Bladder Stones

sunkissedpr1ncs

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So for the past few days I noticed Barkley was bleeding a little but couldn't figure out where it was coming from. This morning after he woke up I saw a ton of blood on the floor and took a paper towel to figure out where it was coming from and figured out it was coming from his penis. He already had a vet appt scheduled for today just for his yearly vaccinations luckily.

The vet did an exam and then inserted a catheter and said they felt a stone and were pretty sure they got it out but they also did an x-ray. The x-ray showed a lot of other stones in his bladder and she said it looked like they were probably cystine (I'm pretty sure this is the kind she said but she was giving me so much info I'm not 100%!). So she said they probably wouldn't pass or dissolve and he would most likely need surgery to remove them.

Poor Barkley JUST had surgery about a month ago for neutering and palate repair so I really don't want him to have surgery again already! Has anyone else experienced these? Has anyone had any luck with them passing or dissolving without surgery?

Thanks!


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RiiSi

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So sorry you both are going through this. My boy had stones removed about two years ago, different type, but stil it was no picnic. Unfortunately surgery is the best and only option with cystine stones and it's better to do before a blockage that can be fatal. Only cystines are not supposed to show in X-ray, so that makes me wonder if your vet really knows what he's doing. Before surgery demand that they find out for sure the type of stones they are.
 
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sunkissedpr1ncs

sunkissedpr1ncs

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So sorry you both are going through this. My boy had stones removed about two years ago, different type, but stil it was no picnic. Unfortunately surgery is the best and only option with cystine stones and it's better to do before a blockage that can be fatal. Only cystines are not supposed to show in X-ray, so that makes me wonder if your vet really knows what he's doing. Before surgery demand that they find out for sure the type of stones they are.

Thanks for the reply! I'm sorry to hear your baby had to go through this before too :(

Well, they were barely visible on the x-ray, which is why she thinks that is what kind they are, but said they can't confirm exactly what kind they are until they remove them. This vet has a large bulldog clientele and are very knowledgeable about bullys and all their issues but I'm wondering if I should take him to the vet who did his other surgery (who also is very familiar with bulldogs) and see what they say and get a price comparison as well. The vet we saw yesterday quoted us $1100-$1300, which is way more than we paid for his neutering and palate repair before!!
 

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Thanks for the reply! I'm sorry to hear your baby had to go through this before too :(

Well, they were barely visible on the x-ray, which is why she thinks that is what kind they are, but said they can't confirm exactly what kind they are until they remove them. This vet has a large bulldog clientele and are very knowledgeable about bullys and all their issues but I'm wondering if I should take him to the vet who did his other surgery (who also is very familiar with bulldogs) and see what they say and get a price comparison as well. The vet we saw yesterday quoted us $1100-$1300, which is way more than we paid for his neutering and palate repair before!!



I was just going to tag Riisi, glad she responded. Excellent advice [MENTION=3354]RiiSi[/MENTION]

Great idea to get a second opinion. Your current vet should also be able to give you a copy of your X-rays so you don't have to pay for them twice.

Sorry your boy may have to have another surgery. :(
[MENTION=3354]RiiSi[/MENTION] what did you do to have them stop reoccurring? Didn't you start raw diet?


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RiiSi

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Usually there is crystals present in the urine and those can be tested in the lab, so you should insist on that before surgery. Also you need to know what kind of stones they're to deside on the management, food, possible medication etc.. Also did the vet mention the extent of the surgery she had in mind? A lot of times with cystine stones they opt to do a big surgery known as a scrotal urethrostomy, where a new opening for urination is created between the dog's penis and scrotum. You don't want that done if not absolutely needed. My boy has hyperuricosuria which is different and I manage that with raw diet and baking soda. With Cystinuria you can google dogaware cystinuria and there is a great group in the internet for canina cystinuria which you can join. That is if your boy has cystine stones, so find out, even if it means consulting another vet, or another...

Just today I took a sample of my boys urine to a new vet (we've moved to another city) and I almost died laughing when he asked if I remembered what type of stones my boy had...The sample checkd out great btw:)
 
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sunkissedpr1ncs

sunkissedpr1ncs

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I was just going to tag Riisi, glad she responded. Excellent advice @RiiSi

Great idea to get a second opinion. Your current vet should also be able to give you a copy of your X-rays so you don't have to pay for them twice.

Sorry your boy may have to have another surgery. :(
@RiiSi what did you do to have them stop reoccurring? Didn't you start raw diet?


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Thanks! I went ahead and made an appointment with the other vet who did his surgery last month and the vet who saw him yesterday is going to send over the x-rays and records, so we'll see what they say!
 
