Rachel tested positive for Lyme

[beth gordon]

Hi everyone,

Rachel was acting lethargic and refusing to eat for a couple of days. She showed no other symptoms. No pain, etc. The vet couldn't find anything wrong so he did blood work yesterday and everything came back normal, except the positive for Lymes. She's on Doxy now for 30 days.

My question is that all my dogs get Frontline from May through September and have been vaccinated for Lyme disease until one year ago when I stopped getting them their annual booster (after reading all the posts here).

Is it possible that the results are a false positive and there could be something else wrong? I'm leary that the Lyme diagnosis was made when the possibility exists that the vaccination has caused the positive reading.

Is there anything else I should do or ask the vet? TIA

Beth

[Judi W]

I'll bet Judy C will have the answer to that for you.

[Judy Chrusch]

Oh Beth I'm sorry to hear this. Did you ask for the Western Blot, bc that would confirm a proper diagnosis, not saying the other is false. Did you see the results, bc when Czar had it his bloodwork came back ( type 3 lyme) and he had been vacinated for lyme. You know, even if they have been vaccinated they still can contact lyme. Usually following fatigue and loss of appetite comes a limp either front or back and then may switch but if she haden't been vaccinated for a year the symptoms should have been more severe unless she still had enough in her system to cover her, you know what I mean. I personally have never heard of a false if it came back possitive, but I have already heard of the other way around. Also if it is lyme, a few days on doxy you should see a significant change for the better. How long has she been on it and what is the dose?

Judy

[beth gordon]

Hi Judy,

Rachel started the Doxy Wednesday night; the dose is 100 mg twice a day. I still see no difference in her appetite or her energy level. She looks so sad.

I spoke to the vet this morning and he said they used a more sophisticated test than the Western Bloc that would tell if a positive was related or not to the vaccination. He felt that it was not a 'false' positive and that the rest of her blood work came back with normal levels which confirmed it was probably Lyme Disease. He also said that if I don't see any difference by Monday that he wants to do an ultrasound on her.

So even with the vaccination, Frontline monthly, and living in a pretty tick-free area, she still contracted the disease. I have never seen a tick on her, but I know they can be very tiny. It is so upsetting.

Thanks again for any advice.

[Judy Chrusch]

Beth, she also could have had lyme long before this and it is just now showing up. In some cases it can lie dormant I would have complete bloodwork done to check kidney levels and to see if there's any indication of infection. Did she EVER have a limp, as far back as you can remember? I doubt the test is a false possitive but you should have seen a difference in her by now. I think Czar got 100 mg. 3 times a day for 2 months in addition to pred bc of his kidney problems.

Let me know how she's doing, I don't know what else to tell you sweetie, I know how frustrating it is.

I hope you see some improvement by the end of the weekend.

Judy

[beth gordon]

Hi Judy,

Rachel's bloodwork came back all normal. Her kidney levels were fine. I do not recall any limp at any time in her life, and she is hell on wheels! I am hoping that I see a difference by Sunday night. It is so sad to see her so listless. :(

I'll let you know how she is doing Sunday. Thanks again for the help.

Beth

[Judy Chrusch]

Give it till Sunday at the latest and then yes I would look further bc most of the time a couple days on doxy you'll see a difference. My prayers are with you Beth, I'm so glad her bloodwork is o.k. There are other tick borne diseases but the doxy should be working. At present, how is she eating? It's never ending isn't it?

Judy

[beth gordon]

Hi Judy,

That's the problem also. I cannot entice her to eat. She has to take the Doxy with food so I am pushing that down her coated with food she would normally love. Other than that, she just won't eat. This morning was the first time in a week that she wagged her tail when I said her name. She didn't get up, but at least she responded.

I feel worse about this than I did about Kaya's back surgery. He is 100% since the laminectomy. But Rachel will always have this problem now. I keep asking myself what I should have done differently.

It's funny, I adopt rescues who have been to hell and back, but once the emotional or behavioral baggage is addressed and they get good nutrition, they are so healthy. Then there's Kaya and Rachel who I raised from puppies and they get the serious health problems.

Beth

[beth gordon]

Well, Rachel finally ate this afternoon. I cooked some liver for her and she ate around 6 small pieces before she lost interest. She also seems to have a little bit of motivation to move about. Until today she didn't want to be anywhere near the rest of the dogs, but now she is staying in the same room with them. I'm hoping that the worst is over now. ;)

[Judy Chrusch]

Beth I'm so glad she's better, lets hope this IS the worst of it and she's on her way to feeling better:D. Every dog is different so depending on when she contacted it, it may take a bit longer. I'll keep my fingers crossed that all is well and she's back to normal in another day or so. Keep me posted and hang in their.

Judy

[thoradopter]

Beth,

I'm glad that Rachel has started to eat. As I recall, one side effect of doxy in humans is GI distress and loss of appetite, and that would be true in dogs initially also. Please try to get her to drink as much water as possible while on doxy. At least she's on the drug of choice and dose regimen for Lyme. Please be sure she takes it for the full course prescribed.

It puzzles me that the vet said he/she used a test that is more sophisticated than a Western blot. I, and probably others here, would be interested to know what test that was. The Eliza was the standard, the Western blot the more specific. As far as I know, only a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) amplification of a Western blot is superior to the Wb alone. Just curious.

Meanwhile, I wish you and Rachel all the best, and please keep us posted on her progress.

Linda

[Judy Chrusch]

Linda you're right, I question that as well bc I didn't know of a more sophisicated test otherthen Western Blot, that is it when others fail;) . So yes Beth, maybe you could question which test they did. I'd also like to mention again that Czar's test came back class 3 lyme but somewhat inconclusive bc he had the vaccine, what did Rachels say?

Judy

[beth gordon]

Hi Judy and Linda,

I called my vet with your questions, but I am not sure if his answers will be meaningful to you as my understanding of what he said was limited... I hope I repeat it back to you correctly!!

The name of the test was IDEX which automatically separates out any effect of vaccinations.

Rachel's test was not a titer, but if he had to place a number on it, it would be a +1 as it was a 'faint positive'.

So...does this explain it?

Beth