# Bogey's health scare - Sterile Granuloma Syndrome



## Bogey's Mom (Dec 23, 2008)

I haven't posted the backstory about this (or much of anything lately) because I had no idea what we were dealing with, but about three weeks ago we noticed a lump on Bogey's head. Bogey is 2 1/2 and he and Ace play rough sometimes so we assuming it was from that but we kept a close eye on it. It didn't go away, grow or shrink. Then more started popping up. Soon they were on his flank, stifle, back and more on his head. Of course we made an appointment with our vet and took him in to have them aspirated. She wasn't able to get good samples from all of the spots (when we took him in there were 4 sizable ones) but the one good sample came back and said there were some spindle cells. That was last Friday.

The following Monday he had a new lump on muzzle that was huge. I took him back in for another aspiration. This one came back with completely different results. Odd. On Wednesday he went in to have several of the lumps removed and biopsied.

The vet called tonight - much later than I would have expected. She is a gem like that. She did get the results from U of I today. The good news is that he DOES NOT have cancer. What he does have is a very rare condition called Sterile Granuloma Syndrome also called Sterile Granuloma Panniculitis. So far I am having trouble finding much information on it. I have googled and looked up what I can. It was way after hours and our vet was on her way to a party tonight so she couldn't talk long but didn't want me waiting all weekend for the results. I am grateful that she took the time to call. 

We are going to sit down on Monday and discuss more details. What I know at this point is that it is not life threatening. It is not cancer or going to turn into cancer. It is in the subcutaneous layer of skin (??). It is a chronic thing that will take several months (maybe more) to get rid of. The lab at the university is running more tests on the sample to see if anything in the cells is fungal or micro-bacterial. More often than not the cause of this is never known. 

The treatment plan starts tomorrow. He will be on niacinamide and I think tetracycline. If that combination doesn't seem to be working to shrink and eliminate the lumps they will have to put him on Prednisone. 

I will know more next week. Our vet will talk to the vets in Champaign and have a better idea of what we are dealing with then. Just wanted to give you all an update for now. To the very few of you that have known about this, thank you for all the thoughts and prayers this week. With Bogey's history, lumps and a golden we are feeling beyond lucky tonight that what he has is treatable.

My big question is, have any of you dealt with this before??


----------



## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

I'm so glad you have a non-cancer diagnosis. I know absolutely nothing about it but will check this thread to learn more. I hope the treatments work for Bogey.


----------



## Titan1 (Jan 19, 2010)

I have not heard anything either but I can tell you how thrilled we are on the great news..Hugs to you for having weeks of not knowing for sure! Beyond thrilled it is not cancer!


----------



## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

That has to be a giant weight off your shoulders. Thanks for sharing good news.


----------



## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

OMG, what a scare. So glad it is treatable. Our Cody was on huge doses of pred for his hemolytic anemia ( 1 mg per pound of weight, divided into 2 doses a day for 6-7 months). He had symptoms while on it ( huge appetite, urinating OFTEN) but he's been off for about 4 years now and is doing well. Hopefully, Bogey won't need the pred, but if he does, those side effects do go away. Please keep us posted.


----------



## Bogey's Mom (Dec 23, 2008)

It is a huge weight lifted - for sure. I thought I was handling everything so well but the minute I heard it wasn't cancer I just sobbed and sobbed happy tears.


----------



## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Bogey's Mom said:


> It is a huge weight lifted - for sure. I thought I was handling everything so well but the minute I heard it wasn't cancer I just sobbed and sobbed happy tears.


I can well imagine. SO SO glad the vet took the time to call !!!


----------



## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

I am not familiar with this condition but am SO glad it was not cancer! Fingers crossed it will be an easy fix.


----------



## goldencontriever3 (Nov 7, 2008)

We are so glad to hear it is not cancer. Hope the meds clear it up quickly and Bogey does not need the pred.


----------



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

what a scare, and what a relief. I've never heard of that....


----------



## Noey (Feb 26, 2009)

oh wow. I'm glad you received good news on the cancer front.


----------



## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

What a looooong wait for the fear and suspense to be over. I am infinitely relieved it is not cancer! Bogey, wag at your mom, please.


----------



## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

So glad to hear it is not cancer and treatable. I understand the sobbing relief.

Gunner was on pred for several months last fall and had no negative symptoms besides a big appetite. : ) He is fine now.


