stdpoodad
Experienced Member
This is just an FYI post, Seamus is pretty balanced now (after years of fiddling with meds)
if you have questions about this, or if your dog is just being lethargic, have him/her checked for Nodular Panniculitis! It's not a common disease, my vet didn't know about it.
Seamus is 7 1/2 now. When he was about a year old, I was in at an agility trial about 300 miles away. Seamus wasn't running, I take photographs.
I got back to the hotel with my sister and our 5 dogs, Seamus didn't eat or drink. He was very lethargic. We drove back home so I could take him to my vets.
I took him in, she did blood tests. Nothing was really sticking out, she gave me antibiotics for him. This was a Monday. I made an appt to take him to a town 120 miles away for an ultrasound by a specialist on Wednesday.
However, Tuesday morning he was worse, so I took him back to the vets. She examined him and told me that another day was too long, we needed to find out right then what was wrong, so he went in for exploratory surgery. His spleen was enlarged, but nothing looked really wrong.
My vet also does acupuncture, this was in the summer so I didn't have school. Seamus and I spent the next 2 or 3 days in an acupuncture room, he was sleeping on a mattress on the floor.
Without going into details, the next 2 weeks were hell! I was running an IV at home, night and day. After a few days I'd take him for short walks around my cul de sac. I'd walk slowly beside him as I was wheeling his IV pole. All I can say is after those 2 weeks, I could almost be a vet tech.
After he recovered from his surgery, he still wasn't well. I was able to drive him to the internal med specialist who does the ultrasounds. He examined Seamus, did some research, and came up with a diagnosis of Nodular Panniculitis. Literally, inflammation of the Nodules, he gets bumps on his skin (it's a dermatological disease), they sometimes get inflamed.
The specialist put him on Pred. At first it was a fairly high dose to knock the infection down, then I had to spend a few months tapering.
After *years* of finagling, here is what he takes for meds now.
Prednisilone (7.5 mg's every other day_
Milk thistle (to support liver because of the pred)
Niacinimide (to support liver because of the pred)
sameE (to support liver because of the pred)
EPA 360
Vitamin E
Soloxine (he also has thyroid issues)
Metronizadole (every other day, when he doesn't do Pred) for digestive issues.
Ester-C (for hip dysplasia) He showed symptoms once years ago, she x-rayed him, but nothing since then.
I *think* that's all he takes. He takes several multiples, morning and night, so winds up taking about 12-14 pills daily. He's really good, I just tell him "treats", he runs into the kitchen and sits. I give him a pill with a treat chaser.
Despite all of the procedures he's had at the vets, that is still one of his favorite places to go. In fact, I took him yesterday (we didn't have school), just for a special treat.
My agility pictures...http://dogshots.biz
if you have questions about this, or if your dog is just being lethargic, have him/her checked for Nodular Panniculitis! It's not a common disease, my vet didn't know about it.
Seamus is 7 1/2 now. When he was about a year old, I was in at an agility trial about 300 miles away. Seamus wasn't running, I take photographs.
I got back to the hotel with my sister and our 5 dogs, Seamus didn't eat or drink. He was very lethargic. We drove back home so I could take him to my vets.
I took him in, she did blood tests. Nothing was really sticking out, she gave me antibiotics for him. This was a Monday. I made an appt to take him to a town 120 miles away for an ultrasound by a specialist on Wednesday.
However, Tuesday morning he was worse, so I took him back to the vets. She examined him and told me that another day was too long, we needed to find out right then what was wrong, so he went in for exploratory surgery. His spleen was enlarged, but nothing looked really wrong.
My vet also does acupuncture, this was in the summer so I didn't have school. Seamus and I spent the next 2 or 3 days in an acupuncture room, he was sleeping on a mattress on the floor.
Without going into details, the next 2 weeks were hell! I was running an IV at home, night and day. After a few days I'd take him for short walks around my cul de sac. I'd walk slowly beside him as I was wheeling his IV pole. All I can say is after those 2 weeks, I could almost be a vet tech.
After he recovered from his surgery, he still wasn't well. I was able to drive him to the internal med specialist who does the ultrasounds. He examined Seamus, did some research, and came up with a diagnosis of Nodular Panniculitis. Literally, inflammation of the Nodules, he gets bumps on his skin (it's a dermatological disease), they sometimes get inflamed.
The specialist put him on Pred. At first it was a fairly high dose to knock the infection down, then I had to spend a few months tapering.
After *years* of finagling, here is what he takes for meds now.
Prednisilone (7.5 mg's every other day_
Milk thistle (to support liver because of the pred)
Niacinimide (to support liver because of the pred)
sameE (to support liver because of the pred)
EPA 360
Vitamin E
Soloxine (he also has thyroid issues)
Metronizadole (every other day, when he doesn't do Pred) for digestive issues.
Ester-C (for hip dysplasia) He showed symptoms once years ago, she x-rayed him, but nothing since then.
I *think* that's all he takes. He takes several multiples, morning and night, so winds up taking about 12-14 pills daily. He's really good, I just tell him "treats", he runs into the kitchen and sits. I give him a pill with a treat chaser.
Despite all of the procedures he's had at the vets, that is still one of his favorite places to go. In fact, I took him yesterday (we didn't have school), just for a special treat.
My agility pictures...http://dogshots.biz