Just a quick update on Abe- thank you for all of your sweet comments!
The vet diagnosed Abe's problem as whipworms. Whipworms come from the soil and get into the dog's intestines, causing many of the symptoms Abe has. However, they are often hard to detect, so nothing showed up on Abe's bloodwork and they couldn't use a feces sample because, well not to be gross, but it's not solid. So, we are not 100% sure it's whipworms, but that's what we are currently treating him for. If this doesn't work, the vet will have to re-diagnose. The good thing is, the vet said it wasn't anything serious like the things I mentioned yesterday, although Abe has lost 12 pounds. I'm telling you, Google can be a nightmare when you are trying to diagnose what is wrong and can often scare the crap out of you, making you think the worst! I think I should just stop using it to diagnose a sickness- it always makes me paranoid.
So now, we just have to hope that the whipworm treatment works and we don't have to try something else! Unfortunately, the vet told us that if he gets whipworms once, he's likely to get them again since they live in the soil and can't be treated for removal. Apparently there is a type of heartworm medication that will guard against whipworms, but it's not Heartguard, which he is on now. So we may have to switch that up so he won't get them again. Unfortunately, we have a friend who is a Heartguard rep and gives it to us for a deal, so that will be one more expense if we have to change up his medicine.
Anybody ever feel like having a dog is a lot like having a child? If so, I'm not sure I'll EVER be ready for a child. In the past month and a half, Abe has racked up $1500 in vet bills- I'm beginning to think we should get insurance on him..sheesh!!
Poor puppy! I'm glad you found out some information about his problem though and it isn't as serious as you suspected. I know what you mean about Google. I used it for myself once when I was going in for a procedure and some people described it as "the worst pain in their life!" I was freaked!
ReplyDeleteFYI: I didn't even feel it. :)
oh man, that's crazy! im so glad he's going to be okay though! i took gus & bailey today for shots and stuff and it was $112. ugh.
ReplyDeletePoor Abe- I am glad it's not anything life threatening though!
ReplyDeletePoor, poor Abe! I hope the sweet boy starts feeling better soon!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it's not the things you mentioned yesterday! Hopefully these treatments will make him 100% again! When I was little, I thought pets were covered under the family health insurance! Ha!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree about google! I stopped trying to figure out anything that could possibly be wrong with me!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it is something fixable. Fenway is on that heartworm medicine, it is called Interceptor. The only thing he doesn't like about it is that it isn't in a tasty chew but rather a pill. When Fenway had whipworms (or that is what he was treated for) the vet had him eating yogurt while on the dewormer to get the good bacteria back, just something you might want to ask the vet about.
ReplyDeleteGlad it's nothing too serious! Just curious, which type of heartworm medication guards against heartworm?
ReplyDeleteOur Lab is on Revolution, which is great because it takes care of fleas, ticks and heartworm all in one, so it's more cost effective. It's about $11 per monthly dose when you order it at entirelypets.com. It's a great site and they always have coupon codes for free shopping or 5 or 10% off your purchase. No they are not paying me to say this, ha.
I meant which type of heartworm medication guards against whipworm. lol
ReplyDeletePoor Abe! I hope that he feels better soon and I'm glad the diagnosis is something that can be remedied fairly easily. I used to google any symptoms that I had and would become immediately petrified, so there is absolutely no way I will ever do that for my dog. I would be a total basket case. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it is nothing serious, but I definately understand how worrysome that can be! We're also checking into pet insurance for our 2 four-legged children.
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