Maybe Myasthenia Gravis?

[jenners]

Talica has been flopping down on the ground while walking; sometimes every few steps, other times not at all and she's her rompy self. She is sometimes happy and rompy at day care, but this weekend when I just took her there for a morning romp, they called me to pick her up as she was acting odd and depressed, and they have started giving her time outs at 4 PM until I can pick her up at 5:30 PM because she gets tired.

 

Yesterday we were at the e-vet because she couldn't walk 5 steps without lying down; and getting her up is very difficult. I'm afraid she'll flop down in the road

 

They found (and continue to find ) nothing wrong with her, but in the last few months she has had:

 

Gagging and vomiting

An enlarged spleen

Tiredness and collapsing

Bloated tummy and need to lie down after eating

 

The e-vet just sort of threw out Myasthenia Gravis, but didn't seem to think it was a *real* possibility, but I sure do! We have an appointment this morning with Medicine, and I will ask for a test for MG; thoughts, anyone?

 

Jennifer & Talica

 

 

[Devotion]

no advice or experience but lots of prayers being sent. how scary.

[jenners]

Oh, AND the skin on her butt and tummy has turned black instead of pink; the skin pigment itself, that is

 

Jennifer & Talica

[Burpdog]

Sounds like it could be a TBD. Has she been tested for all the TBDs?

[Rickiesmom]

My old foxhound had MG. The biggest symptom in his case was spitting up - started with water and gradually became everything. He was also very slowed down on walks, but not to the point of lying down as happens with some. Do have the test done - it takes some time for the results to return but it is definitive and will allow proper treatment.

 

This is not to exclude other suggestions including testing for TBDs - if it were my dog I would do both in order to get my dog on the proper treatment asap. Good luck, please keep us posted.

[Batmom]

Tick testing if not done yet.

Thyroid panel if her T4 is low-ish.

Recheck spleen?

 

[jenners]

My old foxhound had MG. The biggest symptom in his case was spitting up - started with water and gradually became everything. He was also very slowed down on walks, but not to the point of lying down as happens with some. Do have the test done - it takes some time for the results to return but it is definitive and will allow proper treatment.

 

This is not to exclude other suggestions including testing for TBDs - if it were my dog I would do both in order to get my dog on the proper treatment asap. Good luck, please keep us posted.

 

Tick testing if not done yet.

Thyroid panel if her T4 is low-ish.

Recheck spleen?

 

Just back from the vet's ... I will see which TBD have been tested for and get the ones which haven't ... we are running a complete thyroid panel, the spleen has been rechecked and has not grown, we are checking for MG ... now it's a waiting game for lab results to come back. Thanks, everyone!

 

Jennifer & Talica

[Burpdog]

Email Ohio State MG is quite rare and TBDs are rampant. I will tell you that quite a few greys test negative for TBDs yet respond to doxy.

[jenners]

Email Ohio State MG is quite rare and TBDs are rampant. I will tell you that quite a few greys test negative for TBDs yet respond to doxy.

 

I will, thank you!

Jennifer & Talica

[jenners]

OK, Talica was tested for Lyme Disease and Erlichia in January of this year. What other TBD should she be tested for?

 

Jennifer & Talica

[Burpdog]

Which erlichias? Only canis?

[jenners]

Which erlichias? Only canis?

 

It says Erlichea x 2.

 

Jennifer & Talica

[Burpdog]

Not sure what that means

 

From Dr. Stack's article on erlichia:

 

Ehrlichia canis is the most common Ehrlichia species infecting dogs, but there are others (E.

platys, E. risticii, E. equi) and researchers suspect that there are many more. E. canis is a

rickettsia (an organism somewhere between a bacteria and parasite) carried by the brown dog

tick - a common if not universal problem in racing kennels. Greyhounds from all over the

country mingle together sharing their ticks, making racing kennels a smorgasbord of tick-borne

diseases.

 

Acute (first few weeks) signs of Ehrlichia, such as runny eyes/nose and cough (resembling

distemper) would not be expected in adopted racers. Virtually all adopted greyhounds will be in

the chronic stage. There may be vague signs such as lethargy, fever, anorexia, and weight

loss. Greyhounds may have bleeding, bone marrow suppression, eye disease, neurologic signs,

neck/spinal pain, polyarthritis, enlarged spleen, enlarged lymph nodes, or kidney disease.

