She isn't getting better

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Slightlyconfused

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I've posted about my labxcollie before.

She has been on the steroids for a week now, and she is getting worse. All she wants to do is sleep, her tummy is swollen, she won't raise her head higher than her neck for long periods and she is shaking her head more and more each day even though her ears are clean and she is getting more grumpy at the other two.

I am, so is mum and brother, thinking about the possibility of a brain tumour.

Back to the vets in tomorrow so discuss next step. My vet has already emailed the specialist and waiting a reply but until just now I hadn't asked about a brain tumour.

Can we have some hugs please.
Have no idea what to do now as she is my brothers dog and she has helped him so much with his health problems. She isn't 2 till end of September and after loosing my 3 yr old collie last year I don't think I could cope loosing another so young. I will because you have to but it will be bloody hard.
 
Sending virtual hugs, it's so heartbreaking when you feel you can't help them and even worse when they are so young. Fingers crossed vet will come up with something different and treatable when you see them xx
 
Have you queried back or neck issue? Can often present as lameness and not wanting to raise head can be a pain response. Just another angle. Hope you get some answers soon.

Just read your older post, has she had full x-rays?
 
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CorvusCorax said:
Have you queried back or neck issue? Can often present as lameness and not wanting to raise head can be a pain response. Just another angle. Hope you get some answers soon.

Just read your older post, has she had full x-rays?
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She had a full spinal xray at Davis vets and it was perfect, no spondylitis or narrowing of the spinal processes. My three year old collie was pts last year with spinal spondylitis so I can read the xray as well as the vet 😔

The vet did say cancer was a option but since her bloods come back clear, apart from the dehydration bit, then it will be looked at if the steroids don't work.

I was told she should be improving by now but she just wants to sit/lay and do nothing. Last Monday she was playing with the puppy as normal but since then she hasn't even looked at her. We have found her asleep out in the garden, upstairs or in the dinning room on her own when normally she isn't far from the puppy at all.

She has just moved from one room to the other and has nearly fell on her hind end twice.

I think the steroids are making what ever she has worse and it feels like it's not going to be good if that makes sense.
 
Depending upon the extent of the stomach distention, that would be where I'd look first. The problem is that as she's so poorly, an exploratory op may be more than she can cope with, even though she's still young.

All that you can do is put your trust in your vet. Cyber hugs willingly, a barrow full en route. I'm sorry to hear of your problems.

Alec.
 
Sorry to hear about this. I'll share my experience, but it's not a good one.
My greyhound started shaking slightly in front legs in Feb, was not quite herself. Vet thought spinal issues so put her on Previcox. She really cheered up, but the shaking progressed to neck and head gradually. Onto steroids a few weeks ago with no improvement. But she was miserable. Really flat, lethargic, subdued, incontinent. Came off them and cheered up massively but within three days she developed palsy one side of her face and suddenly struggled with stairs and was coordination. She was PTS a week later after a rapid decline in the last 24 hrs culminating in a seizure. Vet sure she had a brain tumour. Horribly tragic and devastating for me.
Please ask your vet to do a decent neuro check, including eyes, reflexes etc. If you wish to, maybe even an MRI. I have MS so am very familiar with neuro stuff and was fairly sure my girl had CNS issues some time ago. If it had been confirmed earlier, I would have PTS before any significant symptoms occurred. Thinking of you.
 
budatiger said:
Sorry to hear about this. I'll share my experience, but it's not a good one.
My greyhound started shaking slightly in front legs in Feb, was not quite herself. Vet thought spinal issues so put her on Previcox. She really cheered up, but the shaking progressed to neck and head gradually. Onto steroids a few weeks ago with no improvement. But she was miserable. Really flat, lethargic, subdued, incontinent. Came off them and cheered up massively but within three days she developed palsy one side of her face and suddenly struggled with stairs and was coordination. She was PTS a week later after a rapid decline in the last 24 hrs culminating in a seizure. Vet sure she had a brain tumour. Horribly tragic and devastating for me.
Please ask your vet to do a decent neuro check, including eyes, reflexes etc. If you wish to, maybe even an MRI. I have MS so am very familiar with neuro stuff and was fairly sure my girl had CNS issues some time ago. If it had been confirmed earlier, I would have PTS before any significant symptoms occurred. Thinking of you.
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Hugs. Sorry about your girl.
Thank you.
She had the neurological check when they manipulate parts of the body and check the response by the Davis vet. All she could find was a slight stiffness in her neck that as it. Her reflexes were spot on.
Will ask to check eyes as they are mostly dilated this past week.

I'm going to ask for a mri if they find nothing when they ultrasound and/or xray her tummy tomorrow as they can do that in clinic.

She had tummy xray and ultrasound end of March at Davis and everything was normal. She isn't one for picking up stones or eating werid stuff. It's hard enough before the steroids to get her to eat and she is only eating now because they are making her hungry.

Thank you Alec.
 
