Post by Heather (& KC) on Nov 16, 2015 6:40:12 GMT -5
Hello all! Some of you may have seen on Facebook that Bruce got really sick a few weeks ago and ended up in the hospital on IV fluids. I wanted to document it here because it was so helpful for me to go back years and find information and reassurance that it was possible to beat this. So, here it goes...
October 17/18 he had diarrhea and wasn't himself. The next day he didn't eat as fast as usual. He ate, but being the crazy greyhound parents we are, we were concerned. He vomitted his whole dinner up about 4 hours after eating. I took him to the vet right away. I guess a little trigger happy from most people's perspective but based on our experience with Mr Max, we did and it was a good call.
The vet put him on the metronidazole and gave him a shot to settle GI. The metronidazole also has a general antiB but not strong. Then he peed himself in the night on the Tuesday night. He wasn't eating. I took him back and they ran a urinalysis and bloodwork. His temperature was normal. That was Wednesday. Thursday morning the vet called and asked me to bring him in. They needed to put him on IV fluids and begin the antibiotics via drip. Kidney and liver enzymes were high for a greyhound. We brought him home for the weekend as he'd get more care at home. The dripping incontinence continued and I lined their pillows with puppy pads and one of us slept on the couch. We took him out every 2 hours and he'd have a full pee. He was drinking lots so wasn't dehydrating.
We were able to get him eating chicken. We tried all sorts of things but found chicken. He seemed to have difficulty swallowing. Chicken was not balanced nutrition, but food. All the while he'd been incontinent for a week and drinking a lot. He was down 6 lbs. Monday night I was able to get him to eat a small kibble. It's the size of rabbit dodo. We ran the bloodwork again Thursday, a week after the IV fluids. He screamed like he was being tortured. It was horrible. Anyways, the kidneys are back to normal (except for one which isn't that wasn't bad for greyhound values). Creatinine normal, electrolytes normal. Liver still elevated but down 40-50%. We were given a liver supplement and are to retest in 2 weeks. We added a probiotic to help with the stool consistency. If the incontinence continued she'll run a culture but can't until the antibiotics are more out of his system. His energy was coming back and we were starting to see glimmers of our little clown.
The following Thursday we did a urinalysis and culture. He had finally stopped the dripping the day before but we went forward anyways. It came back clear and the blood work at the 2 week mark showed normal kidney and all but one normal liver enzyme (the one that causes jaundice). He had gained a couple of pounds back. We are continuing with the liver supplement. He's back to his normal self, still eating small kibble but we're beginning to transition him back.
Anyways, long story but I wanted to document as it was very scary and we believe the fast action by the vet helped him turn the corner more quickly than if we'd waited a few more days.
October 17/18 he had diarrhea and wasn't himself. The next day he didn't eat as fast as usual. He ate, but being the crazy greyhound parents we are, we were concerned. He vomitted his whole dinner up about 4 hours after eating. I took him to the vet right away. I guess a little trigger happy from most people's perspective but based on our experience with Mr Max, we did and it was a good call.
The vet put him on the metronidazole and gave him a shot to settle GI. The metronidazole also has a general antiB but not strong. Then he peed himself in the night on the Tuesday night. He wasn't eating. I took him back and they ran a urinalysis and bloodwork. His temperature was normal. That was Wednesday. Thursday morning the vet called and asked me to bring him in. They needed to put him on IV fluids and begin the antibiotics via drip. Kidney and liver enzymes were high for a greyhound. We brought him home for the weekend as he'd get more care at home. The dripping incontinence continued and I lined their pillows with puppy pads and one of us slept on the couch. We took him out every 2 hours and he'd have a full pee. He was drinking lots so wasn't dehydrating.
We were able to get him eating chicken. We tried all sorts of things but found chicken. He seemed to have difficulty swallowing. Chicken was not balanced nutrition, but food. All the while he'd been incontinent for a week and drinking a lot. He was down 6 lbs. Monday night I was able to get him to eat a small kibble. It's the size of rabbit dodo. We ran the bloodwork again Thursday, a week after the IV fluids. He screamed like he was being tortured. It was horrible. Anyways, the kidneys are back to normal (except for one which isn't that wasn't bad for greyhound values). Creatinine normal, electrolytes normal. Liver still elevated but down 40-50%. We were given a liver supplement and are to retest in 2 weeks. We added a probiotic to help with the stool consistency. If the incontinence continued she'll run a culture but can't until the antibiotics are more out of his system. His energy was coming back and we were starting to see glimmers of our little clown.
The following Thursday we did a urinalysis and culture. He had finally stopped the dripping the day before but we went forward anyways. It came back clear and the blood work at the 2 week mark showed normal kidney and all but one normal liver enzyme (the one that causes jaundice). He had gained a couple of pounds back. We are continuing with the liver supplement. He's back to his normal self, still eating small kibble but we're beginning to transition him back.
Anyways, long story but I wanted to document as it was very scary and we believe the fast action by the vet helped him turn the corner more quickly than if we'd waited a few more days.