Lyme Disease. Time for me to vent.

[Elizabeth]

Lyme disease. Who knew!

Since January, I have been paranoid about her eating. Jan/Feb we had some difficulty getting her to eat ENOUGH.. or so I thought. I was really nervous she was loosing weight. Everyone told me it was all of the adjusting to a new home and new eyesight after eye surgery. When I brought her into the vet in March her weight was close to what was listed in some of her previous health records. That helped to ease my mind. The vet thought that all of the changes and surgery could cause her to eat less, but she was eating a normal amount of food for her size 1.5 cups in the am and pm to total 3 cups per day, and apparently, her weight was stable, and she was eating, drinking, and playing like normal.

In April and May, she has had an increased appetite. I talked to the vet and he said to keep an eye on it and if it get's worse to bring her in. Watch her weight, and to look for anything else suspicious. Recently, I have noticed her increased appetite has been accompanied by increased thirst, easily fatigued (some of the time) and to me she seems just a little off- not wanting to jump up on the bed or into the truck as readily. I thought she felt thinner, and when Denise was over this week, she thought so too. I knew I wasn't just paranoid, and I had to bring her in!

Granted I've only had her since November. I have had her on the monthly flea and tick preventative & of course on heartworm preventative. Being that she is a rescue dog, I am not sure what was being done for her before. I do know that the Rescue had heartworm testing done in October before I got her and that was negative. I have no idea how long dog's can have lyme disease, but from what I read- symptoms can start 2-6 months after first bite from tick or other parasites that can carry it such as heartworm. It seems so odd to me. I've done everything that is reccomended. The preventatives for flea/tick and heartworm. I brush her AT LEAST every other day. I check her over for ticks. I have her groomed every 4 months. I bath her regularly. I only feed her dog food- no table scraps- no raw bones. I have been diligent about all of the meds her eye doctor has prescribed. I've never missed any of her meds.

The doctor is doing some kidney function tests, and C6 test to see how far along it is. He is also testing her stool for any parasites. She is now on doxycycline. Best case senario- the antibiotics work well and we caught it early with little damage to her system. Worse case- I guess if it's damaged her kidneys we're in trouble-

On a positive note, she did really well at the vet. She waited very patiently. She had her blood drawn twice. She even urinated on command TWICE and they collected TWO urine samples so they would have enough urine!! I am so proud of her for that.. what a GOOD GIRL SOPH! She did put her front paws up on the counter and sink in the office, but who could blame her for that- she's a very curious girl and there where treats up there!

[Elizabeth]

http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org/TickMosq.pdf

[Denise, Winnie, and AngelAbby]

Abby sends big sloppy doodle kisses to Sophie... I'm so glad Soph is doing better - will be waiting for today's report.
Hugs Liz - your doing all you can.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

I believe the anitbiotics do start working that quickly - they may have made her feel just s smidge better so she felt like a different pup which made her happy and full of energy. I hope each day is just a smidge better if not a leap! Thinking of you both with positive thoughts!!!!

[Elizabeth]

The vet started her on the antibiotics right away yesterday> the lymes test was positive. The fecal was negative and so was the hearworm.. at least there are no parasites. He ran a C6 test to see how bad it is. I have to brag.. Since my girl urinated on command, (twice) the vet is testing her urine for kidney damage. Lyme's is usually treatable unless it has started to attack the kidneys. I guess they have had 100 cases or so, and 3 of them were fatal d/t kidney damage. Denise know's many dogs that have survived Lymes with no problem. A couple coworkers have had dog's die from it. I guess every dog is different with how quickly they are affected. I am trying to not worry about it too much. The vet will give me the info tomorrow. Some literature says dogs don't show symptoms until 2-6 months after bite but I'm not sure how accurate that is. If it is accurate, it makes me wonder if she had it before I adopted her and noone knew. Who knows.. She had a better day today- was full of energy so maybe the antibiotics are working (if it's possible for them to start that quickly)

[Janie]

I'm so sorry about Sophie.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

So she does for sure have Lyme disease?

[Debbie and Thomas]

I am so sorry to hear about this. I am also ignorant of the symptoms of Lyme Disease.So I would like to ask what exactly they are-and does it cause kidney problems?? I hope she feels better soon.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Liz, I am so sorry Sophie is going through more trials and tribulations. Has the vet done a Lyme's Test? If is does come back positive, Sophie will go on antibiotics and will be back to herself fairly quickly. I have had it twice, my son had it also. The turn around time is pretty quick. Please keep us posted.

[Michele Barton]

Oh my, I wish to apologize to all of you out there for my earlier comment. It seems that Lyme disease comes from ticks, not mosquitoes. I did not mean to put out false information. That said, it is still not your fault Elizabeth, you have done everything possible to protect Sophie. She is a very lucky pup to have you!

[Joy Williams]

Ah, Liz, haven't you guys been through enough already? I'm sorry that she has to go through all of this as well, but hopefully, like you said, that it was caught early enough so not to cause any real issues for her. We will keep you all in our thoughts and will pray for a speedy recovery for Sophie.
Morgan & Maddie send Doodle hugs & kisses!!