Maybe something else to rule out re the swollen belly. Are collies prone to heart conditions? I only ask as a lsymptom of dcm in dobers is a distended stomach due to fluid collecting there as the heart doesn't pump effectively. That might cover off the lethargy also. Just a thought. Thinking of you x
 
Dobermonkey said:
Maybe something else to rule out re the swollen belly. Are collies prone to heart conditions? I only ask as a lsymptom of dcm in dobers is a distended stomach due to fluid collecting there as the heart doesn't pump effectively. That might cover off the lethargy also. Just a thought. Thinking of you x
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Thank you, will add that to mt list I'm taking with me.
X
 
Hi, I can't help.or offer any ideas I'm sorry. Didn't want to read and run. This must be heartbreaking for you all. Thinking of you and keeping everything crossed x
 
is she being treated at a referral hospital? if not I'd get a referral vet o admit her until they find out whats going on :(
 
Hope they get it sorted . Getting worse with steroids suggest an infection to me. However have they ruled out Ivermectin toxicity as there are plenty of ways they can get access to them without really thinking about the danger or being unaware.
 
Sorry I wrote an update and forgot to post it.

She had to be rushed to Davis Friday night as the bloods I asked to be run Friday morning came back with very high liver and pancreas enzymes.

The vet we saw gave her a once over and as she wasnt in any pain when he examined her he said she is very very sensitive to steroids and we dropped her straight down to a very low does which she will have the last on Saturday.

He is thinking it's a problem in her gut that we have missed as it's grumbling along behind the scenes.

Spoke to her normal Davis vet on Monday and she agrees and we will be looking more indepth at her gut like crohns diseases for example.

Fingers crossed we can find out know what's wrong. She has perked up loads and tonight had a five minute play with the puppy before getting tired which she hasn't done for over a week 😀
 
popsdosh said:
Hope they get it sorted . Getting worse with steroids suggest an infection to me. However have they ruled out Ivermectin toxicity as there are plenty of ways they can get access to them without really thinking about the danger or being unaware.
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What's invermectin toxicity?
 
Do you worm horses with any ivermectin based wormers or have cattle or sheep near you that she may have had access too. the symptoms are very similar and collies or crosses are the most susceptible. Even eating the droppings is enough!
Most sheep farmers will not allow their collies anywhere near the fields for a week or two after worming. The Vets ought to have considered that.
 
popsdosh said:
Do you worm horses with any ivermectin based wormers or have cattle or sheep near you that she may have had access too. the symptoms are very similar and collies or crosses are the most susceptible. Even eating the droppings is enough!
Most sheep farmers will not allow their collies anywhere near the fields for a week or two after worming. The Vets ought to have considered that.
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She isn't around the horses a lot and doesn't eat their poo.

This has been going on since she was spayed back in Sept.
 
Slightlyconfused said:
She isn't around the horses a lot and doesn't eat their poo.

This has been going on since she was spayed back in Sept.
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See thats the first time you have mentioned that , It would suggest to me there is a link. something left behind is not always easily picked up without going in. Did they use any suture material she may have an allergy to?There was a horse on here not so long ago that had this issue after colic surgery. It is very unusual for a dog of her age to have the symptoms you refer to. Hope they find an answer soon.
 
popsdosh said:
See thats the first time you have mentioned that , It would suggest to me there is a link. something left behind is not always easily picked up without going in. Did they use any suture material she may have an allergy to?There was a horse on here not so long ago that had this issue after colic surgery. It is very unusual for a dog of her age to have the symptoms you refer to. Hope they find an answer soon.
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Thank you.

She had to.have a second surgery, as she had produced too much scar tissue and it had adhered to her bladder, to remove it but every one else doesn't think it's connected but she was fine before her season and then it all went down hill.

Xrays and ultrasound have all come back clear
 
Sorry to say, we lost Widget over a year after having a Caesar and being spayed at the same time. She burst her stitches two days later needing another session in surgery.
Looking back, we all just thought those traumas had knocked her back naturally enough but we are convinced now, as our vet is, that something wasn't right from then, that she had a deep rooted infection which was slowly poisoning her system; totally unseen, you couldn't say she was ill at all just the exact same symptoms as yours is displaying. She was a very big Basset built like an outhouse and not a wimp at all; I wish she had been, we might (but very unlikely) have been able to do something if we had known there was anything wrong but the only sign was all she wanted to do was sleep; she would go in the bushes where she always had her pups if she could and it would take a lot to rouse her. She went peacefully during the night on the sofa with her friends with her; we only knew when we got up; she had shown no signs at all the night before else I wouldn't have gone to bed.

I'm hoping your lady is sortable, it's so horrid feeling helpless for them. xx
 
Thanks Maesfen, that's really interesting.
Im sorry about your dog.


Just thought I would update you all on her.

We have now found out she is allergic to steroids and can't eat meat or any meaty based products. Yep i have a vegetarian dog.

She is on burns egg,brown rice and veg packets and seems better, not 100% which makes me think there is still something underlying.

She has had the third ear infection in two months and before that has never had any it's taken threw weeks to clear up and she is still flicking her ears a bit and it's warmer than her other ear, actually her whole head can get burning hot, despite being all clear by the vet.

She still has odd but no where near as much groaning periods, her eyes go all wide.

She has bother four weeks on this food to give the specialist another update and take is from there.

There is still something I can't put my finger on that is wrong, hopefully it will show its self at some point.
 
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