Barney

[stardeb55]

Re: Barney

Cheryl, I don't want to criticize your vet, but I don't understand why Barney wasn't tested for dry eye early on. Every time Harley's eye would re-ulcerate, my GP would do the dry eye test, Schrimer's tear test, but it would always come up normal. The specialist repeated the test, & that's when it came up abnormal. You can "google" the name of the test, & see that it's pretty simple to do. They put a small piece of litmus paper, (I think), in the corner of the eye. The paper is graduated in millimeters. They time the migration of tears up the paper strip for a set amount of time, then read how far the tears have traveled. I don't remember what normal range is but on the first abnormal test at the eye vets, Harley's bad eye read something like 5 which is grossly abnormal. She said that it was probably more like 3, but the treatment he had been on had helped a little.

Debbie

[LuvMyMunchie]

Re: Barney

Hi Cheryl,

Sorry to read that the Barnster is still having problems with his eye.

The vet never tested Barney for dry eye. Hopefully the eye specialist will.

I'd for sure be adding that to my list of "must do's" for the eye specialist. Munchie is also being treated for dry eye in his one and only good eye. These furkids!!!

Louise

[BestBuddy]

Re: Barney

Hi Cheryl,
I am sorry Barney's eye is still causing problems. Now this is my interpretation but the eye protects itself but putting a film/skin over the ulcer and that then stops the ulcer from healing. Buddy was on the cyclopoirin ointment and the specialist said she though it was the best treatment to heal the ulcer before the skin covered it again. After the initial surgery treatment I had to continue using the cyclosporin ointment every morning and we used Acular (small amount of steroid I think) drops every night. This was a forever thing but it worked. Hoping you get something that sorts our Barney's eye.
Jenny

[barney's mom]

Re: Barney

Right now he's on Tobramycin drops 4-6 times daily.
The eye doctor is Dr. Glick, I believe he is from Philadelphia, but he travels around and is in Harrisburg on Tuesdays. He may need another 3rd eyelid flap and debridement. The vet never tested Barney for dry eye. Hopefully the eye specialist will.

[Harley PoMMom]

Re: Barney

Hi Cheryl,
Sorry to hear about Barney and his eye, I'm sure the specialist will be able to help you. Who are you taking Barney to see?
How is Beth doing?
UGH, yes this waiting game for the test results does get on the one last nerve that I have left but I guess anyone with a cushpup/sick pup feels that way don't they?! So I may as well get used to it!!
Good luck with the stim test and I'll be waiting and watching for Barney's results.

Take care, Harley and Lori

[stardeb55]

Re: Barney

Harley would be on a round of antibiotic for a couple of weeks to a month, everything would look ok, so we would stop. In a couple of more months, I would happen to look at his eye & see it oozing "crud", off to the vet's, back on antibiotic ointment, & so forth. After the 3rd re-ulceration, we got sent the eye vet who said at that point it was about 90% healed, but with a lot of scar tissue. We started on a different antibiotic ointment + steroid in the AM, same antibiotic/no steroid in the PM, cyclosporin drops 3x daily, & in between all of the above, artificial tears as frequently as possible. I think it took around 5-6 months for things to totally heal up, & the scar tissue to subside.

Debbie

[barney's mom]

Re: Barney

Thanks Deb,
It does make me feel a lot better knowing that its not that uncommon to see ulcers take this long to heal. Once you got the cyclosporin drops did the eye heal quickly? I hate seeing him uncomfortable. I bet it was horrible fighting this for an entire year. Poor Harley

[stardeb55]

Re: Barney

Just to let you know, Harley fought an non-healing corneal ulcer for nearly a year. My IM did say the repeated infections were definitely because of the immune suppression from the Cushing's. We finally ended up at a vet eye Dr., who diagnosed the real culprit as untreated dry eye. I still find this strange to this day as my GP vet had tested Harley for dry eye, either 2 or 3 times, & got normal results. I was standing there when they did the test a the specialist, & it was definitely abnormal in the left eye. We ended up on 2 different antibiotic ointments, & cyclosporin drops for the dry eye. One of the ointments did have just a tiny amount of steroid in it to help clear the residual corneal scaring. The specialist felt the amount was so small that it shouldn't affect the Cushing's. Harley's left eye seems to be fine after doing all this over about a 4-5 month period, but he will be on cyclo eye drops for the rest of his life.

Debbie

[barney's mom]

Just got back from the vet. Barney's corneal ulcer still isn't healing. No better, no worse. The ulcer has been there for two months now. We are going to refer out to a specialist. He is due for a stim test, so we are going to do that wednesday, just to make sure that his numbers are good and it isn't high cortisol levels preventing him from healing.

It is so hard to watch him squint all the time.