Mystery Illness

I don't have any experience with any of those things, but i just wanted to tell you how sorry I am to hear that you and your pup are going through this.. I will keep my fingers crossed for you that you get some answers... 

Welcome to the forum; I'm sorry your dog is so sick. Here's some info on meningitis;
  [linkhttp://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dmeningitis.html]http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dmeningitis.html[/link];
 
Puppies with steroid responsive meningitis
usually have a fever, they have a stiff or uncoordinated gait, they often
resist having their head and neck touched or manipulated and may show signs of
severe pain. Paralysis, severe weakness or seizures may also occur.
Unfortunately, these are also the signs of most other forms of
meningitis, so bacterial meningitis, distemper induced meningitis, vasculitis and
fungal infections can cause similar signs.
Examination of a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sample is helpful in
confirming that this condition is probably the cause of the symptoms seen. The
number and type of cells seen in the sample and the composition of the fluid
varies from one disorder to the next. It may not be possible to
absolutely confirm the presence of steroid responsive meningitis from the CSF
sample but it can be helpful in guiding how long to use corticosteroids and
whether other therapy, such as antibiotics, is necessary.
 
[linkhttp://www.animalhospitals-usa.com/dogs/meningitis.html]http://www.animalhospitals-usa.com/dogs/meningitis.html[/link];
Symptoms
The problem usually develops in young adults. Common symptoms of meningitis include fever, stiff neck, hyper-reactivity to touch, and reduced mobility due to marked stiffness. It can be acute or chronic. The cause is not well understood, but because it responds to steroid therapy, it is likely an autoimmune condition. Autoimmune problems occur when the body sees "self" as foreign and mounts a reaction. There is the possibility that infectious agents can trigger this reactivity. Steroid medications have anti-inflammatory action, and at high doses, inhibit the immune system.
 
   I hope someone will be along soon that has some experience with this condition. I'll say some prayers for your dog.

In what general area are you located?  Have your vets investigated tick borne disease?  Fever and an enlarged spleen point in that direction.  Unless the vet can come up with something else quickly, I would have them put your dog on Doxycycline (antibiotic) at the dosage below. 
 
http://www.minden.com/nowhereelse/canine_tick_disease.htm
"There are four major tick borne diseases that affect the dog in the United States: Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme Disease.

All, with the usual exception of Lyme disease, may be fatal unless diagnosed in time and treated aggressively.  If you cannot get a firm diagnosis and nothing you do seems to help; if you cannot and will not settle for anything as vague as "compromised immune system"; if the symptoms you see make no sense and/or the treatment your dog is given does no good, you should consider the possibility that your dog has tick disease.  Sites listed farther down the page are highly recommended to help you learn about and combat it.

Important!  Here is the treatment your dog should be given for Ehrlichiosis or Lyme disease.  Doxycycline, a semi-synthetic tetracycline, is the drug of choice, the most effective against Ehrlichiosis and Lyme.  It is given at 10 milligrams per kilogram (1 kg = 2.2 lbs.) of the dog's body weight every twelve hours for six to eight weeks.  Another way to figure this, on the basis of pounds, is 5 mg. per pound of body weight.  The result for the dog is exactly the same as doxy comes in 100 mg. tabs and the result of figuring in milligrams is usually adjusted up accordingly.  If nausea is a problem, you can divide the dose further, as long as the dog gets what he needs in any twelve hour period.

This is twice the amount recommended in the Merck Veterinary Manual and is given for a longer period of time than the VMM recommends; however, vets who deal with tick disease all the time say that the higher doses and longer administration are successful far more often in treating this disease and preventing its recurrence.

Doxy is not used to treat Babesiosis and has little to no effect on it.

Dogs with Lyme disease that cannot tolerate doxycycline may be treated with amoxicillin as an alternative;  it has no effect on Ehrlichiosis.  I have read reports of IV Rocephin being used to save dogs in extremely bad cases of neurological Lyme. ...

Ehrlichiosis is more than E. canis.  Way too few vets seem to know much about tick-borne disease, fewer seem to realize that a dog that tests free of E. canis on the popular Snap test for heartworm, E. canis and Lyme, may still have another strain of it or another form of TBD altogether.  (Some are resistant to even considering testing for tick disease and if you run up on one of these, don't let the door hit you on the way out!  Go find a vet who will.)

