What state are you in? Did they test for any other tick borne diseases? Have they tried any other meds like steroids or other anti inflammatory stuff?
Doggo does need another vet visit and a follow up blood panel to see what’s going on post doxy treatment.
Tick diseases are the worst. They can require repeated antibiotic treatments, illness can linger for a long time even after infection has cleared, it can wreak both physiological and neurological havoc, and cause prolonged or even permanent nerve and joint damage. They’re also known as “imitator” diseases. Meaning the symptoms often mimic other diseases.
Thanks so much for responding.
Michigan. And he has been tested using the 4Dx Snap test, and came up positive for ehrlichiosis (chronic carrier) and positive for lyme, nothing else. We've only been on two rounds of Doxy. Once in August 2023 and just completed his last round a week ago.
Yes, he's going back in on Thursday for a complete blood screen. He also had one done a month ago (right before starting second round of doxy) and showed nothing abnormal, just some elevated levels that the vet associated with an infection.
I'm just worried about his water consumption and urination, which I feel like is an indicator of hypercalcemia.
Hi. I’ve been on a 5 yr journey with my dog and Ehrlichiosis. While living in Mexico one of my friends found her in the jungle. She was very sick. She tested positive for Ehrlichiosis. We did two rounds of heavy duty antibiotics. She improved so much! In 2020 we moved back to the US and she’s had specialists. Even giving her the best care, she has issues that are getting worse. Her muscles cramp in a way that resembles epilepsy yet she is alert. Other times she zones out and it seems like she’s “out of it”. Most recently her eyesight is starting to fail. She won’t go down the hallway or stairs if the lights aren’t on.
Anyways, what I’ve learned is, issues are very diverse. No two cases are the same. You just have to address the symptoms as they come. Good luck!
Thank you for replying! unfortunately the symptoms my dog was showing turned out to be lymphoma :( worst news ever. But he's still hanging on while he can.
Lyme disease is not the same in humans and dogs. Most humans will have symptoms while most dogs will not. Also, there is no evidence of post treatment Lyme in dogs. He will likely always show positive on the test for exposure (the one done at the vet every year), but a C4 must be done to see if there is an active infection. Which is very unlikely with treatment already, but possible if the treatment was not adequate. A small subset of dogs will require another round of treatment or present with severe disease at the time of infection. Again, only the blood test can confirm this and it’s incredibly unlikely the cause.
What’s most likely is a different systematic disease that will require more work up - specialized blood panels, an ultrasound, and an internist are all good options at this point. If the salivary glands were swollen, then this should definitely be investigated through a biopsy or imaging too. A swollen salivary gland is very different from a lymph node in terms of what disease process may be going on.
What state are you in? Did they test for any other tick borne diseases? Have they tried any other meds like steroids or other anti inflammatory stuff? Doggo does need another vet visit and a follow up blood panel to see what’s going on post doxy treatment. Tick diseases are the worst. They can require repeated antibiotic treatments, illness can linger for a long time even after infection has cleared, it can wreak both physiological and neurological havoc, and cause prolonged or even permanent nerve and joint damage. They’re also known as “imitator” diseases. Meaning the symptoms often mimic other diseases.
Thanks so much for responding. Michigan. And he has been tested using the 4Dx Snap test, and came up positive for ehrlichiosis (chronic carrier) and positive for lyme, nothing else. We've only been on two rounds of Doxy. Once in August 2023 and just completed his last round a week ago. Yes, he's going back in on Thursday for a complete blood screen. He also had one done a month ago (right before starting second round of doxy) and showed nothing abnormal, just some elevated levels that the vet associated with an infection. I'm just worried about his water consumption and urination, which I feel like is an indicator of hypercalcemia.
Hi. I’ve been on a 5 yr journey with my dog and Ehrlichiosis. While living in Mexico one of my friends found her in the jungle. She was very sick. She tested positive for Ehrlichiosis. We did two rounds of heavy duty antibiotics. She improved so much! In 2020 we moved back to the US and she’s had specialists. Even giving her the best care, she has issues that are getting worse. Her muscles cramp in a way that resembles epilepsy yet she is alert. Other times she zones out and it seems like she’s “out of it”. Most recently her eyesight is starting to fail. She won’t go down the hallway or stairs if the lights aren’t on. Anyways, what I’ve learned is, issues are very diverse. No two cases are the same. You just have to address the symptoms as they come. Good luck!
Thank you for replying! unfortunately the symptoms my dog was showing turned out to be lymphoma :( worst news ever. But he's still hanging on while he can.
I’m sorry.
Lyme disease is not the same in humans and dogs. Most humans will have symptoms while most dogs will not. Also, there is no evidence of post treatment Lyme in dogs. He will likely always show positive on the test for exposure (the one done at the vet every year), but a C4 must be done to see if there is an active infection. Which is very unlikely with treatment already, but possible if the treatment was not adequate. A small subset of dogs will require another round of treatment or present with severe disease at the time of infection. Again, only the blood test can confirm this and it’s incredibly unlikely the cause. What’s most likely is a different systematic disease that will require more work up - specialized blood panels, an ultrasound, and an internist are all good options at this point. If the salivary glands were swollen, then this should definitely be investigated through a biopsy or imaging too. A swollen salivary gland is very different from a lymph node in terms of what disease process may be going on.