Problem with blood parasites due to tick bites.

[giddyup]

Our little dog has looked and acted poorly for the last few days, not eating and generally lethargic. So we took him to the vet and got a blood test which came back showing he has parasites in his blood. Also some other reading that should be around 200 and is only 20, not sure what that was. Haven't picked up the results yet, only given the news over the phone. Vet suggested tablets for the blood parasites, anyone know what they are and the price?

[Sheryl]

That low count would be platlets.

 

Usual treatment is antibiotic (doxycycline) and steroids, neither is expensive....but long coyrse if tteatment needed.

 

 In severe cases  transfusion etc may be needed.

 

This is potentially fatal. Take no chances.

[steven100]

we hope you get well soon .... 

[giddyup]

1 hour ago, steven100 said:

we hope you get well soon .... 

Really, you have nothing better to do?

[giddyup]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

That low count would be platlets.

 

Usual treatment is antibiotic (doxycycline) and steroids, neither is expensive....but long coyrse if tteatment needed.

 

 In severe cases  transfusion etc may be needed.

 

This is potentially fatal. Take no chances.

Thanks, what about for the blood parasites?

[Pilotman]

Our little dog had a nasty virus infection in his blood and liver.  Not quite the same thing, but the treatment was similar and effective (steroids) and not too expensive; circa 8,000 Baht if I recall.  Best of luck and I hope the little mite recovers. 

[giddyup]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

That low count would be platlets.

 

Usual treatment is antibiotic (doxycycline) and steroids, neither is expensive....but long coyrse if tteatment needed.

 

 In severe cases  transfusion etc may be needed.

 

This is potentially fatal. Take no chances.

Thanks, what about for the blood parasites?

[giddyup]

4 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

Our little dog had a nasty virus infection in his blood and liver.  Not quite the same thing, but the treatment was similar and effective (steroids) and not too expensive; circa 8,000 Baht if I recall.  Best of luck and I hope the little mite recovers. 

You have a different opinion of what's expensive than me, 8000 baht is over $400 in my money.

Edited July 4, 2020 by giddyup

[Pilotman]

Just now, giddyup said:

You have a different opinion of what's expensive to me, 8000 baht is over $400 in my money.

Sure, its not 'cheap', but in responsibility terms its a no brainer.  You do whatever it takes to get the dog healthy. 

[giddyup]

10 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

Sure, its not 'cheap', but in responsibility terms its a no brainer.  You do whatever it takes to get the dog healthy. 

Can't see the average Thai forking out that kind of money.

[Pilotman]

16 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Can't see the average Thai forking out that kind of money.

That covered 4 visits to the vet, i overnight in the hospital, 3 blood tests and the meds. 

[AndyAndyAndy]

One of my dogs died because of tick bite on 5th decemeber 2019. My other one was on oxyc-something till last week. Also because of tick bite. Neither of these dogs had this problem for the first time.

 

Tick bites and resulting sickness seems to be reoccurring problem on at least yearly basis in Thailand. 

 

Local village vet charge me 750 Baht per test kit. And 200 Baht per week wort of pills (3 different kinds). Usually is needed 4 - 6 weeks. But we were neighbors and friends for a long time, not sure if this is regular price.

[Sheryl]

12 hours ago, giddyup said:

Thanks, what about for the blood parasites?

The "parasite" is a rickettsia called anaplasma platys. It is treated by doxycycline. When as in this case platlets are deptessed steroids are usually given as well.

 

As said before the required meds are very cheap. Total costs will of course vary depending on the vet and also whether oral meds alone are sufficient or the dog needs inpatient care. The least expensive source of tteatment are govetnment vet hospitals, there are several in the Bangkok area Kasetsart, Chulalinghorn, Mahidol. But if you are outside Bangkok then have to balabce that against travel costs.

 

The more you delay the greater the chance of needing more expensive cate or having the dog die.

 

It is not the meds that account for most of the cost but rather the lab tests and vet fee and, in sevete cases, inpatient care IVs etc.  The more yoy delay the more of both that will be needed.

 

Prompt treatment with just oral meds can be quite afgordable (hundreds rather than thoysands of baht) but delay may make that insufficient. It may also cost the dog's life.

[giddyup]

2 hours ago, Sheryl said:

The "parasite" is a rickettsia called anaplasma platys. It is treated by doxycycline. When as in this case platlets are deptessed steroids are usually given as well.

