Vasculitis, My Romeo is very ill......
 

I have a 5-yr-old yorkie with vaccine induced vasculitis. I have been treating him for the past six months now, and he is only getting worse. Today I had to leave him overnight at the hospital, on oxygen. Since this past Friday his breathing has been shallow. His X-rays showed a mild fluid buildup around the lining of his lungs. He has been on Prednisone, Pentoxifylline, Cyclosporine, Doxycycline, but none of these seemed to help. I had to give him these with food and he is very difficult to feed in general. He is not food motivated at all. I'm not sure if not being able to keep him on a consistent schedule might have affected the efficacy of his meds. I was giving them to him everyday though.

At the beginning of January, this year 2015, he was started on Sulfasalazine which after three weeks I started to see a visible improvement with his ears. After the three weeks though, the vet dermatologist took him off of it because it raised his liver enzymes to 503. She put him on Dexamethasone, but after being on that for two weeks I really didn't see any improvements. Although, I didn't see him getting worse either. This past Thursday she stopped the Dexamethasone because of the breathing issues he developed.

And now I am at a loss. His ears look absolutely horrible. They are black and scabby. He has lost almost half of the tissue from each. His paw pads were split and bleeding, but now haven't bled for about three weeks.

I need for his breathing to get better so I can bring him home and try to find a treatment that will work for him. My heart is broken because the vet and the vet dermatologist, both gave euthanasia as an option. I don't want him to continue to deteriorate, but I feel if his breathing gets better I can try giving him Mycophenolate, which is what the next option would be.

I've been reading that some of you have had succes with the Pred and Pentoxy. I don't know if I should give that another try? His ears are really bad so I feel something more aggressive might be best. In the past week he started to develop ulcers on his upper lip.

Can anyone help? I'm desperate! :cry::cry::cry:

Welcome to Yorkie Talk. I am very sorry to hear your little Romeo is ill.

I do not have any knowledge or experience in this area, but I want to offer positive thoughts for Romeo and you.

Welcome to YT - I'm sorry it's under such tough circumstances. Gosh, I really feel for you and your poor little kiddo, what a nightmare...and how scary for you. I don't have experience w/ this particular issue, but you are both in my thoughts.

Oh, I am so sorry. :( I have had experience with cutaneous vasculitis but it was not this severe. Lisa and Pic 's pup Piccolo had it and I will send her an email to have her read this thread and perhaps share her experience.

Sounds like he has been receiving the correct treatment. Is he at Carolina Vet Specialists?

I will pray for your baby. Please keep us posted.

Thank you so much! I am really hoping he gets better.

Thank you! I really appreciate it.

Sending prayers for your pup. So sorry he is going through all this.

Thank you! Hopefully she or someone else can offer up advice or thoughts about Romeo's situation. Yes, he's currently hospitalized at Carolina Veterinary Specialists.

I am so sorry that you and your little pup are going through this. I am praying that you will find something that will work and clear this up fast. Hugs.

Oh goodness. I am so sorry. Ladyjane let me know about your pup and I can only reply through my cell phone at work, so forgive me for typos.

Piccolo had cutaneous vasculitus badly 7 years ago. I wasn't sure if she was going to make it for awhile. It sounds like you are doing everything possible and you have a good vet dermatologist. Her ears are still black from the scabs and those took forever to go away. For her it was the high doses of prednisone that I think helped her turn the corner. I decided that her quality of life was going to have to take precedence. She also had breathing problems and stayed at the ER. .
There is hope. Hugs and feel free to pm me. You both are in my thoughts and prayers

Romeo's Prednisone dosage was 5mg. I added an album on my profile with pics of his ears to give a sense of what he is going through.

With him, the steroids give him infections. He had a bladder infection and constantly gets ear infections, and bacterial infections on his paw pads. This is why the vet derm is trying to stay away from them. I'll have to ask her if i can give him the Pred in conjunction with this new med she wants to give him. Do you think the infections are worth the try? I'm not sure if getting these infections are more harmful to him.

when you say "vaccine induced" do you mean that one of his regular vaccinations caused this?

Yes. I'm not sure if one in specific was the caused, but the vet dermatologist, and also from what I've read, suggests the his vaccinations may have been the cause. It started about three months after he received his vaccines, and that seems to be in line with his vasculitis. I have also read that the rabies vaccine specifically is what may cause this as well.

I hope you find a cure for this little one, it is horrible when you feel they are going through so much and you can't make it instantly better, hoping for a good outcome for him.

Yes, they can.

