My sick puppy. :(

[ceduke]

I'm just...venting, I guess. It's been a long long long week.

First, I did something stupid at work and threw out my back. I've been in pain all week and I've just been forgetful and things aren't getting done the way they should be.

Jasper has been having some stiffness in his back legs, and it's gotten worse since we brought the foster puppy home. So I took him in for an exam and X-rays early in the week. Turns out he has luxating patellas on both sides. Nowhere near bad enough to need durgery or anything, but he was sent home with some Rimadyl (an NSAID) just for a few days, and I was to restrict his playing and make sure he didn't re-irritate his knees.

After just two days on the Rimadyl, his stools started getting a little soft, so I stopped giving it, knowing that Rimadyl can have serious side effects. Unfortunately, I also fed him his dinner that night rather than fasting him like I should have (His stools weren't RUNNY, just softer than normal). Sometime that night, he popped downstairs and got into the garbage in the office. The office door is almost always kept closed at night so the cats don't eat my fern, it just got overlooked because my back hurt and I wanted to get into bed NOW.

So yesterday started off with Jasper having diarrhea in the house. Fabulous. It had graduated to runny, but Iwas still just concerned rather than really alarmed. I didn't feed him in the morning, and kept a close eye on him. As the morning passed his diarrhea graduated to full blown liquid and he vomited once as well. My regular vet is closed for the holiday, and when I called the emergency clinic they didn't seem to feel that he needed to come in unless there was blood in the stool/vomit.

I waited a bit longer and suddenly he vomited three times in a row, so we took him in to the E-clinic after all.

I dislike my local emergency clinic, but the one I LIKE has moved and I don't know where their new location is, so I didn't want to be driving around lost with poor Jasper barfing all over the place.

So we arrived, and the vet we talked to seems pretty good, wanted to run x-rays to check for a blockage, give him some subQ fluids and check his enzymes to make sure he wasn't SUPER dehydrated, but he kind of blew off my concern about the rimadyl. I asked to please check his liver enzymes anyways, because I was really really really worried about it. I hadn't wanted the Rimadyl to begin with, but it was only going to be for a few days, and I was feeling like I gave it ot him knowing better and now maybe it was making him sick.

Next, an RVT comes in with my estimate, which has a test on it that I'm not too sure what it is, but I think maybe it's liver enzymes, so I ask. It quickly becomes apparent that the tech doesn't know what's on the test, and she gets snippy with me when I push the topic "Dr. Whoever is prescribing the RIGHT test for your dog's condition based on his findings" blah blah blah. My husbands restates the request. Shiari restates the request. (She's an RVT with over ten years of experience in the field, so I trust her completely wiht my animals) The tech got really snappy and rude and never did exactly give a clear answer.

Eventually I paid the deposit and left. When I came back, They hadn't run the test I rquested! I was MORE than willing to pay for the extra test to put my mind at ease. Even if they thought I was being silly, I feel like they should have humored me. I was FURIOUS. What's the harm in drawing a little extra blood and running one more test?

Since Jasper's serum was normal and he doesn't have any jaundice or other signs of liver trouble, I'm just waiting until my normal vet re-opens and I'm 100% certain they will let me bring him around for a blood draw just to ease my mind. I LOVE my regular vet.

Meanwhile he's still got liquid stool, he's eaten nothing but rice today, and I feel so helpless because I can't help him feel better. Not to mention, I still don't know what's wrong with him. I'm FREAKING OUT inside because I want to know that his liver is OK, that I didn't make him really sick by giving him a drug that I should have known better than to give him in the first place.

I have doggy kaopectate that I'd REALLY like to give him. In the past when he's had er....dietary indescretion....it has helped him feel much better VERY quickly. But the E-clinic won't give me a straight answer as to whether it's safe to use right now or not, and I don't think I want to trust their advice anyways.

Wow that got long. Thanks to anyone who read through it all.

 

[TalonaCat]

Aww, I'm so sorry.

Not a fan of e-vets either, and I hope you can get into to see your normal vet soon. Have you tried seeing if they might consider coming in after hours for you just this once? I know it may cost more if they do, but most likely worth it.

Also, Once you get the all clear for his belly and liver, have you considered glucosamine/chondrointin for those achy joints? I know this is thinking past his current condition. It just crossed my mind, since I hate Rimadyl as well.

-bearhug- Keeping you guys in my thoughts.

