[Jaugust]

Hi everyone, I've had a stressful week with my 11 year old Pomeranian and I need sound advice from people who have experienced something similar!

Thursday June 27 -
Princess started acting extremely lethargic, wasnt following me or responding to her name.

Saturday June 29 -
I took her into Banfield (where we normally go). Turned out she had a high fever (104). They did her semi annual blood work and everything looked normal. The only change was her liver enzymes had increased rather significantly since her last blood work in January. They were still in the normal range however. They also told me she had an ear infection. So they gave her fluid and rimadyl injection to lower her fever, and gave me an ear flush cleaner and Synotic Otic drops. She noticeably was looking better and was still eating that day.

Sunday -
She stopped eating, she was foaming from the mouth, and her gums and tongue were very red and swollen.

Monday -
I took her back to Banfield. They told me she has mouth ulcers, which could be kidney disease, leptospirosis, or that she licked a toxin (I can't think of anything she would've licked or ate). They gave me Doxycycline, Rimadyl chewables, and Sucralfate. They also gave me Tresederm for her ears, as they were still swollen and infected. Later that evening, I found a bunch of red circle spots on her belly. It was definitely a rash of varying sizes, but she wasnt scratching it.

Tuesday-
Brought her back to Banfield. They basically just said it's probably an infection, possibly leptospirosis or kidney disease. They recommended I do an ultrasound, which we did at a different pet hospital that same day. Ultrasound looked good, organs looked healthy and kidneys had a small mineral deposit, but no sign of disease. Doctor ruled out leptospirosis and told me she probably licked something toxic, and the rash is probably a skin allergy.

I was happy to know her insides were looking good, but still worried about the rash. Throughout the rest of last week and the weekend, we were getting her to eat any way possible. Feeding her boiled chicken breast seemed to be her favorite. Wouldn't even eat wet food, even if I made it soupy, because of her ulcers. At some point this week her nose became very red, as have her ears, and her nose has been running. Overall, her energy is increasing, but still is no where as it usually is.

Sunday (today) -
Brought her back to Banfield for her check up. They told me to stop giving the ear medication. Her mouth is less swollen, but still ulcerated, so doxycycline and Sucralfate will continue for 6 more days. The rash on her belly has gotten bigger (more spots, and existing spots have enlarged). They don't seem to be bothering her though. The doctor suggested the next step would be to see an internal medicine and dermatology doctor as it could all be an autoimmune disease. She suggested we do a skin biopsy if symptoms don't improve.

My question... Has anyone experienced these random and continuous symptoms in your dog? Has anyone had a rash develop while using doxycycline or Sucralfate? I feel like it is the medication because those spots formed hours after administering both of those pills. But the doctor doesn't think those medications would cause such a reaction. She says it seems autoimmune because her mucous membranes (nose, ears, mouth, genitalia) are red and inflammed. I'm not sure what to make of this! She's never been sick in the 11 years I've had her. And now all of a sudden, she's completely falling apart on the outside! I'm afraid to go pay to see an internal med doctor, as I'm not working right now, and would hate to drain my savings just to find out she's fine. But I also don't want to see her get worse or suffer with a rash and ulcers. I hope someone has been where I am and can offer some really compassionate, sound advice. Princess is my everything, it pains me to see her sick and not eating.

Thanks in advance!
Jennifer

 

[crazy]

hmm could it be ezcema? though auto immune and allergies seem possible esp allergies

 

[LiliRay]

Shame man! That's horrible to have to go to so many vet visits!!!

I have absolutely no idea what can cause this, Tess might have an idea or some of the more seasoned members on here. I would definitely suggest going to a different vet for a second opinion though.

doxycycline can show more side effects if there is a liver problem (generally not recommended) and it can cause a rash in humans but can't find anything that mentions a rash in dogs.

Rash after administering meds might very well be a cause of the meds.

feel really bad for you and your pup, please go for a 2nd opinion and keep us updated!!!