----------



## Bogey's Mom (Dec 23, 2008)

Thank you all for your kind responses. I know how many of you have heard the dreaded C diagnosis and it means a lot to have your support. I wouldn't wish that upon anyone and I know we are so incredibly blessed that Bogey's diagnosis wasn't that. He still has a long few months of treatment - we will know more next week after a consultation, but we are grateful. 

I just wish I could find someone who knows something about this.


----------



## Stretchdrive (Mar 12, 2011)

*Bogey's health scare*

*Sounds like you have a great vet, being that she called you in the evening, instead of waiting until the next day!*

:wavey:


----------



## amy22 (May 11, 2008)

So glad that it was not cancer. Please let us know what you find out from your vet.


----------



## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

Wow never heard of it.... SO HAPPY it's not cancer! Keeping you and Bogey in my thoughts!!


----------



## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Thank goodness it is not cancer. Hope the meds work to take care of those lumps and this condition will be taken care of. I havent ever heard of it. Give him a big hug.


----------



## janine (Aug 8, 2009)

Wonderful news and what a great vet....keep us updated.


----------



## Bogey's Mom (Dec 23, 2008)

We scheduled our consult for Wednesday. We are on day two of the medication and so far no reaction. I have posted here and to a listserv and still haven't found any other golden owners that have been through this. Go figure!


----------



## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

No cancer is great news. I am seeing to much diagnosis of that horrible diseasein our goldens an when reports come back no cancer, it just thrills me.

I hae never heard of the ailment he has. Hoepfully your vet can get you well informed.


----------



## Bogey's Mom (Dec 23, 2008)

Today we went for a consult with the vet to talk about treatment. She looked at Bogey's stitches and said he is healing well. She has also talked to a few other vets who have treated cases and the very good news is that Bogey seems to have a very mild case of SGP. 

All of the final results came in from the U of I and they ruled out pretty much all the really yucky stuff. Phew! 

Since Bogey started the medicine on Saturday he has had no new lumps and none of the pre-existing lumps got any bigger. That is VERY GOOD news! The other cases our vet heard about through her network of vets were all much worse and those dogs ALL had to go to more aggressive treatments that involved prednisone. If Bogey continues to respond well to the tetracycline, we are hopeful we won't have to go that way.


----------



## inge (Sep 20, 2009)

I'm just seeing this, sorry, have my hands full with Tess at the moment...I'm very glad that things so far look promising! I will look for updates from now on!


----------



## Noey (Feb 26, 2009)

just checking to see how Bogey is doing. Hope all is well.


----------



## Bogey's Mom (Dec 23, 2008)

Thanks for checking in, Noey. We went today to have his sutures removed. He seems to be healing well from that part, which is good. Some dogs with this disease actually don't heal well when they have the lumps removed and that can be a really bad sign, so it's great that he healed well, scabbed appropriately and that his wounds didn't rupture open. 

After a week on the medicine we haven't noticed any new lumps. That doesn't mean we won't, but it's a good sign so far. It seems that he has a mild case of SGP. We also haven't noticed any of the lumps he had (the ones that weren't removed in case they didn't heal properly) getting any bigger. In fact, some of the tiny ones seem to have gone away. That is another great sign. 

But none of these things mean that his immune system is done attacking his skin. We will stay on this treatment for 3-4 weeks and see how he responds. If he continues to do well he will stay on it for a longer course of time to prevent (we hope!) more outbreaks. But this condition can be weird. It might never come back or it could come back 10x worse sometime later. 

If his system doesn't keep responding well we will try stronger drugs. The good news is we don't think that will be necessary. It will really all depend and we will just have to treat things as they come up. Such a strange and unpredictable thing. We just keep going back to the day they said 'Bogey does not have cancer" and thanking our lucky stars! The rest we can handle and we will deal with as it comes.

Thanks to everyone who has sent a nice note and inquired about him. Your support has been so much appreciated. I will keep posting as there are updates. The less you hear from me the better the news is


----------



## Stretchdrive (Mar 12, 2011)

Glad to hear he is healing! Thank you for keeping us posted!


----------



## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

OMG Emily, I was really scared when I started reading this thread. I am sorry I missed it. I am so sorry you are going through this. I had a big sigh of relief as I read further, thank goodness it is not cancer. Also thank goodness that they have a diagnosis and he seems to be responding well. Please keep us up to date. It also sounds like you have a wonderful vet.


