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  #1  
Old June 11th, 2008, 06:45 PM
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Emotionally and Financially Exhausted!

That has been going on for ten days nows.

My dog has recently started showing signs of sadness/depression/pain after coming back from a trip to the states. I have spent just about $1400 at the vet for tests and such and they have not been able to find anything wrong with him. He is currently on three types of medication, one to stop the vomitting, one to stop the diarhea (Famotidine & Remeron) and another called Flagyl. He is also on the vet recommended intestinal digestion soft food. He has been keeping his food down since Friday night but doesn't walk/has difficulty around much and prefers to sleep most of the time. When I take him outside he doesn't always do his business and barely walks around. On occasion when I pick him or set him down he will yelp and whine as if something is hurting him. I'm not sure what the next course of action is... He is 7 and a mini-daschund. Please help!
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Old June 11th, 2008, 06:54 PM
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Find another vet?

I am going to be of no use to you - but someone else may have some ideas. Just so that they have more information - what tests did the vet run?
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  #3  
Old June 11th, 2008, 08:08 PM
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I am so sorry your going through this....there are some members here that have some knowledge and I am sure they will post soon! ..but another vet may have a different opinion. Perhaps it is a back issue? have you had x-rays?

Good Luck

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Old June 11th, 2008, 09:00 PM
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Thank you for your replies.

The Vet. has done extensive tests and x-rays. They have ruled out any problems with his back and joints. They have also ruled out any foreign bodies by giving him Barrium (?) and taking 10 views of x-rays in intervals to show the liquid travelling through the digestive system. They have tested his blood, urine and feces and all returned normal. In addition, they completed a CPLI to ensure that it wasn't Acute Pancreatitis.

I do plan on getting a different Vet. involved to see if a second opinion would help but I thought I would run the course of the medication first.

He appears to be in pain and I am helpless and it is killing me big time.
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Old June 11th, 2008, 09:08 PM
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Where in the states did you visit? Have they tried a snap test for some of the tick-borne diseases? We've seen nausea and vomiting with acute cases...and almost all of them cause joint pain.
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Last edited by hazelrunpack; June 11th, 2008 at 09:25 PM.
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  #6  
Old June 11th, 2008, 09:42 PM
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Thank you.

No I don't believe they did a "snap test" I spent a few days in Chicago, Illinois but he was mostly indoors. Our walks were normally brief.
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Old June 11th, 2008, 09:47 PM
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Idexx puts out a snap test that checks for heartworm, Lyme's, Ehrlichia and Anaplasma exposure. I'm not sure how long it takes before there are enough antibodies to trigger a positive test, but I believe it can be done sooner than a titer. Your vet might have a better idea.

If you were in urban Chicago, though, I wouldn't expect there to be many ticks. In a suburban area or the country surrounding the city, though, there might be. The ticks are pretty bad around here this year, but we're also a few hundred miles north of Chicago.
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Old June 11th, 2008, 09:53 PM
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Yes did they check for Lyme disease?

Did they check for Lyme Disease? It's a specific test. It's odd that they can't find what is wrong but they put him on all kinds of medication???
Try a new Vet, one that is recommended preferably. That's awful that you had to spend so much and the problem cannot be found.
In the meantime give your doggie a lot of love. It could be something very rare. He could recover sponatenously. There are a lot of viruses out there. Some that Vets don't even know about.
Hope he gets better soon.

Last edited by brandikiss; June 11th, 2008 at 09:54 PM. Reason: The title is too small.
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  #9  
Old June 11th, 2008, 10:04 PM
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Thank you hazelrunpack.

I do believe that it is highly unlikely as I was staying with a friend in Chicago/Evanston. I was worried about the false-negative possibility too as all tests run so far came back normal. I will talk to my Vet. tomorrow.



Thank you brandikiss for your comments as well.
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  #10  
Old June 11th, 2008, 10:11 PM
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Just another thought. Has his diarrhea been bloody at all?
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  #11  
Old June 11th, 2008, 10:29 PM
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He only had diarrhea once in my presence and yes it was bloody hence he went back to the Vet.

I first brought him in Wednesday of last week where they performed all the standard tests, at that time he vomitted twice and they decided to provide fluids and keep him overnight.

Thursday afternoon everything appeared to be fine, he was eating and his demeanor had improved slightly so I was told that I could bring him home.

Friday morning I woke up and he had vomitted 4 times and had had diarrhea twice and I did notice blood. Brought him back to the Vet. where they did the full x-ray with the contract liquid to see if there was a foreign body.

Yes, he's eating and digesting since but his outer physical manners have not changed.

The place I got to has been in business for over 40 years... I'm not even sure a second opinion would help other than drain my wallet some more.
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  #12  
Old June 11th, 2008, 10:43 PM
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We have two dogs just getting over a bout of bloody diarrhea and during our search for possible causes, another member mentioned hemorrhagic diarrhea (HGE) to me. My connection is so slow that I can't search out a link for you, but if you browse for 'hemorrhagic diarrhea' you'll find a lot of info. It's characterized by 'raspberry jam' diarrhea and lethargy...and if I'm remembering right, it's diagnosed primarily by ruling out other causes...

Our two dogs did not have HGE (no lethargy)...but they, too, have tested negative for everything. We're beginning to think that they may have picked up giardia (it's very rainy here with lots of puddles standing in the yard to drink from ). Giardia can be difficult to detect in some cases.

K, so now I'm out of ideas. I hope your dog is on the road to recovery soon. It does sound like your vet is doing a good job trying to get your dog healthy again.
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  #13  
Old June 11th, 2008, 10:56 PM
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Thank you again hazelrunpack. Your help is much appreciated.
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  #14  
Old June 14th, 2008, 06:57 PM
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Hello Everyone,

Pluto has found a new Vet. and we will be meeting with him on Monday. I really hope that after review of all tests and xrays done so far, the new doctor will have some insight.

