Diagnosed today.

[admin]

Hi Debra – I am so very sorry to hear about the loss of your mum, and the terrible diagnosis with Sadie. As others have said, we have all been through it, and it is not an easy disease to cope with. Sounds like you are getting excellent advice, though, both from your vets and from the others here. Stay strong, and please keep us posted

with best wishes, and thinking of you

Lynda

[Debra]

Good morning everyone!! Many thanks from Sadie and myself. We miss our mom so very much she was quite a lady :) !! I am so happy to have found you all and your knowledge of this horrible illness and yet here I sit crying.. Sorry we all are here.

Sadie went in at almost 41lbs but now is 38lbs.

She is on 15mg of prednisone twice a day and Cyclosporian 50mg twice a day.

Thank you I will ask about the denamarin, my vet did not know about the pepcid.

One of the first things we did were X-rays which showed nothing. Hisfirst thought was something was stuck. This is how we saw her enlarged spleen. He said nothing about Heinz bodies should I have this test done considering the X-rays were clear?

Her vaccinations were done in the summer before her August spaying. My moms vet graciously sent all her records to her vet here and he thinks everything was done to long ago for her to be having a reaction.

We were sure it was tick born so he had full tiers and PCR done. All were negative. Since Sadie grew up in suburbia Utah where it’s so dry the ticks are not as bad as they are here. She was only in pa since January 10th no tick has been found on her she was groomed a few days after she got here and I have since checked her too.

Sadie has had no vomiting or diarrhea. When I took her in her symptoms were not eating, lethargy and a fever.

I watch her pretty close she did not go outside without me since our yard is unfenced. It is winter and I’ve not seen many critters about at all. A couple unusual things that happened was she was shocked by an electric fence (I had no idea it was electric) and her food was not here so she was feed purina beniful. The vet told me there is huge controversy surrounding this food.

The ultra sound showed an enlarged spleen and lympnodes. They were both aspirated and showed nothing.

The internal med vet wanted to open her up for exploratory surgery, my vet felt that was unnecessary. He has suggested I get her bone marrow tested and that she might need a transfusion.

I hope I haven’t come across as rude at all. Your help means so much to us. I want to know that we are doing what we can and how to proceed. Of course money is a factor I only have so much and I need to spend it right. (Reality
Pffffftttt )

Thank you all again I know you all know how I feel. So scared and helpless wanting to do right by this sweety and my mom.

[Debra]

Sounds like consulting with Dr. Dodd is something I should do. What do I need to have ready for her?

[Debra]

I forgot to add that something is sticking together.. So much information I feel like a dummy.. Could it be her platlets? They had a hard time with readin her blood work because of this but it also pointed to “good” news I believe that cancer is unlikely? I can call and ask him if this would help.

[Linda]

Hi Debra. We all know it’s information overload. Don’t worry about being rude – you’re not and we all understand the ‘fog’ because we have all been there.

Patrice and Sheena will answer the ‘blood’ questions. And Sheena’s suggestion about the Sucralfate (I forgot to mention that VERY important supplement – thank you Sheena!), is as important! Sucralfate is
wonderful – it really does help their tummies and protects.

How is Sadie today? I am in iPad and it’s not much better than the phone. So will check over bloodwork (just so I know, not to give advice) on the desktop, easier to read and I can print it out and study.

I hate that this is so similar to Sheena’s Worzel, but as she has been though it, her wisdom (and knowledge) will hopefully help ease some of your concerns. Patrice too.0, with her Chance. It helped me so much to know this forum was not only advising, but had lived it.

We too, understand about the finances. I actually get a discount from my vet. Maybe ask? Can’t hurt.

You have done a great job already, getting copies of the bloodwrk and tests. Great insight.

Will check in again. Love, Linda

[Patrice]

Debra,
It sounds like the vets are reaching the end of their testing. In terms of cancer, I think they may have been looking for signs of disease in the spleen. Hemangiosarcomas are very common in dogs but are an unlikely condition in a young puppy. They may have also been considering a form of white blood cell cancer in the marrow, but I was pretty sure that was not the case either when I looked at the CBC. I would not give any more thought to cancer.

Taking blood samples, especially in animals, can lead to some errors in the blood sample that they use to run the tests. In this case, as in many, when they prepare the blood smear on a slide the platelets can form clots on the feather edge. This can lead to errors in the automated analyzer’s reading of platelets, making them look low. This is very common and is usually noted on the test as “platelets adequate.” I think this is the case and I would not worry about platelets then at this point.

Ah ha, Utah. Well there appears to be some tick disease here looking at the map. Ticks certainly don’t honor artificial map lines so there is a slight possibility, depending on the county, that she was exposed, but unlikely. You can most likely discontinue the doxycycline at this point. It is a harsh drug and can cause stomach ulcers and a very poor appetite. The healthier we can keep Sadie the stronger she will be fighting this.

Surgery. Nope. You want her as strong as possible. If they saw nothing on the xrays, and I figured they wouldn’t, then let’s avoid this. All these tests are about ruling things out and once that is done, you move on to the next thing to rule out.

I am going to put all my money on the combination of vaccinations (Dr. Dodds calls this the combo-wombo), the spaying and then the electric fence shock. All the vaccinations were done at probably the same time as the surgery. This is so hard on her little body and she could not handle the stress and then top it off with a serious shock, well she has been through a lot. Vets should not be giving vaccinations anywhere near a major surgery. We’ll talk about this more. You can read and listen to Dr. Dodds here:
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2013/03/13/pet-vaccine-dangers.aspx

As far as contacting Dr. Dodds, the link is on this page:
http://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/hemopetresources/

Her consultation fee is $100 (see the form on the page) and I can say that nearly all of the moderators here used her services at one time or another. In my case she saved Chance’s life.

my best, patrice

[Linda]

Oh yes, absolutely, Dr. Dodds. Just a note, her consultation fee is NOT to make money. It goes toward her continued work. If she charged her worth, we woul all (here) be broke. I too e-mailed her, she talked with Sadie’s vet and continued to monitor Sadie’s progress. Please reach out to her.

Love, Linda

[Debra]

Sadie is doing ok, she ate, barked at the cat and has been in and out to potty a million times :) !

I am giving her 10mg of famotidine thanks to you all 2 hours before her other meds. Does this sound right to you guys?

I am feeding her a cup of diamond natural beef. I then cook chicken livers an egg in a tablespoon of olive oil and mix. At night she gets chicken or livers again last night I put cheese on her food. She loves begging strips and gets them every time she goes potty. Is this too much? Reading the forums, should be doing something different?

I am glad you all agree about no surgery. My vet says his gut says nothing there and at this point she is to anemic to do it now. So glad I didn’t go with her recommendation.

I agree a consultant with Dr. Dodds is money well spent. Would a brief history and the labs I have be enough info for her ?

Thank you all so very much!