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My 7 yo border collie had a routine vet check 3 weeks ago. I mentioned to vet at the time to look at teeth and other things to see if she saw anything that would affect appetite, because his appetite has been off, but she didn't see any issues.
Appetite was iffy last 2 weeks, and then yesterday he stopped eating. Took him to e-vet tonight.
X-rays were clear.
Blood work not good- not good at all.
Bottom line is that he has no white blood cells and high fever.
Taking him to ISU vet school clinic tomorrow for bone marrow biopsy.
Vet's preliminary diagnosis is aplastic anemia.
I know that if that is what it is that the prognosis isn't good.
I am in full blown freak out mode and in a state of shock.
Any suggestions welcome.
Please think good thoughts for my boy.
I am going to go have a good cry.
My 7 yo border collie had a routine vet check 3 weeks ago. I mentioned to vet at the time to look at teeth and other things to see if she saw anything that would affect appetite, because his appetite has been off, but she didn't see any issues.
Appetite was iffy last 2 weeks, and then yesterday he stopped eating. Took him to e-vet tonight.
X-rays were clear.
Blood work not good- not good at all.
Bottom line is that he has no white blood cells and high fever.
Taking him to ISU vet school clinic tomorrow for bone marrow biopsy.
Vet's preliminary diagnosis is aplastic anemia.
I know that if that is what it is that the prognosis isn't good.
I am in full blown freak out mode and in a state of shock.
Any suggestions welcome.
Please think good thoughts for my boy.
I am going to go have a good cry.
My heart is breaking reading this. Praying for you and for your boy, 12. So sorry you've been hit with this. A prelim dx can be wrong and I hope that's the case.
My boy is holding his own; he is on two iv antibiotics. We have guardedly good news- his bone marrow is functioning normally and his temperature is down to normal, so the new antibiotics are working. He still isn't eating.
The vet still has no clear idea what is wrong though. The obvious culprits at this point are tick-borne diseases, a disfunction of the immune system, or some sort of bacterial infection. We will know more when they run another cbc in the morning and when we get the cultures back.
I have been a mess; it is simply incomprehensible that I might lose him.
We did a Reiki session for him yesterday to give him energetic support so he can fight whatever this is.
We appreciate all the healing energy, good thoughts, and prayers. Thank you!
I have been thinking about you and your dog off and on today so am glad to hear he is holding his own and will continue to send positive thoughts and prayers. It was this time last year that Chaos got so sick and we played stump the vet. I considered putting her down if we could not get her better as she was in pain and that is no way for a young dog to live. Thank God she got better thanks to an animal communicator telling us what the issues were and she is back to her wild self.
While having a sick dog is difficult at any age when it is a young dog it is that much harder. Keep us posted and try to get some rest.
Well, pup is back home. They reluctantly released him; he is stable but they wanted to keep him for observation.
They have run a whole battery of tests but still don't know what is wrong with him. His blood values are still way out of whack.
His temperature keeps bumping up and down. He is eating only sporadically. He wolfed down chicken breast and hamburger last night but wouldn't eat anything this morning.
They want him to have an echocardiogram because they found a heart murmur. Otherwise we need to wait until the blood and urine cultures come back to see how they look.
The animal communicator I used said it was his liver and pancreas. My holistic vet is coming later today to do acupuncture support and her own exam.
This whole situation has been a learning experience.
Update-
My boy has been in good spirits, enthusiastic, and active, but is still lethargic and isn't eating regularly.
He has been on 3 antibiotics for a week now that the veterinary hospital put him on.
My regular holistic vet has been wonderful; we have been doing acupuncture and vitamin treatments.
He has been getting regular supportive energy care via Healing Touch and Reiki practitioners.
Last night the vet from the veterinary teaching hospital called and said they got the blood cultures back. Cultures showed staph infection that was some form of MRSA, but they are running additional tests so won't know definitively until Tuesday. The cultures showed sensitivity to the antibiotics my boy is on so that is good news.
The bad news is that the HTA practitioner says that his liver is struggling to deal with the antibiotics which is why he is still lethargic and isn't eating.
Bottom line right now is that we need to determine how soon it is safe to take him off the antibiotics so that his liver can start functioning normally again and get his system cleared of all the accumulated toxins.
We are very fortunate- we have an amazing support system of various practitioners and caregivers.
It is worth noting that both the e-vet and the vet school treated my boy with the foregone conclusion that he = his diagnosis (aplastic anemia), which was very questionable and non-productive method. In an effort to instill some form of rationality into my thinking, my Reiki master practitioner told me early on that it was critical that I remember that symptoms change and diagnoses change accordingly. Boy was she ever right. From an energy standpoint, it is extraordinarily critical that we animal caretakers not get locked into a diagnosis.
We are headed in the right direction. My boy is going to get healthy again. I will update as soon as I know more. Thank you all for your good thoughts and prayers.
Update-
My boy has been in good spirits, enthusiastic, and active, but is still lethargic and isn't eating regularly.
He has been on 3 antibiotics for a week now that the veterinary hospital put him on.
My regular holistic vet has been wonderful; we have been doing acupuncture and vitamin treatments.
He has been getting regular supportive energy care via Healing Touch and Reiki practitioners.
Last night the vet from the veterinary teaching hospital called and said they got the blood cultures back. Cultures showed staph infection that was some form of MRSA, but they are running additional tests so won't know definitively until Tuesday. The cultures showed sensitivity to the antibiotics my boy is on so that is good news.
The bad news is that the HTA practitioner says that his liver is struggling to deal with the antibiotics which is why he is still lethargic and isn't eating.
Bottom line right now is that we need to determine how soon it is safe to take him off the antibiotics so that his liver can start functioning normally again and get his system cleared of all the accumulated toxins.
We are very fortunate- we have an amazing support system of various practitioners and caregivers.
It is worth noting that both the e-vet and the vet school treated my boy with the foregone conclusion that he = his diagnosis (aplastic anemia), which was very questionable and non-productive method. In an effort to instill some form of rationality into my thinking, my Reiki master practitioner told me early on that it was critical that I remember that symptoms change and diagnoses change accordingly. Boy was she ever right. From an energy standpoint, it is extraordinarily critical that we animal caretakers not get locked into a diagnosis.
We are headed in the right direction. My boy is going to get healthy again. I will update as soon as I know more. Thank you all for your good thoughts and prayers.
We are keeping fingers and paws crossed that your boy makes a total recovery.Glad he is heading that way. It was about a year ago that Chaos got so very sick and I thought I might loose her and despite everyone involved thinking she might never get back to the dog she had been I am happy to say she is 100% her old self. So much so that she is one of the few dogs that wants to play in this heat we have been having. To see her now you would never believe what she was like at this time last year so hang in there and hopefully your boy will make a similar recovery!
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