Fluid in the lungs that got better.

Hi, My boy Buster Brown has an array of health probs from dry eye syndrome to pancreatitis, his immune system was destroyed by Lyme as a puppy... (I adopted him from the Humane Soc. at a yr old and he had his first treatment then and subsequent ones since, the most recent being a series of injections abt a month ago). He is 7 yrs old now. He had just gotten a clean bill of health including a cancer free cytology of some fatty tumors on his hind quarters. He is heartworm free and always on a preventative. I have spent thousands on his care. 2 wks ago he developed a rasping/hacking cough overnight and was lethargic and turning food away when he is normally food crazy (he is on a hydrolyzed protein food diet for the pancreatitis and skin allergies, Royal Canin) I brought him in and xrays showed white lungs full of fluid and a grade 2-3 heart murmur that he had never had. My vet thought it was a burst heart valve. She sent us home with Lasix and an apt for an ultrasound and ECG Mon (This was Fri). After a rough night the Lasix worked and he stopped coughing and started ambulating. Mondays tests were NORMAL. His heart looked normal and the ECG was normal, they sent it to a cardiologist to confirm. However, a week has passed and he is even more lethargic and still turning away food. I have to wrap his pills in sandwich meat which hes not supposed to have becuz he wont eat his allergy pill pockets that he usually loves. Something is really wrong. I think its his stomache. What can it be???

Hi Dr. Marie, Thank you for your I input. Because he continued to decline and was having trouble even standing, and my vet just didn't seem to have any answers, I took him to the Emergency Veterinary Clinic where I live in Newtown, CT. They have an amazing facility and I had taken him there before with his pancreatitis. The very first thing they said was, "What do you mean she said he never had a history of a heart murmur? We diagnosed him with a grade 2 heart murmur last July, a year ago and we faxed that report to her then" and they showed me in the computer the faxed document. I am having a very difficult time with how my vet missed not only the previous record of his heart murmur, but how she missed hearing it in every exam in the past year (and she has seen him very often!) She immediately focused on his heart because of the cough, the lack of history of heart murmur and its "sudden onset" (she had last seen him 2 weeks prior and said there was no record of it then) and the fluid in his lungs. Then we did all those expensive heart tests which of course came out normal. Because its NOT his heart. Buster Brown has pneumonia, which is why his lungs were full of fluid, this was improved because she had given him a course of Clavamox, but not entirely cleared up. But the primary issue is that he is DIABETIC!!! He does drink and pee a lot more than my other cocker, which I had mentioned. She had said it didn't make sense to run blood tests because it was too early from when she did his last quants for his Lyme. But Newtown ran a full panel and found him severely hyperglygemic (>686), his white blood count was slightly elevated (17,670) and BUN (69). He also had an enlarged liver (But the Dr said that makes sense with diabetes) but all other organs look good and no evidence of heart disease or failure. He has been admitted to the hospital until Friday for IV antibiotics, fluids and insulin therapy. Then he will be on daily insulin injections for the rest of his life. I think the most important lesson from this terrible ordeal is that you can NOT always trust your vet just because they are the "expert". No disrespect intended as I know this is your profession, but some vets are not specialized in critical care and mostly do routine preventative care such as immunizations, flea/tick control, spay/neuter, etc. When you KNOW your animal is sick, when he looks at you begging for help, take him to a specialist. It may cost a little more, but it is worth it to save the life of your best friend....and a misdiagnosis can actually end up costing you MORE, while prolonging your pets suffering, as in our case. I am glad I took him to Newtown, and SO glad he will be ok!