[chandlerT]

Hey all! I haven't been around in FOREVER!

I inherited my inlaws 11 year old, Abby (they moved out of the country). Yesterday we noticed puss coming from her eye and the eye was cloudy and rolled back quite a bit. I took her in after work today and she was diagnosed with glaucoma. Her pressure was 60 (normal 15-17).

I'm a bit concerned about her age and the surgery so I'm just wondering about anyone else's experience with the disease and if the meds were effective. Did the meds work at all? She's on 5 different RXs as of tonight. I'm just HOPING she can stay on the meds as long as possible!


ETA: Quick Update. When she got up this morning the inflamation had dramatically reduced and there was no drainage coming from the eye. It's still very cloudy but I'm so relieved and impressed that the medications started working this fast. Especially since yesterday she couldn't even open that eye in the morning due to all the gunk.

 

[Soundtrack]

I haven't had to deal with glaucoma, but I suggest that you go to blinddogs.com and join the email list they have there. A lot of the people there will have been through this.

 

[Beverly Anne]

Hi, I'm Beverly and my basset's name is Francis. At the age of 4 Franny was diagnosed with canine closed angle glaucoma after a 2:00am emergency visit to the local vet ER. He was admitted for IV medications (mannitol) and he started on Xalatan and Tru-sopt. I was a student at the time and I was eating ramen noodles 3 meals a day because the drugs were so costly. :blink: Things went along pretty well for about a year and a half until we started having a hell of a time keeping his pressures in his right eye below 18. He was in and out of the hospital until it came to a total pain issue. He was very uncomfortable and insane with grief when we were apart so now we were on mannitol, some kind of doggy valium and 3 different eye drops. Every single person I spoke to (except the vet ophthalmologist) told me not to even bother with the laser surgery as it only bought you a little time but didn't fix the problem. So I opted to have the right eye removed (God help us, I had a prosthetic placed) and things went along wonderfully for the next year. Then his left (his only) started flaring up. He was in agony and he was admitted again, over and over for weeks. We really, truly struggled to save his eye but it just plain couldn't be done. I was in agony about deciding to have that eye "killed" with gentamycin but it was the only possible thing to do. So now I have a blind dog.
OH! But not just any blind dog, Francis thinks he's Commander/King/Ruler and Scheduler for the Universe. (Can't see any competition, right?)
The vet told me that if a dog had to go blind, a basset is the best one, they're all nose all the time and sight is actually their third sense, after hearing. It's been 3 years and he is a very portable dog, we go every where and do every thing.
I would definitely try the meds for as long as you can and I'll say a quick prayer for you.

 

[Belinda]

Surgery for glaucoma in canines is a waste of money. I too had a Basset go blind from glaucoma. Luckily she had a couple of years with vision in one eye before she went totally blind. !! is old for the onset . Nellie was 7 (which I think is average). Good luck and take care, Belinda.

 

[cidhub]

My dog may have it too

2 days ago my dogs eyes suddenly became all red and her left eye was really rolled back. took her to vet today and he said she probably has glaucoma. gave us eyedrops to relieve some of the pressure, but thinks her vision is gone in that eye all ready. It happened really fast, as she wasnt showing any signs at all. He suggested a specialist, which will cost lots im sure. Bailey is almost 7 and I dont know if I should take her or not.

 

[SophieB]

Even if Bailey lost her sight, she can still enjoy a good quality of life - remember Bassets are scenting hounds and can follow scents on the ground and run along without even looking up.... My vet has a blind Spaniel who goes to the surgery every days and he has a good quality of life and goes out for runs on a lead as well as a sighted dog does. Best of luck to everyone whose Basset has poor or no sight. It's BAD BREEDERS who cause it because once they have it in their dogs, they should never breed from them again, but no, they carry on and it keeps passing down as it's hereditary! Poor Bassets!