 

[Susan]

I'm sorry that Jasper isn't feeling well and that you had a horrible experience at the E. clinic. You definitely need to complain to the owner of the E. clinic about the rudeness of the staff.

Since Jasper has a history of dietary indiscretion, I would put that at the top of the list for the cause of the vomiting and diarrhea. Rimadyl would be next on the list. I will tell you that the vet hospital I work for has literally hundreds of patients on Rimadyl long term and again as many using it short term. It is sent home with every dog that has surgery and the vets prescribe it for every ache and pain. Yes, the literature says it can be very harmful to the liver but honestly, we only see one or two patients a year that can't take it, and the only side effect we have ever seen is a GI upset...vomiting &/or diarrhea. Surprisingly, the vet's own dog was one that couldn't take it. Luckily, there are alternatives such as Deramaxx and Metacam.

Did the E. clinic send Jasper home on any medications? If not, give him some Imodium which you can get OTC. The dosage is 0.05-0.1 mg/pound by mouth every 8 hours, but I would use it only twice daily, and only for 2 days in a row maximum.

 

[Jdog3131]

I am very sorry for your puppy and you and I hope you both get better as soon as possible

 

[ceduke]

Also, Once you get the all clear for his belly and liver, have you considered glucosamine/chondrointin for those achy joints? I know this is thinking past his current condition. It just crossed my mind, since I hate Rimadyl as well.

I actually started him an a G/C supplement about a month ago, when I first started to notice his legs getting stiffer. I haven't noticed a difference, but I don't think it will do any harm. I wouldn't even know how to get ahold of my regular vet at the moment, their office just has a "we're closed for the holiday weekend, here's the phone number for the E-clinic" message.

I'm sorry that Jasper isn't feeling well and that you had a horrible experience at the E. clinic. You definitely need to complain to the owner of the E. clinic about the rudeness of the staff.

Did the E. clinic send Jasper home on any medications? If not, give him some Imodium which you can get OTC. The dosage is 0.05-0.1 mg/pound by mouth every 8 hours, but I would use it only twice daily, and only for 2 days in a row maximum.

Thank you Susan, I do feel a lot better knowing that liver failure is SO uncommon. I tried to do some research when he started getting sick and found some truly terrifying websites. This is my third crummy experience at that emergency clinic, so I'm definitely going to write in, and I'm going for a drive to find my preferred clinic's new location. He wasn't sent home with anything, so I'll pick him up some imodium today since he's still out of sorts. He did NOT wake me up to go out in the middle of the night though, which (I hope) is an improvement!

I am very sorry for your puppy and you and I hope you both get better as soon as possible

Thank you! I had to smile at your comment because I almost always call Jasper J-dog.

 

[Floof]

Aw, poor Jasper! I hope he starts feeling better for you ASAP.

Regarding the achy joints, I have a 12 year old boxer with bad arthritis in both back legs. We had her on Rimadyl and a glucosamine supplement from the vet long-term, starting from when she was about 4 years old (her arthritis came on early, with a vengeance, after surgery for a torn ligament, if I remember right) until she was about 10 and a half. What really helped with her was just switching her to a better food tailored to her needs, specifically Avoderm Senior. It's ridiculously high in glucosamine and chondroitin, and uses a natural source (chicken tendons) for it instead of an artificial one--from my understanding, this is the difference between 100% digestible and only about 50% digestible. She still gets flare-ups now and then, but she's honestly doing better now, after 6 months on the Avoderm, than she had been doing on long-term Rimadyl and prescription food from the vet (which is also nice because it means she's not shedding and itching and grouchy because of her corn allergies--first ingredient in Hills Prescription joint diet. )

I'm planning to try adding a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement called HipFlex pretty soon here, too, which is supposed to help a lot with the inflammation issue (the flare-ups). One of our more regular customers at the pet store has an old dog who was on daily Rimadyl to deal with severe arthritis, switched to this product, and reportedly has been able to cut Rimadyl out of the equation. Plus it's all natural, so you don't have to worry about some of the effects (rare or otherwise) Rimadyl will eventually have on the body. I have high hopes for this one with my Sammy girl.

Anyway, that's just my experience so far dealing with the dog's arthritis. I know it's kind of off-topic from the current concerns, but maybe it'll help a little with figuring out the arthritis/stiff joints issue once Jasper is feeling better.

 

[waldo]

Sorry your pup is sick, hope he makes a quick recovery. I had 2 puppies come down with parvo this summer, it was a miserable, expensive experience but they both survived.