My current vet suggested that I go the route of steroids, mainly Prednisone, for a short 7-day course and see if that will improve Pluto's demeanor. Any thoughts?

He is eating well and even though it is a struggle to take him out he does his business.

If the new doctor cannot offer anything other than what has been done so far, I have thought of putting Pluto down. In the last three weeks, the quality of his life has been going downhill.

I would like your thoughts on the above steroid and if it is even worth putting Pluto through more of this stress. He is already a nervous dog to begin with.

Thank you in advance!
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Old June 14th, 2008, 07:19 PM
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How is Pluto doing now? Any better? What did the vet think he might have? Steroids are pretty heavy-duty meds, and you can't stop them cold turkey--the dog should be weaned off them. Often they're used at an initial higher dose to get something under control, than the dose is reduced to the lowest possible effective level (ideally, the dog is weaned off totally).

If Pluto is holding his own, maybe ask the second vet on Monday for an opinion. If he also thinks that pred is a good idea, that would make your decision easier. Make sure that you have a discussion of the side effects so you know what to look for.

We had a dog with inflammatory bowel disease who was on pred for a while. Eventually we were able to wean him off the pred and control his disease with diet alone, but while he was on the initial high dose, he had an insatiable thirst and appetite and had to urinate frequently. So if you decide to try the pred, be aware that he'll likely need to go out more often.

Good luck, mrjlafrance! for Pluto's quick recovery and please keep us posted.
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Old June 16th, 2008, 01:55 PM
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I just want to send and that I am hoping you find information on what is ailing your dog. It must be so hard for you to watch your guy like this with no diagnosis. Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis (HGE) presents similar to what is happening to Pluto. It is a widely misinterpreted syndrome which is characterized by the raspberry jam consistency of diarrhea. My Squiggy was only seven months old when he succumbed to the effects of HGE. There are no tests for HGE, usually there is no temperature, but the bloodwork shows an elevated hematocrit which is a clue to the veterinarian that it could be HGE. It is usually diagnosed from these factors, and by ruling out others such as Giardia or Parvo etc. Here is some information if you care to read about HGE and the possibility that it could be a factor. I hope your dear boy is feeling better soon.

http://www.pets.ca/encyclopedia/hemmor_gastro_dog.htm
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Old June 16th, 2008, 07:46 PM
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How did the visit with the new vet go?
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  #18  
Old June 16th, 2008, 09:19 PM
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i hope your little doggy gets well soon just one more thought unless i missed food info somewhere, could he have gotten into something, or a reaction to something he ate? hope all goes well with the new vet, plse keep us posted.
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Old June 16th, 2008, 09:20 PM
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I hope this new vet brings you better help too! How did it go? So sorry you are going thru this!
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Old June 16th, 2008, 09:55 PM
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Hello Everyone.

THANK YOU for your immense support!!

So far so good, Pluto has begun a 25 day weaning dose of steroids (Prednisone) and the vet. says that we should see some improvement by Friday. He believes that Pluto may have sustained injury from an attack by a Husky in March of 2008. At the time my ex-vet said that everything seemed fine and did not request an x-ray of his neck, they simply cleaned out the wound in his neck and gave him antibiotics. Truth be told he did not show any symptoms of being in pain. The new vet. seems to think that there may have been a delayed reaction as during the physical exam today Pluto was whimpering/yelping when the vet. was touching his neck area excessively. I was very happy that Pluto was showing the same symptoms he was showing me at home. We then observed him for about 15-20 minutes while we talked about his condition and the vet. got to see exactly what's been happening at home.

It is also possible that cerebral damage was sustained as well. The new vet. seems confident that the steroids will do the trick, if not, then x-rays of his neck would be the next step...after that, unfortunately the outlook is grim financial wise as Pluto would have to be referred to a Neurologist which would run about another $1500 to $2000. I'm almost tapped out of my savings.

I am, however, doing EVERYTHING that I can with the money that I have. The next step would be to rack up credit cards, which I don't believe is the way to go. I have to consider that Pluto is 8 and has lived a very fulfilling life.

More news to follow this weekend!
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Old June 16th, 2008, 10:00 PM
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and that this course of pred will do the trick for Pluto! Looking forward to some positive improvement by the weekend!
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  #22  
Old June 17th, 2008, 06:47 AM
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I'm keeping my for Pluto.
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  #23  
Old June 17th, 2008, 06:48 AM
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that the Pred will do the trick.
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Old June 17th, 2008, 07:00 AM
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Some more for little Pluto
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  #25  
Old June 19th, 2008, 10:00 PM
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mrjlafrance mrjlafrance is offline
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Well, I am pleasantly surprised!!!

I am HAPPY to report that Pluto has improved - he is almost back to his old self!!

I am hopeful for a full recovery! I'll keep everyone posted.

Again, thank you for all your support!
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  #26  
Old June 19th, 2008, 10:06 PM
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Marvelous news! Yay, Pluto!
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  #27  
Old June 20th, 2008, 06:14 AM
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That is awesome news! I'm so happy for you and Pluto.
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  #28  
Old June 20th, 2008, 06:17 AM
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Way to go, Pluto
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  #29  
Old June 20th, 2008, 10:16 AM
sways_bodyguard sways_bodyguard is offline
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i know u said u spent 1400 dollars on a bunch of tests, was one of those tests a complete blood panel?
if not then i suggest getting one of those.
they will show numerous things that could be going wrong behind the scenes with your pet.
im glad to read that pluto is getting better though
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