Leptospirosis diagnosis

[owned by dallas and devyn]

Hi all, haven't been here in quite a while. Dallas (7 1/2 yr old Female) was dx'd with Lepto this past week. It started with not eating, tremors in her muscles, excessive shedding, rapid weight loss & bad mouth odor. Vet did a complete blood workup and found elevated levels of creatine and said that 1 1/2 kidneys were compromised. Did a Lepto test and found that that is what she has. Along with arthritis. She had been prescribed Deramaxx for the pain, a 30 day course of Doxycyline & Reglan. Today she went in for fluid therapy to re-hydrate her and flush the kidneys in which she took in 3 bags within 5 minutes. They also gave her an injection of Reglan to subside the nasuea so she can eat. I am to watch her for signs of dehyration again over the next few weeks.

My question is if anyone has any experience with this virus and what is the prognosis of killing the virus off.

I have never heard of it but it comes from infected water in creeks, ponds, rivers etc. from urine from Livestock, rodents, deer etc. The vaccine Dallas was given does not cover this certain strain of the Lepto unfortunately.

Vet said there has been an outbreak of Lepto throughout the Susquehanna River area (Southeastern PA & MD) just as an FYI to you in that area.

Any info would be greatly appreciate. Thanks for your time.
Marcia

[rottnkidd]

Marcia-I'm sorry to hear you're going through this with Dallas. I hope she has a successful recovery. I believe immediate response to the symptoms is
encouraging. Most of what I've read has indicated that penicillin is the most effective against lepto, followed by a regimen of doxy.
Here's an informative article, written by Lew Olson of B-Naturals. She has (unfortunately) had experience with lepto in a couple of her Rottweilers.
I hope this article will be of some help to you.
Best wishes, and please keep us updated on Dallas's response to treatment.
kathy
http://b-naturals.com/Feb2005.php
There's also some info in the archives, here on the forums. Just type in
"leptospirosis" in the Search box.

[targonrotts]

we had a case in my job(animal clinic),where the dog became very ill, lethargic,vomitting,and urinating a strong yellow color.the dog also had jaundice(skin yellowing).
we sent out for a lepto test, and found out the dog's trainer was also very ill at the hospital emergency room.
the trainer was treated for flu.he had headaches,pain,urination problems and ill feeling.
we asked for stat results on the dog,and got our lepto results before the human hospital(which was positive too).
with correct treatment, both trainer and dog recovered very well.
trainer had to take it easy for awhile, avoid excessive stress and sun and take a course of antibiotics.
dog was on fluids, meds, and recovered well.
i guess if caught on time and treated, it can resolve.
the main thing is that kidneys and liver don't receive a hard blow.
good luck, and keep us posted.

[owned by dallas and devyn]

Thanks for the replies. I will look up the b-natural article. She did well yesterday but today is a different story. Very lethargic, she ate and threw up everything about 1/2 hour after eating, I've been feeding her boiled chicken with some broth and rice. The pills they gave me for the anti-nasuae I guess are not working. She's not even drinking which makes me nervous as it is so hot out and I know she needs hydration. The muscle tremors have returned and she just lies on the couch in the A/C. I plan to call the vet again to get her more fluid therapy on Monday. I am still giving her all the pills but without food in her stomach I'm afraid she's gonna throw them back up like this mornings round of pills.

I suppose this is just one of those sicknesses you have to take day by day and keep the vet on constant alert with her symptoms. I just wish there was something I could do to help ease her discomfort. She keeps giving me those "sad eyes" and pawing at me while I sit with her on the couch. It's breaking my heart.

Will let you know what happens tomorrow.
Thanks again for the info...
m

[athenagirl]

My father's 12 year old hunting dog also contracted this disease this year. He was diagnosed in January and we didn't really hold out much hope considering his age but he is still going strong. He did his antibiotics and ate only lean hamburger and rice for weeks but now is eating the special vet diet that is easy on the kidneys and is playful like a pup when I bring mine dogs over. My parents watch him at all times so they can catch any early signs of there being problems. It is not easy to deal with but you are right is assuming it is a day by day, watch and see type of disease and it is very hard to watch any animal go through it but especially your own.

[owned by dallas and devyn]

Just a follow up. Seems as though we caught the Lepto in time as it is in the early stages. Should be able to knock that out. BUT, this week was absolutely heart breaking, nerve wracking etc. Dallas was getting worse and worse and by Wednesday they admitted her to stay for 3 days to get IV fluid and constant watch over her. They did more blood work and found her levels of everything were going in the wrong direction for her kidneys and liver. Vet called Wed nite and asked permission to do a blood lab test for Addisons Disease. They did that Thurs a.m. and we all sat on pins and needles actually hoping that it was Addisons and not kidney failure. I went and saw her the days she was in there and she just kept looking up at me like "please let me go I can't take anymore" I was beside myself trying to figure out the best course to go with her. Last nite they told me she still was not eating and was severly depressed and wanted to keep her over the holiday w/end. I said "Hell no, that ain't happening, give me the bags of fluid and let me take her home." (At this point I was thinking it was kidney failure and she only had a few days left) WELL this morning I went first thing to pick her up and the tests came back that it is indeed Addisons. They gave her the sterhoid injection for Addisons and told me that her appetite and attitude probably wouldnt come around till Monday. Well, Dallas proved them wrong!
She RAN out of that back room to greet me and once we got home she JUMPED out of the car RAN around back to her favorite toy, the sprinkler, played in the water for a few minutes. Then I brought her inside and she stood at the door like "Where's my bone? I always get one when I come in?" I said "You're hungry???!!!" Gave her boiled chicken - just a little bit and she wolfed it down!!!

So alls going well after a really tough week. Thanks for the replies and thanks for listening to me ramble! I am just so grateful that it is something we can deal with and treat and that she can have her normal life back!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend all!

[Patty1231]

I'm sorry I missed this until now. I was so glad to get to your last post and see how well she responded to coming home! That's a very nice present for a holiday weekend! Give Dallas an extra butt rub for me!

[JoJo]

Targonrotts, I see you are in the Miami area. I'm in Clearwater and my vet just told me yesterday that he stopped giving the vaccine for Lepto as he hasn't seen this in years. Could it be possible that logistics plays a roll here?

JoJo