Monday, June 7, 2010

Oh No! I have Lyme Disease and Ehrlichiosis

No wonder I've been tired and feeling kind of run down. Jenn thought is was too much playtime with Jet or maybe the heat. Jenn took me to the vet for my wellness exam and mentioned that I've been a little fatigued. Since Jenn dealt with all that Lyme Disease stuff last year, she asked the vet to do the SNAP 4DX/Heartworm test. It is a heartworm test that also screens for several tick borne illnesses: Ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Anaplasmosis, and Lyme Disease.

The test indicated that I have been exposed Ehrlichiosis. Yikes! More bloodwork confirmed that I've also been exposed to Lyme. Double yikes!

So, I started taking an aggressive dose of the antibiotic called Doxycylcine on Friday. My vet said that I should be feeling better soon. But I have to stay on the antibiotic at least a month. I have to have a snack with each dose and Jenn started giving me a special yogurt "milkshake" snack in the afternoon, so that the antibiotic doesn't wipe out all the good digestive bacteria in my body. Hmm, extra snacks? I can handle that.

Want to know more about what these tick borne illnesses? I'll be detailing more about these diseases and my treatment. Stay tuned!

You can learn more about Canine Ehrlichiosis here.

And about Lyme Disease here.

5 comments:

東芳 said...
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Unknown said...

We're so sorry that you have some nasty disease with you. Luckily you went to the vet and get some medicine from him. It's at least not too bad to have some extra snacks. Get well soon!

Scout and Freyja said...

Oh, my! We are crossing our paws that you are feeling mucho betters furry soons.

Janet said...

Take your medicine and yogurt. It's very important. I was diagnosed as a young guy with lyme disease before they started giving medicine as a preventative. I was one of the first in my area to be diagnosed. I was very sick and I now have arthritis in my knee. My little sister tested positive last year,took her medicine and never got sick. We are vaccinated every year for lyme disease now. The incidence of lyme disease in our area has exploded. Take care.

Peter and Sophie (PA Aussies with tails)

Katja said...

Oh no, poor Royal! How is he feeling? I think they put Steve on the same drug, but he had a skin reaction, so Dr. asked him to stop taking it. (Steve's fine by the way. That's not important since this is "The Life of Royal", "The Life of Steve" is a different blog!)