Sudden Blindness (Update 9/17/08) Vet Called Have 3 Options, Can you give me your opinions please.

    • Gold Top Dog

    I'd definitely go to a specialist.  Also remember, though, that vets don't always have the answers either. They usually find it just as frustrating. They can only eliminate things as they go or call in a specialist to see if they can come up with answers.

    I don't think it makes one a bad vet necessarily, as long as they're devoted to working to find an answer

    • Gold Top Dog

    Daisyprincess -- WHERE are you in Florida?  Why don't you go to UF?  (University of Florida).  It will be cheaper than a specialist and they do awesome stuff at UF.  I've taken dogs there several times and I have *never* been sorry.  Usually it's a fraction of the cost of a specialist or at least much much less -- and they do cutting edge stuff there -- their eye people are SUPER good.  Even if you have to drive a ways it will likely pay you to go to UF because of the cost involved. 

     I've worked with a bunch of the vets up there -- email me if I can help you.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Sorry to hear, I know you are scared and nervous.  We had an older terrier that was blind for several years before she passed.  We rescued her but so we didnt know exactly how old she was but we had her for 12 years ourselves and she was fully mature when we got her.  She got along great with her sense of smell I just had to make sure I didnt change the furniture arrangements and she could do just about anything she wanted.  I hope you find the cause for her blindness and Daisy gets better but I just wanted to share life with a blind dog can be very rewarding for many more years.

    • Gold Top Dog

     Took Daisy to the specialist today, I didn't want to wait any longer my vet wanted me to wait until he retested her pressure again next week but I was to worry I just went ahead and called the doctor myself, her left eye I already knew it could not be saved seeing how her lens is floating but her levels in that eye are in the 70's.

     He checked her levels her left eye was 74 and her right eye was 56 and normal pressure is from 12-18 so he did some treatments with drops and we had to wait like 45mins to an hour and before we left he retested her pressure in her eyes the left eye was 70 and her right eye went all the way down to 21 which he was very happy with seeing how the normal range is 12-18.

    He said there are alot of if's right now and he said the nerves in her right eye might not be all gone so he gave me 5 more meds to add to her 3 we have from the regular vet. He does want me to take Daisy to the regular vet on monday to check her pressure again and see if the meds are working so depending on how her meds work until monday we will take it from there. It's glaucoma that is why her eye sight is like this, he said most likely she was born like that and as the years went by they got worse. He also said it's from her breed and he also guessed to Daisy either having beagle or basset hound in her.

     
    That's all I have so far just if's and the possibility that her eye sight in her right eye might not be gone for good so I have my fingers crossed that these meds work great for her and she regains her sight, also he said he can go into her eye and take some fluid out to relieve the pressure, but to try the meds first.

    Well I should head to bed gotta get up at 3am and give her meds
    she's on Rimadyl, Amlodipine, Timolol, Travatan, Demecarium, Pibcarpine, Prednisolone, Azopt.

    Please keep Daisy in your prayers as she needs them right now and thanks again for the help everyone I guess I have no luck with dogs forgot I gotta take Lucky to the vets tomorrow she's limping she hurt her leg some how outside, she's walking on it now but has a limp and sometimes has her paw up.

    Just a question seeing how I have to keep taking Daisy in to check her pressure do you think if I asked the vet if he can just charge me for the pressure test he'll go for it??? doubt it but I think I might give it a try  Thanks again everyone
     

    • Gold Top Dog

    I'm not a vet but I don't believe she should be taking the Rimadyl and the Prednisolone at the same time.  Please double check that with your vet when you go.  And, I will be thinking about her!

    • Gold Top Dog

     Totti and I will keep our paws and fingers crossed!

    Good luck and tell us the news! 

    • Gold Top Dog

    willowchow
    I don't believe she should be taking the Rimadyl and the Prednisolone at the same time. 

