Blastomycosis in the bone

[Galaa88]

I recently brought my dog to the vet because he had a hard lump on the side of his front leg.  The vet took x-rays and said he wasn't completely sure if it was osteosarcoma because the bone wasn't breaking down as it typically does with osteosarcoma.  He thought my dog might have Blastomycosis in his bone. I am going to bring him to a larger animal hospital where my vet recommended that he have a bone biopsy and chest x-rays.

 I read that the bone is only affected in 30% of cases.  I live in New York and I live near water.  Does any one know anything about Blastomycosis in the bone?

[Wilson3]

So sorry to hear your dog is not feeling well!
blasto in the bone does happen and can be hard to treat. My Wilson had it in the joints and bone.Hi sstarted in the bone. He has been blasto free now for almost (wow) 4yrs He does have bone and joint damage form it. It does take a long time to treat. Eva,Marge's Mom, had treated her for a think 2 yrs she ended up going to a holistic vet. She can tell you more cause Marge had it pretty bad in the bone.
Is there any more symptoms? How long has has your dog had a limp?
have they tested for blasto yet? There are many tests most seem to like the pee test
I wish you all well and that you find a answer soon
wilson3

[evayola]

Sorry that your dog may have blasto. The first thing that I would do is ask for the MiraVista urine antigen test. It is easy to collect a urine sample and have it sent out to the lab. While the test may not alway show the blasto if the  blasto is only in the bone it would be worth it. Marge did have blasto in her bone and before we actually found out it was blasto we ended up having to have one of her toes removed. We found out after that that it was indeed blasto but we still didnt know that it was hiding in her other leg. We treated Marge for the blasto that was in her eye, skin, and lungs. We thought that Marge was blasto free after treating her for over 1.5 years. We stopped her meds and she began chewing her foot and you could smell it was very yeasty. The xrays showed that there was still some blasto lingering in there. We treated her with itraconazole this time around and with a very high dose. She was on that dose for about 6 months and based on the xrays we stopped treatment pretty recently. We also had 3 negative MiraVista readings.

If at all possible, I would try to stay away from anesthesia if your dog has it in the lungs. Your vet may not even do it depending on how the chest xrays look. Luckily Marge is a good girl and will do xrays without having to be sedated. Please keep us posted!!! Stay positive!

Eva

[Galaa88]

My dog doesn't have any symptoms at all except a small limp.  He still loves to eat and play.  The only thing we see is the small hard lump on the side of his leg.  It has been there for about three weeks.  Do you know how long it takes for the dog to exhibit symptoms after he would have gotten Blastomycosis? 

I think I will look into the urine test.  We have been looking into a biopsy and blood work and most of the places are pretty expensive.

[Wilson3]

my Wilson started with a limp off and on for about 6 months
He had gotten a puncher wound on his inner right thigh got air under his skin that all healed up ,we thought he would favor that leg off and on we though that it was from the injury... wrong... that is what caused/made the blasto finally take hold ,not 100% because his life style he is exposed to it possible all the time who knows. They say a health dog can handle small doses of blasto and we may never even know they have it they will get over it all on there own and since he was in such incredible shape we are not sure it is when the immune system is weaken hence the puncher wound Wilson got it weaken his immune system  (not sure if you know anything about getting air under the skin it can kill a dog very fast)
but because he was in such great shape it took 6 months to really take hold then he was off the leg for good.
Within a months time he went down fast then from a limp to not using it to bumps hard ones to another leg high fever loose stool not eating well just to mention a few sent a while in dogie ICU  then finally demand my normal vet then he listed when I asked and the first thing he tested for
So it is really hard to say how long any dog can have it before all hell brakes out different for all
I must strongly say though the sicker they get the harder the fight is but there is always a chance when the will is strong to fight

have you decided on anything yet for testing? have you been able to talk with the vet yet?
Thoughts and prayer s are with you
Wilson3

[carolh]

I don't mean to be discouraging but DON'T WAIT!  Get that mira vista test.  Get the x=ray PRONTO.  If it is blasto, the sooner you begin treating it, the better chance your dog has for survival.  I live in an area with a lot of blasto.  Mika came in with what the vet thought was not blasto but he's careful so he said treat it now and if the Mira Vista test (that takes over a week) proves she doesn't have it, we'll stop treatment.  Mika had blasto in the eye for over a year but because we caught it fast, she did not have any problems eating that so many other dogs have.  Except for the vet bill and blindness  in the one eye, you would never have known she was ill.

The nausea begins with the treatment usually as the fungus begins to die off.  So sorry, but no other symptom doesn't mean your dog doesn't have it.  But I hope your dog does not have it.  If s/he does, you will have a lot of support on this forum.

Good luck.  Carol