My dog has tick illness, vomiting meds, and belly fluid. What's next?

Question

Dog was diagnosed with a tick born illness vs thrombocytopenia. Was put on prednisone and Doxycycline. Was initially working, then he started vomiting up the meds and food. Latest blood work showed regression. Seeing if another medication could help. Ultrasound showed no cancer. Now has fluid in belly. Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Male | 9 years and 7 months old | 82 lbs

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA · Accepted Answer

I'm sorry to hear that Bodhi is having this problem. The lab work you have posted here looks pretty good - no anemia or significant thrombocytopenia, so I'm unsure why you say he seems to be regressing? If he hasn't been able to keep his medications down, this could certainly be a reason for the disease to relapse - so I would recommend discussing this with your veterinarian to see what he/she suggests. Using an anti-nausea medication such as Cerenia can help to prevent vomiting if this is the main problem. If the current meds simply don't seem to be working well, then a different immunosuppressive medication like cyclosporine or azathioprine could potentially be added. Fluid in his belly is definitely concerning, so I would want to find out what this is. Your veterinarian may be able to aspirate some of it to determine if it's blood, clear fluid, or something else. If he's bleeding into his abdomen, I would be concerned about a clotting disorder of some kind, or possibly a mass on his liver or spleen that may be bleeding - these are not always visible on ultrasound. If the fluid is clear, then it's more likely to be related to cancer or heart disease. So all in all, I would recommend talking with your veterinarian about what he/she recommends as the next step from here. You can ask about the options I've mentioned above, if you wish.

My dog has tick illness, vomiting meds, and belly fluid. What's next?

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