Sick Since February 2013
 

Hi all, thanks for your time. I have a 11 year old that abruptly became ill in the middle of February and all of us are just completely stumped and depressed!

It started around February 14-15 when we noticed our dog feeling very lethargic and laying on his side as if he was bloated, we assumed it was just a general illness but after several days and reading about the dangers of "Bloat" we rushed him to the Hospital.
The hospital luckily said that he did not have Bloat, and after the x-rays and blood works, they could not conclude what was the issue with him other than a "bigger than normal liver" and a "elevated white blood count."

- He has always had a bigger mid section than normal.

- The "elevated white blood count" may of been an infection or possible stress from social situations (he becomes stressed easily)

Afterward, the doctor rambled on about possible "variables" and "factors" from Liver Disease to Pancreatitis, and so forth, and we were left puzzled. The dog, Sunny, returned to normal and we thought it was all over.

In March 2013, Sunny suddenly began vomiting and having diarreah, both contained spots of blood. He also came down with "the shakes." Because of how urgent the situation was, we took him to our Vetenarian as soon as possible, where the doctor speculated that he may have "Kidney Failure" but did not do any tests to confirm this. He put Sunny on a Baytril Perscription for a possible "Urinary Tract Infection."

We were told to take him back once the medicine ran out to test for "Kidney Failure" and after grieving that our friend could possibly be dying, we put him on a Kidney Disease Diet.

Now that it is April 2013, Sunny returned to normal for the most part until the past few week when we noticed that he almost appears "Constipated" and does not excreat his feces normally. The past couple days, I was relieved to see him return to his average schedule of pooping once or twice a day, but I was completely heartbroken earlier to see a pool of blood on the deck from where he had attempted to poop.

It was as if blood had just seeped from his rear end. However, he appears very energetic and still loves to play, so I am utterly confused as to what is wrong with my dog.

Sunny is laying down right now, but all of us are just depressed that he might never return to normal and we may have to put him to sleep. Thank you for your time...I hope I could get some answers by posting this, I also will be making some quick points for better thought process below and my OWN OPINION! Thanks

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February 2013 - Lethargic, "Bloated" but returned to normal?

- Hospital thought it could be Liver Disease or Pancreatitis

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March 2013 - Vomiting, Diarreah, Spots of blood in both, but returned to normal?

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- Vet thought it could be Kidney Failure or Urinary Tract Infection

April 2013 - Blood ONLY Diarreah, but still appears to be energetic and playful.

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- I am starting to believe it could be WORMS or E.Coli because I have seen him eat his own feces before and I walk him in the woods and have to yank him nearly off his chain to get away from areas that could have wild animal feces/etc. Regardless, we always keep his shots up to date.

Hi & Welcome to YT ! I'm sorry your little one is having troubles. I would get him to a vet school ASAP.

Your vet is not taking this seriously enough. Time for a second opinion

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Vet school, ASAP! You need to have Sunny seen by a specialist and vet schools have a concentration of specialist and equipment that will get your baby diagnosed and on the road to recovery. God bless you, please try to have him seen at a vet school.....he is trying so very hard to hang in there.....

I saw no mention of fecal smaple being tested, if you say he may have worms or e coli? Having shot's kept up to date has nothing to do with getting worms.

I would get a fecal sample and take that in to be tested and also make sure they do the smear test on it as well to test for bacteria over growth.

Thank you all for your responses..I am taking him to a different Vet tomorrow for more tests including fecal samples, I agree I am NOT satisfied with my current one..

I am not well informed about "Vet Schools" but I will do it if we don't reach answers tomorrow..

Your closest vet school is pretty far away. Maybe you can get in to see an internal medicine specialist in Anchorage? I found this in a search: Internal Medicine Specialists at Alaska Emergency Clinic | Anchorage Emergency Veterinarian | Pet Emergency Treatment Inc.

Also, I've alerted AlaskaYorkie to this thread, he's in Anchorage and may have some advice on your options.

I am so happy that you are going to a new vet. If this vet can't give you answers, please do take Sunny to a Vet School. They have all the knowledge, equipment and specialists there under one roof and can make a diagnosis to get Sunny treated.

Praying for Sunny!

Sick boy
 

Hello.
I am so sorry your poor baby is not feeling well. My 11 year boy had similar symptoms, first lethargic and did not want to walk. He then went off his food and soon after occasionally vomited. I took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with kidney failure and pancreatitis. I hate to mention my experience, but it could explain the difficulty in pinning down the diagnosis of your baby. I pray that your boy's diagnosis is not so serious and that he can be treated and made better. The good news is that he does have good periods in between the bad and that bodes well for him. Get well soon little one.

What a nightmare for you. I'm glad you're seeing another vet. I called Veterinary Specialists of Alaska and asked for advice for you and they recommended Dr. Sarah Love at Pet Emergency, 274-5636 for diagnostics. That's the link OwnedbyJezebel has above.

Good luck. I'm in Anchorage, too, and if there's anything I can do for you just let me know. I'll PM you too. I'm interested in which vet you saw originally.

Good luck!

Hi..thank you soo much for the concerns. I actually live in Louisville, Kentucky and put Alaska because I don't like sharing my location online..but I'll do it for my little Sunny..

Hi and welcome to YT!! I'm sorry to hear of your pup's problems. Would you please update us on the condition when you have more information. All of us worry about pups that are sick and whose owners ask for help. Good luck and I will keep your baby in my prayers!!

University of Kentucky - Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory

Check with the U of Kentucky

Hi, today we took SUNNY to the Vet and i can say there was a lot of anger all around !

After looking at the previous blood work and diagnosis that Sunny had Kidney Failure...it turns out he didn't have a CLUE about what he was talking about!!!