Bloodwork may show anemia, low white blood cell counts, low platelets, increased protein

(hyperglobulinemia), and increased ALT/ALKP.

 

Ehrlichia testing is done with antibody titers. Titers measure the body's immune response to

the bug, not the amount of bug in the dog's body. Most labs titer from 1:20 to 1:1,000,000 or

more. In general, the more chronic the infection, the higher the titer. The IDEXX in-office

"combo" test (heartworm/Lyme/Ehrlichia) catches titers over 1:100. While sick dogs usually

test positive, they might not if:

1. They have a poor immune response (the reason why a very sick dog sometimes tests

negative).

2. They carry an Ehrlichia strain other than the standard E. canis the lab tests for.

3. They have a titer <1:100 on the IDEXX test, or

4. There is variation between labs.

There is not necessarily a correlation between the severity of the disease and the titer number.

All positive titers should be treated.

Ehrlichia dogs respond dramatically and quickly (within days) to doxycycline dosed at 5 mg per

pound twice daily. For this reason, greyhounds should be started on doxycycline as soon as

Ehrlichia is suspected. If not immediately available at the veterinary office, all human

pharmacies carry doxycycline (a tetracycline family antibiotic). Often patients are vastly

improved by the time their titer results are back from the lab. This doxycycline trial can be as

useful as the titer results in determining whether to continue with treatment. The standard

regimen we use in Arizona where Ehrlichia is endemic is 5 mg per pound twice daily for 2

months. Doxycycline must always be given with food - otherwise it may upset the stomach.

Alternatively, Ehrlichia can be treated (offlabel) with Imizol, an injectable drug approved for the

treatment of Babesia, another tick-borne disease. The Imizol protocol is two injections two

weeks apart.

There is a poor correlation between resolution of infection and serum antibody titers. In

patients with high antibody titers, the antibody concentrations decline very slowly (over years)

following effective therapy. In many patients, the antibody titers persist at high concentrations

indefinitely. The PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test, which tests either positive or negative

(no numeric value) for Ehrlichia DNA in the bloodstream, may be used for follow-up testing,

but is not perfect either.

The most reliable indices of response to therapy are clinical signs, CBC changes (i.e. anemia,

platelet counts), and serum globulin concentrations. A reasonable approach is to monitor

recovered dogs with a CBC and titer at six-month intervals as long as the dog remains clinically

normal. If clinical signs develop or the CBC becomes abnormal, re-treat, using Imizol if

doxycycline was used the first time around. The majority of Ehrlichia dogs will require only one

treatment course, but owner and veterinarian should remain watchful in order to recognize a

relapse.

[jenners]

Not sure what that means

From Dr. Stack's article on erlichia:

 

Ehrlichia canis is the most common Ehrlichia species infecting dogs, but there are others (E.

platys, E. risticii, E. equi) and researchers suspect that there are many more. There may be vague signs such as lethargy, fever, anorexia, and weight loss. Greyhounds may have bleeding, bone marrow suppression, eye disease, neurologic signs,

neck/spinal pain, polyarthritis, enlarged spleen, enlarged lymph nodes, or kidney disease. Bloodwork may show anemia, low white blood cell counts, low platelets, increased protein

(hyperglobulinemia), and increased ALT/ALKP.

 

The IDEXX in-office "combo" test (heartworm/Lyme/Ehrlichia) catches titers over 1:100. While sick dogs usually

test positive, they might not if:

1. They have a poor immune response (the reason why a very sick dog sometimes tests

negative).

2. They carry an Ehrlichia strain other than the standard E. canis the lab tests for.

3. They have a titer <1:100 on the IDEXX test, or

4. There is variation between labs.

 

Hmmmm. It looks like what she had was the combo because it says "Heartworm Lyme Erlichia x 2". Certainly some of Talica's symptoms look like the symptoms above. She's always been covered by Frontline since last May; could a tick have slipped by, or could she have gotten exposed before she was taken off-track? I'm calling the vet tomorrow who ran the tests (they weren't done at the "U", my usual vet school, but by a vet I saw for a 2nd opinion on her foot) to see just what the results were and what they might mean. I was just told "Negative".

 

Thanks for all this info!

Jennifer & Talica

 

[Burpdog]

TBDs can lay dormant for 5-7 years. One of the reasons many vets do not think of them. There is a thread in Greyt Information that lists many of the symptoms.