----------



## Harley Smith (Aug 9, 2011)

*Our Harley has it and we're also from Bloomington*

We went to U of I Vet today and he suspects our Harley also has Sterile Granuloma Syndrome. we are to give him Atopica 100mg and Ketoconazole 200mg. We are excited to finally have a diagnosis so now a matter of time to see if the meds work. We were told that Harley would have to be on meds for the rest of his life but that the dosage and frequency would likely change. He has to take the meds daily for now. What a coincidence that we're both from Bloomington and our dogs have this rare condition.


----------



## Bogey's Mom (Dec 23, 2008)

That is SO STRANGE! I am so glad you posted on here. What vet do you see in Bloomington? I would love to hear more about this. We are 5 months into treatment and Bogey's lumps are 100% gone. He is still on the medicine but his dose has decreased dramatically. The steroids did cause him to gray a bit on his back and chin. He wasn't gray before. 

Dumb question, but is your dog a golden? How many bumps/lumps did he have before you went to the vet for a diagnosis?


----------



## TheCoops (Dec 8, 2012)

can you tell me how Bogey's is doing now after all this time? My golden has been diagnosed with this about a month ago. He is on prednisone right now. My vet says it should clear up but does take a long time. Any advise?


----------



## Bogey's Mom (Dec 23, 2008)

I'm sorry you are going through this. We are still dealing with it, but it's under control. The Ketoconazole made him very sick, so we got rid of that. He still takes the Atopica, but we have been able to slowly decrease the amount. He had a flare up a few months ago where we went back on the Atopica daily, but now we are down to every 2-3 days. Without pet insurance we could not afford the medicine. We did not ever choose the prednisone because of the side effects, but without the pet insurance we would have had to do it because of the cost of Atopica.

I wish you the best of luck with your pup. It does take a LONG time, so be prepared for medicine for a long time, but it's not the worst thing in the world. Bogey has never seemed to be in any pain. Good luck!


----------



## TheCoops (Dec 8, 2012)

Thank you for the reply. We tried to decrease his meds but had to go back up because started to get worse again. I have read that the worse thing about this is for pet owners to deal with the side effects of meds and the consent attention the dog needs. do you know if this is a life time of meds for our goldens once cleared up?? I will have to take to the vet regarding other med option. Thanks again 


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Bogey's Mom (Dec 23, 2008)

We had to go back up on meds once too. I think that is common. The amount of time they need medication depends on the dog. We've been on it for over a year. The vet hopes we can wean off, but there is no saying we might not need it again down the road. At least we know the diagnosis so future flare ups won't be so bad.


----------



## TheCoops (Dec 8, 2012)

Thank you so much for taking the time to write back. I can't tell you how happy I am to find someone going through the same thing as us. This is so rare, it is hard to find any info. I am going to talk to the vet about the atopia drug you used. Cooper is doing well. The vet is happy with his progress. we will wait and see as we go down this road. Thanks again for your kind words. 


Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


----------



## SheetsSM (Jan 17, 2008)

Bogey's Mom said:


> I'm sorry you are going through this. We are still dealing with it, but it's under control. The Ketoconazole made him very sick, so we got rid of that. He still takes the Atopica, but we have been able to slowly decrease the amount. He had a flare up a few months ago where we went back on the Atopica daily, but now we are down to every 2-3 days. Without pet insurance we could not afford the medicine. We did not ever choose the prednisone because of the side effects, but without the pet insurance we would have had to do it because of the cost of Atopica.
> 
> I wish you the best of luck with your pup. It does take a LONG time, so be prepared for medicine for a long time, but it's not the worst thing in the world. Bogey has never seemed to be in any pain. Good luck!


I was wondering if Bogey had any complications from the Atopica. My Sam appears to be the 1% that develops extra hair (his golden face now resembles a terrier) and he goes in tomorrow for a dental to have all of the extra gum tissue cut out that has overtaken his mouth as a result of the drug.


----------



## franciecowley (Apr 4, 2016)

Bogey's Mom- Thank you so very much for writing about Granulomatous Panniculitis. I sent my first post last night wondering if anyone had experience with this syndrome. Our Golden, Rumpus is only 20 months old and recovering from surgical excision of 4 lumps. The Vet called last
night after waiting a week for results. Like you, no cancer was the best Christmas Present ever! We will start treatment once the sutures are removed on Friday. He's been on Clavamox, Metacam, pain and sedative meds. I am going to check out your website. How is Bogey these days?
FrancieCowley
Santa Barbara, CA


----------

