Lyme disease questions, new here!

[chi chi pup]

Hi, I'm new here although I have been following the forums for awhile. We have a 12yr old Border Collie, Cheyenne,that tested positive on a snap test for Lyme, we sent out for the titers, those came back as positive so we did the other test to see if the infection was active or not. That came back inactive so my vet chose not to treat her. This was about a month ago, a couple of weeks ago I noticed she was very stiff getting up and she was shuffling her back legs as she walked, once she got going she was ok. She was also laying around alot did not even get up when I came home. Her appetite is fine and she is going to the bathroom ok. We took her back to the vet and she took x-rays of all her joints, she has some arthritis in her hips, right shoulder, and elbow, spine is ok. I had the physical therapist that works on my other dog (tore acl July) give her a deep tissue massage, she found that the tendons along her spine, neck and hips are inflamed. The vet started her on doxy and Gabapentin pluse she is on Dasuquin and we started her on Adequan. We are also taking her for laser therapy. My question is can dogs just have inflamed joints from Lyme disease without the loss of appetite or fever? How long before I would see an improvement with the Doxy if it is Lyme? Ideas of anything else this could be? Thank-you, Cindi

 

Tia, border collie mix 18yrs

Cheyenne, border collie 12yrs

Cody, lab mix 10yrs

[gcv-border]

When my dog was diagnosed with Lyme about 2 1/2 years ago, he had slightly swollen joints but he continued to eat his meals well. He didn't scarf them down as he usually did. It was a very subtle difference, and I would not have taken notice except that he had the joint issues.

 

The most dramatic differency I have personally seen was with my other dog who contracted Lyme back in '92 or '93. She was very, very sore. We found out the day before we were to go on vacation, and the vet kindly offered to board her while we were gone. When we returned 5 days later, she was like a puppy again (and she was 11 or 12 at the time).

 

Jovi

[burdock]

Our 2 year Old Emma BC was just diagnosed with Lyme 6 months ago her level 85, did 30 days of doxy, and she is do for a blood test this month to see how she is doing, she is still a normal active going on 3 year old BC, she also received the vaccination for Lyme the 6 months ago lots of cases in our are these days.

[juliepoudrier]

If you want some great, comprehensive information on Lyme disease and its treatment, I would recommend Gil. Ash's tick disease page.

 

If you want to talk with folks who are up on the latest information on tick diseases and treatment, then go to the tick links page. The instructions for joining Tick-L are at the top of that page. The list is full of knowledgable people, including vets, and they are very helpful about answering questions.

 

Lyme disease can manifest in many different ways. The key is to catch it early and then hit it long and hard. The biggest problem many Lyme positive dogs have is that they are inadequately treated and the disease ends up chronic.

 

J.

[cjohanna]

 

Lyme disease can manifest in many different ways. The key is to catch it early and then hit it long and hard. The biggest problem many Lyme positive dogs have is that they are inadequately treated and the disease ends up chronic.

 

J.

 

Yes, this is true and very important. I adopted a Finnish Lapphund who had ehrlichia -- another in the lovely family of tick diseases -- and had not been treated with a long enough or strong enough regimen of Doxycycline when first diagnosed. He now has chronic ehrlichia, and last year he had a flare and his platelet count dropped to dangerously low levels and his white blood cell count shot up. Fortunately, my vet is very conversant with tick disease treatments, so we got Mike the Lapphund back with several months of doxy, some Prednisone, and a bunch of immune supplements added to his raw diet -- but it was a scary spell. Chronic tick disease is a nasty, scary, stealthy thing. A tick disease positive test result should always be treated, and usually with higher doses and longer duration of doxycycline than many vets think is needed.

 

The Tick List is a very good resource. Good luck.

 

My Lapphund is 12 1/2 now, I've had him for 3 years, and aside from that one flare, he's maintaining very well. But we keep a close eye on his bloodwork!