 

As said before the required meds are very cheap. Total costs will of course vary depending on the vet and also whether oral meds alone are sufficient or the dog needs inpatient care. The least expensive source of tteatment are govetnment vet hospitals, there are several in the Bangkok area Kasetsart, Chulalinghorn, Mahidol. But if you are outside Bangkok then have to balabce that against travel costs.

 

The more you delay the greater the chance of needing more expensive cate or having the dog die.

 

It is not the meds that account for most of the cost but rather the lab tests and vet fee and, in sevete cases, inpatient care IVs etc.  The more yoy delay the more of both that will be needed.

 

Prompt treatment with just oral meds can be quite afgordable (hundreds rather than thoysands of baht) but delay may make that insufficient. It may also cost the dog's life.

Thanks Sheryl. Just picked up the meds for the dog, one for the parasites, one for the platelets and one supplement, all up 700 baht. Have to go back in two weeks to check blood again.

[giddyup]

After giving my dog his first pill of Doxycycline at midday he has been asleep for 6 hours so far and is still asleep now. Sleeping wasn't a side effect that is mentioned. I hope he's not having a bad reaction.

[faraday]

Can you rouse him?

 

https://dogtime.com/dog-health/54517-doxycycline-dogs-uses-dosage-side-effects

Edited July 5, 2020 by faraday

[Grumpy one]

22 hours ago, giddyup said:

You have a different opinion of what's expensive than me, 8000 baht is over $400 in my money.

It all comes down to how much you cherish your pooch

2 of my little rescue dogs have cost me over 35000 baht in the past year.

One look at their faces tells me I did the right thing

[jak2002003]

Op...glad to hear you started your dog on the treatment because they go downhill fast and then so much more difficult to treat.

 

I have 3 dogs. Over the years all 3 caught this disease..and one had it twice. This is transmitted by ticks. So make sure you treat the house and dogs for tick prevention in the future.

 

Cost was about 5000 baht or less. 

 

Being sleepy is sign of the disease, as well as lack of appetite and they get a high temperature. They get anemic too. 

 

Make sure your dog gets all the medication and plenty of rest. If he won't eat try him in cooked chicken or liver to tempt him.  Wishing him / her a speedy recovery. ????

Edited July 5, 2020 by jak2002003

[jak2002003]

Forget to say you can mix the iron nutrition boost medication with his food, and I put the tablets inside small balls of cheese to trick my dogs into eating them. 

[Sheryl]

1 hour ago, giddyup said:

After giving my dog his first pill of Doxycycline at midday he has been asleep for 6 hours so far and is still asleep now. Sleeping wasn't a side effect that is mentioned. I hope he's not having a bad reaction.

It's not the doxy. the disease itself makes them weak and tired.  Keep a close eye.

[giddyup]

1 hour ago, jak2002003 said:

Op...glad to hear you started your dog on the treatment because they go downhill fast and then so much more difficult to treat.

 

I have 3 dogs. Over the years all 3 caught this disease..and one had it twice. This is transmitted by ticks. So make sure you treat the house and dogs for tick prevention in the future.

 

Cost was about 5000 baht or less. 

 

Being sleepy is sign of the disease, as well as lack of appetite and they get a high temperature. They get anemic too. 

 

Make sure your dog gets all the medication and plenty of rest. If he won't eat try him in cooked chicken or liver to tempt him.  Wishing him / her a speedy recovery. ????

Vet said liver is a strict no-no while he's taking this medication. Have only been able to get him to eat pieces of bread soaked in a beef broth, but at least he was happy to go for his evening walk. Unfortunately he won't fall for the pills hidden in cheese trick. He will spit them out, so have to resort to getting them to the back of his throat so he has to swallow.

Edited July 5, 2020 by giddyup

[giddyup]

52 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

Forget to say you can mix the iron nutrition boost medication with his food, and I put the tablets inside small balls of cheese to trick my dogs into eating them. 

The supplement the vet gave me is vitamin E.

[giddyup]

1 hour ago, faraday said:

Can you rouse him?

 

https://dogtime.com/dog-health/54517-doxycycline-dogs-uses-dosage-side-effects

Yes, he woke up for his evening walk.

[ardsong]

On 7/5/2020 at 8:01 PM, giddyup said:

. Unfortunately he won't fall for the pills hidden in cheese trick. He will spit them out, so have to resort to getting them to the back of his throat so he has to swallow.

