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valley fever?


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please share symptoms, treatment, response success. jamie returned from our winter stay in san antonio, tx to ny without as much energy as usual. over the past month there was a slow decline then neck and lower back pain last week. we quick took him to the vet- this is one active boy normally. meds did not alleviate pain then he spiked 104. white blood cell count is up.  he's on doxy , gabapentin, zofran(for nausea) and pecid ac. blood work is out at lab. my vet spoke to DD's local San Antonio vet she being an north east practice she is not acquainted w/ common tick/flea diseases. a friend out west said check for Valley Fever- his symptoms point to it. they have had 2 dogs with it.  we are also looking into what feral cats may carry. tons of them in my neighborhood and tons in San Antonio! this dog eats anything he can ingest in the yard.

waiting for thorough blood test results, his fever is down!!!! 100.9 and i heard him bark for the first time in days- YES!!! input will be greatly appreciated. I do not want to miss crossing any Ts or dotting any i. 

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Check for Bartonella immediately. The test should be sent to NC State Vet hospital stat as results can take over a week to come in as it did for Mazy. There was another obscure test done along with that. I'll have to check my notes from that for the name. Both were for things that could be picked up in the southwest.

The symptoms you describe sound like what killed my Mazy. Pancreatitis only found via ultrasound as labs were normal. As that began to resolve she was screaming in neck/head pain. MRI and spinal tap negative.  Bartonella test was also negative. Hospitalized for over a week at NC State and $8000 later, they were never able to diagnose her. Pain could not be controlled by IV Fentanyl. 

 

Freshy (Droopys Fresh), NoAh the podenco orito, Rita the podenco maneta, Howie the portuguese podengo maneto
Angels:  Lila, the podenco, Mr X aka Denali, Lulu the podenco andaluz, Hada the podenco maneta, Georgie Girl (UMR Cordella),  Charlie the iggy,  Mazy (CBR Crazy Girl), Potato, my mystery ibizan girl, Allen (M's Pretty Boy), Percy (Fast But True), Mikey (Doray's Patuti), Pudge le mutt, Tessa the iggy, Possum (Apostle), Gracie (Dusty Lady), Harold (Slatex Harold), "Cousin" Simon our step-iggy, Little Dude the iggy ,Bandit (Bb Blue Jay), Niña the galgo, Wally (Allen Hogg), Thane (Pog Mo Thoine), Oliver (JJ Special Agent), Comet, & Rosie our original mutt.

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yup, the vet is checking for bartonella. when i mentioned the cat colony she immediately added it to the list. as to the list of rodents out in texas where we stayed  skunks, opossums and raccoons are abundant. dd had a litter in her attic! they were too young to evict while we house sat, as soon as they matured she installed a strobe light and blasted TPR, possibly the very worst public radio station. needless to say they are gone and she has done patching.  but listening to the mom in the walls had all the dogs going crazy. her dogs are fine- one is always under the deck waiting for prey. but we did a lot of hiking at guadalupe & eisenhower state park and a local preserve- mc coullough preserve which is enormous and filled with wild life. all is being considered, my vet is open to suggestions which is great, i'll keep her updated as we check things off the list.

 

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The University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson is the authority on Valley Fever out here.  It's very common here in the desert, especially after exposure to dust or a dust storm/haboob during our monsoon season.  We just had a lot of digging done in the yard to install new irrigation and some drains.  During the job we actually had to keep Petunia out of the yard  while they were digging due to the potential for Valley Fever to be contracted from the dust. 

https://vfce.arizona.edu/valley-fever-dogs/symptoms

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Camp Broodie. The current home of Mark Kay Mark Jack and Gracie Kiowa Safe Joan.  Always missing my boy Rocket Hi Noon Rocket,  Allie  Phoenix Dynamite, Kate Miss Kate, Starz Under Da Starz, Petunia MW Neptunia, Diva Astar Dashindiva, and LaVida I've Got Life

 

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The internist Conner saw recently also checked him for leptospirosis. She said there had been some outbreaks in the area recently, although it was more common during monsoon season when there are puddles that dogs can drink out of, that may be contaminated. I am sure there were plenty of puddles in Texas :).

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yeah, all it did was rain in san antonio this winter.i came back with a possible fungus in my ear, i'm still waiting for the culture to be mature. the Lepto test came back negative. and whippets have severe allergic reactions to the Lepto vaccine- their heads swell! it's walking in mud, muck and mire that can do it with the animal run off. i normally do a lepto for the dogs, but whippets may gh sensitivity look benign!

i have already checked the UA site on valley fever. thanks...a friend in AZ sent me there immediately. 2 of her dogs had v.f.and they mentioned contacting dr. stack if need be, she was very helpful with their cases.

i am feeling confident that my vet will not leave any stone unturned. but i'll toss a couple more stones her way. she's very clinical in her approach to science and kind in her approach to humans and pets. and really knows her meds. babasia is still being considered as well. 

temp is down to normal 100.3, but he's still sore. the gabapentin is cut in 1/2 right now, he was totally comatose w/ the 100mg dose. 

tuesday late in the day i'll have an update. :goodluck

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There is actually an increase in parvo cases here in AZ affecting all dogs, not just puppies.  Given the fever, I figured I'd mention it just to make sure it has been ruled out. 

