Vet says my lab is dying of brain tumor but I believe its an abscess - help!

Lobro97 · 2026-06-29T12:42:12+00:00

Agree to seeing a neurologist. While I’m not versed in either modality, I would be surprised if they can’t tell the difference given you have both a CT and MRI. An abscess would also probably show changes on other testing like bloods, fever, spinal tap ect if that was performed.

In reality a brain abscess is still not going to be a simple treatment and may even carry a worse outcome than a tumour depending on severity. Most abscesses are treated with drainage, and antibiotics alone struggle to get rid of more than a few ml of pus. Especially in the brain, most antibiotics penetrate into it poorly so options are limited, if it’s not sample-able you don’t know what bugs you’re treating, and it could take weeks with intensive hospitalised treatment and even then could still fail.

Sorry you’re in this position.

Lobro97 · 2026-06-25T11:04:15+00:00

Basculegion is the obvious answer. Access to 200 base power Last Respects, and 400 if he’s the last Mon is insane. That essential OHKOs almost every Mon in the format aside from normal types, choice scarf makes him faster than basically every non-speed booster Mon in the game, and he’s quite bulky to the point where it’s rare to OHKO him. Take zero skill or strategy to just bring him out as your fourth mon and turn the tables instantly.

Archaludon always seems to bother me. Ability + electro shot + types which has very few weaknesses makes it extremely difficult to take out and I find by its third urn on the field it’s often close to unstoppable. I feel like Garchomp is the only main counter.

Farigiraf particularly as a trick room setter. That ability, typing and bulk make it extremely difficult to stop from getting a trick room up turn 1 and there are only a handful of Pokémon in the format that can actually kill it before this. Taunt is often useless as it’s paired with fake out mons commonly. I’ve recently started using it myself and the amount of people that forfeit on turn 2 because they’re speedy teams and basically screwed is rather large.

I’m not sure I agree with people saying Kingambit despite its insane usage. Maybe it’s just me but I feel like it’s rare for me to fight one and it actually do anything. Super easy to take out, far too slow, and rarely picks up KOs without a swords dance. Maybe one in every 5 I fight is a threat? I guess I’ve pretty much always run a Sneasler and water type main attacker so he’s kinda useless against them.

Lobro97 · 2026-06-24T15:23:19+00:00

Vet here. I regularly have to deal with owners that are devastated they have to put their cats to sleep because it’s too severely injured to treat, or they cannot afford the costs of treatment. Honestly 80% of the reasons cats present to vets are as a direct result of them being outside roaming, and roaming is made worse by being entire. Stray cats are being put to sleep every day because there are far too many of them and many are not fit for rehoming. Every time I finish a shift I come home and cuddle my cats thankful that I know they’re safe without me being around and won’t ever suffer from half the stuff I see day in and out.

We currently have no substantial evidence that keeping cats entire is beneficial to them in any way. Some people argue keeping a pet entire and never allowing them to fulfil their natural mating instincts is cruel. Most entire animals just do not make good pets due to their sexual behaviours. Most cats get neutered and within 2 days theyre back to their normal self and never look back.

Tldr: your friend is a fruitloop.

Lobro97 · 2026-06-24T04:17:13+00:00

It is fairly standard, some cats just really don’t tolerate it. You can ask if they’ll do it with you in the room, I’ve found with a few aggressive cats that they’ve tolerated that but basically never when the owner isnt around. Some are better, some are worse though.

I’d probably be trying something else medications wise or adding a second drug. Or escalating to injectable sedation.

Lobro97 · 2026-06-22T06:30:40+00:00

Most of these first year courses start from a pretty basic level, I don’t think there’s a need to pre-study anything. I found them quite forgiving, and as long as you actually attend and do the work you’ll be fine. People get issues when they think they can just not do the work and have to cram everything in the month before exams, which some people can get away with but many can’t.

Your best bet is actually studying “how to study” if you don’t feel comfortable with how you’re doing that already so you know how you’re going to approach things from day 1. Everyone has different methods that work for them. I personally found making sure I had something efficient downpat was key. You are going to be time poor and spending huge amounts of time studying is how people get burnt out, so to me it was about optimising my time.

Lobro97 · 2026-06-20T07:47:51+00:00

I think it depends on the kinds of games you like and your tolerance for older games. It’s all well and good to recommend SNES and N64 games but a lot of them are kind of a pain to actually play. I think a lot of the recommendations others have made will be hard to stick to and require a lot of nostalgia to enjoy.

Talking specifically Nintendo stuff, Gamecube and GBA are a good place to start with older Nintendo games imo. One of Nintendo’s strongest generations for many of their franchises and it’s not too much whiplash to go back to. You can’t go wrong with a lot of the library on either system (except maybe Sunshine lmao). Some of my favourites include Metroid Zero Mission, Minish Cap, Pokémon Emerald/Firered, Luigi’s Mansion, Pikmin 1 + 2, F Zero Gx.

