Vet techs, I need your opinion/advice!

[tiffanyh]

I am actually a certified vet tech...but I am stumped too. I wouldnt hesitate to get a second opinion. Did they check for lyme disease or did they just do a general profile. That would cause his WBC to be up slightly and lyme disease has caused a wide variety of symptoms. Also, that would account for his sleeping more and being grumpy when pet, as it caused joint pain--and eventually arthritis. If they sent his blood to a lab, they can usually call and add on a Lyme test.

Did they put him on AB;s for the high WBC count?
Was he running a low grade fever at all?
What were his glucose levels?

You cant rule out a tumor without some expensive testing, but there is definately more to check into.

check into addison's disease, also called hypoadrenocortisim.

 

[Robin'sBrood]

She did the whole battery of tests and he was negative for tick diseases, glucose levels were fine...
I will definitely look into the addison's disease suggestion. Thanks!


Edited to add -
Just did a little reading about Addison's and the symptoms don't sound anything like Wolfgang's symptoms. If anything, his sound more like Cushing's.

There is another vet in this area that is fabulous, but I consider him a specialist because his prices are so high.

Anyway, in this case I may go to him before going to the vet school. Or maybe I could at least get a consult with him to see if he thinks he can diagnose Wolfgang or if he thinks I should go directly to the vet school.

 

[augiedranch]

has the dog ever been on lasiks? also, from my experience when the site goes,, it goes.. im sorry.. i would get a second opinion... for that size dog he is not too old or anything.. i would sure keep trying the thyroid drugs, sometimes it takes a while to get the dosage just perfect... and i would check for tumors/cancer... sometimes spinal injuries, or cancer , tumors on the spine will case neuro problems and loss of sight... also whats the word.. where they dont know whats going on all the time.. uhg im too tired to think.. but they can cause problems associated with the growling when ur kids pet him.

best of luck

keep us posted

 

[Robin'sBrood]

He's never been on anything other than Heartguard and Frontline. I think he may have had an ear infection in the past, but I'm not sure if that was even him. If it was, he was much younger.

I'm not going to give up on him but I have to be honest and say that money is a HUGE factor. I just don't have thousands of dollars to spend looking for answers, which makes this all the more painful for me.

 

[Sherry]

We had a yorkie in our clinic this spring. He is less than a year old and was going blind. Turns out his blood pressure was extremely high. Once that was under control his sight returned and he's doing great.

As for the weight gain, if Wolfgang can't see, he probably doesn't want to walk or run around and exercise the weight off for fear of running into something. Just a thought.

However, I too would check into the vet schools.

 

[tiffanyh]

I thought about cushings, but the bloodwork and symptoms would have been more beneficial in diagnosing that.

Hmmm......so no ab's for the high WBC count, becuase that is indicative of an infection.

When you go for a specialist or second opinion, get all the paperwork to bring. The vet has to give you copies of bloodwork or any Xrays they did. And a print out of their records. You may even want to schedule an appointment, and drop off the paperwork ahead of time so the doctor has time to think it over rather than trying to read it all quickly with you standing in the room.

GOod luck. Ill keep my brain open to to anymore ideas.

 

[Robin'sBrood]

Quote:
No, no antibiotics were prescribed. She wasn't concerned about it because it was just barely above the normal range... said something about it could be from stress.

 

[Robin'sBrood]

I just got a call from one of the vets -- couldn't get to the phone because I was outside with my dogs and it takes forever to get back in the house now, darn it. Anyway, she said they got the lab results back and his thyroid levels are now within the normal range, the range being 1 - 5, he is now at a 1.1 -- and if I'm remembering correctly he initially tested at a .4, I believe. She said she was going to leave the file out for my primary vet to look at and see if she wanted to change his dosage any or wanted to wait a few more weeks. I guess it's some progress, but I sure can't tell a difference in my boy yet.

 

[Dodgegal79]

Have they tested him for diabetes?? That would explain the wieght gain, vision problems and most likey the ear infections.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Quote:
That's what I was thinking too..When I worked for a local vet, we had a Pomeranian that came in regularly because of his diabetes. He needed insulin injections.

-Kim