How long would you wait before calling the vet?
Someone threw up last night while we were sleeping. Given his extra cuddlyness last night and his recent history, I'm going to guess it was Ein.
Ein did NOT throw up for the vet when he was there overnight a few weeks ago, despite being given prescription wet food, so the vet opted not to do xrays or a barium study. He didn't want us to have to pay for it if he didn't think it was necessary, and since Ein kept his wet food down, it wasn't necessary.
Instead, the vet was going to have us switch Ein to Purina's sensitive stomach prescription food until he found out that I had already bought Purina's over the counter sensitive stomach food. The ONLY things Ein has eaten in the past 36 hours are that food and 1/2 of a Nutro Sensitive Stomach forumla biscuit.
So my question is, when does the barium study become necessary? How long should I observe Ein at home and put him on a rice/boiled chicken diet before taking him back in? There's no sense in me paying another $330 for them to run bloodwork, give fluids and observe him overnight again if they aren't going to do anything different from last time. Yet at the same time, if the barium study ISN'T necessary, I am glad the vet hasn't done it because we can't afford to pay for anything unncessary. I think the worst part is knowing that we're already spent $1000 and haven't solved the problem. Even though I know that Ein needed the fluids, I can't help but feel like the $1000 we already spent was "unneccsary" since we haven't solved the issue.
I don't know for sure that it's Ein that threw up. I'm just thinking worst case scenario so that I can get mentally prepared for the possibility of further treatment. So if it turns out that it IS Ein, how long should I wait before calling the vet for a price quote on the barium study and insist that it be done?
Lucas' mom (retired groomer, has worked for vets as well as private practice) also told me about some type of syndrom - I can't remember the name of it, but it's something about the dog's intestines folding over on themselves and causing problems. She said there's no test for it and can only be diagnosed through exploratory surgery. