Our Little Quincy Has Auto-immune Disease, Hurts So Much Options

[Aaron]

It was just a few years ago that I came here to lean on this community for support when we lost our car Reggie to hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease). It's with great sorrow that I have to return for support for another sick pet. Our sweet dog Quincy, a Maltese, came down with auto immune disease recently and we are trying to suppress the inflammation, but it is proving to be a difficult task so far. We are by no means giving up, but I feel like every day that passes that he does not improve means we are closer to losing him. Back in late December he had his regular annual exam and got his vaccines. We suspect that one of the vaccines triggered his immune system to go into over-drive, for lack of a better phrase. The vaccine was not the cause, as all vets we have spoken with say this is genetic and it takes just one trigger to bring this disease to the surface.

We initially tried steroids which helped some, but it did not completely suppress the inflammation. He slowly got worse so we got an MRI done which revealed considerable fluid on the right side of his brain. So they tried a large does of steroids (prednisone) which had an impact but then he seemed to get worse. So we went to the next treatment which is chemo since we are trying to suppress over-active cell activity. He was having seizures so he is on meds that make him considerably drowsy, so it's hard to tell if the chemo is having an impact since they cannot measure his neurological signs accurately. But the doctor is concerned the chemo might not be having an impact, which means we have fewer treatment options. They have told us that if the chemo does not have an effect, then his prognosis is "poor".

If you are reading this, then you know how difficult this can be. We are stressed both physically and mentally and it would devastate us to lose another pet after just 2.5 years. I can't even imagine how destroyed my wife will be of we lose him, but I am starting to prepare myself for that. I am just typing this to get it off my mind and my chest. We are staying positive and won't go out without trying every viable option. But every day is incredibly difficult.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts and prayers.

[Aaron]

thanks moon_beam. I will never forget how supportive you were (as well as many others) after we lost our Reggie back in 2010. I again thank you for offering kind words.

So yesterday Quincy walked as well as he has since coming home, but then later in the day he was favoring his left side. He is still walking, so we are not going to "freak out" over the change. He got his blood drawn today for his post-chemo testing, so our primary vet checked him out. All things considered she said he is fine and suspects his anti-seizure meds are impacting him to some degree, which was expected. We know auto-immune disease takes months to address, so we are trying to be patient and focus on the long term rather than him taking a step back here or there. It's only been a week since he got his first chemo treatment. He is still eating/drinking/pottying fine and resting well and has the same desire to move around throughout the day, so we will remain positive and continue to provide him the same care and love we always have.

My wife's parents are helping too. They are retired and live close by, so they stayed at our home today and kept an eye on him for us. So we are lucky to have them around to assist.