Grasping at every straw. (Dog health issues)

[Rob]

I'm sure this is pointless, but I'm desperate. Maybe someone knows a person who knows someone who might know what's going on.

I'll be taking my dog to the vet for the 3rd time in 2 weeks today. 3rd visit will be in 1 hour.

Here is what I know: She's "fine" from the blood work and x-rays and urine & stool tests. Only thing that came up on the tests was elevated sodium and potassium levels in the blood. Which could be linked to her just not getting enough water.

• Her symptoms are:
• Excessive thirst,
• excessive urination,
• depression/tired,
• loss of appetite,
• lethargy,
• painful quick movements(if she randomly gets excited[usually induced by her sister] and moves quickly she whines)
• lost function in her left facial nerve. This was the first symptom she had but it may be unrelated.
• constipation

If anyone knows diabetes, this all screams glucose problems. But the last blood test we had done didn't show any signs of diabetes.
If this visit yields any new info, I'll update this thread.

Pictures from happier times:

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Those are my babies(2 year old picture), from left to right starting with the little one, Zeke, Sierra and Zora. Zora is the pup with the problems. Her and her sister, Sierra, are now 6yo, will be 7yo in march.

Left to right, Zora and Sierra.

[Elensaar]

Well, this is a complete shot in the dark, but my sisters dog has an allergy against chicken and some of the symptoms are similar.

I know that some symptoms of allergies and autoimmune problems can be similar to symptoms of diabetes, at least in humans, so maybe it's not too far fetched? Might be worth a try to get her tested at least, or to just try it out yourself by adjusting her diet.

[Kazuya Mishima]

Hmm excessive thirst springs out at me as potential warfarin poisoning - rat poison. It's not uncommon for people to throw rat poison around the periphery of residential buildings and dogs may get access to it and eat it. If you had brought your dog to the vet they should have eliminated this possibility though.

[Rob]

Well, this is a complete shot in the dark, but my sisters dog has an allergy against chicken and some of the symptoms are similar.

I know that some symptoms of allergies and autoimmune problems can be similar to symptoms of diabetes, at least in humans, so maybe it's not too far fetched? Might be worth a try to get her tested at least, or to just try it out yourself by adjusting her diet.

Now that you mentioned it, what we first suspected, and I completely forgot to mention. We did give her Frontline for the 3rd time in her life about a week before the facial nerve paralysis. We thought it might have been related but another vet (mine wasn't working the day I called) told us it wasn't possible for the nerve toxin in frontline to effect the dog. I'm still not sure if that's a load of farce or not. So I gave all the dogs a bath in dawn dish soap to remove any oils from the pesticide. That was two days ago. So not sure if it'll help her now.

I will definitely have the vet run a test for an allergic reaction. And we did switch her from her dog food to a rice/hamburger diet 2 days ago as well.

[Rob]

Hmm excessive thirst springs out at me as potential warfarin poisoning - rat poison. It's not uncommon for people to throw rat poison around the periphery of residential buildings and dogs may get access to it and eat it. If you had brought your dog to the vet they should have eliminated this possibility though.

This is why I thought it might have been the Frontline. See post directly above this one.

[Rob]

Leaving for the vet now. I'll be checking the forum through my phone incase anyone else has something I might be able to ask the vet.

[Kazuya Mishima]

Just in the interest of being completely thorough and eliminate all possibilities no matter how remote, toxic agents used to defeat arthropods likely do not contain warfarin which is an anticoagulant and is used for dealing with small mammal infestations. I don't find that Frontline has this compound as a component.

Nerve toxins that are used to deal with parasitic arthropods or mollusks dont' interface with the cell surface proteins of human nervous tissue which is why if you have a intestinal tract infection from some worm your treatment will consist of consuming nerve toxin.

I just want to make sure you eliminate that possibility completely and potentially check your yard for blue bricks or however rat poison is packaged. If your dogs bark a lot and piss off your neighbors(which you may not even know about)may be flinging rat poison over your fence assuming you have a living situation that enables that.

[Rob]

Back from the vet. She doesn't believe it's a poisoning situation, which makes sense after talking to her (I'm getting to that hysterical phase where I am starting to believe anything can be the cause of the problem.), that if it was poison, 2 weeks later she should be showing greater symptoms. Not stay basically the same. Urine test, once again shows no signs of diabetes or infection.

She did find a noticeable soft mass(6-10 cm) in the upper abdomen that she couldn't feel 2 weeks ago. So I have an appointment with an internalist next Monday for ultrasounds. Here's to hoping she doesn't go down hill by than.

[Rob]

I don't have a fenced in yard, so I have to take them out on leashes. They don't eat anything off the ground that I don't see. I've only ever found dog biscuits in my yard a few years back. Picked them up and threw them out. All my immediate neighbors have dogs, so I don't think they'd be upset with mine for any reason. Especially since they don't bark excessively if at all.

[LupusExMachina]

Did she throw up?

[Rob]

Since the onset of the first symptoms she has not vomited.

[LupusExMachina]

It would be usual for kidney problems in later stages if she would throw up on a regular basis.

Her excessive thirst is a lead though. Her body seems to try to flush out something. Poisen is a possibility, but rather unlikely if her condition doesn't change much in time.
Kidneys seem to be working fine, given the excessive urination.

The liver seems to be a good candidate. That should be covered by the internist though. Keep that track, it seems like the best guess so far.

Her partial facial paralysis doesn't seem to fit any of those though.

[ion]

if one vet gives the same results and you think it's something odd , maybe it's time to change the vet.

[Rob]

if one vet gives the same results and you think it's something odd , maybe it's time to change the vet.

She is the second vet. I have an appointment with an Internalist on Monday.

I was given the advice to give the dog 2 teaspoons of canned pumpkin to help with her bowl movement. That she might not be constipated, just lacking substance to go. That rice and hamburger produces very little waste and it may take two days before she has to go. Little brat ate that pumpkin right up. But still refuses to eat breakfast.

[Rob]

Just in case anyone was watching for an update. I took Zora to the Internalist today. She is almost certain after the ultrasound that Zora has cancer affecting both kidneys and the right side of her brain. Most likely lymphoma. And probably stage 4 of the disease if that is what she has. I now have the hardest choice to make, continue testing to figure out what cancer she has, then chemotherapy to prolong her life for 10-12 months(on average) costing over $4k every 6 months, or put her on prednisone to relieve her symptoms for the remaining 1-2 months(on average) of her life.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but that's the situation as it stands now.

Thank you for any help/advice you all gave me.

[SerraNova]

Sorry to hear that, Rob, I was wondering. I don't envy you that decision. Best wishes for whichever course you take.

[Rob]

The final decision was made, and Zora's chemotherapy started Tuesday 1/28/14. After what appeared to be a more lively puppy for a day and a half, turned for the worse last night. I got home from work last night at midnight, and Zora couldn't stand. She had wasted away in the 9hrs I was at work. We rushed her to the emergency hospital and she was diagnosed with sepsis. We were told she was in pain and surgery was no guarantee. We ultimately decided to end her suffering. Zora was euthanized at 3am 1/31/14. May she rest in peace, the best puppy a family could ask for.

[BinoAl]

I'm so sorry to hear that; I've lost a few pets, and it's very tough to deal with