We also rescued an abandoned dog a few years ago who was found to have Glaucoma in one eye and we guessed the previous owners couldn't afford to get him treated so we paid out a huge amount of money to try and cure the Glaucoma and none of it worked for more than a few months and his 'good' eye was also treated, even before symptoms showed.

It wasn't long until the other eye went cloudy and Glaucoma had affected it too, so more money and more treatment to no avail so poor Hector was completely blind but our lovely old lady seemed to sense he cpouldn't see and she became his minder and he still loved to go on the same walks, still sniffing out rabbits. His blindness just broke my heart, especially as he was abandoned but we gave him a good few years of a happy life, or as happy as he could be.

Have a look (and post a message) on this Basset blog that I follow because the owners have a delightful blind Basset called Emma and you can look back on all their messages and pictures. They also have another Basset called Chaps and I love reading about their antics!

BassetHoundTown Blog/Vlog Chaps and Emma considered messy and an intimidation????

http://twitter.com/bassethoundtown

 

[Lightning&Stomps]

Cidhub, I don't know where you are in Ohio, but I've been taking my dog Lightning (13 years old in February) to a doggy opthamologist in Cincinnati for a few months now, and the opthamologist is actually less expensive than my regular vet. Plus, he knows what tests are necessary and which aren't, so if I'd gone to him initially I would have saved hundreds of dollars. I know they also have an office in Columbus. The vet's name is Dr. Warren, the practice is MedVet and the number is 513-561-0069. I just drove Lightning up to see him today (in a blizzard).

 

[smimlitsch]

Hi
My Fred was diagnosed with it 3 months aga and last Sunday he woke up totally blind. I ran him to an Eye Vet and he is on 2 different drops and 1/4 pill 4 xs a day. I had him there again this orning and he is totally blind in his left eye but we think he can see far in the right. He is totally blind close up. He runs into things and bumps his nose and then backs up. It has been a trying crying week. I would be lost without him after 12 dedicated years. I am just hopeing he is adjusting better than I am. I have his brother Walter and he shows no signof it. Thank the Lord. Any help I would appreciate.

 

[Beverly Anne]

pain management

Once you've lost the vision in the eye you might as well remove it so the dog isn't in any pain. Dogs are so adaptable and when I had to remove Franny's second eye I was prostrate with grief while Fran went sniffing around to find his dinner bowl.
Franny was totally blind for the last 6 years of his life and I used to joke that only dumb dogs needed eyes. He was amazing and was my gift from God. I learned so many lessons from him on determination and perserverence.
My only advice would be to make sure you have the pain well managed. There's a great book called "Living with Blind Dogs" by Carol Levin which was invaluable.
I lost Franny in August and no dog has ever been more mourned.
Enjoy Fred for all the wonderful things he can do.

 

[Wworm]

Oh, sorry to hear about your Fred, and it must be so hard right now.
Hope you will find some answers & support here.

One thought is to have the vet check the pressures in Walter's eyes periodically for preventative care, to catch any problems sooner rather than later.

I wished dogs eyes were checked more routinely. a lot of times, elevated pressures can be detected for sometime before there is a vision crisis. like in people, a lot of people know they are at risk for glaucoma & have elevated pressures due to their yearly (supposedly) eye exams. at this point, there are often no symptoms. by the time there are symptoms, the glaucoma is much farther along...
--will be thinking of your Fred,
Worm

 

[Mikey T]

He runs into things and bumps his nose and then backs up. It has been a trying crying week. I would be lost without him after 12 dedicated years. I am just hopeing he is adjusting better than I am

bandit the beagle had Sards[Sudden acquired retinal degeneration] sudden no more than a week or two often lest that She adjusted fine to livin in two different locations including using stairs and dooggie door without a problem. The biggest advice I have is you need to let them figure it out and not help them physically. . It is fine to call them use your voice to orient to you but if they get stuck in a corner lifting/carrying them or directing by the collar only serves to disorient them even more.