Deja Vu All Over Again

[KF_in_Georgia]

Silver has been coughing, so we went to the vet today. The vet has diagnosed bronchitis--probably related to seasonal allergies--and he prescribed antibiotics (the sulfa drug Primor--Silver's already had Simplecef, cephalexin, and doxycycline in the last few months for various problems, including coughing). He told me to start her on antihistamines.

 

I can't tell you how much I hate this. Been there, done that, didn't like how it ended.

 

Six months ago, I took Jacey-Kasey to the vet on a Tuesday for a mostly-well-dog visit. She had been sneezing more than usual, and once it looked as if there was some blood when she sneezed. The vet and I assumed that one mega-sneeze might have broken a capillary and that the sneezing probably was related to seasonal allergies. He put her on an antibiotic (cephalexin) and told me to give her antihistamines. That Thursday, I came home to a dog who'd been vomiting and suffering from diarrhea. Friday she went into the hospital with immune mediated thrombocytopenia, and on Monday we had to put her to sleep.

 

Today they did chest x-rays, at my request. Silver has not been spayed, and I'm planning to get that taken care of next month. I don't want to be anesthetizing her, though, if there's any question of lung problems. The x-rays produced the bronchitis diagnosis. They also revealed that the right side of her heart is larger than the left side. (This vet is familiar with greyhound x-rays, and he doesn't feel the disparity in size falls in the territory of "greyhound-normal.") We don't know if this is a result of some sort of pressure her lungs are putting on one side of her heart. Or perhaps she once had heartworms and was treated for it and this is an after-effect. (She's got a two-and-a-half-year mystery period in her life.) We don't know if she's going to have long-term issues from either the lung problems or the heart problems.

 

And we're not sure that--along with seasonal allergies--she's not allergic to things like sulfa drugs.

 

She's had a "loading dose" of Primor tonight (two pills; then one pill a day for two weeks). She also got two Benadryl at the same time. About three hours after dinner, she got up, making faces and licking her lips. She didn't throw up--didn't actually look as if she had an upset stomach. It looked as if she had a nasty taste in her mouth that she wanted to get rid of. I'm going to take her to work with me tomorrow, so I can keep her under my eye.

 

Oh--and because bronchitis, a lopsided heart, and an impending spay aren't nearly enough to be going on with, the girl has corns. Plural. On two of her good feet. (She's already got one gimpy one.) Oy.

 

Silver at the vet. (She's watching the traffic.)

[Guest Mom2Shiloh]

Poor you, poor her --- scritches and gentle kisses and some prayers for her and good energy for your heart and nerves. How old is she?

[greyhead]

Looked up Primor, and I gather staying hydrated is an issue. It says she should be encouraged to drink water. Benedryl can have a drying effect also, so that compounds it. The licking you see may be indicative of a dry mouth. I've noticed mine sometimes, weirdly, don't drink when I'd expect them to. It can help to actually take the water bowl to them and offer it. If nothing else, they'll usually take a lap or two just to be polite. But, hey, some is better than none. And sometimes it's like, Oh yeah, this is a good idea! And they'll drink a lot.

 

I'm so sorry you and Silver are going through all this. I can imagine how stressed you are, given everything. It's great that you can take her to work with you to observe. Thinking nothing but good thoughts for you two!

 

 

[tbhounds]

Perhaps you should have an echocardiogram done?? Did you run a heartworm test?

[JohnF]

Just a thought... could there be black mold anywhere the dog spends a lot of time as that can start breathing problems off?

I think I'd seek a referral to a heart specialist too jst to be on the safe side.

[Batmom]

No real advice except that I wouldn't worry about spaying her unless she is having problems in that area. Hugs and best wishes for your girl.

[racindog]

If you do another heartworm test don't forget there are different kinds-sometimes an occult heartworm test is preferred instead of the regular in house one according to one of my vets.

[sweetdogs]

Silver was recently on ivomec, right? That's used for heartworm: any chance she could have had heartworm in the past & this dosing is killing off something?

[KF_in_Georgia]

Silver was born 19 May 2005, so she'll be 7 in May. She raced quite well at Southland and Victoryland until January 2009. Then she dropped off the face of the planet. (She certainly didn't go to a rescue group; they would have spayed her.)

 

When AC found Silver in July of last year, they took her to their vet, where she tested heartworm-negative. (This is the same place where her skin scraping was negative, and then we later found a scabies mange mite, so maybe the heartworm test results should be taken with a grain of salt. ) Silver has had a normal preventative dose of Interceptor every month from the time she was picked up thru the first of January. January 10 (and 24) she was given big doses of ivomec to get rid of the mites. (And those doses appear to have been successful. That leg looks wonderful, and now--in light of the corns--is considered to be her good foot/leg.)

 

She got no heartworm meds the first of February (no hw meds after those big ivomec doses). She'll get Heartguard the first of March. (And a pox on Novartis and their Nebraska plant. I hate changing the dogs' heartworm meds.)

 

I love my vet--he's great with the dogs, who adore him. He's willing to listen to suggestions from you guys, and he'll dash out of the exam room to do quick research on a topic.

 

But I'm not positive that his instincts in an emergency are going to be greyhound-appropriate, so I want Silver's spay to be done by SEGA's vet, who has neutered or spayed more than 100 greyhounds a year for at least the last ten or eleven years. If Silver does well with the Primor in the next two weeks (so far, so good), I'll make an appointment with the SEGA vet for an exam. I'll get her x-rays to him and discuss options before we schedule the spay. (I'd really like to get the spay done. Aside from wanting to avoid another three-week-plus estrus bleed in June or so, I'd like to be able to cross "pyometra" off the list of medical complications I'm sure are waiting to pounce on my girl. Worrywart. That's me.) I'll make sure the SEGA vet is comfortable with what shows on the x-rays before we proceed with the spay. If he wants an echocardiogram, we'll see what can be managed. I'm not sure an EKG would be useful now, while she's still suffering from bronchitis, since my vet thinks the problem might be related to the bronchitis.

 

(Meanwhile, it's a good thing Silver's having a good day since Sam is--not. He's had horrendous diarrhea in the last 24 hours, so we're scrambling to adjust meds--add some, cut some, increase others. Poor baby.)

 

ETA: For what it's worth, pollen levels here in the Atlanta area really are up. We're in the yellow zone on the pollen map. Alder and juniper.

Edited February 15, 2012 by KF_in_Georgia

[Guest mowreyAZ]

Higher than normal pollen counts are being report by the one of the nature conservatories in Pine Mountain, GA. And the pollen counts are coming in two weeks ahead of last year's crest. I guess a higher than normal winter temperature may contribute to the early pollen and early blooms. Best of luck with Silver, I had a similar situation last fall when allergies contributed to my own term of bronchitis. With the bendryl- try to keep a water bowl availible to her, it does dry the mouth out.