Guest argolola Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Rudy has been though every test known to man, it seems. The doctors were stumped when the tick panel came back negative. He was first put on a 3 week course of Doxy. Two days later the fever came back and he started another 4 week round of Doxy a week later with a new vet. The good news is that after finishing his last round, a week and a half later his fever has not been over 101.5!!! Is it possible for Doxy to have treated the TBD, thus the panel coming back negative? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burpdog Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Vets agree with me that there is at least one tick disease we are not testing for (because there is no test) There are a lot of tick diseases we can check for and are not included in a basic panel. Which ones was he tested for? Quote Diane & The Senior Gang Burpdog Biscuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest argolola Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I'm not sure, because I didn't see the results, but I think they said it tested 11 different strains. He is doing so well, I am just waiting to exhale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 If he started on antibiotics before the blood draw that was sent for testing, then that could certainly have had an effect. 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...
Burpdog Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Supposedly starting doxy will not affect the erlichia test. Also, Dr. Stack says that they may test negative if they are in a full blown infection (those are not her words--I'll try & find them) Quote Diane & The Senior Gang Burpdog Biscuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest argolola Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 He is doing so well now. He's so full of life and excited about things, but still a bit shy. He must have been feeling so bad or traumatized with the fever because his dark snout started turning white in 2 months time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbotaina Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 Supposedly starting doxy will not affect the erlichia test. Also, Dr. Stack says that they may test negative if they are in a full blown infection (those are not her words--I'll try & find them) Yes - the panels test positive or negative by identifying the dog's antibodies against the disease. However, if the dog is very sick, it dog may not be creating an immune response at all so that the antibodies would not be found on the test. I would think that you could only us a PCR test in that case (and I believe the only PCR test is for babesiosis alone). And Diane, as Dr. Couto said in the seminar we were at at SP last year - "It's not the diseases we know about, it's about the ones we don't". So, Lene, there absolutely could be TBDs out there that we don't even know about and so can't test for. Quote Meredith with Heyokha (HUS Me Teddy) and Crow (Mike Milbury). Missing Turbo (Sendahl Boss), Pancho, JoJo, and "Fat Stacks" Juana, the psycho kitty. Canku wakan kin manipi."Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 (edited) (and I believe the only PCR test is for babesiosis alone). No, there are PCRs for all kinds of things, including all the ehrlichias. If treatment with doxy can lower a dog's antibodies, then starting doxy certainly could affect test results. If it couldn't, then we wouldn't see reduced titers on retest. Would it have an effect on the titer within days? Dunno about that. But IIRC, Lene's pup had a course of doxy before he was tested and then put on doxy again. Other possibilities include: He was tested early in the disease course, before he'd formed antibodies. Or he had/has something other than tick disease. There are lots of infectious processes that will produce similar symptoms; very few symptoms cited for tick disease are unique to tick disease. Edited February 4, 2009 by Batmom 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 mandm Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 I think it takes a while for titers to come down after treatment, like several months or more. It's because the titer isn't testing for the actual disease, but rather the body's response to the disease, the antibodies, and those take a while to decrease after the disease is gone. I look at TBD titers kind of like I look at fecals, but much more seriously, of course. If something is found, then the dog has it, but if nothing is found, that does not necessarily mean the dog is good to go. The numbers of the titers are also revealing. A lab or vet may call a titer negative, when it was actually a very low positive. In my mind, a negative is zero. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbotaina Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 (and I believe the only PCR test is for babesiosis alone). No, there are PCRs for all kinds of things, including all the ehrlichias. Ah! NC State has a new form - I see all the PCRs now. Good to know! In case you need it, Lene: NCSU TBD Panel Request Form Quote Meredith with Heyokha (HUS Me Teddy) and Crow (Mike Milbury). Missing Turbo (Sendahl Boss), Pancho, JoJo, and "Fat Stacks" Juana, the psycho kitty. Canku wakan kin manipi."Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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