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kerry bixby
Member
Username: Parfait
Post Number: 10
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, Oct 8, 2002 - 12:38 pm: |   |
Hi Dr. O,
I hope you can help. My filly came down with what appeared to be a viral infection, high fever (up to 105.2) and filled hind legs on Sept 12th. I used Banamine for the fever, 1/2 wt. dose every 12 hrs. She had no other symptoms. Her blood work was all in the normal range except for her total protein was slightly low at 5.8, Globulin was 2.2 and her Alb/Globlobulin ratio was high at 1.6. Also her gamma gt was high at 24.
[For months, she had been having occasional soft manure and I have always attribulted this to an immature gut. She has never tolerated alfalfa, for instance. Her gut looked distended, even though she has been on an aggressive worming program (you might have lost my profile last weekend) and all my other horses (3+ mini)are on daily wormer--even the mini Donkey. I have a maiden facility here also. I have given her probiotics and her manure returns to normal shape.]
By the fourth day, the filly had no temp but her legs remained filled through the seventh day. Her appetite always was good, she drank well and never needed help there. Sept. 24th the vet came out and pulled her blood again and suggested I put her on the panacur 5 day and I thought what the heck...so I did it. Sept. 27th and Sept 28th and she was sooo sick with diarrhea by the 29th that I stopped. The vet thought that we might have to IV but she kept drinking and eating well, I pulled her off all grain (I had halved it), kept her on her Timothy hay and gave her turn out on pretty much a short grass paddock (no weeds)and in 2 days she was almost normal. Appetite is great. Double dose of probiotics twice daily contolled the diarrhea. Belly still large. No temp throughout this adventure.
Her 2nd blood work from the 24th (before the deworming) was high lymphs at 7650, low glucose serum at 50, low chloride at 95, phosphorus H 5.0, total protien 5.8 globulin 2.3, bilirubin .4, gamma gt 41. This was Before the diarrhea. I am testing the grain as I had her on Purina 200, the only horse on that stuff at the time, and I had opened a new bag. It sure has a lot of corn pieces in it. Maybe this is all unrelated. You're the puzzle master.
The vet I'm using as a replacement is having me send in daily fresh fecal samples to test for salmonella and clostridia over a five day period. Is that the protocol? He wants to scope next but I think the problem is in her large bowel--he wants to look in the OTHER END! What's smart? Thank you MASTER!!!! |
kerry bixby
Member
Username: Parfait
Post Number: 11
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, Oct 8, 2002 - 12:42 pm: | |
Maybe someone could warn a gal that if she clicks on one of those faces they show up, just like that...Sheesh. |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: Dro
Post Number: 7079
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Wednesday, Oct 9, 2002 - 7:37 am: | |
The history suggest that the diarrhea is associated with the panacur administration. Generally by itself considered innocuous...unless...there is a high number of encycted small strohgyle larvae. The panacur kills them off and can cause a remarkable colitis.
Of course this is just conjecture on my part based solely on the very falliable temporal relationship. We do know that in general deworming programs are not as effective in foals as adults, perhaps the current deworming program is not covering the foal adequately allowing the build up.
DrO |
kerry bixby
Member
Username: Parfait
Post Number: 12
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, Oct 10, 2002 - 2:00 pm: | |
Thanks Dr. O.,
I checked my records and the filly was wormed with Ivermectin starting at 2 months through 12 months, in the dot (within three days) skipped the 13 month due to a jaw injury, I think, was wormed again month 14 and month 15 and then started coincidentally on strongid daily, 2 weeks later had the fever, etc.
The three other horses have been on daily wormer plus Ivermectin every 6 months for years. My place has had no other horses on it. My mini Donkey is even on daily wormer. You could knock me over with a feather if she were wormy but I'll go with you on it if you say so...
My regular vet is in Italy. Do you have any suggestions on my next step? This vet wants to run more tests. Her attitude is great, she's playful and hungry but her gut is still irritated (some formed balls with loose mush). Should I continue to monitor her blood? I'm worried about her nutrition. I need to feed some grain! She's on Platinum Performance vitamin.
Thank you very much for your help!
Kerry |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: Dro
Post Number: 7087
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Friday, Oct 11, 2002 - 11:38 am: | |
As I said above this is only conjecture. But there are other factors other than the product and frequency, including dosage rates. I wonder how accurately you are estimating weights? I think you could close the door on this question as long as it has been more than 3 months since the last ivermectin: if everyone has no strongyle eggs I think it a very unlikely scenerio.
You are correct, scoping a horses with diarrhea is not a very useful procedure and frequent blood tests in the recovering individual strikes me as an expensive way to support what your eyes and thermometer are telling you.
DrO |
kerry bixby
Member
Username: Parfait
Post Number: 13
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, Oct 11, 2002 - 12:45 pm: | |
Thank you Dr. O.,
Yes, you know I'm a Freak and I weight tape the horses but they are all fat and I suppose I could not get deep into the blubber and under-worm. I'll be chicken to use that product on this filly again though. :{
She is indeed recovering. Thanks for the reminder.
This site is wonderful thank you!
Kerry |