     

    Rimadyl is a pill and Prednisolone are drops but I will ask my vet on monday when I take Daisy in.  She's been a little mopey and not really wanting to do anything but sleep or lay in her bed, Starting to have a hard time putting drops into her eyes she lets the vet do them but me she's growling at and showing her teeth to now even DH she's doing it to, when she's at the vets she's soooo sweet and doesn't growl at them or anything, she was just gonna bite me lol I'm trying to help her and she's gonna go on the attack, that's all I have for now. Thanks again

     

    • Gold Top Dog

    daisyprincess
    Rimadyl is a pill and Prednisolone are drops but I will ask my vet on monday when I take Daisy in. 

    Yeah, it might be OK because the Pred you are using are drops but I'd still check.

     

    • Gold Top Dog

    It's an eye medication, pred is a steriod, while rymidal is an anti-inflamitory. Still check with the vet, but they are both working towards different things. Was the specialist aware of what meds she was already on? I would assume so, just asking.

    Dogs do adjust very well to being blind. They deal much differently that humans. Since she already knows your home, I think she'll be just fine, either way. You can try marking different things with different sents now, while she still has some vision. That will help later on, so she still knows where things are based on their sent. There should be another post on this somewhere on here - I know I had asked about tips for blind dogs while trying to place one.

    • Gold Top Dog

    erica1989
    Was the specialist aware of what meds she was already on?

     

    Yes I brought all 3 meds with me, he's been an eye specialist for 30yrs I hope he knows what he's doing lmao but I will double check with my vet on monday, I did notice since her being on all these meds that her left eye which she is completely blind has went down it's not big and bulging out like it was, so hopefully the pressure in that eye which was 70 when we left the office is down.  With her right eye whenever we put the meds in her eye gets really red but he told me thats normal he had said that it will take about 3 weeks for the nerves in her eyes to recover from the pressure being so high so he said she might be able to see out of her right eye in a few days or 3 weeks so I am hoping that her nerves can recover, it's all if's right now but I am trying to think positive, she has been finding her way to the room she just started to go by herself she gets lost and goes to the bathroom first but then from there she finds the room. Well it's almost time for some of her meds gotta get going. thanks everyone 

    • Gold Top Dog

    I wouldn't think you'd have any problems with the meds - and working together - they should do their job.

    She's still blinking, right? With dogs with 'bulging' eye problems - you want to watch for dry eye, make sure the eye is staying moist.

    I'll be thinking about you guys, best of luck!

    • Gold Top Dog

    Yes, she was given a opthalmic ointment that is a steriod.  It's not what I originally thought it was.  However, it is still worth double checking on taking the Rimadyl with it as I was given strict instructions to stay off Rimadyl while Willow was taking oral Prednisone.  It can make the changes of stomach ulcer/bleeding much more likely. 

    • Gold Top Dog

     My parents shih-tzu hass been blind for a couple of years and hes completely fine.

    • Gold Top Dog

     Rimadyl  and Prednisolone ok I found a site that said if your dog is on Rimadyl that it should never be given along with any other non-steroial anti-inflammatory drug such as aspirin, or along with any corticosteroids such as Prednisone, Prednisolone < Daisy has that one or Dexamethasone. 

    I have not given her the Rimadyl all day today and I won't until I ask the vet tomorrow, she was on that med first but I will stop it for now. See on the paper they gave me with the meds to give her Rimadyl wasn't add on it but the other two meds I had brought in with me were so I said, so don't give her the Rimadyl anymore because I don't see it on the list and she told me to anyway I don't believe the vet was there crap now I can't remember but I know I asked her if I should give it to her or not and she told me yes.

     

    • Gold Top Dog

     Daisy went to the vet today her left eye which has is the real bad one her pressure was all the way down to 40 and her right eye was 24 so the vet called the specialist, specialist wasn't happy with the left eye being at 40 he's happy with the 24 but they both said to keep her on the meds until next week and see the pressure then and go from there