Guest brandi007 Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Well I figure I might inform you all about what's going on with Hannah as you might one day run into it yourself! I'm posting this as a follow-up to this thread ( http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=198906 ) which has been an absolute nightmare for myself and my little Bean Face. I went to see the dermatologist today and within no more than 5 minutes he diagnosed her with Demodex. This is kind of disturbing but apparently we all have MITES living on our eyes and eyelashes (yuck!). In cases of extreme stress (my little bean face is a bit of a nervous nelly) they can 'flare up' and cause the bald/itchy patches that I'm seeing on her. This would explain why they're happening on random parts of her body and why she didn't have them before she came to me and why nobody else in the house has caught it. I've never even heard of this before but figure some of you may encounter it in the future. This makes me triple furious at my other vet as he did a skin scraping, was recommending a biopsy (with anesthetic) and blood work. My vet today did a quick skin scraping which wasn't nearly as deep and brutal as the previous one, walked back in the room not more than 5 min later and gave me the cause. He went through treatment options with me (wow, what a change) and recommended the cheapest and easiest one. He's also recommending that I get Hannah tested for heart worms before I go ahead with the treatment he gave me. I'm going to go above my old vet's head and contact the Arizona lab and see if they can test her for heart worm when they're testing for lyme - he says they can't do that, Myself and my new vet think he's full of All this for a grand total of $140, including medication. WOW! I love him, too bad he's retiring in June Here's some more info taken from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demodex Demodex is a genus of tiny parasitic mites that live in or near hair follicles of mammals. About 65 species of Demodex mites are known; they are among the smallest of arthropods. Two species living on humans have been identified: Demodex folliculorum and Demodex brevis, both frequently referred to as eyelash mites. Demodex canis lives on the domestic dog. Infestation with Demodex mites is common and usually does not cause any symptoms; occasionally some skin diseases can be caused by the mites. Big lesson in all this? Just because your vet is grey savvy doesn't mean they're good - a good vet is far better than a crappy grey savvy one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ml529 Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Sorry you had to go through the ringer to find the cause of the bald patches. At least now you know what it is and can take care of it. Quote Melanie and Eric with Leminim and Eieio and silly kitty Elsa.See you again someday, my sweet Payton (Flying Payton May 9, 2000-March 18, 2012) Missing my sweet JJ, world's sweetest cat (April 1997-November 30, 2015)Stealing food in heaven, my darling Minnie (2006-April 21, 2016) Reunited with her favorite person in heaven, my Dad, Satin the skittish kitty (2002-May 7, 2016) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brandi007 Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Sorry you had to go through the ringer to find the cause of the bald patches. At least now you know what it is and can take care of it. Yeah, thank god! Thing I'm shocked about is the fact we don't see it more often with the greyhounds. The fact we all have this parasite and that the symptoms are triggered by stress - with the huge changes our dogs go through when they go from track life to home life, I'd think it would of been cropping up all the time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Not the expected result, eh? Glad your vet found it, tho. Quote Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in IllinoisWe miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TBSFlame Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 (edited) Tessie has been going through some type of skin thing. Vet thinks it a flea allergy but we can't find any fleas and I have frontlined her. Little bald patches. Can you send me a picture? I am wondering if this could be what Tessie has. She is stressing b/c her LP is getting worse. I took her to the vet last week and she got so upset I thought she was going to die. She has a really bad spell with her LP. I promised her I would never put her in the car again. She got a shot, I am spraying something on her bald spots but she is in there scratching right now. I am not taking her back to the vet. We have a mobile vet here in the area, I thought I might try them just so I don't have to put her in the car again. Edited to add: I saw the picture you posted. Did your pup itch? Edited April 29, 2008 by TBSFlame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trudy Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 In theory, these spots shouldn't be itchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brandi007 Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 These spots are very itchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoomDoggy Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Glad the dermatologist could help you out. Even the grey-savviest vets can miss things a specialist can catch. I've learned that the hard way too. Quote ~Aimee, with Flower, Alan, Queenie, & Spodee Odee! And forever in my heart: Tipper, Sissy, Chancy, Marla, Dazzle, Alimony, and Boo. This list is too damned long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brandi007 Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 In case anyone is curious - Hannah will be starting her treatment for this with a medication called Doramectin, it was the cheapest and had the most controllable side effects out of the treatment options I was given. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burpdog Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Yes, all healthy dogs have the mights around the nose and eyes. Did he scrape the spots? Have you done a thyroid panel on her? Quote Diane & The Senior Gang Burpdog Biscuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brandi007 Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 He scraped the spots and it came back positive for Demodex. I haven't done a thyroid on her because the bald spots were in such funny places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burpdog Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Re thyroid: I had one Dobe girl that got demodex (in a day where some of them did not live). We did treatment and we had her thyroid checked. She was low thyroid and went on supplements. She never again got demodex. The thyroid is the engine for the body and if it's not functioning right, things happen Quote Diane & The Senior Gang Burpdog Biscuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BlackandBrindle Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 I'm glad you've found the cause and I'm sorry your old vet was such a horrible vet! Give the Hannah Bean a hug from all of us. Heartworm is a test they do in the office here in AZ so I'm sure they can test for that as well as lyme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trudy Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 It's not just thyroid that can let the little mites go wild... A compromised immune system, from anything, can let them run amuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brandi007 Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Yeah, I think that's why he recommends I get the Heart worm test done first - I'm going to get a thyroid done on her but frankly, financially I'm trying to keep it low at this point - by the time her blood work is done I'll be over a grand in the last few months and on the way to the vet yesterday a piece fell off my car....I don't know what it is but I have 2 of them so at least ones still attached. I need to get a bit of my money back and then get Sophie in for shots and some more testing done on Hannah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 If she doesn't show other signs of low thyroid, rather than getting the panel done, see if your vet's CBC (comprehensive blood test) includes a T4. If the T4 is well within normal range for greyhounds (which can be quite a bit lower than other dogs), wouldn't be any reason to do the thyroid panel. You'd only want to do the panel if the T4 is low or if you're seeing symptoms. CBC is normally less costly than thyroid panel, plus gives you lots of other good info. T4 is really just a quickie check, though; can confirm that your dog probably does have normal thyroid function but doesn't tell you if dog needs thyroid supplements. Quote Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in IllinoisWe miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BlackandBrindle Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 I'm wondering if pet insurance would be a good option for you? Sadie's UTI cost about $300 when all was said and done, so I understand the vet bills add up quickly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest brandi007 Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 (edited) I've been looking into pet insurance for Hannah who is 2 years old and I haven't been able to find good coverage for less than about $38/mth...which is quite a bit of money. If I could find a cheaper/better vet insurance I'd be on it like a fat kid on a smartie. Edited April 29, 2008 by brandi007 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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