 

[cac2109]

I don't know how common this is in dogs, but the mouth ulcers and skin rash sound to me (a non-vet, so keep this in mind) like a drug reaction. The Synotic Otic drops contain DMSO, which can cause pretty severe irritation in sensitive patients. Also, I'd suspect a reaction to this since she started showing symptoms the day after you gave it to her.

I've just looked online, and facial swelling (i.e., her swollen lips) is also a sign of an allergic reaction to DMSO in dogs.

How long was she been on the Synotic Otic ear drops? If you just discontinued them, I would monitor her closely to make sure she improves. If she doesn't clear up very soon, it might be worthwhile to ask for some steroids to help clear the reaction up.

I'm not a vet, so I could be way off base about this, but I just wanted to chime in, because it does sound like a drug reaction to me - especially if you don't think she could have licked something toxic.

I hope your pup feels better soon

 

[Tess]

This is all waaay over my head!

Sure wish Holly would come back!

All I can say, is to suggest you get another opinion from an internal medicine doc. I know its expensive, but as you say, she is your everything!

 

[emma09]

I also second getting another vet opinion. All three of my dogs have been on doxy at some point in their life and I've never seen a reaction to that medication like what your describing. One of my dogs also took sulfacrate for quite a long period of time, and also never had a reaction.
I would suggest going to a different vet for another opinion. It would be cheaper than seeing an internist. Because those internal medicine vets can be quite expensive. But, if another vet has no different suggestions then I would be making my way to a specialist.
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[Jaugust]

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for the advice, wishing I had more support near by me to cheer me up!

We took her to new vet tonight and they did a thorough exam and agreed it is likely autoimmune or a possible cancer. So they recommended we see an internist ASAP. I had made an appointment to see a dermatologist for Friday, but they wanted me to get her tested sooner than Friday. So tomorrow we're seeing an internist, and we're expecting to have to do skin biopsies of her sores and a possible X-ray of her nose (as her nose has gotten extremely congested since last night!)

On a different note -- how can I stay positive throughout all of this? Princess and I lost my mom last November, and to say the least, I'm JUST now starting to get my life back on track. I've learned a lot of how to think positive and be hopeful because of my loss, but it scares me to think that I'll be going through another tough illness for someone I love. I'm afraid of falling back into a pessimistic state -- so what do you all do through times of illness with your pet?

Thanks <3

 

[LiliRay]

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for the advice, wishing I had more support near by me to cheer me up!

We took her to new vet tonight and they did a thorough exam and agreed it is likely autoimmune or a possible cancer. So they recommended we see an internist ASAP. I had made an appointment to see a dermatologist for Friday, but they wanted me to get her tested sooner than Friday. So tomorrow we're seeing an internist, and we're expecting to have to do skin biopsies of her sores and a possible X-ray of her nose (as her nose has gotten extremely congested since last night!)

On a different note -- how can I stay positive throughout all of this? Princess and I lost my mom last November, and to say the least, I'm JUST now starting to get my life back on track. I've learned a lot of how to think positive and be hopeful because of my loss, but it scares me to think that I'll be going through another tough illness for someone I love. I'm afraid of falling back into a pessimistic state -- so what do you all do through times of illness with your pet?

Thanks <3

Sorry about your mom :huddle:

Please let us know what the vet says!

How do you deal with it....well you cry a little or a lot, then you put your big girl/boy pants on and do what needs to be done. You keep hoping for the best but you also prepare yourself for the worst. You've had 12 HEALTHY years with your girl and that's a lot to be thankful for. If you can treat this and she can have another couple of good years or months without her suffering then you do so. If not well then you face that when you have to, until then you keep hoping and praying etc!

You need to remember that life is going to deal you some very tough blows, it's ok to feel sad, it's ok to cry, it's ok to feel completely and utterly run down. But tomorrow is a new day and life doesn't stop just because we do. So feel what you need to feel, don't beat yourself up about it but don't forget to live. Even if it's just something small every day like working in your garden if you have one, or going for a walk, or doing something nice for someone like buying a homeless person a meal. Smiling at someone who looks sad etc. In my experience doing something for someone else always helps get me out of the gutter. Makes me feel that I matter and can make an impact, even if it's just a little one.

