Kathy H. Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 This is for my 8 year old border collie Pepper. I'm looking for a vet opthamologist within (hopefully) a day's drive of Eastern Iowa. Iowa State University has said they won't have anyone for a month. The guy who comes down here to the E. Iowa Speciality clinic from up around Green Bay WI is only in the area one day a month and is totally booked up (July 25) altho I'm on the "waiting list". What happened is that Pepper has had "red eyes" for a couple of months. She's had vet work ups. Normal pressures. No itching, no pain. Seems to see OK. Then yesterday, after she brought some sheep down, I noticed that her right eye was sort of swollen and "all pupil" (dilated pupil). Took her to the vet and they tested her pressures again (it had been done earlier). Totally normal with the affected eye actually being lower than the unaffected eye. So glaucoma is not something they suspect. Pepper is currently on steroid eye drops, pred, and antibiotics to cover the bases. The swelling has gone down some but the pupil is still the same. The thinking is that it's an uveitis or iritis but ...there are a lot of possibilities. Anyone have any suggestions? Personal experience? I'm collecting info to discuss with the vets here working with Pepper so that we can figure out the best thing to do for her. Pepper seems to be perfectly comfortable and is acting normal. We did HW/tick-borne disease test (negative) and a CBC and all is fine. All vitals are fine. Thanks for any info! Kathy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurie etc Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 This is for my 8 year old border collie Pepper. I'm looking for a vet opthamologist within (hopefully) a day's drive of Eastern Iowa. Iowa State University has said they won't have anyone for a month. The guy who comes down here to the E. Iowa Speciality clinic from up around Green Bay WI is only in the area one day a month and is totally booked up (July 25) altho I'm on the "waiting list"....Kathy here's a link to the CERF - ACVO Vet list - not sure if the Dr. you are referring to is in Cedar Rapids, but there is one there... (otherwise, my geography isn't good enough to know exactly where "a days drive from E. Iowa" is...) http://www.vmdb.org/clinic.html good luck! Laurie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy H. Posted July 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 here's a link to the CERF - ACVO Vet list - not sure if the Dr. you are referring to is in Cedar Rapids, but there is one there... (otherwise, my geography isn't good enough to know exactly where "a days drive from E. Iowa" is...) http://www.vmdb.org/clinic.htmlgood luck! Laurie Thank you and your geography is perfect! This vet actually has a home base in Appleton WI, up by Green Bay. He comes to Cedar Rapids once a month is all. And he's totally booked for the day he's here in July (which is over a week away anyway). Pepper is on the waiting list just in case. Meanwhile, I'm compiling a list of vet opthos in the general midwest area that people know of/recommend and will be happy to share with anyone. Thanks again and congratulations for your Iowa geography Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Kathy, It may be a long shot, but if you haven't done so already, I'd do a tick panel. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy H. Posted July 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Kathy,It may be a long shot, but if you haven't done so already, I'd do a tick panel. J. Thanks. Actually a tick panel was one of the first things my vet did (I love my vets). We also did a CBC. All is fine. Her eye pressures are fine so glaucoma is not it. I have located all kinds of vet opthos now in adjoining states so now the question is (1) can one of them tell us anything we don't already know and/or could do something about if did know? Rule outs at this point are in the realm of auto immune disease and tumors. But Pepper seems to feel absolutely normal and fine and the eye is responding to the steroids. Oh, and the second question is when and where can I get her seen (and can I do my schedule so I can get her there)... is doesn't seem to be an emergency any more but it is something to not ignore. I'll let you all know how it develops... the whole thing has been very frightening since the first thing to rule out was a stroke! Kathy/Iowa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eileen Stein Posted July 16, 2007 Report Share Posted July 16, 2007 Sounds like an inflammation response, but that doesn't get you very far. How sure are you that she can see out of that eye? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy H. Posted July 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2007 Sounds like an inflammation response, but that doesn't get you very far. How sure are you that she can see out of that eye? Just realized that I never updated you all. I took Pepper to the U of Illinois vet hospital Wednesday. Examination and an ultrasound found a mass in her eye so they removed the eye on Thursday. I'll get the pathology back in a week or two. Could be benign, could be cancer, could be an inflammatory mass (not likely). The good thing is that the mass was entirely in the "globe" and that Pepper's lung x-rays were clear. Pepper did a great job of being a "good dog" but had major panic coming out of the anesthetic which required heavy sedation so I didn't get her until 4.30 or so (after taking her in at 7.30). Got her home (5 hour drive) and she is doing well. Swelling is down and the Tramadol she has for pain is probably sedating her a bit which is good since she needs to not run around and has to wear the "doughnut" thing I use to keep dogs from bothering injuries. Thanks again for all the help... and I am very grateful for the excellent care Pepper and I both received at the U of Illinois. Good people. Kathy/Iowa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca, Irena Farm Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Kathy keep us up to date, please! We'd love to hear the further progress as you resume training with her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy H. Posted July 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Kathy keep us up to date, please! We'd love to hear the further progress as you resume training with her! I'll be happy to. Pepper has never really been a trial dog (she gets freaky at trials until/unless she gets to know the place) but she is my good chore dog who has never, ever not tried for me and who saved my butt more times than I can count. I suspect that she had been losing sight in that eye for a while now that I look back.... but it could have been me and my handling. Now that I know she doesn't see on the right for sure, I'll have to blame me. On another topic, someone asked me if losing sight in one eye might make her looser eyed (she's medium eyed now). The premise is that strong eyed dogs pay attention to the binocular field of vision and not the peripheral so will it make a difference now that she only has one eye? I plan to ask the vet optho with the border collie too! Kathy/Iowa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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