Edited to add - a quick search of news results on Google shows that there were parvo outbreaks last summer in San Antonio with a large increase in cases. May be worth asking the vet to definitely rule it out, although it sounds like your vet is very thorough and may have already done so. 

Edited by Time4ANap
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Camp Broodie. The current home of Mark Kay Mark Jack and Gracie Kiowa Safe Joan.  Always missing my boy Rocket Hi Noon Rocket,  Allie  Phoenix Dynamite, Kate Miss Kate, Starz Under Da Starz, Petunia MW Neptunia, Diva Astar Dashindiva, and LaVida I've Got Life

 

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i have personally dealt w/ parvo, pre-vaccine. it spreads like wild fire- very short incubation period. bloody diarrhea in no time what so ever. one has a short- maybe 1 hr- window of opportunity to get the dog to the vet, antibiotics and hydrated for it to survive. the chances of survival are greater for a middle age dog- my saluki was 6.5 when he had it. a week of constant hydration, injectable antibiotics, small quantities of water and carbs. he never ate kibble again, lived for another 6 years on rice.  

as to Lepto his liver enzymes were normal, but nothing is ruled out. no vomiting what so ever....

thanks for the shout out, but this is skeletal, he's in pain and moving somewhat but not the crazy obnoxious boy that he usually is.but i did notice his front and rear are moving pretty normally(i used to show dogs and watch their gait. i noticed something 2 weeks ago but not enough of anything to call attention to it). he was able to roll in the grass and scratch his back- my dirty dog, always rolling in something.  if he is cleared to travel to GIG we will keep him in the hotel room(we are not at the eisenhower or battle field qi) and out of areas with dogs. we will  take turns leaving the booth to check on him and give him a walk. this is NOT contagious but his immune system is being taxed and he needs not to be in a show environment.also the gabapentin will knock him out and he LOVES his crate.  if he's not cleared, i'll stay home and joe will have to bite the bullet and work solo.

and did i mention that my 95 year old mom was in hospital/rehab for a month? she called on our way back from TX asking us to pick her up at the ER. she has strange cavities in her lungs- they initially thought both Pneumonia and TB. she was in isolation at the ER for 5 days!  but ever test in the book came out negative! this has been a whopper of a welcome home for us! talk about stress levels! joe laughingly asked if jamie could stay with her and her round the clock help....i don't think so!  

at least jamie is starting to carry around his toys. a good sign.

Edited by cleptogrey
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I figured this was way different in the way of symptoms but figured I'd mention the parvo outbreaks just in case.  We've also had a number of media warnings here about increased dog flu cases of various types and a spike in Lepto cases, so it's kind of hard to look at everything that's going on since they all have many crossover symptoms.  Hope he's feeling better soon and that you get to the bottom of this. 

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Camp Broodie. The current home of Mark Kay Mark Jack and Gracie Kiowa Safe Joan.  Always missing my boy Rocket Hi Noon Rocket,  Allie  Phoenix Dynamite, Kate Miss Kate, Starz Under Da Starz, Petunia MW Neptunia, Diva Astar Dashindiva, and LaVida I've Got Life

 

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  • 1 month later...

well 5 weeks into doxy poor jamie has had a relapse! his rear drive is off, lethargic and depressed. stool and appetite, even w/ doxy is fine.

whippets are prone to SRMA, Steroid responsive meningitis-arteritis (SRMA) in dogs is an ‘immune mediated’ or ‘auto-immune’ condition where inflammation occurs in the blood vessels in the lining of the nervous system (the meninges).

initially his fever went down(has not reoccured) with the antibiotics so the vet was relieved. her initial thought was SRMA.but his fever went back to normal on antibiotics in 2.5 days. so, that was ruled out.

we had a long discussion yesterday about what is going on. since his relapse has occurred while he is on antibiotics she is first treating him for nerve discomfort w/ gabapentin. he needs very little for his 47# weight- the standard 100mg knocks him out cold. so it's 50mg , 2xs daily for 2 weeks, then tapering down to 50mg, 1x daily for 2 weeks and will see. If there is not immediate improvement in 4 days- we go to plan b. plan b, since i can not afford a neuroligist will be the steroid protocol which is long with a very slow reduction. this can be as long as 6 months of steroids. if the gabapentin works then we will watch and take it from there.  as she said during our conversation that this needs to be fixed, he's a young dog and it can be fixed. we are not dealing w/ a 14 year old dog that needs to be kept comfortable. let's hope she finds the right bullet. i hope so, she's one astute sensible professional.

here's a link to SRMA- it's not bacterial meningitis. some breeds are subject to it https://bvns.net/conditions-treatments/disease-conditions/steroid-responsive-meningitis-arteritis/ 

i will say with in 3 doses of the gabapentin he's barking, went after a squirrel, walk is still off, but let's wait and see. 

