupus, no Pemphigus or anything else of that nature.  It's just a deep infection.  The "bad" to them is that they don't know why the antibiotics haven't cleared it up yet.  I agree, but I am feeling pretty darn good right now.  I'm taking Sassy back tomorrow so they can take the biopsy sutures out and they can look at her again and decide what meds to try next.  I'm so happy though and sooooo relieved.
Thanks everyone for hanging in there with me [] 
 
....and Kim, you can now say "um hmm, didn't I say that?" [sm=lol.gif]

Cathy, I'm with you!!  I know you have been thinking some scary thoughts lately so I'm happy also for the vets news!
Maybe you can just find the proper medicine to help now!
 

Yip I knew it...
I don't get excited over much of anything anymore with Alley...Been there done that and its never an answer to anything.
 
I will say I did have a wee bit of hope with my holistic vet and now she listens more to me from seeing how Alley's skin went over the deep end when she tried giving her those Herbs... that was a months worth of total disater on Alleys skin.
 
You want to know what gets me???? Never do they ever refund you for what you purchased!!! If I didn't like my holistic vet so much I guess I would get the nerve and say... Okay now do I get a refund on those tea pills and the herbs that made Alleys skin go over the deep end? The ones she gave Louie for digestion made him sick... not once did she offer to give me my money back and bring the stuff back in to her.... That really still bothers me. But she never suggests any of those things to me anymore cause she sees how my dogs have reacted to them. She even told me she is afraid to give me anything to help with whatever problem I may talk to her about that my dogs are having.
So for now its just accupunture.
 
So I guess you can say I don't get excited anymore over suggestions.... cause nothing and I mean nothing has works.
 
As for Sassy have they cultured her infection to see what antiboitics will work and which are resistant?

They did a culture and sensitivity on Sassy when I first took her in in early Jan.  Came back yeast in the vulva area and staph & pseudomonas in the tummy area.  They were alarmed then at the extent of the infection and said "the only drugs that will work for this staph & pseudomonas, are Cipro and Clindamycin".  We did 21 days of that (plus ketaconazale for the yeast), stopped cause it looked clear and 2 days later it resurfaced.  Did another 21 days and it still wasn't totally clear and that's when they decided to do the biopsy.  Meanwhile, the yeast also hadn't cleared up and was (is) actually worse.  The vet today said she thinks that Sassy has developed an immunity to the Clindamycin now, so not sure what's left in the bag of tricks.  They hinted again at Atopic but when I said "she's honestly not that itchy", they decided not to. 
Seriously - I want to say "give me that book you use and let me see what we can try" [sm=lol.gif]  I can't help but feel that we've either not been treating her with a) the right meds, b) the right dose of the med, or c) the right length of time and/or the right dose.  Hard to tell your vets (there's 2 derm vets working with us) you're not sure they're doing the right thing.  There's only one other derm vet in the whole Sacramento area but I guess I could head to UC Davis if we don't get somewhere soon. 
I don't know why I bother to put the credit card back in my wallet these days []
 

 I'm happy that it's not pemphigus or lupus. I think I've said this before, but according to this website, only about 40% of the medicine in the blood reaches the skin, and a common mistake that vets make in treating skin infections is not prescirbing the antibiotics for a long enough time :
         [linkhttp://www.hillary.net/school/dermatology/derm.lec.10.30.98]http://www.hillary.net/school/dermatology/derm.lec.10.30.98[/link]
 
   Do you know if Sassy is licking these areas? Jessie used to lick her feet at night when we were sleeping. I would put Animax or Bactoderm on her feet during the day, and by evening they would look better, but the next morning they would look worse again. I suspected she was licking them at night, and when I started putting boots on her feet at night they were better in the morning and healed nicely. If she knows you don't want her to lick these areas, she may lick them when you aren't watching, and that will probably prevent her skin from healing. You mentioned "UC Davis", is that a veterinary teaching hospital?  The vets there may do a better job than these vets are doing. We are lucky enough to live within easy driving distance of a veterinary teaching hospital, and that's where Jessie's derm vet is. A way to tell your vets that you're not sure they're doing the right thing is to ask them questions, such as , "Do you know what else could cause these symptoms?", " Would using the medicine a little longer help?", " Is there something else we could try?", "Have you seen cases like this before?".  I believe you said this vet had an excellent reputation and was well qualified, so hopefully she will come up with other treatment options for Sassy. You must be sooo frustrated!

Janice - yes,  UC Davis is a veterinary teaching hospital and highly regarded.  However, I've been told that you can expect to pay about the same and you may also end up being the teaching case that the students all try to figure out. 

As for licking the area.   We do find her licking the vulva area, but not as often as you might imagine.  However, there's a long stretch of day that she could be doing damage.  Short of putting her in a diaper (which would last about 5 min's []), there's no way to cover up that area.  I feel horrible for her knowing she's had this ucky feeling for almost 3 months now.  I really like the derm vet I see tomorrow, so hopefully she'll have a good plan of action.  She's the one who recommended the biopsy and I'm glad we did that and ruled out anything more serious.  Gosh, was that a tense week though.  I didn't realize how tense I was until I got the news today and I almost felt giddy with relief. 

   What about an e-collar? During the day Jessie would go in our bedroom where we couldn't watch her to lick her feet, so we would keep her out of our bedroom by closing the door. Her feet would look better by evening, but worse again in the morning. She hates her e-collar, so I used her doggy boots to keep her form licking her feet at night and it really helped. Pemphigus and lupus are serious conditions, so it's easy to understand why you were tense. Jessie is family, and I know Sassy is too, so worrying about them is like worrying about a family member. I hope that when you see the vet tomorrow she'll have a good idea of what to do next.