Sick Yorkie Roxy
 

I have a five year old yorkie and she suddenly became very lethargic and dehydrated. I took her to the Vet and they are unsure of what could be wrong so they are doing all kinds of tests and have her overnight in the hospital. Her symptoms are extremely lethargic, dehydration and she won't put any weight on her back legs and will not attempt to go up the stairs. When she is walking she has fallen over. She is hiding in strange places in our house. The vet yesterday gave her a shot to boost hydration and now they are giving her intravenous medication for anti-inflamatories. It seems to me the vet is guessing and trying out different things because she is unsure of the problem. She will eat and is not vomiting. Any ideas? I am so worried. Thanks

i just wanna say i hope and pray she gets better!!!

I'm sorry this is happening to your baby. Sounds like it may be an issue with her back. Had she been vaccinated recently?

Prayers for your baby. I hope they find out soon what is going on with her.

Welcome to YT. :)

Please keep us updated on her.

Keeping positive thoughts for your baby to feel better. It is so hard when they are sick especially when they can't find out what is causing their symptoms.

I will pray they are able to determine what is going on with your Roxy. Pups will hide when they are in pain, so this was her way of telling you.

Please keep us updated on Roxy and welcome to YT to both of you.:)

Sick Yorkie Roxy
 

Thank you all for your kind words - We have to wait until tomorrow to see if the medications are working - I am praying that Roxy will feel better tomorrow. She has not been vaccinated recently - actually she is due for her shots soon - regarding her back I would think that the Vet would determine if there was a problem because they were going to do xrays today and also the vet called tonite to say that they were going to do more blood work to see if it is a tick (I don't think so though) because she is really only a house dog and does not go into forests or anything. It is a mystery that I hope they can solve soon.

It is so hard when your dog is sick, and you don't know just what is wrong. Hopefully the blood work, the xrays, and other diagnostic tests will point the way out to a definitive diagnosis.

Hoping for the best for you two. Let us know how she is doing.

So sorry to hear little Roxy is sick.
I will keep her in my prayers and hope they find out what is wrong with her soon.
Please keep us posted.

So sorry that yoru little Roxy is sick. I will keep her in my prayers. Please keep us updated.

Checking in for an update.... Hope all went well at the vets.

sending positive thoughts and prayers for roxy, and for you. i truly hope they find out what is going on very soon so she can get better very soon.

Sick Yorkie Roxy
 

Roxy was in the hospital until Monday night, they checked for tick bite and it came back negative. The xrays show no broken bone in her leg however she is very lethargic still and has difficulty walking and I don't see a lot of improvement. I am very scared that she is not going to get better. The vet has put her on five different medications - she can't go up or down stairs and is now refusing to eat. It is very difficult to even get her to take the meds. I have taken her back to the vet today and they upped her dosage on 2 meds and I have to take her back tomorrow. The vet thinks it might be something neurological but they have no clue as to what the problem is and has consulted other vets and are at a loss. She said that if she doesn't start to show improvement by tomorrow they have done all they can for her.

Can they give you a referral to a neurologist? I'm certain they can run tests that your vet cannot so you can get to the bottom of what's going on.

Praying for you and Roxy, I would get another opinion. Maybe she has an inner ear problem. I have a friend that her German Shepherd did this, and this was the problem.

So sorry your baby is sick. Hoping the meds start working and she feels better soon.

Will continue to keep your little one in my prayers.

Sick Yorkie Roxy
 

Roxy is back in the hospital - the vet is pretty sure she has a ruptured disc - roxy would not eat while she was at home and seemed to be worse this morning so I took her back to the vet. The vet has her on intravenous medications and retook xrays to see if there is anything else. The vet said that this is about all they can do - they are going to keep her until saturday and if there is no improvement - she suggested that Roxy be put down. I am so devastated I am hoping for a miracle overnight. I have all the meds at home that she was originally prescribed but she will waste away without food and I tried everything to get her to eat with no luck. I can't believe this is happening.

Prayers are with you and hope they can find and fix the problem

The vet suggested euthanasia for a possible ruptured disc? I am stunned. If this is because you cannot afford to get the proper testing completed, please consider surrendering her to a rescue that might be able to help her. I would hate for her to be euthanized based upon a guess by a general vet.
I am sorry you are faced with all of this.

Sick Yorkie Roxy
 

I take great offence to your statement. Our Roxy is like part of our family. She has gone through a myriad of tests all week at the vets, I would never give my dog to a rescue - we are perfectly capable of looking after her and intend to do whatever it takes to make her better if it is possible. I would like to know what a rescue place could do that a vet would not provide? As for your other insulting statement that we are unable to afford the required testing - so far her medical bills for this week have surpassed $3000. If you read my earlier statement I said the vet stated that they have done all that they are able and surgery would not correct the problem because they think it is a neurological problem.

I am sorry that you are offended. My post was not meant to offend you. I have no idea what you have spent on vetting. What I will say is that if you spent over $3,000 and are still guessing, you probably need a specialist if this vet is not one.

It just sounded as if the vet is a regular vet and guessing at what is wrong...or did I misread something? Did a neurologist check her? You said that the vet thinks it is a disc problem. Did they do an MRI or CTscan? I have never heard of euthanizing a pup based on a "maybe" diagnosis, that's all.

I am not trying to insult anyone...I merely read what I thought was guess work and responded...and suggested that if money was a problem, then perhaps a rescue could help.

If money is not an issue, then I suggest a neurologist so that you know for sure what you are dealing with.

Good luck. :)

Oh my....I am sorry she is going through this.
I will most certainly keep her and you in my prayers.
Please keep us posted.

Yes, I read ALL of your statements. It seems that they have done blood work, given her some kind of medications and done xrays....and now are guessing it is neurological.
Maybe that is all that vet can do; but it is not all that a specialist could do. I remain shocked that a vet would suggest euthanasia based upon a guess and not even suggest a specialist?
I am also shocked that the above things that she did cost over $3,000. I could get an MRI and have surgery done on a ruptured disc for around that price...perhaps a bit more, but not much! Your vet must be might pricey indeed.
Here is a link to a website of Internal Med Specialists...all board certified:

ACVIM

Your girl needs to be under the care of a veterinary neurologist for the best chance at getting through this.

It sounds like all neuro issues that can cause back leg weakness are still possible (if they didn't do MRI or CT or myelogram to confirm a disc issue).

Disc issues can be operable. Pups can get neuro symptoms with disc issues because the ruptured disc puts pressure on the spinal cord where some nerves live. Cleaning out the area and relieving the pressure can help quite a bit.

My friend's dog had a disc issue with neuro involvement. The pain became unmanagable, even with lots of drugs. The surgery fixed most of the problem. Now he is happy and doing 95+% better. Without the surgery, he would have had to be euthanized.

My girl has a disc issue with no major neuro involvement. Surgery was an option because of the pain she was in; however, adding in a particular drug seemed to really help her feel better and heal. We have been able to avoid surgery so far.

Anyway, neuro issues (especially those that a general vet can't handle) should be immediately seen by a neurologist. Most general vet offices aren't equipped for these issues. To keep running regular xrays and such is just grasping at straws. No need to keep putting money into the same things when they already don't think this problem can be managed. Your pup needs a specialist.

I am so sorry to hear Roxy is ill, and I sure hope you can get her in to a specialist to get an accurate diagnosis before she gets any worse. Hopefully this is something that can be fixed and allow her to live a long life.