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-   -   Very sick Goldendoodle (http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=83438)

steph1961 February 10th, 2013 12:22 PM

Very sick Goldendoodle
 
I have a 3 1/2 yr old Goldendoodle. Last Sunday he vomitted once, yellow bile. Just didnt seem quite himself the rest of the day. Monday wasnt eating, very lethargic. Tuesday took to vet, she did xrays to check for blockage as he has been known to eat a sock or two when he was a pup. Xray came back fine, all organs looked fine but looked gassy. Gave us canned food, a tummy med and an anti inflammatory. (He was still drinking and urinating fine) By Friday still not eating, just laying around. When laying down he gets half way toward the ground and then just falls, very shaky and walking like he was drunk. Friday back at vet she ran all types of blood tests. Calcium is very high, platelets very low. All blood work was off, what should be high due to something being low to help make diagnosis was not. She has now ran tests for tic disease and Lepospirsis, (although those symptoms dont add up to me) He is on Doxycycline, Furosemide, Prednisone, and Cefpodoxime. He is still drinking fine, not eating unless we feed it to him with a syringe. Has urinated while standing a few times. He has lost 15 lbs since last Sunday. HELP! Anyone else ever heard or dealt with these type of symptoms???:cry::cry:

MaxaLisa February 10th, 2013 01:24 PM

I am so very sorry that he is so sick, and with no diagnosis.

What is the dosage of the doxy and the dosage of the prednisone? The pred could be preventing the doxy from working correctly. On the tick list, the recommended dose of doxy is much more than most vets use, 10 mg/kg, roughly 5 mg/lb, TWICE a day.

How much does he weigh?

There is always the concern that there is some kind of cancer/hemangioarcoma, but if it's causing these problems, not sure if it would how up on xray, certainly would an abdominal ultrasound.

It almost looks like your vet is treating for infection, and possibly Addison's?

steph1961 February 10th, 2013 02:23 PM

Very Sick Goldendoodle
 
The doxy is 3 100 mg tablets twice a day and the predisone is 1 20 mg tablet once a day. She is treating for infection and Furosemide for high calcium levels, prednisone is for low platelets. He weighed 75 lbs and is down to 58 lbs. She has ran a test for tic diseases and Lextospirosis, but symptoms don't add up to that. Re: tic disease he was on Frontline all yr so not sure how he could get bit by a tic, plus we keep his hair clipped rather short and is groomed every 3 weeks, brushed everyday so I would think we would have found the tic, but who knows.

MaxaLisa February 10th, 2013 02:54 PM

Tick diseases are tricky, as there aren't tests for all of them, and bloodwork is not always consistent. Similarly with Lepto, there are many strains out there, and we only test for something like 6 of them. Tick disease can take years to get to this crisis stage (if that's what this is), so there is always a chance a bite can occur, and there is at least one tick disease that they can get from drinking standing lake/creek water rather than being bit by a tick :(

I've never had to deal with high calcium levels, so wasn't aware fo the Furosemide connection, thank you. Perfect dosage on the doxy. Do you know the platelet values and the normal range? Are there red spots on the stomach, similar to this pic? [url]http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f179/other95/gsd%20board/attachment.jpg[/url] How is the gum color? When the platelets are dangerously low, pred typically has to be used. However, if there is infection, there is a very tricky balance that is needed so you can eventually get the doxy working. I know that when my boy was on doxy and pred, I had to get the pred real low for the doxy to work well, but it was a bit of a different situation.

When are blood levels going to be checked again? Is your vet a regular vet, or a specialist? I might want a consult with an internal medicine specialist and a speciality clinic right away, sometimes they can diagnose something in 20 minutes that the regular vets completely miss, at least that has always been the case with the internal med guy that I use here.

MaxaLisa February 10th, 2013 02:55 PM

I don't know where you are located, but maybe there is someone you can find here for a second opinion or consultation: [url]http://www.acvim.org/websites/acvim/index.php?p=2[/url]

My vets are always very good about immediately referring out when they aren't sure what is going on. In fact, the last time, my vet even went looking for the best internal med guy who would be very balanced in his approach, it was great when the name she turned up was the vet I had previously used. Anyway, some vets get very offended, some will want to talk and work with the other vet. However it works out, never hurts to get more information or opinions to evaluate.

MaxaLisa February 10th, 2013 03:10 PM

oops, this is the link to the search page: [url]http://www.acvim.org/websites/acvim/index.php?p=3[/url] If you are outside of the US, I'm sure there are similar organizations?

MaxaLisa February 10th, 2013 03:19 PM

One more before I go....

I would strongly consider adding liver support. Whatever is going on, plus the meds, will be hard on the liver. My favorite support is this one: [url]http://www.iherb.com/Country-Life-Gluten-Free-Liver-Support-Factors-100-Tablets/1670[/url]

There is usually not high calcium with most tick diseases, however, there is an oblique reference to calcium balance at the end of the first paragraph here: [URL="books.google.com/books?id=Jpg1ysgVn-AC&pg=PA151&lpg=PA151&dq=babesia+calcium&source=bl&ots=li0-pZo_fs&sig=V5Q8f3L_YxknU6xSm4KfPOE6IRU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=b_8XUaCSCYqniAL9loG4BQ&ved=0CGMQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=babesia calcium&f=false"]books.google.com/books?id=Jpg1ysgVn-AC&pg=PA151&lpg=PA151&dq=babesia+calcium&source=bl&ots=li0-pZo_fs&sig=V5Q8f3L_YxknU6xSm4KfPOE6IRU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=b_8XUaCSCYqniAL9loG4BQ&ved=0CGMQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=babesia calcium&f=false[/URL]

We usually don't have babesia on our minds when we think of tick disease. The problem with babesia, is that it doesn't respond to doxy. Typically, on the list, imidocarb is used when babesia is suspected, as it will also hit the ehrlichias, though I don't know what it will do to the spotted fevers.

If this were my dog, I would call Protatek Labs, who specializes in these things, and they can tell you what to test for. The lab director, Cynthia Holland, is wonderful, I have talked to her on a couple of occassions when I called about my dog. Most of us on the list, send in our own bloodwork to that lab. [url]http://www.protatek.com/reflab/index.html[/url]

steph1961 February 10th, 2013 04:02 PM

No spots on tummy. Gums are pink and brownish. We are actually only a few miles away from Iowa State University Vet School, the majority of the tests are sent there. Vet has stated we may need to take him there depending on what these last tests reveal or don't reveal. She has mentioned that it could be cancer. He just seems so young to have something like that. Several things I have read always say "fever", his temp has been normal since day one. I am not the one who took him to the vet as I could not get off work, my daughters did. They do not remember what/if she mentioned the platelet count. Thank you so much for the info!!!

MaxaLisa February 10th, 2013 04:34 PM

I would get a copy of any and all bloodwork to keep in a file at home, so you can learn about what is going on.

If the immune system is suppressed enough, you will not necessarily see a fever.

I have very mixed feelings about some vet schools, as they have difficulty thinking outside of the box, still might be worth having a conversation with Dr. Holland, but you want to have a copy of the blood results in hand when you do.

This type of cancer is terrible, if it were cancer, and has a genetic component, though most likely triggered by environmental factors. My boy was a GSD, and GSDs and Goldens have the highest incidence :( I am hoping for infection for your boy!

That there are no spots on the tummy, and gums are good color, I would be inclined to try to go with a lower dose of pred as soon as possible, to let the antibiotics do their job. Many vets will first decrease the doxy and keep the pred when they don't need to, which can be a fatal mistake.


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