I've been trying to respond but I don't know where my comments are going? Sorry, still trying to learn how to navigate the site.

Here is a thread about Lisa's pup Piccolo....maybe it will help you....

I do know that with cutaneous vasculitis the meds are ultra important and must be given beyond the point that the pup is no longer showing symptoms. My son's pup was on prednisone for I believe four weeks. I might be able to find a thread about it as I was caring for her when she started getting bad.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ind-gross.html

I'm so sorry to hear little Romeo isn't feeling well. I hope and pray they can find a treatment that will help. Prayers!

I posted an album on my profile with pics of Romeo's ears. Hopefully I can get more info or this might help someone else.

He needs his meds! However you have to get them in to him, you must get them in him!!. As I understand this , the meds must be given until the symptoms are gone. Lisa told me that was MONTHS for Piccolo.

If he was not getting his meds consistently, that is very possibly the reason he is not responding.

Lisa is going to send you a private message....please look for it!

ladyjane: Yes, thank you. I received Lisa's message.

After reading different posts here, I am contemplating putting him back on the Prednisone and Pentoxy. The vet dermatologist doesn't like giving him steroids because it causes him to get bladder infections and bacterial infections on his ears and paws. I'll have to discuss this with her.

Yes, it is very difficult getting him to eat. I have tried people food, along with all sorts of dog foods. I've even tried giving him not the best choices in dog food, just to get him to eat. He seems more willing to eat the junk, but I need him to eat better quality. I feel that probably plays a role because his immune system is weak.

I stayed up all hours of the night just to try and continue his meds as directed(every 12 hours). I was up at 1am, 2am and 3am trying to be consistent, but he did not make it easy. By nature he is a very picky eater and doesn't eat much as it is, so imagine trying to feed him while he is not feeling well. It breaks my heart because he doesn't understand that I NEED him to eat so all these meds don't upset his stomach. There is no point in giving them to him if he is just going to throw it up.

It's been 5-6 months of this and I am starting to feel defeated and helpless. It is not cheap and seeing him now as to how he used to be, is breaking my heart.

ladyjane: Yes, thank you. I received Lisa's message.

Getting him to eat is the hardest part. By nature he is very picky and eats very little. I tried giving him his meds as recommended (every 12 hours), including staying up til 1am, 2am and even 3am, just to try and get them in him. But most times I was only able to get him to eat once a day. I NEED him to eat because these meds upset his stomach and he will end up just throwing it up. That doesn't help either. It breaks my heart because he doesn't understand that he needs to eat so I can help him.

After reading about Piccolo and a few other posts, I think I will ask the vet dermatologist about putting him back on Pred and Pentoxy. She doesn't like giving him steroids because it makes himget bladder infections and bacterial infections very easily. I will have to discuss this more with her.

With a diagnosis of cutaneous vasculitis, I am surprised she feels that way, especially if he is getting worse.

I might be thinking about a second opinion at this point.

I cannot imagine your feelings...so sorry. I will pray that things get better for him...and for you.

Thanks for putting the link up Linda. It is so tough for me to do things on my cell phone. Getting old and this eyesight....

Anyway, please let us know any updates on sweet Romeo. I know this a difficult time right now and I am really thinking about you both.

Tonight's update:
 

Sadly, not much to report. I went to see him at the hospital and he hasn't improved. His breathing is still pretty much the same. He is not better, but he is not worse either. I am going to speak with the vet dermatologist tomorrow about putting him back on Prednisone. Hopefully he will not get any severe infections from it. It is worth a try.

I want to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. You ladies have given me renewed hope and I am determined to get him back to his lovable, playful, happy self. He truly is such a sweet dog. He is kinda of quirky too...lol. He hates to go outside when it's raining and will never walk in any puddles.....lol. He will either walk around them or find the smallest part where he can jump over them...lol. It's funny watching him try to decipher how he's going to approach them.

Once again, thank you all so very much. I will post another update tomorrow after I get more info.

I am happy to hear that Romeo is not getting worse. :) Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit better for him.

He sounds like an adorable and spunky little guy. He is so lucky to be so loved by you!

Will keep him and you in my prayers. :)

Just dropping off some more good thoughts and hopes for you precious one!! Hoping for improvement and good news.

Hoping that Romeo has a better day...

Keeping .,this little one in our thoughts.

I posted an update but when I hit the post button I was logged out. I have no idea if it will post. It was kind of long and I hate to have to retype it all. Does this happen to anyone else? If I take too long I get longed out after clicking the post button.