Not to be paranoid but my Jack Russell terrier was bitten by a tick and then became lethargic and cranky and is "ouchy" to the touch all over. I think he has Lyme. He had the blood test in Nov. which was negative. I'm taking him to the vet today and want to be prepared to discuss the reliability of the test. Does anyone know how it compares to the human variety? I wonder will the vet give me the same run around as every other dr. I've ever encountered? Except the LLMD, of course.
Thanks so much.
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
When i lived in endemic area my vet gave me doxy and i used it everry time they were bit
Whether they had sx or not
They were paralyzed 48 hrs frim waist down after lyme vaccine so i didnt fool around. I loved that vet but she retired
If my new vet wouldnt give me doxy for my dog i would get it somewhere else. Its the same pill they give humans and fish
Posted by GretaM (Member # 40917) on :
DO NOT rely on a lyme blood test for your dog! There are 3 tiers (or more) apparently. Similar to humans tests.
My dog was negative on the first tier (basic elisa), I anxiously awaited signs of TBD.
When the signs came, she was dead within a week. The damage to her spleen and heart was so severe I had to euthanize her.
Afterwards babesia ducani and Bb. I still cry over her needless suffering.
DO NOT rely on blood tests!
you know your dog, if some vet tells you the bloodwork is neg, find another vet.
Posted by oceangirlSA (Member # 40873) on :
I agree with Greta. If your vet says your dog can't have lyme due to a negative blood test, go somewhere else.
This happened to my dog. He was lame for months and the vet kept giving him celebrex.
He couldn't climb the stairs, he was tired and he was miserable.
The celebrex did not help and his lyme test was negative.
I insisted on a trial of doxycycline and he started recovering, but they would not give him more than 2 weeks.
So I pulled his medical records and went to another vet who listened to his whole history, and who gave him 3 months worth of doxy based on his history.
My dog got better and can now jump on the couch again. He is happy and has energy again.
Some vets are like IDSA doctors unfortunately.
Posted by desertwind (Member # 25256) on :
My Golden has chronic lyme and also had anaplasmosis. Anaplasmosis was missed by a previous vet and she was not given a high enough dose of doxy to get rid of it. Once we increased her dose to 500mgs she turned the corner.
Our current vet is what I would consider a LL Vet. and has her on a pulsing regimine of Doxy every month. Ten days on the beginning of every month and she does well on this.
When she get bitten again we put her on Doxy for 6 weeks.
We use the 4DX which gives us a specific level that we use to compare from time to time but at the end of the day we treat clinically.
Night and day difference once treated and continued treatment.
Posted by Mvdr (Member # 43034) on :
Thank you all so much. I am going to the vet in 2 hours. If he doesn't listen to me I will go to a vet who does. What a nightmare this Lyme is.
Posted by pointermom (Member # 43153) on :
What did your vet say?
I volunteer with a rescue that does extensive testing and treatment for tick-borne disease. We battle with the vets all the time and have identified a couple that will work with us.
The snap test that they do in the vets' offices is similar to the ELISA test, dog has to be half dead to test positive.
suggest putting your dog on doxy for a month prior to testing. The preferred test is the IDEXX 371.
Your vet needs to contact IDEXX for pricing and sample shipping requirements.
Mine have been on abx long term and are thriving so far (4 dogs, all rescued from high-kill shelters, 6-10 years old).
Posted by Cattail (Member # 24357) on :
Wow, I am learning a lot here and I am sorry for those of you who have suffered along with your pets.
While on the subject of Lyme and dogs, does anyone know how well the Lyme vaccine works for dogs or if it works at all? I would like to forward your responses to a friend.
Thank you.
Posted by GretaM (Member # 40917) on :
In my opinion, the lyme Vaccine does nothing to protect the dogs.
My dog had the lyme vaccine. She also used revolution flea and tick drops every month.
Heartbreaking how she suffered so in her last week.
Posted by Mvdr (Member # 43034) on :
Well the test was negative..what a surprise. I pushed to treat anyway and was very pointed about the fact that the test is inaccurate. I told her my sister is a dog trainer, breeder and a relative is a vet and they all suggested treating anyway. She seemed much more receptive when I mentioned relatives who are in the know. We begin treating today with 28 days of Doxy. He has back pain so we'll do nsaids as well.
Btw, my sister the dog person said you can get 50mg. of Doxy at Jeffers.com which I was prepared to do. Who knows, may have to get it for myself someday! thanks to all for the input!
Posted by skies (Member # 28064) on :
Jeffers.com didn't bring anything up for me.. Are you sure that's the website?
Thanks.,
Posted by Mvdr (Member # 43034) on :
Sorry, it's jefferspet.com A better source is kvsupply.com. Surprising how many antibiotics can be purchased there
Posted by skies (Member # 28064) on :
Interesting. I tried to order doxy once from KV Supply..Order went through fine, but then I got a call from them asking for a prescription from the vet, which of course I did not have, so I couldn't get it.
I'll try Jefferspet. Thanks!
Posted by desertwind (Member # 25256) on :
If it is Lyme causing the problem you should see results in 2-3 days. With my Golden, it is like clockwork - 2 days after starting Doxy she can walk up and down steps again. Best.
Posted by Sammi (Member # 110) on :
Mvdr, good for you to fight for your dog!
I hope he responds quickly to treatment. Keep us posted.
Posted by pointermom (Member # 43153) on :
cheapest doxy I've found is inhousepharmacy.biz
be very cautious of the lyme vaccine.
My crash course in Lyme 101:
I adopted a dog and thought something was wrong, vet couldn't find anything wrong and gave him shots to bring him up to date, including lyme vaccine
dog became acutely ill within a few days (kidney failure)
a smart vet intern at the emergency hospital finally figured out it was Lyme, prescribed doxy and gave subcutaneaous fluids
In 48 hours he began walking, by 72 hours he was eating and playing with my other dog
3 years later, he's the sweetest dog in the world, but he still gets lame if I stop his doxy.
I feel like that vet, and the information that I got from the dog rescue, saved my life.
If I hadn't adopted a dog with Lyme, I would still be listening to my idiot PCP!
[ 04-03-2014, 01:42 AM: Message edited by: pointermom ]
Posted by pointermom (Member # 43153) on :
some good information about Lyme tests in "Ticked Off"
So you may have been too early for a positive result. I'm not surprised your vet was flexible about treating anyway. That's great.
I do think vets are better prepared to have vector-borne diseases on their differential diagnosis lists, but we have all the same problems as human docs with suboptimal diagnostics.
I really don't see how we can ever avoid ticks on dogs, horses and ourselves, even with topical preventatives. And the fleas and mosquitoes are contributing plenty, as well.
Posted by desertwind (Member # 25256) on :
My vet uses the 4DX and we are able to compare her levels and see if they are going up or down. We had used another one recently but I do not recall the name of it.
My Golden Retriever has chronic lyme and had a bad case of erlichiosis. At this point she is on 10 days of pulsed Doxy a month.
However, if she gets re-bitten or becomes symptomatic she goes on full time for 6-8 weeks. Dose for dogs is pretty high. She is 60 lbs and on 400 mg.s /day.
Nice thing with dogs is that in 48 hours you will see a big difference. In about 3 days back to normal.
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
my dog is not on treatment she tested negative has always tested negative she is 3 now and her symptoms are not bad at all I'm not convinced she has Lyme just worried because of the nyphs I 'll watch her close