If it's not E. canis, it could be equi, platys (a form that attacks the red blood cells), ewingii or risticii, though there are others, some unnamed.  And, worse luck, cross infections with more than one type of TBD are common."

http://www.doctordog.com/Drdognewsletter/ehrlichia.html
"Ehrlichia can only be treated by doxycycline or other tetracycline antibiotics, which are common medications that also treat Lyme Disease and other tick-borne illnesses. ...

Ehrlichiosis may cause any (or none) of the following symptoms: weakness; lethargy; cough; fatigue; pneumonia; intermittent fever; arthritis; muscle wasting; slightly increased urine alkalinity; mild reactions to vaccinations; low red blood cell, low white blood cell, and/or low platelet count; discharge from nose or eyes; reflective, glassy eye appearance; retinal hemorrhages; red eyes; depression; loss of appetite; increased thirst and urination; head tremors; disorientation; seizures; neck or back pain; bleeding; anemia; bleeding into the skin; rash; nose bleeds; spontaneous bleeding; abdominal tenderness; swelling of the legs; swollen lymph nodes; enlarged liver; enlarged spleen."

Tick links:
[linkhttp://saluqi.home.netcom.com/ticklinks.htm]http://saluqi.home.netcom.com/ticklinks.htm[/link]

Smileystef, I forgot to say welcome to i-dog!! [sm=welcome2.gif]
 
 I hope Scout gets better very soon.  [sm=crossfingers.gif]   

I'm so sorry you are going through this. How is Scout today?

I am going to ask the vet today to test for the tick diseases.  I am in Maryland, so this might be a possibility.  I'm not sure if they have already tested for that.

The tick board likes the Protatek company testing.  I think that if there is a positvie diagnosis and treatment by the vet is unsure, then they will have their vet work with Dr. Holland at Protatek.   That's the impression that I've gotten from the tick board.
 
Follow Janet's link to the saluqi site and join the tick-l list.  There are some super smart people on that board and you can tell them your dog's symptoms and they can confirm the testing you need to do.  And Janet's mention of how much doxy to give was right on according to the people on this list who have had dogs with these illnesses.

Doxycycline can irritate a dog's stomach, so see this page on how to minimize or avoid that problem.  The site will not allow me to copy that info (just past the dosage chart).
[linkhttp://www.vintagegoldens.com/tick.htm[/link]>http://www.vintagegoldens.com/tick.htm]http://www.vintagegoldens.com/tick.htm[/link]
 
That site advises against the use of immune system stimulants for tick-borne diseases due to the vunerability of the dogs to auto-immune problems.  It also has a list of places that test for tick-borne illnesses. 
 
Satin balls are good for disguising pills and for getting calories into a dog (force feeding if necessary).
Recipe for Satin balls:
[linkhttp://www.holisticdog.org/Nutrition/Satinballs/satinballs.html[/link]>http://www.holisticdog.org/Nutrition/Satinballs/satinballs.html]http://www.holisticdog.org/Nutrition/Satinballs/satinballs.html[/link]

MSU Vet School on-line course notes on tick-borne diseases:
 
[linkhttp://cvm.msu.edu/courses/mic569/docs/parasite/>http://cvm.msu.edu/courses/mic569/docs/parasite/babesios.htm][size=2]http://cvm.msu.edu/courses/mic569/docs/parasite/babesios.htm[/link]
[linkhttp://cvm.msu.edu/courses/mic569/docs/parasite/>http://cvm.msu.edu/courses/mic569/docs/parasite/ehrlichi.htm][size=2]http://cvm.msu.edu/courses/mic569/docs/parasite/ehrlichi.htm[/link]
[linkhttp://cvm.msu.edu/courses/mic569/docs/parasite/>http://cvm.msu.edu/courses/mic569/docs/parasite/lymes.htm][size=2]http://cvm.msu.edu/courses/mic569/docs/parasite/lymes.htm[/link]
[linkhttp://cvm.msu.edu/courses/mic569/docs/parasite/>http://cvm.msu.edu/courses/mic569/docs/parasite/rmsf.htm][size=2]http://cvm.msu.edu/courses/mic569/docs/parasite/rmsf.htm[/link]
 

Nutri-Cal paste is also good for getting calories into a dog.  It is very hard to spit out so the dog winds up swallowing it.  Should be able to find it at any good pet store.