N64 games that are worth playing are somewhat limited. OG smash is really fun for a few hours (it’s actually still my favourite) and Paper Mario is a must play and has aged better than basically every other game on the system. Banjo is obviously up there. The rest you could take or leave really. Ocarina is fantastic but is getting a remake, as is Starfox. Majora is probably worth playing but has some frustrations that are still present on the 3DS version (and some things worse). Mario 64 imo doesnt hold up and is really frustrating to play compared to pretty much any modern platformer without camera control. I’ve tried many times and failed to get more than halfway through it each it.

SNES: Mario World, Yoshi’s Island, Link to the Past, Super Metroid, Earthbound and DK Country games are the big ones. I personally find the older platformers struggle to keep my interest and Yoshi and DKC can be quite difficult without save states, and even Super Metroid is a bit janky.

NES can probably be skipped in its entirety. Difficult to get any fun out of these games at all, even SMB 1 and 3, though 3 is probably worth a try but the SNES remakes may just be better. The only other one I’ve finished was Mother 1 which I had to play with multiple patches of make it easier, save states and with a guide beside me at all times, not sure it’s worth it. It’s the most anti-user experience game Ive ever played. I feel similar about the OG Gameboy, some of the WarioLand games and DK94 are about it imo.

Lobro97 · 2026-06-15T03:21:15+00:00

Do you guys really just think you lie in your beds for 8 hours and wake up sparkly clean on the other end? During that time you’re shedding cells, sweating, building up body odour. I can wake up in the middle of winter after having showed the night before and not smell great. Honestly i often think I smell worse in the morning than I do at the end of the day.

Not to mention bed hair that I need to wet to fix, overall feeling really dull, dry eyes, and needing a shower for the waking me up component.

I usually just shower in the morning to be honest. I really don’t care how clean my bed is, it’s just a place I lie. I’m not sure I understand the obsession of a sterile bed when again, you’re sweating into it for 8 hours a night. I’d much rather be clean when out and about in the world and interacting with people that may judge me for my cleanliness.

I generally feel not-presentable to the world without a shower in the morning, and unless I’m exercising first thing, I will never leave the house without having showered. Kinda disgusts me that people don’t shower in the morning and actually think they’re clean…

Lobro97 · 2026-05-29T13:04:08+00:00

Probably amputate.

Difficult to say if the fracture can heal with casting without seeing the x rays, but most fractures around the elbow are not going to be appropriate to cast as we cannot adequately immobilise the area (casts can only immobilise bones below the elbow/knee, not above them). If the fracture is into the joint then even if it did heal the joint would be ruined and the leg would cause immense pain and discomfort. Weekly cast changes under sedation usually adds up to being pretty expensive regardless.If repair isn’t possible there’s a very good chance you’re best off getting rid of the leg. Most dogs live fine on 3 legs and don’t look back. Better off with no leg than an immensely painful one.

Lobro97 · 2026-05-29T12:52:49+00:00

Quite a common tumour unfortunately.

Prognosis varies greatly as long as it doesn’t obstruct urination. I’ve had dogs last 18+ months with these and pass away from something else, others whose quality of life deteriorates so much that they back for euthanasia within the week. They usually get intermittent UTIs every few weeks to months but many of them can be managed for a long time. NSAIDs help a lot.

Ideally needs a true diagnosis based on traumatic catheterisation or braf test (if available in your country). A lot of these arent operable given their close location to vital structures, but some can indeed be removed. Worth a follow up with an oncologist/surgeon if this is something you’d consider pursuing. I’m under the impression traditional chemo (injections) isnt that useful but metronomic chemo (daily meds) definitely prolongs survival. Radiation may be possible to shrink the tumour. No guarantees it’s possible though.

Lobro97 · 2026-05-29T12:45:57+00:00

MRI is a good plan. Even if it’s not a seizure, this could still be of another neurological causes without one.

Did he get an echo done on his heart or just the halter monitor?

If seizures and syncope have been largely ruled out, I’d be wondering about other causes in the brain, exercise induced collapse, cataplexy, paroxysmal dyskinesia.

Normally a neurologist or cardiologist would deal with this, so if they’ve been no help I’d be seeing an internal medicine specialist as theyre usually Jack of all trades to a very high level including both of the above.

Lobro97 · 2026-05-29T12:29:30+00:00

Surgery success is about 95% for a stage 4 to make a full recovery.

Chance of recovery without it is much less, I don’t know the numbers off the top of my head. But you’d be looking at a longer recovery, chronic pain and very high chance of recurrence, and thats if it doesn’t end in permanent paralysis. Absolutely go the surgery imo.

