I've posted before about Sam and his coat looking poor, gas and poop eating. Initially we looked at thyroid and a complete panel done and his tests were perfect all around, so the vet suggested food or environmental allergies. I tried everything food and supplement related and I also added allergy pills and nothing changed. I had been working on getting his weight down, so any weight he lost was on purpose. Because his output is massive compared to his input and he was hungry, I thought maybe he was not absorbing nutrients, so I tried enzymes and probiotics, went back to raw and added raw fermented goat milk. He stayed the same for a long time. However, starting in mid-December, he started looking a little rough, and I took him back to the vet this week. I felt like I did everything I could and it was no longer just poor coat and some bad habits, but weight loss even though he should have been maintaining. He's also gone from eating just Linus' poop to also his own (when he gets a chance, which is not often).
I did some research and thought I'd ask the vet about Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) and Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). When we went in earlier this week, her first thought based on what I told her was also EPI. However, both EPI and SIBO typically include vomitting and diarrhea, both of which he does not have. So, she did both blood and full GI panels. I also purchased a crazy expensive and seriously complete fecal test but needed to drop off some poo this week.
She left me a voicemail today saying that preliminary results indicate that we should be ordering a tick profile for him. I don't have details because by the time I called back, she had left for the day. But, that is SO WEIRD. It's not like I've never seen ticks, he's had a few. He's on tick preventative. But, also, ticks are pretty rare around here and tick disease is also very rare. I know it takes just one...but his symptoms not only don't match, but they are pretty much OPPOSITE of any tick disease that I have found online (OK, Google, DMV does not exist, I know) such as depression, soreness, swelling, lack of appetite, lack of energy, etc. He's just as active as ever and initiates rough play with Linus, loves hikes and long walks, swimming for hours, etc.
It's going to be a long night and I'm in a meeting all day tomorrow... Keep your fingers crossed that it is nothing serious.