spidersweb1: (Headache Head)
spidersweb1 ([personal profile] spidersweb1) wrote2006-12-07 07:10 am
Entry tags:

Wanna know where I've been?

The Adorable Puppy has colitis-- which seems to be a generic term the vets are using to describe chronic and/or persistent diarrhea. With blood present. Caused by gas, which may or may not be caused by a food injury. We've been given drugs (twice now) and had x-rays. No evidence of tumors or symptoms of lymph swelling or anything that would indicate cancer.

Just massive, massive gas, resulting in cramping and the aforementioned Big D. I am fucking sick of scrubbing my carpet. I cannot afford to have Stamley Steemer come, because I have spent any extraneous part of my budget paying for the vet's bills.

I am exhausted. I had 5 hours of sleep last night, and 4 the night before, because I keep launching myself out of bed to let the Puppy outside.

And now, I have to go take a shower and try to be at a faculty meeting by 8 am.

Please pray for the dog to get better. I can't take much more.


EDIT: I meant to say "food allergy." That's the vets' current and prevailing theory. They did the x-rays to make sure that it wasn't cancer, an obstruction, or a twisted up intestine. The bouts do get worse when I walk him (so, I guess, none of that for a bit, since I don't have a yard and can't leave him out after) and I've put a call into the doctor to see if that particular cause+effect signals any different information.

The current bout seems to be over for the time being. I have agreed to supervise a reverse suspension day on 12/16 (8a-2p) to help with the expense.

[identity profile] shineyquarter.livejournal.com 2006-12-07 12:58 pm (UTC)(link)
I hope he feels better soon.

[identity profile] spidersweb.livejournal.com 2006-12-07 03:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Me, too. I am exhausted and have had 9 hours of sleep in the last 2 days.

[identity profile] selchi.livejournal.com 2006-12-07 01:44 pm (UTC)(link)
what meds is he on? what is he eating (normally and now)? any vomiting or inappetance? how often has this occurred (is this the second occurrence in a few weeks, does he do it every few months, etc.)? Any instances where he may have gotten into trash, etc.?

[identity profile] spidersweb.livejournal.com 2006-12-07 03:12 pm (UTC)(link)
They gave him 3 doses of Panacur and a 7 day of metranidazole (sp?) on 11/23. That ended 11/30, and by 12/3-12/4 we had the diarrhea again (only other note is a long walk happened that day).


Now, we are on a 10 day of Azulfidine-- he was doing pretty well and then I took him for a walk yesterday around 6pm. By 1 am, diarrhea (and again at 6 am this morning).

Yes, he has been in the trash at least twice in the last 3 months. He's eating a mix of his current food (purina naturals chicken&rice) and the Hill's Science i/d diet. They told me not to switch his food cold turkey.

The diarrhea has been going on since Halloween --on and off, but every week. They showed me the x-rays-- Loads of gas. Diarrhea is mostly blood and mucus, very little stool, though he produces normal to soft stools in between incidents.

[identity profile] selchi.livejournal.com 2006-12-07 06:07 pm (UTC)(link)
did they tell you the panacur was b/c of whipworms or just doing it to cover all bases (i.e. was a fecal done?)? were the episodes of diarrhea associated/following his getting into trash? any other treats or things that get mixed with his dry food?

[identity profile] spidersweb.livejournal.com 2006-12-07 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
They did a fecal on 11/23, but there wasn't much to work with, and they said the Panacur was to cover that base. They had more to work with on 12/4, but of course, nothing was found then, because of the Panacur.

He was having a lot of stomach burbling prior to getting into the trash (a new trick-- he'd never tipped over the can before). THey told me the fancy name for that, but I forget it. That was the first symptom that put food allergies on the possible causes list. The diarrhea showed up about 2 months after the burbling (we happened to be in there for the cat, and I asked about the burbling).

I haven't given him any produce (carrots or slices of apple) or bread crusts since the diarrhea started, though they were "treats" since he's been small. His current dog biscuits are also purina-- same brand as the dog food.

Taking him for walks produces the worst of it-- I feel bad for not exercising him, but am I making it worse by taking him out for a mile or more and getting his insides stirred up? He doesn't seem to have incidents of diarrhea after just playing/exploring outside, i.e. at his own pace, with me following.

[identity profile] selchi.livejournal.com 2006-12-08 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
well exercise does help g.i. motility, but by itself should not be "causing" the problem. It sounds like he may have a mild form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), pure food allergy would be weird to come on "suddenly" at his age, however not unheard of. IBD can be exacerbated by certain foods, and certainly any trash-can-diving-devilry on his part. If they have not suggested it already, it can sometimes be managed with bland food, hence the I/D prescription, and daily h2 blocker like pepcid ac, sometimes requires low-dose flagyl (metronidazole, which seemingly helped before) for flare-ups.

[identity profile] spidersweb.livejournal.com 2006-12-08 03:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Any reason not to have him bathed and groomed? I usually do that before heading home for the holidays.

I'm going to hold back on the long walks for a while-- for whatever reason, that's a common element for several of these bouts.

He did get me up last night, but to pee, not the other. He seems chipper this morning, and hungry. His stools were soft, but not uncommonly so. They were lighter in color, though.

[identity profile] selchi.livejournal.com 2006-12-09 03:29 am (UTC)(link)
Sorry! Had to leave off in middle of that last post cause discovered zephyr had been bitten by copperhead....again. She's been at hospital since 11pm last night but seems to be doing well today. Hopefully home tomorrow. Let me re-organize myself and I shall be back!

[identity profile] spidersweb.livejournal.com 2006-12-09 02:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Sorry to hear that! I hope Z gets better soon!

We had an interesting night last night-- the farts finally arrived, and I'm cautiously taking it as a good sign (where cautiously = me holding my nose). Stools are still soft and there was one slightly loose one this morning when we went out, but no blood or mucus.

[identity profile] troutqueen.livejournal.com 2006-12-07 02:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Poor puppy :( There's no way to just block him into the kitchen or a tiled bathroom at night? Cindy's had an occasional bout (lasts for a couple days to a week) of diarrhea, probably from eating something off the floor, and we fast her for a day, and then feed her plain rice on the second day, and a pepto or immodium. But during that time, I block her into the kitchen so any accidents are easier to clean up. she's not happy about it, but she'll settle down after awhile.

[identity profile] spidersweb.livejournal.com 2006-12-07 03:14 pm (UTC)(link)
You've seen my place. No way to block off the kitchen, and the cat's in the bathroom. To be fair, he usually makes it to the kitchen. What I've been having to scrub up is when he can't make it to the kitchen.
storm_dancer: (Scoobies)

[personal profile] storm_dancer 2006-12-07 03:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh no! Poor puppy! Poor you! Praying like woah.

[identity profile] spidersweb.livejournal.com 2006-12-07 03:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Thank you-- I want him to get well, for both of us. Neither of us is taking the stress well, and I have had to take on supervising Suspension/Detention to help pay for all of this.

[identity profile] panda-dancer.livejournal.com 2006-12-07 05:45 pm (UTC)(link)
I am thinking about you and him. I don't know what else to say - the more emotional the topic, the more difficult it is to find words.

[identity profile] scottishrogue.livejournal.com 2006-12-08 01:37 am (UTC)(link)
Sorry to hear all this darling, hope the Adorable Puppy gets better soon. For both of you!