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Discussion starter · #641 ·
Just a thought...when my FIL had colon cancer and they were resecting his colon they would send it out to the lab to check the margins to see if they are clean. Is that possible to do with the sample the lab has?
Not sure, but I will ask my Vet tomorrow when I talk to her. Either way his blood is testing positive for Pythium, so he has Pythiosis in his blood stream.
 
Positive thoughts being sent your way! This is tough news, but at least you know what it is and you can move forward on an action plan. Limbo is the toughest spot for a caregiver to be and now you can move on.

Also the incision and hair growth looks really good, much faster than we experienced with our dog.
 
Discussion starter · #648 ·
Positive thoughts being sent your way! This is tough news, but at least you know what it is and you can move forward on an action plan. Limbo is the toughest spot for a caregiver to be and now you can move on.

Also the incision and hair growth looks really good, much faster than we experienced with our dog.
Yeah definitely hard news, but we are thankful we finally have a diagnosis.
 
Discussion starter · #649 ·
The incision is looking great - maybe that's the vetricyn helping too :)

So glad that you are able to move forward with this, that must be a huge relief on some level. Will keep good thoughts for the u/s and hope the mail service isn't late!
Yeah, we are shocked with how good the incision looks, and with how fast the hair is coming back. Could definitely be from the Vetericyn.
 
.... I figured if he has Pythiosis in his blood that's all we really need to know.
Just a technical clarification....

IF the test is a titer test (which I believe it is), it measures the response of the immune system to the infection, which is a measurement of antibodies being sent to the site of the infection (and does not measure actual level of infection). This does not necessarily mean that the infection is in the blood, just that the messengers and responders of the immune system are. However, the way it spreads is probably via the blood, but the test is not measuring this.

If your dog had a largely defective immune system and a big infection, they could register low titers which makes them appear not infected. This can happen in long term tick infections, and luckily it looks like Loki's immune system is responding by creating antibodies, it just needs more help.....
 
Discussion starter · #654 ·
Just a technical clarification....

IF the test is a titer test (which I believe it is), it measures the response of the immune system to the infection, which is a measurement of antibodies being sent to the site of the infection (and does not measure actual level of infection). This does not necessarily mean that the infection is in the blood, just that the messengers and responders of the immune system are. However, the way it spreads is probably via the blood, but the test is not measuring this.

If your dog had a largely defective immune system and a big infection, they could register low titers which makes them appear not infected. This can happen in long term tick infections, and luckily it looks like Loki's immune system is responding by creating antibodies, it just needs more help.....
That's a good point that I did not even think to register. Definitely good info there!
 
One question to ask, is how useful that test will be in monitoring response, and how quickly the antibodies change wrt to infection. In some infections, titers will go down very slowly, so you may be making progress, but it won't be reflected in the bloodwork for months and months. Robert Glass will have all of this info, but one step at a time - gotta get that vaccine into him!
 
Thinking of you and Loki - very glad you at least have a diagnosis. Your research and efforts are impressive.
 
Discussion starter · #658 ·
One question to ask, is how useful that test will be in monitoring response, and how quickly the antibodies change wrt to infection. In some infections, titers will go down very slowly, so you may be making progress, but it won't be reflected in the bloodwork for months and months. Robert Glass will have all of this info, but one step at a time - gotta get that vaccine into him!
I will definitely ask him, but from what I've seen in other peoples past experiences is that the Vaccine is administered on Day 1, Day 7, then Day 21. Then you wait a month, and do another Blood Test to see if it comes back Negative, or Positive. If it comes back Positive, then you start the Vaccine over again, until the blood results are Negative.
 
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