Internal bleeding

[nancy]

On a thread in the general discussion forum, there are two instances of dogs dying from internal bleeding. One, at least, is elderly.

 

What causes this? It seems to be sudden and unoperable.

 

Is it related to the congestive heart failure that my father had? He did have internal bleeding - needing transfusions and draining of "fluid" from his abdomen. But that went on for over a year, graducally getting worse.

 

My Fergie is about to turn 9, so I want to know if there are warning signs and things to do to prevent this.

[sea4th]

Nancy,

 

First, I'm functioning on empty right now, so pardon any typos or incoherency.

 

I don't remember how much detail I went into in Petey's case. From my understanding, a tumor, in Pete's case, first thought on the liver or spleen, bursts, hemmorhaging begins and results in the symptoms I saw with Pete, weakness, anemia. Saturday a.m. he still bounced downstairs with a whoop to eat, later Saturday night, is when I first noticed this. When the supposed tumor burst---I don't know---. According to the vets I talked to, clotting sometimes happens, but never for long. Right now, in Pete's case, he is so anemic, it is affecting his heart, so I guess organ shut down is inevitable.

 

Earlier this year, where I work, the chief law judge took sick. He was 57 yrs. old, appeared to be in great shape, a Type A personality. He began having abdominal pains and they took him to the Cleveland Clinic. An aneurysm was found somewhere around his stomach. He went into surgery and they repaired it. While he was in ICU, his kidneys began to shut down. They didn't know why. They opened him up again and found that there were 2 more aneursyms in a place that could not be reached. This was on a Friday. Saturday he went into dialysis. Sunday, he was told that there was nothing they could do for him, that the hemmorhaging would cause the shut down of his organs and he was given a matter of hours to live. Monday they sent him home. In the early hours of Tuesday, he died quite peacefully. He bled to death.

 

Vicki

[Hyper-Piper]

With my old Dal, the vet said to watch her gums. If they get light in color, it either means anemia or internal bleeding or the dog is under extreme stress or pain. Might want to monitor her gum color and note any sudden changes.

[nancy]

Thanks so much for answering.

 

I know how hard it is when you're dealing with the problem already. Don't know what I'd have known or said when my cat died on her way out of her carrier after another test for hyperthyroidism - when she weighed ~ 4 lbs.

 

Maybe I should ask my brother. The guy I call "Hey you, almost a doctor" (for those who remember early Bill Cosby routines). He's a paramedic and is the one who explained to me all that was going on with our father with CHF and then what the ICU folks were telling me when our mother had her heaart attack and I was the one at the hospital.

 

Geez, I want a pet that dies, peacefully, in its sleep - like the one old gentleman mixed breed down the street.

 

And I'll keep an eye on Fergie's gums. She'll probably decide I'm as neurotic as everyone else considers me.

[juliepoudrier]

Nancy,

Certain tick-borne diseases can also cause anemia and bleeding--Ehrlichiosis comes to mind (and I think also Babesiosis, but wouldn't swear to it). Seems when I had a dog I pulled from the shelter who had some sort of neurologic problem and was reading up on TBDs (since we suspected Ehrlichiosis) I remember reading that such dogs can go relatively symptom free until it's too late and they bleed to death internally. Of course, TBDs can affect dogs of all ages, not just oldsters.

 

J.

[SoloRiver]

There are many, many conditions that can cause internal bleeding. My late Pomeranian had lymphangiosarcoma (a very rare cancer in dogs) and one of the first symptoms that something was wrong was bruising/hemorrhaging all over her belly that looked like a weird rash. She was also bleeding into her lungs, which exacerbated her existing CHF (mitral valve defect).

[SunDogs]

Hi all,

 

Like Melanie said there are many reasons for internal bleeding. However, by far the most common we see at the animal ER is Hemangiosarcoma (HSA) of the spleen or liver.

 

The dogs suddenly collapse or get very weak and occasionally vomit or have a little diarrhea. A real observant owner may notice pale gums/tongue & distended abdomen but most don't. The dogs will often have an increased rate of breathing too.

 

It is a horrible disease because it strikes silently- your dog seems perfectly healthy on the outside and there is no time to prepare for the inevitable. We do probably one of these surgeries each week. Sadly, by the time the tumor is apparent it is too late & the cancer has spread to other places.

 

We just did one last week on a GSDxChow- sweet boy-9 years old. His spleen was bleeding and we removed it but sadly the liver had tumors all over it too. The owners opted to recover him from the surgery and spend his last few weeks giving him lots of love.

 

It is truly one of those diseases I dread most for my dogs. However, abdominal bleeding like this doesn't seem to be really painful so it is a peacful way to go.

 

HTH,