Just when the waters seemed calm……Sadie's CBC

[Linda]

Hi all.  Thanks Sheena and Vally – I think I will keep her at 6.25mg a day for a few weeks and then go to the 5mg a day.

I just lost an entire post – my computer has been so weird lately.  It was about Sadie’s CBC from last Friday.  In short, her Neutrophils are slightly high, 89 (60-77), her Absolute Neutrophils are high, 16732 (2060-10600) AND her WBC’s are slightly high, 18 (4-15.5).  BUT her in-house PCV was 48 and also her CBC Hematocrit showed 48.  Other than the that, her Lymphocytes were low, 6 (12-30) and Eosinophil’s were low, 1 (2-10). All else was within normal range.

I feel really badly too, as it seems I have NOT done a CBC since late November.  I know – I think I just got too comfortable with her higher PCV’s and forgot.  I feel horrible.

My vet is not too concerned, but wants to do another CBC this Friday and thinks there could be the possibility of infection somewhere.  This one last CBC on Friday was not a full panel, but we’ll do a full panel fasting CBC this Friday and try to get a true picture and go from there.

She seems okay, except for the on again, off again lip smacking.  Also, in the last two days, her BM’s have been very soft; formed, but soft – having to wash in with the hose.    Her urine is clear.  She is not chewing her skin or scratching her ears like she’s being bothered.  From what I understand, pain can cause this too and she does creak and pop when she stands from lying down.  Poor little girl – I feel so badly.

I am wondering if I should drop the Atopica and in a few weeks lower the prednisone to 5mg a day.  It seems on the days I give the Atopica, she has the lip smacking and the loose stools (what we talk about here!  Goodness….).  I will let you know the outcome on Friday and/or if anything changes this week.

Always something.  Sending our love,

Linda and ho-hum Sadie

PS – the mushroom was post CBC. ;)

 

[admin]

Oh Sadie, you are keeping your Mum on her toes! And what is this about a mushroom?? Linda – I am sure you are worried but please do hang on to those positive thoughts. It’s excellent that the vets are not too concerned and Sadie’s PCV remains stable.
Please don’t feel bad that she hasn’t had a CBC recently. There always has to come a time when the frequency of these things is reduced, and some sort of “normality” is resumed.

I am unsure about the lip smacking and loose stools but I am sure another dog owner can help here? I would take it as a great sign that she seems ok in herself. Keeping everything crossed that this is a minor infection and the WBC’s will soon return to normal. Do let us know.

Mary & Mable x

[Vally]

Linda, oh I so know what you mean.  I think Sadie and Bingo conferred  on this and threw out their tests just for some extra attention.

Bingo’s last CBC was 6 months ago.  His vet does a physical exam and a PCV/TP each time we visit every 2 months (this time 6 weeks thanks very much Bingo).  He asks how he’s going and stuff like that.  He doesn’t do a full test as a matter of routine.  A full test is only done if I’m worried about something.  The seizure was the reason for the full test this last time.

If Sadie is acting good, that counts for a lot.

Love Vally & Bingo.

[Vally]

Conspired!!! that’s the word, not conferred – I couldn’t think of it.

[admin]

Linda,

the lip smacking could indicate Sadie is nauseous, maybe from the atopica? I have no advice as to reductions, sorry. It has just been to long for me and I don’t trust myself giving advice for that.  I assume Sadie is still getting something to protect her tummy, sucralfate, slippery elm? for the soft stools, definitely canned pumpkin. Enzo is doing the lip smacking to me on and off, but just in the morning.  I have started to give him 1/4 of a cup of goat milk or kefir at bed time. it seems to help. The kefir has a lot of probiotics and healthy bacteria. Is there a certain time of the day Sadie does it or is it just random. Patrice told me that some dogs get heart burn in the morning when they expect their food and have a totally empty tummy. I think the kefir can’t hurt, it is definitely good for  GI health.

Kahlu had the creaking and popping too. it did not seem to bother him, he was clearly not in pain. Once he got most of his muscles back these awful sounds dissipated completely.

wishing you all the best,

Brigitte & the poodle boys

 

[admin]

Hi Linda

For some reason I couldn’t log in last night. I’m sure the mushroom incident hasn’t done this – a tiny bit won’t have hurt.

What a brilliant PCV/HCT – way to go Sadie! High neutrophils can indicate an infection (bacterial probably), but it can also be caused by the drugs too. Raised WBC can also mean infection/stress/inflammation. If the diarrhea carries on, a pooh sample might be a good idea.  Me being of the crazy, paranoid, overcautious Mum variety, looking at her blood test results, I think she may well have an infection, Linda. It is sometimes very difficult to interpret blood tests because of the effects of these corticosteroids drugs, but this does look like she’s got something. Some antibiotics will soon sort her out if it is an infection anyway, so no need to worry.

I agree with Brigitte – licking lips & lick smacking sounds like she’s feeling sick to me. Ollie always does this when he feels sick, together with lots of swallowing. Worzel had a few bouts of diarrhea around Christmas & I think it was my fault – I hadn’t wormed them often enough. His blood test was normal though. The vet gave him an anti-spasmodic for 3 days & I also started him on probiotics & pumpkin for a week. Since then (fingers crossed) have not had to run round the garden in my underwear looking for him in the middle of the night! I bet the neighbours are very grateful for that!

So my friend, don’t worry – your vet is obviously on the case & will sort her out. Of course, these immuno-suppressant drugs make them more prone to catching infections as well. Good luck on Friday – let us know how my darling girl gets on

Loads of love as always from over the pond from Sheena & the Boyz

[Patrice]

Sorry you couldn’t get into the website last night. Around midnight my time I was fixing the problem with the Nauset topic getting out of order, I split it and then rearranged the replies so they were sequential. Then I did a repair on the forum.

Also, a little after that the Jetpack monitor that watches the website notified me that the website was down for about 4 minutes. That happens now and then. It could be as simple as the ISP is working on the servers. Our ISP is really good and my monthly reports never show more than a few minutes lost. Last month there were no outages!

[admin]

Patrice – I think it’s more likely it was my Orange Internet as I have had trouble with my e-mails too. The site runs fantastically well, thanks to your hard work & I’ve never had a problem getting in before. Blame it on the French!