kudzu

Sorry your boy has a polyneuropathy. There are worse diagnosis but it isn't something I would wish on anyone. One of mine dogs had a slowly degenerative polyneuropathy. Actually, he had a lot going on but in the long run most came back to the polyneuropathy. We did the full diagnostic set & ultimately, because my guy was only 7, I opted for the muscle & nerve biopsy. Of all the tests & all the options we tried the only thing I regret is having that biopsy done. It got us no closer to a diagnosis or possible treatment, caused my boy unnecessary pain & basically just added to the nerve damage making him worse. In a sense, he only had one nerve left & darned if we didn't get on it. I have a few other suggestions that you may want to research. Yes, definitely get the full thyroid panel & parathyroid. Plus, ask for an ACTH stim test to check for Addison's or Cushing's. Don't just do acetyl l-carnitine, add CoQ10 & consider alpha lipoic acid &/or grapeseed extract. A b-complex tablet if you're not already giving one is a very good idea. Truly, seriously, really, really, consider B-12 injections. B-12 sub-q is fine. No need for painful IM injections. They are easy to give & of all the things that was one of the most helpful. Without knowing causes you don't have any idea of rate of progression. My guys first symptoms, oddly urinary & swallowing, started before I adopted him at age 3 yo. His mobility was first impacted when he was 7 yo. We finally had to let him go just before he was 10 yo, 3 yrs after diagnosis. Way too soon but... Well, at least we had a lot of good time together even after diagnosis, including his first trip to the beach. He required help to stand up but could still walk on his own up to the end. No miracles to offer you but there is lots of hope for more time to enjoy sunbeams & more.

I've not been through something like this. Can only imagine how awful. FWIW, the MRI price quoted is comparable to what I paid several years ago. Sending prayers for your girl & that some help can be found for her. If this turns out to be a stroke or some cerebral event that therapy can help her recover from there, wanted to send a link to something that might help you get her up & moving more easily. http://www.cevanse.com/ The harness is sold seperately from the frame so if you are or have a handy person around, perhaps a less expensive frame can be built.

Absolutely. How much improvement depends on the dog & the circumstances. Many hopes that Gilbert improves significantly.

Safe to assume a tick panel was included in the tests already run?

Luke showed no side effects. Venus had just one, loss of appetite. She got ranitidine (Zantac) 30 min before meals & probiotics mixed with a treat 2 hours after meals. Plus I got creative with yummy garnishments to jump start her appetite at meal times. All that helped but didn't bring back her appetite enough to maintain her weight. We finally resorted to metoclopramide (Reglan). She only needed a small dose given a little while before her meals. Her appetite came back with that. As soon as she was done with her round of doxy everything went back to normal. On the plus side, her intermittent lameness went away & her energy level increased dramatically. It was definitely worth the extra effort at meal time. Hope all goes well with your baby.

Folks have already mentioned the things that came to my mind first, neck, back or ear problems. We've had them all here, including me. My spaniel mix was doing this & though not limping you could see some hesitation getting onto the sofa, a jump for her. Got worse for several days before we got her in. Vet did an adjustment & aquapuncture with a diluted Adequan mixture. That evening she was worse & really scared me. The next morning she was 100% & never had another problem. Hope it is something as simple for yours.

Platelets are reportedly fine but since they were clumped we do not have accurate auto platelet count. RBC & HCT are normal but on the low end. All his bloodwork is in a spreadsheet which includes a column to show the change since the last tests.

Thanks for the suggestion. They are a helpful list & I did post to them a couple days ago. Their responses are why I am leaning to treating. However, Dr. Couto isn't the only one to lean more to following up with PCR tests. If my guy was younger it would be an easier decision. And I do want to know where we stand on possible CLL. Thought I would check here to see what others thought about the situation. Just want to cover all my bases, if that is possible. We are blessed to have a chance to do all this while he still seems well. I think if he was acting ill or even just ADR there may be more of a consensus opinion. Still, do I want to wait to see if he gets ill from babesia? What is more likely to get him, babesia, CLL or plain ol' old age? Where is my crystal ball when I need it?!

Luke is our senior Grey, 11 yo. Has had persistent lymphocytosis since I adopted him last year at age 10. He appears perfectly healthy except for the elevated lymphocytes. Repeated CBC & blood chem seems to confirm this. Tick panel was run last year with Ehrlichia & RMSF negative but low positive Lyme. For several reasons we chose to do a 4 week round of doxy. No changes in Luke's appearance, behavior or lymphocytes were observed. Recent blood work shows all on CBC & blood chem remain fine except abs. lymphocytes are now up to 17000+. However, we also checked for babesia, sample sent to Protatek, that showed positive with titers at 1:320. In addition he came up positive for toxoplasmosis but that is apparently a low positive indicating exposure but not active disease. Now the question is does he have chronic lymphocytic leukemia? Whether he does or not, should we treat with Imizol for the babesia? If we do a PCR test & it comes back negative does that really mean he does not have babesiosis? Could the babesia be contributing to the lymphocytosis? Dr. Couto has already replied to me twice. He has been so responsive & caring. They can do a test at OSU to help us get a better idea about possible CLL. He thinks it a good possibility in Luke's case based on what I reported to him. My vet is thinking along those lines also & I have feared this since last year. Dr. Couto also recommended PCR before considering Imizol treatment but after everything I've read I am not certain a negative PCR is really conclusive. Though a positive PCR certainly would help the decision. Does anyone know of a lab that can do the flow cytometry immunophenotyping? Dr. Couto said OSU does it but they do not take outside samples. He may be able to work something out & I would certainly appreciate that but hate to impose on him. Any ideas or comments on all of this? All thoughs/help will be greatly appreciated. Laura

Actually, I clicked on this for a similar reason. It sounded like two possibilities I had experienced. First was kennel cough & am glad that seems to be what the cause was. The second was a dog who had a neurological disorder. One of the symptoms was this strange noise sometimes that was finally chalked up to laryngeal paralysis. The description of Hurley now makes me wonder if something similar to LP may be going on with Hurley. LP is not quite as uncommon or as serious as many of the other neurological disorders. It is something that bears watching & some caution. Just something to keep in mind for Hurley.

We just had a babesia test done through IDEXX. They sent it to Protatek.

Since creatinine is a muscle metabolite it can be higher in those with more muscle mass. I think that is why Greyhounds may tend towards higher serum creatinine levels. Elevations in creatinine, however, can be a very good indicator of decreased kidney function. The key would be to know your dogs normal range & watch for elevations from that. Also, other tests could help narrow down any possible problem. A low USG, urine specific gravity, can also be a clue to kidney problems. Did your vet do a urinalysis? BTW, BUN elevations are less specific to renal functions. Dogs can show elevations in creatinine levels before BUN levels. My understanding is that protein does not damage kidneys but excess phosphorus can. If this were the beginning of renal problems but serum BUN levels are normal (for this dog) then you may want to reduce phosphorus but not so much protein. Am no sure why your vet thinks the protein in your dog's current food is too high. Without elevated BUN levels that would seem unlikely. However, it may have too high a phosphorus level for a dog with renal insufficiency. I think you need more info from your vet before you can decide this is a kidney problem.