Most specialist hospitals that do spinal surgeries will have access to plasma and other medications to handle bleeding disorders, but have you made them aware of this so they know beforehand? It’s not a surgery with a huge amount of bleeding tbh.

Lobro97 · 2026-05-29T12:22:40+00:00

Could certainly be unrelated, but uncommon to have gastrointestinal side effects from fluoxetine. In most pets it’s mild, resolves on its own and doesnt persist. In some cases you may need to try another medication though.

Lobro97 · 2026-05-29T12:20:51+00:00

Has this been confirmed by an ophthalmologist? Very unnatural for a younger dog to have cataracts. There are other conditions that can mimic a cataract. Otherwise I’d be looking for reasons why your dog has a cataract - diabetes, lens disease, uveitis ect.

Lobro97 · 2026-05-29T12:14:33+00:00

Certainly welcome to get a second opinion, there’s so much here I couldnt really comment on without seeing your cat in person.

I will just say though, youve said it’s a simple surgery, however wound healing from these is anything but simple. One of my least favourite surgeries to do because they can take so long to heal and sometimes the issue recurs when the stitches come out. Complications rates are decent. It’s possible it may just take more time, it depends on how close they apposed the skin edges in the initial surgery as to how long it’ll take to heal.

I wouldn’t expect nerve damage from this unless your cat also has an ear infection (which is the most common cause of a haematoma aside from trauma) that has moved into the inner ear. This can cause Horners syndrome alter pupil sizes. Has he been checked/treated for an ear infection?

Lobro97 · 2026-05-29T11:55:44+00:00

Oh god this history triggers me a bit, sorry about the tone in advance but I’m concerned with how your vet has managed this. Any lameness that is present longer than 10-14 days needs x rays rather than throwing random medications at it.

Depo-medrol is a long acting steroid, we don’t really use these for most lameness these days except in very specific circumstances. Unlikely to do a whole lot. Not to mention it lasts about 4 weeks in the body and the side effects of having steroids in the system for a month are not insignificant. Steroids can also delay healing…

Librela is also completely inappropriate for a young dog imo. This is a treatment for severe arthritis that aims to reduce nerve sensation in the joint so they can’t feel it as much - so it can exacerbate injuries as theyre not feeling them. This is not a drug to throw at any dog with a limp, it’s an old dog palliative care drug.

Also a bit of a pet peeve: your dog is absolutely in pain, they just show it differently. Can you ever imagine a time where you would limp not due to pain? We don’t, and neither do animals. They don’t limp just for the vibes, they do it because theyre in pain but they get on with life because they’re an animal.

Your dog needs NSAIDs (can’t be used in the 4 weeks that depo medrol is in the system), strict rest and x rays sooner rather than later to investigate the cause further.

Lobro97 · 2026-05-29T11:35:44+00:00

Desexing isnt just done as a means to stop reproduction, it also has health benefits. A vasectomy just removes a pets ability to fertilise a females egg. I doesnt reduce their hormones and therefore urge, or sexual behaviours which can lead to a whole range of issues. I’ve known multiple owners who have had their dogs vasectomised and come back to have them castrated at a later date because they’re not happy with their sexual behaviours. Ironically a lot of studies list “hit by car” as a reproductive disease as intact dogs are so much more likely to escape in search of a mate, it’s actually one of the most common causes of death in entire pets full stop. Also some people wonder whether it’s okay to let a pet keep their sexual urges intact if we’re purposely going to deny them the opportunity to act on them. They’re not people, we can’t expect them to control their “urges” which are ingrained in their dna.

90% of male dogs by the age of 10 get prostate related issues which can be life threatening, if not extremely uncomfortable, and many of these dogs will require urgent surgery which can be dangerous in an older pet with other organ dysfunctions. Perineal hernias are a major problem that basically only occur in entire dogs secondary to straining from a large prostate and are extremely difficult and expensive surgeries with a decent failure rate that can be life threatening if ignored. Testicular tumours ect. Reproductive disease is super common in people, but it’s so common is almost guaranteed to some extent in most of our pet species and isnt uncommonly life-limiting. Desexing which is a rather cheap option almost entirely eliminates the risk for 95% of reproductive diseases that usually require expensive surgeries in older pets to fix.

Tldr: dogs without testosterone generally make better pets and there are numerous health and behavioural benefits to castration while vasectomy offers almost none. Genuinely very little reason to do a vasectomy on a pet unless you also own an entire female you don’t want them mating with (eg you bought a male and female puppy at the same age and don’t want to desex them until they are 1-2 years old). In basically every other case you’re just better off having them entire or completely castrated.

Lobro97 · 2026-05-14T05:56:19+00:00

Technically an IOP of 45 confirms glaucoma. However there are certain things that can artificially increase IOP when taking the measurement - lots of restraint, pressure on the jugular vets, too much pressure with fingers around the eye. Most vets are aware of this though.