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It sounds like you already screened for TBDs, but did you include Anaplasmosis?

Did the Valley Fever test come back negative? I missed it if you mentioned it.

Edited by NeylasMom

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Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart

"The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong."

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EVERYTHING WAS NEGATIVE! screened for all of the north east tick borne diseases: lyme, rocky mountain, ehrlichia, babesia, valley fever, bartonella(we have feral cats around here), also lepto. initially white cell count was up along w/ fever. that has subsided. either we tested too early or it's something else. $825 later my vet feels that retesting would be a waste, let's treat the symptoms since there often are false negatives. i'm taking his temp daily- it's down, his normal is just a tad under 100.  today he came flying in after zipping around the yard, of course soaking wet and is on the bed. i'm glad to have muddy covers and sheets! but his walking/pacing movement is off. when a dog zips their  back legs move together that can compensate for any problems. his rear length of stride is decreased when moving on lead showing pain in movement. he is also dragging which is not normal for this high spirited character.here's what i'm talking about movement wise https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7AkrsLd-AQ

this is the only one that was not tested for Hepatozoonosis unless it was on the panel and not mentioned. at this point i think it's trial and error unless someone out there knows something else. the valley fever was pointed out by an arizona gh owner whose dogs had it. relapses often occurred, but their dogs tested positive. jamie didn't. the anti-fungals are something that not as benign as antibiotics.

Edited by cleptogrey
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So frustrating. I agree, can't think of much else you could do. The only thing is recheck blood work now if you haven't. If something is off, could give you a clue about what's going on. If it were me, since you saw improvement with doxy, I'd probably choose a long ass course of it at the highest recommended/tolerable dose. My concern with the steroids would be that they reduce his immune response when he's likely dealing with an infection???

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Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart

"The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong."

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yes, jen, i am thinking of retesting in a month or more. he's been on doxy for 6 weeks now.max dose for his weight- whippets are even more sensitive to drugs than greyhounds so i have learned. yup, an initial improvement but relapse while on the doxy. so, maybe it's in the lumbar region hence the gabapentin now. as to the steroids i'm not that worried since whippets do get this strange meningitis that ONLY responds to steroids. one starts of strong and reduces to a maintenance dose pretty quickly. he is not dealing w/ an infection this type of meningitis is not contagious and is NOT caused by a bacteria. it can be stress induced. jamie lost his partner felix just prior to our return from texas. he has a 4 day trip in the car and left his other partners in crime(my daughter's dogs) when we returned to ny. now i'm feeling guilty, but at this point we are just not ready for 2 dogs again. my vet doesn't feel it's the transition that resulted what's going on.  but looking at his slow improvement since starting the gabapentin- squeaky toys have reappeared and he managed a pretty normal walk today. let's keep fingers crossed. 

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  • 1 month later...

just had a long long message session w/ his breeder(s) and they has requested both retest of tick borne diseases and an internist to check out SRM or a reaction to da2pp shot. (no lepto for whippets.) all of this, i suddenly realized on monday morning was around 10 days after his last shots while i  was looking at the printout which was on the counter. there was mention of cornell, retest, internist , homeopathic vet. my head is spinning. my vet should be out of surgery this afternoon and we will talk. thanks for letting me vent? cry? what ever....

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Sorry, hope you can get some answers. :(

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Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart

"The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong."

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:candle for Jamie

 

Freshy (Droopys Fresh), NoAh the podenco orito, Rita the podenco maneta, Howie the portuguese podengo maneto
Angels:  Lila, the podenco, Mr X aka Denali, Lulu the podenco andaluz, Hada the podenco maneta, Georgie Girl (UMR Cordella),  Charlie the iggy,  Mazy (CBR Crazy Girl), Potato, my mystery ibizan girl, Allen (M's Pretty Boy), Percy (Fast But True), Mikey (Doray's Patuti), Pudge le mutt, Tessa the iggy, Possum (Apostle), Gracie (Dusty Lady), Harold (Slatex Harold), "Cousin" Simon our step-iggy, Little Dude the iggy ,Bandit (Bb Blue Jay), Niña the galgo, Wally (Allen Hogg), Thane (Pog Mo Thoine), Oliver (JJ Special Agent), Comet, & Rosie our original mutt.

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just spoke w/ vet and she can get a free oncology consult w/ the lab she uses. now it's finding out if she needs to send in a biopsy or gross needle aspiration. i'm still keeping my fingers crossed for something atypical. and we thought our greyhounds were atypical- try on a whippet for size!  let's do this first and think things out- a better look at what is going on. CBC was fine. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

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