What is Wrong with My Lab??? Poor guy..

[cvan]

I have a BIG black lab.
About 3-4 weeks ago, he was experiencing pain in his shoulder areas. Having a hard time getting off the bed and he was panting heavily. Took him to the vet, they biopsied a lump they found in his armpit, took blood, did a heartworm test and gave us antibiotics and some pain killers. Test results, high white blood count and negative for cancer on the biopsy.

He got better...

Then about 3 days after the meds were all gone, he started limping again and the muscles above his rib cage keep going into spasms. He had lost his appetite. This time, he seemed like he was in major pain. Back to the vet where they prescribed him the same antibiotic, just increased the dosage and duration.

He also said it looked like he had an ear infection and prescribed him some antibiotics for that.

SO, he has been on the meds for 2 days and is EXTREMELY lethargic and this evening, his NOSE started to bleed! It has been bleeding on and off for 5 hours and I can see a couple sores in his nose. I KNOW he hasn't scratched or injured his nose because I have been with him all day and he hasn't gotten off the bed except to go potty and I watched him do that.

Do any of these symptoms sound familiar to anyone? My vet said he was at a loss and referred me to an Internal Specialist. The only problem is that we have spent over $700 on vet bills and our emergency fund is depleated due to a loss of one income in our family.

If you have any ideas...please let me know. Thanks for reading.