:huddle:

 

[emma09]

It's never an easy thing to deal with. But, don't always assume the worse case scenario. My Lily was diagnosed with a rare intestinal disorder (essentially autoimmune) and they told me she had 6 months to live. That was 2 years ago this month, so she definitely showed them! Just try to take it one day at a time.
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[Jaugust]

The visit yesterday was long, scary, and heart pounding! The internal med doctor saw Princess for a few minutes, agreed it was autoimmune, and turned us over to a dermatologist in the same hospital. That dermatologist thought Princess was in such bad shape she saw us right away !

I really appreciated her though. She sat down with me and asked me lots of questions and explained a lot in detail. I mentioned to her that 2 weeks prior to Princess getting sick I gave her k9 Advantix 2, her first of that ever. She said what's going on with Princess could very well be triggered by Advantix as they have a history of causing severe allergic reactions in dogs. She also said it could be the Doxycycline. I'll be so angry if it's the flea & tick as I ONLY gave that to Princess because we were going camping!

Either way, she did a skin biopsy that same day and told me results would be back in about a week. When Princess was under, she looked in her mouth and said that her ulcers go way back into her throat, and is VERY concerned they go down even further. Basically -- Princess looks much worse than she originally thought. She's starting to scab around her eyes and whiskers too.

Until results are back, she started her on a strong dose of steroids (Medrol), stopped the Doxy, and upped the dosage of the Sucralfate. Blah! I hate feeding my baby meds, especially since she's barely eating.

She told me that she thinks Princess could possibly have "erythema multiforme," "toxic epidermal necrolysis," "or "bullous pemphigoid." All of which look pretty serious when I researched them... I'm just waiting anxiously now for the results and praying that these meds don't make her feel any worse than she already does. No matter what, I just don't want her suffering! It doesn't help that it's EXTREMELY humid and hot out here and we don't have central air LOL!

 

[MaryVermont]

I am so sorry to hear of Princess' condition. My Bruiser has the same symptoms. We too are waiting for biopsy results. He is such a wonderful kind and fun animal and in such pain. I have him drugged all the time for pain until the results come back in 5 days. It is breaking my heart to watch him.

 

[Jaugust]

I'm so sorry to hear! Incase it is autoimmune, there's hope. I'm glad you replied because I want to give an update on all of this since I didn't last year!

Princess DID have an autoimmune disease, and they put her on steroids and immunosuppressants/cyclosporine. She was on this from July of last year until around February of this year. Every few months they reduced the dosage as her symptoms were definitely clearing up. I would say by September of 2013, she was clearing up enough to eat meals again and have energy. So, by February of this year, she was looks completely healthy and the meds were getting expensive, so we stopped the meds. Apparently we weren't supposed to just stop them cold turkey, according to the vet, but whatever, she's healthy!

Since then we've moved to a sunnier state and the vet has told us to only walk her early morning and late evening. Avoid taking her out middle of the day when it's extremely sunny as it can flare up the disease.

A few weeks ago she started getting some sores on her tongue and a red spot on her belly again. I was expecting the disease to come back full throttle, but thankfully that didn't happen. We got another prescription of the cyclosporine and gave it to her for a week. Looks like she's perfectly fine!

I'm so thankful she's healthy again. We also started cooking her food (a grain, veggies, boiled chicken) because she started getting really difficult with taking her pill every day. I think the good nutrition helped her along the way as well .

Let me know if you have anymore questions! I pray your pup turns out so healthy and happy!

I am so sorry to hear of Princess' condition. My Bruiser has the same symptoms. We too are waiting for biopsy results. He is such a wonderful kind and fun animal and in such pain. I have him drugged all the time for pain until the results come back in 5 days. It is breaking my heart to watch him.

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[MyDogIsMyAngel]

OMG! I know this post is old but i just found it and i saw the pics of your babies skin and it looks veery similar to what is happening to mine. She does not have mouth ulcers though, its just her skin developing all this sores, if you read this please look at my recent post. We dont know what is wrong with mine, going back to the vet tomorrow.