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sunkissedpr1ncs

sunkissedpr1ncs

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Usually there is crystals present in the urine and those can be tested in the lab, so you should insist on that before surgery. Also you need to know what kind of stones they're to deside on the management, food, possible medication etc.. Also did the vet mention the extent of the surgery she had in mind? A lot of times with cystine stones they opt to do a big surgery known as a scrotal urethrostomy, where a new opening for urination is created between the dog's penis and scrotum. You don't want that done if not absolutely needed. My boy has hyperuricosuria which is different and I manage that with raw diet and baking soda. With Cystinuria you can google dogaware cystinuria and there is a great group in the internet for canina cystinuria which you can join. That is if your boy has cystine stones, so find out, even if it means consulting another vet, or another...

Just today I took a sample of my boys urine to a new vet (we've moved to another city) and I almost died laughing when he asked if I remembered what type of stones my boy had...The sample checkd out great btw:)

Thanks for all the information! I called the vet back today and asked them what kind they had said they thought they were and she checked with Dr. and they said there were so many crystals, it was hard to tell. So maybe I misunderstood yesterday and she didn't actually say they were cystine but maybe that they just could be (sorry, I couldn't remember all of what she said, which was a lot! :) ). She also didn't mention what type of surgery it would be. But I went ahead and made an appt with another vet who did his surgery last month to get a 2nd opinion, so we will see what they say tomorrow. I'm glad to hear you boy is doing great now!! :)
 
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sunkissedpr1ncs

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I wanted to give an update on what the 2nd vet I saw today said. He said it looked like the 1st vet made it seem worse than it was. He said that he did see some stones but not as many as she made it seem. He did say they were a little large and irregular shaped, so Barkley will need surgery to remove them so they don't cause a blockage.

He was so nice and didn't charge me for the visit today and said he would give me a discount on the surgery because he felt so bad since he had just done Barkley's other surgeries a month ago. So I went ahead and scheduled it for next week. Hopefully this will be the end of having surgeries!! Poor little Barkley just can't catch a break!


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RiiSi

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That's good news! Did he tell you what kind of stones they are? Has his urine been tested? I can not stress enough how important it is to know.
 

2BullyMama

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I wanted to give an update on what the 2nd vet I saw today said. He said it looked like the 1st vet made it seem worse than it was. He said that he did see some stones but not as many as she made it seem. He did say they were a little large and irregular shaped, so Barkley will need surgery to remove them so they don't cause a blockage.

He was so nice and didn't charge me for the visit today and said he would give me a discount on the surgery because he felt so bad since he had just done Barkley's other surgeries a month ago. So I went ahead and scheduled it for next week. Hopefully this will be the end of having surgeries!! Poor little Barkley just can't catch a break!


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Hugs, prayers Nd positive thoughts that all goes well and this is he last for both of you!
 
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sunkissedpr1ncs

sunkissedpr1ncs

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That's good news! Did he tell you what kind of stones they are? Has his urine been tested? I can not stress enough how important it is to know.

No, they said the stones would be analyzed after they removed them to determine what kind they are and then they would give suggestions on diet, etc to help prevent them from forming again.


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sunkissedpr1ncs

sunkissedpr1ncs

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That's good news! Did he tell you what kind of stones they are? Has his urine been tested? I can not stress enough how important it is to know.

Hi! Just wanted to give an update....Barkley had his surgery last week and everything went well. The vet just called with the results of the stone analysis and they are cystine stones :( He said that Barkley needs to be on the Science Hills UD food now to prevent them from coming back. He wants me to switch him to that and then come back in a couple weeks so he can test his urine.

I know that Science Hills is not a great brand of food at all and I definitely do not want to be feeding him crappy food. I will have to check out the group you mentioned above and see if they have any recommendations on feeding to prevent the stones from coming back other than the Science Hills.

Thanks! :)
 

2BullyMama

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Hi! Just wanted to give an update....Barkley had his surgery last week and everything went well. The vet just called with the results of the stone analysis and they are cystine stones :( He said that Barkley needs to be on the Science Hills UD food now to prevent them from coming back. He wants me to switch him to that and then come back in a couple weeks so he can test his urine.

I know that Science Hills is not a great brand of food at all and I definitely do not want to be feeding him crappy food. I will have to check out the group you mentioned above and see if they have any recommendations on feeding to prevent the stones from coming back other than the Science Hills.

Thanks! :)


Happy to hear all went well with the surgery.... Hills ids OK for short term, but you are right in researching and getting advice for a better food for him. BEST of luck
 

xxaprilrose

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I am no help. My sister had a collie, she was a bit older (8 years) and she kept getting these. Eventually got the surgery but they kept coming back. I hope if you get it done its not like what she went through. I would ask the vet if they would come back after the surgery or not and how to prevent it.

i should probably read the comments before posting huh?! hehe well im glad the surgery went well and you already covered the grounds opn helping to prevent them!! much luck and SO HAPPY for a recovery!!
 

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