My dog has tick illness, vomiting meds, and belly fluid. What's next?

The bilirubin is a bit high, as is the ALP (alkaline phosphatase) but neither of these values is super specific in terms of what the cause or the best treatment is. We can see the ALP be elevated with stress, age, and sometimes even normal cell regeneration within the liver. The bilirubin can be slightly elevated when the blood sample is what we call "hemolyzed," which can sometimes happen when blood is spun down for a blood test to be run. Therefore, if he is still showing symptoms of illness, I would echo what Dr Ana said; it may be time to consider imaging. Either X-rays or an abdominal ultrasound maybe helpful in identifying the problem and therefore identifying the best way to treat it. Take him back to the vet if he's still having troubles, as he probably is in need of some more fluids as well. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach, I hope he's feeling better.

I'm sorry Meddy is sick. I am trying to understand exactly what is going on with him. It sounds like your vet is suspicious of an immune mediated disease (where Meddy's own immune system is malfunctioning and destroying her platelets (as well as possibly her red blood cells and/or white blood cells). A blood transfusion may have been required help Meddy survive. Let me briefly review the medications you've listed: *Zip vit- I am not familiar with this, but it seems to be a vitamin supplement. *I suppose "sucroll" may be the drug sucralfate, which is a medication that helps to decrease bleeding in the stomach and intestine. *Livotas is not something used in the US and I cannot find any information on it. *Thrombup is an herbal that may be beneficial when platelets are low (I don't have any experience with this one, and it is not generally used in the US) *Lisybin is a supplement for liver health. *Alamin R Forte is not something I have experience with but appears to be used for a number of different indications in India. *I assume Doxypet is doxycycline, which is an antibiotic commonly used to treat possible underlying infection that results in immune mediated cell destruction. Doxycycline also has some anti-inflammatory properties that can be helpful. *udiliv300 is ursodiol, which helps with bile flow from the gallbladder and through the liver *Venol is not a drug used in dogs in the US, so I am not sure what the purpose of this mediation would be for Meddy. *azathioprine suppressed the immune system and helps treat immune mediated diseases. Azathioprine can have negative side effects on the liver, so the liver protective medications listed may be to help try to minimize these negative effects on the liver. * I do not know what you mean by NS DNA D10. Regarding the pictures you've attached : The first picture is shows small spots of bleeding under the skin, which would commonly be seen with low platelet counts. The second picture looks like what is an amino acid supplement that can be given as an injection. I am not sure of the purpose of this medication for Meddy, but I don't see a reason it would cause harm. The third picture of the lab findings- shows the red cell count a little low (mild anemia), and there is no number for either the platelets or the total white blood cell count. Generally that means those counts are very low--too low for the machine to read. To try to answer your questions: I am not highly suspicious that this is liver cancer, but it is possible. We can see immune mediated cell destruction AS A CONSEQUENCE of cancer, so it may be that liver cancer, or another type of cancer, is the underlying cause. It is possible that the liver value abnormalities on the lab work are a side effect from the medication. You can talk to your vet about potentially having an abdominal ultrasound (sonogram of the belly) performed. This may help identify a tumor in the liver or elsewhere that may be the underlying cause of disease. The picture that you took with the spots on the skin-- this would be seen from low platelets. I suspect that the medications were all started BECAUSE of low platelets. It takes time to get that platelet count up, so bleeding will continue while platelets are low. So more bleeding will occur until the meds are working. I do not think that this is reaction to medications. (Having said that, unfortunately sometimes patients just do not respond well to treatment and we cannot get the platelet count up despite our best efforts). Regarding the jaundice that you've seen after the medication was given-- again I doubt this was a result of the medication. If his red blood cells are being destroyed by his immune system, this will result in jaundice. Additionally, following transfusion (even from a known blood source) jaundice is common. I hope that information helps, I can try to help more with a consult. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Poor guy. Sometimes the vomiting alone can cause a bit of blood in the following vomit due to irritation in the stomach or esophagus. The vomiting wouldn't be related to the lyme disease, and the egg whites are unlikely to be related either (although possible if Nugget has a very weak stomach - dogs generally don't do great with any food changes). I would be concerned about something stuck in his intestines, intestinal parasites, eating other things he shouldn't have, or even metabolic/organ issues. Often with temporary vomiting, we don't find out an underlying cause, but still need to look for problems that could be serious before starting treatment. I would make sure Nugget has access to lot of water tonight and monitor for continued vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and decreased appetite. If he's not back to his normal self tomorrow, he should visit a vet clinic for a check up. They may want to take abdominal x-rays and run some blood work. If he's vomiting non-stop tonight to seems very lethargic, I would recommend going to an emergency clinic. Let me know if this was helpful and definitely post another question with more information or schedule a consultation if you'd like more help. I hope Nugget is feeling better soon!

Poor guy. I highly suspect that Ghost may have a tick borne disease that was transmitted when the ticks were feeding on him. I would highly recommend taking him back to your vet for a tick titer test to check for these diseases and also get him started on antibiotics (i.e. Doxycycline is the antibiotic of choice for tick related diseases) right away! If he is still not able to recover well wthin 24 hrs of starting the antibiotics, then you should consider having him hospitalized with IV fluids and around the clock care. His condiiton is not good and I would err on the side of caution. I am so sorry that Ghost is so ill, and I sincerlely hope he is able to make a full and speedy recovery soon. Best wishes and take care.

Poor Willis. The bloodwork abnormalities could be a reaction to all the drugs he is on. Since the western drugs don't seem to be working, you may consider going to a vet who does integrative medicine specializing in acupuncture and Chinese herbs. I will leave a link below to help you find one near you. I am sure the specialists have thought of all of this and they are giving him the best medicine but since I cannot see it myself, I will ask. Do they think they could surgically remove it and send it off for histopath or is it non-operable or are they worried that could make it worse? I hope they figure out a cure or you seek out the traditional medicine vet to see if there might be some other options especially since he may not be tolerating the current meds. I hope this helps! http://www.tcvm.com/Resources/FindaTCVMPractitioner.aspx

Hi there, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Diarrhea is not typically a symptom of tickborne disease so this is probably unrelated. Sometimes diarrhea can be a result of antibiotics, but usually it starts earlier in the course of treatment, so the timing doesn't seem related to that either. More likely she got into something that upset her tummy. As long as she's feeling fine, probiotics are a great idea, and you can feed a bland diet of boiled chicken with white rice for a few days. Once her stools improve, mix the rice/chicken mixture with her kibble to gradually switch her back. If the diarrhea doesn't improve over the next few days, and certainly if she starts acting sick (decreased appetite, vomiting, lethargy, etc), then a vet visit is in order. Hope this helps!

I am sorry to hear about your loss and my thoughts are with you. Generalized edema could have been caused by a lack of albumin in blood due to albumin losing enteropathy from kidneys. This condition can be secondary to a kidney disease due to the infection disease (from ticks). I understand that the mechanism is not easy to understand but can lead to severe consequences. Anemia in Scooby case was not that severe and possibly another cause could have been present (as your veterinarian is suspecting). Unfortunately I do not think steroids could have helped much and modify clinical worsening. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.