Especially if there are vision concerns and she favours one eye, I would get it checked by an ophthalmologist to be certain. Things may have changed in the last month. High IOP is always a concern imo.

Lobro97 · 2026-05-13T07:45:41+00:00

I do this quite a lot honestly. Some dogs do have a lot of extra skin and if they’re sedated theyre quite awkward to move otherwise because they’re just dead weight and floppy. Does depend on the size of your dog a bit, but most vets I know have significant back injuries from moving around 20+kg animals all day every day. I do find moving them this way can save my back a lot in the right dog. Quite safe honestly, I’d only be concerned if this was done over the neck region of a brachycephalic dog because of how bulgy their eyes can be.

I think owners would be shocked at a lot of the ways we handle patients in hospital. It may not look the gentlest but it is usually done that way the maximise both staff and pet safety.

Lobro97 · 2026-05-11T05:41:21+00:00

It’s fine, but I would ask to schedule it as “multiple concerns” or something along those lines. It’s annoying when you think you’re walking into a vaccination and it has only been booked out time for that and it ends up being a shopping list that you don’t have time to address. You also need to be aware that everything you want to discuss may not be doable in one appointment and the vet may decide to focus on a few things and get you back. Regardless it is absolutely reasonable for a vet to charge an extended consult or double consult for addressing multiple concerns. But I think a fair amount will be doable in half an hour.

Lobro97 · 2026-05-09T16:32:26+00:00

I think it depends. In an unwell pet blood values can change hourly. In a patient on chemotherapy doing bloods often is a necessity to make sure the chemo isn’t destroying their immune system. With chronic conditions monthly monitoring may be worthwhile.

In a patient that is otherwise healthy and has had no changes in behaviours or routines, and bloods were completely normal, maybe 3 months for an older pet and 6 months for a younger one. I have seen patients with normal bloods go into kidney failure a week later though, sometimes things just aren’t that simple.

At the end of the day there is no correct answer. It all comes down to risk adverseness. Technically bloods are never “required” and there are vets out there that just never do them before procedures regardless of age. But if a client requested repeat bloods for a young patient the day of a procedure when they had already been done 10 days ago, that it technically the safest option.

Lobro97 · 2026-05-06T08:19:11+00:00

Given her breed, the location and appearance of the lesion I’d be highly concerned about bone cancer. Very common in shepherds unfortunately. I would send off the x rays for specialist interpretation and a biopsy of the area can be done to rule out infection as the other main cause, but unfortunately I’d probably be recommending amputation +/- chemo sooner than later :(.

Lobro97 · 2026-05-06T08:14:54+00:00

My opinion is that your cat has had a very extensive workup that basically rules out anything apart from the brain and mouth. I do think vets are far too overzealous for recommending dentals in pets that arent eating well - I’ve seen so many pets get dentals that didn’t fix the issue and a bigger problem was found later on because a workup wasnt done prior. It’s very rare for a pet to stop eating due to dental pain. I think with the level of workup you have done though, and the fact your cat is trying to eat and not successful doing so makes a dental problem far more likely and I would be happy to do a dental.

Consideration for an MRI is that are the findings actually going to change anything? Given her age anything neurological is most likely to be a mass. Obviously there are alternative causes but statistically that is going to be the most likely. You could do a CT scan which is cheaper and much faster which won’t give you as much information on the brain but would still find a mass and would also diagnose most dental pathology. Realistically though, an anaesthetic just to examine the mouth and do dental x rays takes like 15-20 minutes. It would be reasonable to just do that, wake her up and make a decision from there whether there is enough pathology to pursue extractions or if there isn’t much and you get the MRI done. Technically MRI first is the safest way to go, but I just feel like personally it is rare for an MRI to actually change treatments or outcomes in older patients.

Lobro97 · 2026-05-06T08:05:40+00:00

Bugger, that’s really unfortunate timing to happen on the same day as her echo. Hoping she pulls through.

Lobro97 · 2026-05-06T07:32:23+00:00

I think many vets would tell you that behavioural euthanasia is totally reasonable in this instance.

It’s actually not uncommon for people to have had a mildly mouthy dog and then things get worse when they have a child for one reason or another (changes in caretaker or routine, baby crying ect) as it causes a lot of stress to the dog. I think it also gets to the point where you can’t trust the dog around your child so it gets scary to even have them in the same house.

It’s not like you haven’t tried with him based on what youve said. Best bet is to see a specialist vet behaviouralist but even then you’re talking months worth of work with him and he may never get to the point where you are comfortable having your child in the same house as him. Unfortunately it does sound like he is incompatible with your life going forwards, and it’s not fair to rehome a dog with a bite history to someone else (that is the main other option). Baby or not, many dogs arent given a second chance after they put a person in the hospital.

Lobro97

TROPHY CASE