Please put Gretchen on your prayer or good thoughts list.

[DOTLDaddy]

Gretchen has not been feeling very well the last several days. Hardly eating, lethargic, and just not being herself. We took her in this morning to see her vet. Found out right away she had a fever of 104, and somewhat raspy sounding lungs. The vet recommended chest x-rays, which we did. There is a slightly suspicious looking area on one of her lungs, which our vet is 90% sure is nothing, but she wants an expert radiologist to look at the digital "films". There is a small possibility of the big "C", but our vet does not want to make that call yet. Like I said, she is pretty sure it is nothing . . . . The radiologist will look at them in the near future, but it might not be for a week or two. The radiologist travels around to a lot of different vet offices, looking at cases that require an experts knowledge. Our vet said the time lapse will have no bearing on the prognosis or treatment options, if it comes to that.

For the fever and whatever is causing it, we came home with Amoxicillin and Metronidazole. They also took blood for a CBC, and will let us know about that tomorrow.

[Dashonthedash]

Prayers coming that the vets find the problem and it is treatable and not the big "C".

[birddogs]

Consider having a tick panel drawn, and ask your vet about blastomycosis. Here is a copy/paste list of symptoms of blasto

Fever
Loss of appetite (anorexia)
Weight loss
Eye discharge
Eye inflammation, specifically the iris
Difficulty breathing (e.g., coughing, wheezing and other unusual breathing sounds)
Skin lesions, which are frequently filled with pus

Best wishes for a great turn around and recovery.

[DOTLDaddy]

rockhillmanor wrote:

Ehrlichia

I will mention that possibility today when we we see the specialists. My regular vet did inquire whether or not Gretchen had recently had any ticks on her. When I mentioned that it had been many months since any possible exposure, she did not seem to think that was the problem. Gretchen has had ticks on her in the past, but we only ever found them dead, as the Frontline+ kills them.

I am also suspicious of whether or not the combination of Metronidazole 500mg, and Amoxicillin 500mg, both twice a day, is not making her feel like carp. The described side effects of both mirror her major symptoms, at this point.

[rockhillmanor]

Sorry to hear you haven't found the reason for her fever yet.:(

Years ago I had a dog come down with the same symptoms and the local vet couldn't figure it. We went to the University and this is the first thing they tested him for. Was new back then so I don't blame my vet but it is well known malady today as a sleeper disease.

It is a very serious disease and left untreated for too long can be deadly. When it is caught in the beginning stages there is a very good outcome.
Did you vet suggest this possibility?


Ehrlichia

The clinical manifestations of ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis are the same. Each is often characterized by sudden high fever

Diagnosis:
Diagnosis is limited by our current ability to test for only two species. Ehrlichia parasites multiply inside host cells, forming large mulberry-shaped clusters called morulae which doctors can sometimes see on blood smears.
The infection still can easily be missed.


Treatment:
The treatment of choice for ehrlichiosis/anaplasmosis is doxycycline, with rifampin recommended in case of treatment failure.

You will be in our prayers tonight that you find out quickly what is ailing Gretchen and for a quick recovery.

[CatandJim]

BCSnob wrote:
Walter, I've been following this and hope Gretchen's diagnosis is forthcoming and not the big C.
Mark

Same here Walter & Garland....

[Dixie_Flyer]

Walter we are thinking of you and Gretchen. Sue and I hope all will turn out well and the cause of Gretchen's illness will be discovered and treated successfully. Looking forward to seeing you in Branson in June.

[magnusfide]

Keeping it all in prayer.

[BCSnob]

Walter, I've been following this and hope Gretchen's diagnosis is forthcoming and not the big C.
Mark

[RBak]

Was thinking about Gretchen all day and wondering how she made out at the vet. Will definitely keep her in my prayers. Hang in there - remember you've got your forum pals sending good vibes and prayers for Gretchen and you and Garland. Bless all of you!

Rita, Andy and Nicky

[DOTLDaddy]

Went back to our vet yesterday with a urine sample from Gretchen. It tested out as unremarkable. CBC had tested out as unremarkable on Monday. Her temp was down to 103.5, but the vet was surprised that it had not dropped further, or should have been normal. Gretchen is still very lethargic, and her eyes still have have that glazed, "half there" look. The schleras are reddish and puffy.

Our vet is sending us to a local vet specialist group today:

VSSSTL

We are going to have some ultrasound and po$$ibly some other radiological testing done to try and determine what the heck is going on. While we were at our vets yesterday, she called VSSSTL and talked to one of her doctor friends there, an animal internal medicine specialist. Her judgement, without yet seeing Gretchen and only hearing her symptoms and test results to date, is that she is suspicious of cancer somewhere in her body.

We can only hope she is wrong.:( We also hope today will determine something, yea or nay.

Please keep Gretchen in your thoughts and prayers.

[Code2High]

Yes, please let us know what's going on.

[RoadXYZ]

You will be in our thoughts ... please keep us updated ..

[DOTLDaddy]

rockhillmanor wrote:
Bring in a urine sample asap....

I will bring that up when we go back in later today. I will get a sample to take with us. I have done it before, so I guess I can do it again.

Thanks for the tip.:)

[rockhillmanor]

Bring in a urine sample asap.

My dog hit the sleds, same symptoms as your dog. The urine sample was what determined the problem. IMHO vets don't ask for this test enough.
It is relatively inexpensive, and tells a lot about what's going on. Pet owner's need to bring in urine more often for testing and insist on it being tested. Shouldn't be that way but sadly it is.

I always am the one to bring one in and insist on it. IMHO, urinalysis tells more than blood work AND you can send it in to culture to KNOW what antibiotic will work.

Also the antibiotic's complicate the whole not eating. Many state right on the insert will affect appetite. It's a double edged sword, and brings the dog down even more, to where you can lose the dog from them not eating due to the antibiotics more often than the cause of the illness.

My vet was insisting on tri-meth-sulpha it just about was killing my dog. I brought a urine sample in and had it sent out for culture and it came back showing it was sensitive to of all antibiotics.....ammoxi...,the antibiotic with the least side affects. :S

[Dashonthedash]

CatandJim wrote:
Eating is good! We will celebrate the small victories.

And the DOTL troops sound off

Eat Gretchen, eat Gretchen, hut-two-three-four, Eat more Gretchen, eat more!

Maybe you should put commas before the "Gretchen"s
:B