I have a 13-year-old golden retriever who started having nasal discharge in late June. The discharge was clear and yellowish. There was no loss of appetite or loss of energy. We thought it was a foreign object in his nose but had a CT scan done which came up negative. The discharge turned bloody and we then had a rhinoscopy done. That showed nothing, and we took samples from his nasal cavity which came back negative (the thought was he had a fungus which is very rare in western Colorado)
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The bloody discharge continued so I went to CSU for an emergency room visit. I brought the CT scan and they said it was of such low quality it was of no use. We left CSU with an appointment to go back for an internal medicine appointment. 10 days later I returned to CSU in Mid July (just FYI I am 4 hours away from CSU so it is not an easy trip).
They examined him and wanted a new CT scan and rhinoscope. I did not want to spend another $3k on that after just spending a little more on the scan and rhino from my home vet. Plus he was getting better. There was no more blood in the discharge and the discharge has decreased. They definitively ruled out the fungus as the cause because they said had he had that, it would have spread, and he would have had a systematic failure. We got the sample from his nose back as well and that came back negative for the fungus.
Fast forward this last week and he has begun to have this reverse sneezing (which usually presents with nose mites). The discharge has continued and he seems to be aging very quickly. He has lost weight but is still eating (although slower) and energy level is still pretty good although there is a little decrease in that. We put him on a round of anti-biotics, which seemed to have loosened up the discharge; we are seeing larger amounts coming out. We also put him on a round of the oral meds that are used to treat nose mites (grasping at straws here).
I have an appointment at CSU next week and scheduled the CT scan and rhino.
I just fear his health is declining and wanted to know if anyone here has experienced anything like this before. I know he is old and would rather not put him though anesththia but it seems like he is starting to suffer and I do not want that. So I want to find out what this is.
Thanks for any help. I have the radiology report as well if anyone wants to see it.
Here is the video of the reverse sneeze.
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