A common medical dilemma is a positive Lyme test in a healthy dog. What if a sick dog tests negative, though?
What if your dog has all the symptoms of suffering from active Lyme disease but the test does not reflect that?
Gus’ story
Every dog can pick up an unwelcome deer tick here and there. Gus caught a number of them during one hiking trip. The ticks got discovered and identified after they returned back home.
About a month after the ticks hitching a ride on Gus, he started looking a bit “off”.
He was more tired normally, his appetite decreased, and he was exhibiting shifting lameness on his front legs—major Lyme disease red flags.
The testing
Gus’ blood test for Lyme came back negative.
However, his symptoms kept getting worse. Another test for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. A test for Leptospirosis. All negative. The only idiosyncrasy in Gus’ blood work was moderate anemia. Gus was never anemic before his tick encounter!
Dealing with negative test results
Should Gus get treated for Lyme disease even though his tests were negative? Gus’ vet did not want to treat based on symptoms in the light of two negative tests.
Gus gets really sick
Two weeks later, Gus ended up at the emergency hospital. His platelets were so low he almost bled out. His joints were so painful that he could barely move, his spleen was enlarged …
At that point, it wasn’t even clear whether Gus might have Lyme disease or Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA). The treatment for IMHA is high doses of steroids to suppress the immune system. What would such treatment do to a dog suffering from Lyme?
Gus has Lyme disease after all
Gus was tested for Lyme disease once again and this time it came back positive.
Finally, after all this time of suffering, Gus could get the treatment he needed.
Should Gus have been treated based on his history and symptoms in spite of the negative test results? What would you do?
Original story:
Misdiagnosis…Listen to Your Gut Instincts!
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Canine Lyme Disease: Treating Lab Results Versus Treating The Dog