I do use a slice of ham to wrap the medicine in. then give half the slice first without the med, to enhance her appetite and then quickly followed by the 2nd half of the ham with med. Normally it is swallowed without a thought.

Edited July 7, 2020 by ardsong
corrected typo

[Pilotman]

On 7/5/2020 at 5:31 PM, giddyup said:

After giving my dog his first pill of Doxycycline at midday he has been asleep for 6 hours so far and is still asleep now. Sleeping wasn't a side effect that is mentioned. I hope he's not having a bad reaction.

sleep can only help him recover, to preserve his strength.  Is he eating and toileting yet?  That is the surest sign that he is okay.  He must start eating, even if you have to feed him by hand.  We did that for few days until our pup regained his strength. Now he sometimes wants us to do it because he is lazy.   

[Guderian]

My little dog had a tick bite around 3 years ago when she was staying out in the country with my gardeners for a spell. She seemed fine when she got back to me, but within 24 hours she'd stopped eating and then she stopped drinking. I knew this was bad news so I took her to the vet ASAP the next morning who checked her blood and found parasites. That wasn't too hard to fix, the vet kept her as an inpatient on an IV drip for the best part of a week. She went downhill in the first two days and on the second day I thought I was going to lose her, but she recovered and was back to eating and drinking and barking within a few days. Quite expensive, though, it worked out at more than 1,000 Baht/night, but I didn't care. Subsequent blood tests showed that the parasites had damaged her liver and kidneys, the liver is great at repairing itself as long as it's not too badly damaged, and that was soon back to normal. The kidneys don't have the same resilience, and are anyway a common cause of death in older dogs even without the wretched tick parasites. To cut a long story short, she survived for a further two years, mostly in decent health but the signs were there if you knew what to look for that her renal function was slowly decreasing. There were numerous visits to see the vet, including monthly blood checks and renal supplements, and in the later stages she had to go there regularly for different treatments as her kidneys weren't able to handle liquid as well as they should. In her last three weeks, she started having difficulty walking, and as somebody who's suffered from gouty arthritis for many years I had great sympathy so I let her walk on outward leg of her walkies, do her business, and then just carried her home. She was eating fine right up to the end, and apart from the walking she wasn't in any obvious pain or discomfort. Then one afternoon a year ago we went to the local market to pick up some food while she was snoozing peacefully. When we got back she had gone.

 

It was an expensive time, too, I must have gone through 70K or 80K Baht at the vet over the two years, but I didn't care as I loved the little dog and would do anything for her. Anyway, I hope the OP's dog is luckier than mine was and doesn't have the kidney damage that eventually finished her off. I acted as quickly as I possibly could, within 12 hours of stopping drinking she was at the vets, and it would have been sooner but it was night time. Looking back now, the vet I used was local but a one-person practice so only open for limited hours. There are several 24-hour vet practices here in Pattaya that I wasn't aware of at the time, and I wish now that I'd taken her to one of those in the night instead of waiting until the local vet opened in the morning. If they'd started on the parasite treatment 12 hours earlier she might have avoided so much kidney damage? If wishes were fishes...

 

RIP เตี้ยม, you were much loved

 

 

     

Edited July 7, 2020 by Guderian

[giddyup]

2 minutes ago, Guderian said:

 

 

RIP เตี้ยม, you were much loved

 

 

     

Thanks, nice story. We have been giving our dog the medicine from the vets for 3 days now and he is definitely improving, eager to go for walks morning and evening, still not eating much though, but he never has been a big eater. We have to continue with the Doxycycline, Milk Thistle and Vitamin E for two weeks and then get another blood test. Hopefully he'll be back to normal.

[worgeordie]

On 7/4/2020 at 8:12 PM, giddyup said:

You have a different opinion of what's expensive than me, 8000 baht is over $400 in my money.

Expensive, depends how much you love the dog, Blood parasites leave treatment to the vet. 

regards Worgeordie

[giddyup]

1 minute ago, worgeordie said:

Expensive, depends how much you love the dog, Blood parasites leave treatment to the vet. 

regards Worgeordie

I have, but I still have to give him the medication myself. BTW, it has only cost about 1500 baht so far, so not expensive.

[thaiden1]

Our dog had the same thing. Took her to the animal hospital in Pattaya. Did the blood tests and saw similar results as your dog. They gave her two types of pills and put an IV in. Took her two times to get the IV fluid. After 4 days she was back to normal. Total cost was just under 1000 baht. Happy with the service.