calliecritturs
Posted : 2/28/2010 7:22:13 PM
My first, best and most immediate advice for you is to head to the nearest good vet school. Often your normal vet just is *not* able to deal with some of these intense auto-immune diseases.
There's a HUGE thread on here about IMHA/AIHA (immune-mediated hemolytic anemia) - and frankly all 3 of us who have responded to you have dogs WITH IMHA. (we see the words "immune condition" and "Ascites" and all three of us get chills and can't breathe -- right John and Kate??)
Does your vet think it's liver-oriented? Has bloodwork been done to see what the liver numbers are? Or does the ascites seem to come from heart stuff? Ascites is fluid in the body cavity -- many times it's caused because some part of the body isn't processing the blood well (and I'm making a royal mess of describing this). In IMHA literally the blood can get so *thin* -- because of so little red blood cells IN the blood -- that the plasma in the blood literally leaks out of the blood vessels (the way plastic wrap that is too thin will let whatever is inside dry out?? because the moisture goes right thru the plastic -- same thing happens to the blood vessels - the blood gets so thin it literally 'leaks' out of the veins and arteries)
If you can tell us where you are located we can probably tell you a good vet school near you. Kate (Frisby's mom) has done an excellent list of vet schools.
Often vet schools are FAR cheaper than you might think -- you deal with students, not just vets so it's not like going to a specialty vet, and to be honest, it's often WAY WAY WAY **BETTER** because they tend to be more cutting edge.
Whether it is the blood getting thin (and I would almost suspect IMHA from what you're saying) OR if it is the liver being involved -- both can cause nausea.
Milk thistle - DEFINITELY. It will help detox the liver and it will help protect the body against the ravages of the other diseases.
There are so many ways the immune system can react against the body -- and to be honest, if you HAVE your dog's last blood work you can post it -- a lot of us have had to learn to read it. But if the vet hasn't done bloodwork, you need it done **NOW**. If your dog is getting as weak as I suspect, then honestly I would be on my way *tonight* to the nearest vet school.
I'm not being an alarmist -- but those of us who have dealt with the auto-immune diseases know these diseases can worsen SO fast. Waiting is your worst enemy. You can "self-refer" usually -- and simply call them and say you are bringing in a sick dog. Call your own vet in the morning and ask for them to fax all your dog's records to where ever you go.
Ascites is very serious -- no matter what has caused it (and it can be a wide variety of things but hepatic failure caused by autoimmune and IMHA both can among other things)
Don't feel you are being unthankful to your vet -- many of us have had to do the same thing. My dog Billy was up at the University of Florida in ICU for a long time, Tessy is still being treated for IMHA as is Frisby. BUT they are surviving and doing very well. With quick action your dog may be able to recover as well -- but it likely needs the greater resources than your vet can give you.
I'm going to email you as well since it looks like you are not online presently. Please -- you can contact any of the 3 of us and we'll try to help you.
PS -- keep your dog EATING. It is absolutely critical. If it is hepatic in origin, the toxins from the liver will shunt directly to the brain. Literally the dog "feels" sick but really isn't as nauseus as the brain tells it that it is. There are things that can help clear some of those toxins -- even something very cheap like lactulose (which is actually a laxative but also binds to toxins and gets them to leave the body) --
But often once they eat something that has made them feel 'sick' then they won't want to eat that thing again -- so give this dog ANYTHING to eat that it will consent to eat. Don't worry about whether it's 'balanced' or not -- KEEP IT EATING. Because they have to eat to tolerate the meds and without the meds, they don't stand a chance. So try other canned food, try hamburger and rice, try anything you had for supper that the dog was interested in -- just keep the dog eating. It is important.