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Whippet with mystery illness



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 4th 03, 06:49 AM
spinkydink
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Default Whippet with mystery illness

My sweet two year old male whippet was seen by the vet two weeks ago
with a high fever - 105.5 degrees. He was lethargic, lacked appetite
and had a stiff gait. He underwent x-rays, ultrasound and a barium
series. A cbc indicated a high white count. He also received
antibiotics and iv fluids. He seemed to feel better after the barium
went through him. No diagnosis was made and he seemed fully recovered.
I finished his antibiotic pills (orbax) and was glad to see him zoom
around the yard with the six month old puppy (his nephew).

Two weeks later, his fever is back (104 degrees) and has the same set
of symptoms. He started with double doses of cephalexin which did not
seem to help. He was switched to clindacure and clavamox. Four days
have passed and he seems no better. He is drinking and will eat small
amounts of wet dog food and treats. He gets his pills in a bite of hot
dog. A blood culture is being done but preliminary results show
nothing unusual.

The vet is now talking about exploratory surgery! Yikes! The vet
thinks he has abscess in an internal organ.

Tick bourn illnesses have not been tested for; we live in Washington
state and the illnesses are not very common. Also any speck on him is
visible and would be spotted easily.

Any ideas? I'm thinking that surgery is kind of drastic and will order
the tick titers before I allow surgery.
  #2  
Old July 4th 03, 02:25 PM
buglady
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"spinkydink" wrote in message
m...
My sweet two year old male whippet was seen by the vet two weeks ago
with a high fever - 105.5 degrees
Two weeks later, his fever is back (104 degrees) and has the same set
of symptoms
The vet is now talking about exploratory surgery! Yikes! The vet
thinks he has abscess in an internal organ.


..........What organ? Surely he must have an idea if he's going to open him
up and look at his organs. I have a hard time believing that the bloodwork
wouldn't show something other than an elevated WBC for an abcessed organ.
He did a chem profile also didn't he? What is he culturing the blood for?
I don't know about surgery like this. Dogs are not clocks to be opened and
closed willy nilly. He'd have to have a good reason and good reasoning to
convince me to open my dog up. I think I'd rather have the entire body
X-rayed then put my dog through exploratory surgery. Do any of the joints
feel hot? Or is there any part of the body that feels hotter than the rest?
Is the abdomen tender? (dogs sometimes hunch or walk funny if they have
pancreatitis.) Dog gotten any wounds in the past few weeks? Did you go
anywhere new with the dog? Dog get into any food he shouldn't have?

Tick bourn illnesses have not been tested for; we live in Washington
state and the illnesses are not very common. Also any speck on him is
visible and would be spotted easily.
Any ideas? I'm thinking that surgery is kind of drastic and will order
the tick titers before I allow surgery.


.......Good thinking, I was wondering about tick diseases myself, but I
wonder how long titers take - a week or more? If it is tick disease the
problem is not enough antibiotics and the wrong kind. As long as the dog is
on antibiotics maybe change to doxycycline. OTOH if it really is an abcess
you might not want to wait that long. I'd get as much info as I could from
the links I posted on tick diseases, call your vet and have a discussion as
soon as possible.

I'd go he http://nowhereelse.homestead.com/tickbornedisease.html and
click on the Tick FAQ link and also use the link to the tick list and repeat
your story there. There are a couple of vets on the Tick list and you may
get some feedback on the possibilities of tick diseases in your area.
Couldn't hurt to tap this resource even if they don't think it might be tick
disease.
Vetgate is also a great resource for web info - here's the list for
tickbourne diseases:
http://vetgate.ac.uk/browse/cabi/det...0934c4f0c4.htm
l
You might also search for a state epidemiological agency (probably under
public health) on the web to see if there are any maps or reports of tick
diseases and which kinds.
......Ok couldn't resist, here's a start:
http://healthlinks.washington.edu/nwcphp/lyme/

State of Washington Ticks and Tick borne diseases:
http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/ts/Zoo/WATickDiseases.htm
I would note that the above probably only reports human incidences, not
animals. You might have to check your state's general website for info on
incidence in animals: http://access.wa.gov/

Info on Babesiosis with a lab in Washington that does panels. This would
be a great resource. Have your vet call them and ask about incidence of
tick diseases. There may be more going on than he's aware of. He can also
find out how long the tests take.
http://www.greyhoundlist.org/babesia_infosheet.html

RMSP is reported in Washington:
http://www.emedicine.com/EMERG/topic586.htm

Erlichia reported in Washington:
http://www.cah.com/library/ehrlich.html

Also if you haven't done this, post in alt.med.veterinary.

I hope you find the answer to your pup's troubles.

buglady
take out the dog before replying


  #3  
Old July 4th 03, 04:19 PM
sighthounds etc.
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On Fri, 04 Jul 2003 13:25:02 GMT, "buglady"
wrote:

"spinkydink" wrote in message
om...
My sweet two year old male whippet was seen by the vet two weeks ago
with a high fever - 105.5 degrees
Two weeks later, his fever is back (104 degrees) and has the same set
of symptoms
The vet is now talking about exploratory surgery! Yikes! The vet
thinks he has abscess in an internal organ.


.........What organ? Surely he must have an idea if he's going to open him
up and look at his organs. I have a hard time believing that the bloodwork
wouldn't show something other than an elevated WBC for an abcessed organ.
He did a chem profile also didn't he? What is he culturing the blood for?
I don't know about surgery like this. Dogs are not clocks to be opened and
closed willy nilly. He'd have to have a good reason and good reasoning to
convince me to open my dog up. I think I'd rather have the entire body
X-rayed then put my dog through exploratory surgery. Do any of the joints
feel hot? Or is there any part of the body that feels hotter than the rest?
Is the abdomen tender? (dogs sometimes hunch or walk funny if they have
pancreatitis.) Dog gotten any wounds in the past few weeks? Did you go
anywhere new with the dog? Dog get into any food he shouldn't have?

Tick bourn illnesses have not been tested for; we live in Washington
state and the illnesses are not very common. Also any speck on him is
visible and would be spotted easily.
Any ideas? I'm thinking that surgery is kind of drastic and will order
the tick titers before I allow surgery.


......Good thinking, I was wondering about tick diseases myself, but I
wonder how long titers take - a week or more?


Send the blood to ProtaTek labs in Arizona and ask for results STAT;
you can get them in 24 hours, and they have probably more experience
with TBDs than any other lab.

Sally Hennessey

  #4  
Old July 4th 03, 06:22 PM
Jo Wolf
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I would strongly suggest a referral to a vet internal medicine
specialist ASAP!

An abcess in/on an internal organ can often be identified on an
ultrasound examination.

To whoever asked.... A blood culture, if an internal abcess is
suspected, would show up a sepsis, especially if the contents of the
abcess are spilling. As most vets are slow to do this type of culture,
the index of suspicion must be very high.

Jo Wolf
Martinez, Georgia

  #5  
Old July 8th 03, 07:31 AM
Jo Wolf
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Thanks for the additional information and the follow-up information.
When I was still in hospital nursing that old "fever of unknown origin"
used to drive me nuts... inquiring minds want to Know..... grin

Jo Wolf
Martinez, Georgia

  #6  
Old July 9th 03, 06:01 AM
spinkydink
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Default

Thanks for the additional information and the follow-up information.
When I was still in hospital nursing that old "fever of unknown origin"
used to drive me nuts... inquiring minds want to Know..... grin

Jo Wolf
Martinez, Georgia


It's always nice to know how things turned out!

spinkydink
 




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