Weezy not doing so well.

[weezyNollie]

Wednesday I took Louise with me to work so we could get some blood work, urinalysis, and another thyroid test. Just to check up and try and get her in for a dental. Well.. it was bad news. A couple of her values (albumin, total protein, cholesterol) are all super low. We did the test three times. Two of which, in house, one sent out. All the same. We decided with this type of blood work.. liver disease.

Today: I brought her in for the bile acids test. Lunchtime i decided to take her with for a car ride and on the way out, she started vomiting. First, it was bile. Then it turned to frank blood. I had a minor breakdown and freak out. I picked it up and showed it to her internist. Which then turned her case into somewhat urgent. The doctor pulled her file and started looking over the bloodwork from Wednesday. She was very concerned about the vomiting and wanted to do an ultrasound. We did an ultrasound and got some findings. Her liver looks okay, however it doesn't mean liver disease is a rule out. Unfortunately, her pancreas looks not-so-good. And one of her adrenal glands is very small. Her blood work is also indicative of Addison's. After the ultrasound we did lots of blood work. We ran another chemistry panel to check her albumin level and electrolytes. All of which are pretty much the same. Then, we also did an ACTH stim to test for the Addison's and the bile acids to see what's going on with the liver. Louise's doctors wanted to hospitalize her based on her blood and the vomiting, but Weezy seems fine when you look at her! She is bright, alert, happy. She didn't do anymore vomiting since the one episode, so we decided against it. Thank goodness! Cause that would be 1,200-2,000 dollar bill. We checked her blood pressure, which was low. So we gave her an IV bolus. It didn't do much, so it may just be that her blood pressure is normally low?

Doc sent us home with a bag full of stuff. She's on famotidine (Pepcid) twice a day and sucralfate (a GI protector) four times a day. I also brought home some injectable Metoclopramide (anti-nausea/vomiting) with some needles/syringes, just in case. We left her IV catheter in, if we need it again tomorrow for fluids. Dr. Messinger is a little concerned about the potential bleeding, and won't give me a definitive answer about her prognosis. It's very guarded at this point. Which is understandable. However, I'm looking at my little girl and she looks fine!! I think this is a good thing, otherwise i might just be a wreck right about now. She is on a bland diet of W/D (low in fat, high in fiber) and I'm supposed to be feeding her small amounts 3-4 times a day. If her blood continues to go downhill, we might need to hospitalize and possibly do a plasma transfusion.

Overall.. I'm in shock. My 3 year old, seemingly (and continuing) healthy looking dog.. is not doing so hot. We all seem to take things for granted, and I realized whoever decided that humans live for 80+ years and man's best friend only lives on average 10 yrs was STUPID. Ollie seems to be keeping her cheerful. I'll keep everyone updated on how the blood work sent out to the lab comes back. And if a scope is in her future, i'll let you know how that goes as well.

Keep Weezy in your thoughts and wishes.

[Deb's Tiny Dogs]

Wow, that's a lot to take in. Try not to to worry too much until you're given something definate to worry about (easy for me to say). Sounds like you don't have a finite diagnosis just yet.

This reminds me of what I just went through with Miko. He was at the vet for a routine exam and she found the heart murmur which led to lots more tests and diagnosis of some serious illnesses. I'm like "What?" I felt shell shocked.

You're very experienced and educated in your field. Just try to take it a day at a time. Solve tomorrow's problems with tomorrow's energy.

*Hugs to you and Louise*

[Dax]

I'm so sorry to hear that. {Big hugs} Hopefully they can figure it out and get her treated.

[koni]

Try not to worry too much until you get definite answers. Poor Weezy, I hope it is nothing serious and the test results turn around quickly.

[fehu1331]

Hopefully everything will turn out okay, I know the waiting has to be hard but I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

[mara]

I'm very sorry to hear about this.
I going to keep you Wheezy and Ollie all in my thoughts and wishes.

[Faith]

poor little thing. *hugs*

[rottiebaby]

Sorry to hear that i can sympathize with you with Mojo being in the vets i hope she feels better soon.

[Trace]

Fingers crossed that this all turns out ok.

Hugs to you.

[BaronsMa]

Ah poor girl, I'm sorry