Sunny does not have kidney failure after doing new blood-work tests..but we still don't know the source of the problems he has been having.

the NEW vet prescribed us a "De-Wormer" medicine for Sunny to take in case he has worms..they couldn't do a fecal test because there just wasn't enough to get a sample.

She also suggested that his enlarged liver may be something to think about and wants to do new X-Rays.

Lastly, she said that he could have Cushing Disease OR the opposite of it (I don't recall the name it started with an A)

Soo basically..


- The other vet was WRONG about Kidney Failure.
- Sunny given De-Wormer medicine.
- May have issues with Liver, or could have Cushing Disease or the opposite of that.

Its probably Addisons disease. Im glad she isnt in kidney failure

Thank you for the update. I have been praying for Sunny. I am very glad it is not kidney failure. Hopefully you can get the fecal test and xrays and get a diagnosis soon. Keep us posted please. Continued prayers.

Sunny
 

So sorry for your frustrating experience with previous vets! So glad it isn't kidney failure. Praying the tests do not show anything that cant be treated. Get well soon Sunny.

I'm glad you've found a vet that will help you get to the bottom of it. Hopefully it will be something that can be cured or managed.

Ugh, glad you switched vets but I'm sure it's frustrating not knowing. Sounds like Sunny is in good hands, though. Thanks for sharing the news.

Hoping you get a diagnosis soon and that it is something treatable so that Sunny can get well.

Hi, yes I hope we reach a diagnosis for Sunny soon..He has been OKAY the past few days.

I am SO thankful that there are such good kind hearted people on this website and the others..keeping all of your doggies in my prayers...bless you...

Glad they ruled out kidney failure and hope they can come up with a diagnosis and treatment plan.

Hi all..just wanted to update you on Sunny.

For the rest of April, we did further X-rays and the ACTH Test which confirmed that Sunny does have Cushing Disease.

He is on medication for it now, and life has began picking back up. Just wanted to thank you guys once more for the excellent information.

If any of you have a sick dog, please take it to a Vet as soon as possible and gather lots of information..Sunny had been sick since February but he might of been sick for a long time and we just didn't know it, it took lots of money to diagnose him because we had no clue what the problem was until now.

So glad you finally have a diagnosis. I don't know anything about the disease, but having an accurate diagnosis is the first step to helping him. I can sympathize about the cost.

Glad to know that Sunny finally got a diagnosis that was helpful Some vets are useless. We had taken our cat to a vet where we live. He told us she had a uri and gave her meds for it. A couple of days later she was much worse. We took her to the vet we used to use which is a distance away and she tooks xrays. She told us the the cat was so full of gasses that they couldn't even read the xrays correctly. It turns out she ate a pointsetta plant and she was poisoned. She spent a week in the hospital and now she's as good as new. How can any vet diagnose her with a uri. I wrote a number of complaint letters but the jerk is still there so alot of good they did. At least I know I wont be going back there again with my dogs.

So glad Sunny is doing better!

:thumbup::thumbup:
I dont want to hijack a thread, but this is a VERY important subject!! I had always been told and understood that poinsettias were "Poisonous to pets'. Then about 14 years ago, an article appeared in the Houston Chronical, that they really were not poisonous and that at best, upset tummy is perhaps a side effect. My brother came for Christmas that year and brought a huge poinsettia BUSH actually!, and it looked absolutely grand in the entry hall! I did not want it in the house, but everyone was quoting the newspaper....so I let it in. I made certain my little dog could not get to the plant and that nothing that dropped off the plant, hit the floor, but fell on the talbe the plant was on. Somehow she got a leaf....ONE LEAF, and chewed half of it and hid the rest for later....and was deathly ill for the next 2 weeks. Bloating, gas, abdominal pain so bad she could not even curl up, she had to lay out flat,,,,rolling and moaning....it was awful and I will admit it did not kill her, but it certainly was NOT worth having that dadgum plant in the house....cost me a couple of grand in testing and abd. series, and medication....NEVER HAVE THOISE HORRIBLE PLANTS AROUND YOUR PETS!!! They may not actually be drop dead poisonous, but those poor little souls are in such distress, they wish they were dead!!!
I want to add I am so happy your baby has been diagnosed and is being treated for the correct issue!

The Trilostane medication (10mg) doesn't appear to be working for Sunny. We have been using it for the past couple of weeks with little results.

Last week (May 6-10) he began vomiting and became lethargic which prompted us to take him off the medication for the weekend (May 11-12)

Today, he became drastically ill with the following symptoms,
-Shaking
-Restlessness
-Attempting to vomit (none thus far)
-Staying on cool surfaces

The symptoms above seem to indicate Cushing Disease once more, but at this point I am basically at the crossroads, I am damned if I give him the medicine and damned if I don't.

I am worried that the medicine may have caused him to develop Addison's Disease. I spoke to the Vet today with little results other than trying a new routine...or taking him back in for another test that will be close to $200

It is very painful to watch someone that you love dearly, begin to die and there is little you can do about it let alone figure out the cause.

Sunny
 

I am so sorry this is happening to poor little Sunny and that the meds seem to be doing him harm not good. You must be so distraught not knowing what to do next and seeing him not getting better. The vet does not appear to be too sympathetic or helpful. Why more tests if the last ones confirmed Cushings???
I hate to say this but is a new/different vet in order?? I know you have been through hades and back already with vets.
Please do not get depressed, Sunny is not going to die, he just needs the right (diagnosis?)/treatment. If after seeing a (new???)vet who reviews the history and tests he need to do further tests, then so be it.
I do feel for you seeing your baby sick with no help on the horizon. Praying you will get some better vet advice soon and that little Sunny gets well.

i just found this thread, and want you to know that I am praying for your baby.
Please take good care of yourself too.