MY BULLDOG HAS BLEEDING IN HER LUNGS

Question
QUESTION: Please help!!! My beautiful 2 year old bulldog Libby started to become unwell 2 week ends ago. She was lame on her front left and was given an x-ray to try and find out the cause. The vet said that she had some swelling round her shoulder because her shoulder was popping out of its joint when she would jump down off the couch or bed etc. She stopped eating drinking and lost all her energy. After pestering my vet that she really was not well I was asked to take her in 1st thing last Monday. She had not eaten for 4 full days I was using a syringe to force water and her temp was 104.6 so the vet decided to admit her and get her on fluids and some anti biotic incase she had a throat infection from the tube being down her throat from the aneastetic.They also took x-rays of her chest whilst she was awake to see if there was a reason for her elaborate breathing they showed a lot of shadows which the vet put down to being pneumonia! That was last Monday, I visited her every morning and evening to reassure her that I was still there for her and everything would be ok. However on Friday my very phoned and said she seemed to have took a turn for the worst and that I should take her through to a specialist sick animal hospital 70 miles away. So we picked her up and rushed her there in double quick time. Her breathing was very fast and she seemed to be having a lot of difficulty breathing. She was put in an oxygen chamber on 100% oxygen as soon as she got there. She was given another x-ray of her chest and they seemed much worse they vet told me it could be 1 of 2 things a lung disease called PIE or it may be a tumors mass!! However he said the tumors mass seemed unlikely as she was young and relatively healthy. That nyt they put her to sleep and put a camera down her throat into her lungs. It was not good news as her lungs were full of blood!!!! They can't find the reason for her bleeding and so far have been unsuccessful at stopping it as today another vet phoned me to say that they tried taking her off of 40% oxygen and she started having breathing difficulties almost straight away. If they can't find out what is causing the bleeding I will have to put her to sleep without any answers giving her a chance. She has been fighting like hell for almost 2 wks and I miss her dearly already. Please help me any advise is a help I am desperate my girl means the world to me!!!

ANSWER: Debbie - I wish your vet had requested you to bring her to the specialist in the beginning. Your vet may have hung on to her too long. Also, did they give her steroids to treat the shoulder swelling?  Steroids can have some awful side effects.
Also, your girl could have aspirated fluids and that's how she got the fluid in the lungs.

I am not sure how she would be bleeding in the lungs unless she had been on some type of Steroids.  
Can you give me more background on what was ordered in the beginning for your gal.
***what drugs if any???

sorry, I wish that I could be of more help to you.

Let me know the details from the beginning of treatments.

Thanks
Marie Peppers

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: she was given metacam for her shoulder to try and reduce the swelling and they said to put her on a small diets to see it her being a little lighter would help her shoulder. the same day i picked her up from the vet after her x-ray she started coughing nothing too serious just when she got excited she would cough a little. Then over the day or 2 she was coughing a little more so i took her back to the vet. They checked her throat and said that it was red and a bit swollen so the prescribed her rymadil and I was told to carry on with her metacam (that was on the tuesday) she was badly sick the min i got in the house after the vet and it had a little fresh blood. I phoned the vet straight away and I took her straight back. Her gave her 2 jabs 1 to stop her being sick (i don't know the name of it) and 1 antbiotic jab. She settled for the rest of the day but the next day she seemed to loss a lot of energy and she would'nt eat or drink. Again I phoned the vet and he said that she was more than likely just feeling a bit out of sorts and to carry on with her medication. It got to Sat night and I was near pulling me hair out as she was shivering and just wanted to stay in her bed all day so again i phoned the vet and he said to bring her in for an emergancy app the next day (sunday). So I took her to the vet and they checked her temp and it was high and I should try and keep her cool to get her temp down and she should be ok in a day or 2. That night Libby was severly sick she was lying in her bed being sick and making no effort to get up and move away from it. I had to lift her out her bed and put her in the shower as she was covered in it. I phoned the vet again hysterical this time as a 'mothers' instinct knew that there was more to it than a sore throat and a temp. He said to bring her in first thing in the morning. I took her in and he was immediatly concerned about her. Despite my efforts to keep her cool her temp was up even further and her respiraory was brgining to get difficult also by this time I had been forcing her with water in a syringe and she had no food at all for 5 days. She was put on drip to get some fluids in her also the kept re-adminestring metacam and the had her on 3 anti biotics. (metrodizanol rymidyl and another one I can't remember) She was kept on this treatment from Monday morning until Friday afternoon when I was asked to take her to the sick animals hospital. Since being there I have lost track of what tests they have done! They have given her vitamin K incase on poison as we live in a fairly rural location and field mice are common. The test showed that her clotting factors were normal. They are also treating her for lung worm. This has not been identified where I live however it has been found 80 miles away. Her red blood cells were 21% on Friday they are now 26%. They tried to take Libby out oif the oxygen chamber last night but it was not successful as she started to have breathing difficulties after a while so they had to out her back in until the finish all the tests. A final thought is that Libby has a skin allery also that she gets a vaccine for every month however she has ot been on it for that long and if she has a flair up she is prescribed pedicare steriods the last time she was on a course was August after I returned from holiday. I am so stressed that they are not able to find the cause and if she bleeds much longer they are not going to be able to do any thing even if they do find out a cause. Please help if you can.

Answer
Metacam -  Here is a link to this drug - I wonder if the use of this drug did cause her troubles.... Also, mixed with the Remadyl.
I am so sorry your girl is going thru all this!  She became very dehydrated and should have been placed on to I.V. fluids much sooner.  I still feel your Vet should have sent you to the specialist much sooner.
There is not much that can be done now .... Just hope and pray she will regain her strength and pull thru this.  YOU are with a good specialist now and they are doing the best.

Here are a few links to read :

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/meloxicam.html

http://www.caps-web.org/rimadyl.php


I wish that I could be of more help but this is over my expertise.
My background is pet nurse and nutritional specialist.



Let me know what happens!  I will be thinking of you two...



Marie Peppers LPN MA
mtnmom@gci.net