So anyways, after getting no where with my local vet, I decided to make Zora an appointment with the Michigan State Veterinary Clinic. Yesterday could not have come soon enough. She took her last meds on Sunday and things spiraled downhill very quickly... wouldn't eat or drink, heaved for hours throughout the night, borderline lethargic.
Zora is usually very anxious at the vet. She stress sheds and paces all over the place. Yesterday, she curled up under the table with her eyes closed. Broke my heart. I filled the vet in on all of Zora's symptoms over the last month and "thankfully" Zora heaved a few times in front of her. Even though I brought along her x-ray films and bloodwork results, they wanted to redo all her tests, but on a more advanced level. So my poor baby was taken away and Mama Z and I waited around for over two hours.
Welp... doctors came back with four possible diagnoses. She has a severe bronchiolar lung pattern which means she potentially has one of the following:
- Lungworm
- Allergic Bronchitis
- Eosinophilic Bronchopneumopathy
- Lymphoma
We brought along a poo sample to be tested, but unfortunately the results won't be available for 24-48 hours in order to diagnose lungworm. Lungworm and allergic bronchitis are both curable, so they are the diagnoses we're most hoping for. The vets were both leaning more towards eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy, which unfortunately is not curable. However, it is treatable through lifelong steroids, but of course those come with complications of their own. The last possibility is lymphoma... which we won't talk about because it makes me sob uncontrollably.
Let me save you the trip to Wikipedia: "Eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy, also known as pulmonary infiltrates with eosinophils, is an immune mediated condition characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of lung and bronchial mucosa. The cause is unknown. Most common signs include cough followed by retching and gagging--- it is often compared to a smoker's cough."
Basically Zora's heaving is caused by inflammation in her airways which is brought on by potentially one of those reasons. She's been battling whatever she has since May 17. It breaks my heart to see her in so much pain and discomfort.
We were sent home with an antibiotic, steroid and dewormer. From here on out, we're eliminating our options in stages. We'll know if it's lungworms by tomorrow when the fecal results come back. In two weeks when the deworming meds and antibiotics are up, we'll start weaning her off steroids. If her symptoms don't come back, her infection was most likely the allergic bronchitis. If her symptoms do return, we have to run further tests to determine whether to proceed with lifelong oral steroid to treat Eosinophilic Bronchopneumopathy or.......
So we here are. Waiting..... trying not to cry..... lots of spooning. Lil Man senses that Zora needs her space and lots of love. He hung out near her all last night, giving her kisses and refraining from pulling out her fur. He even went and got my cutting mat out of the cupboard and covered her up with it. Bless his little heart.
Keep praying everyone. Pray for a positive outcome and pray that these meds provide her some comfort. Stay tuned...
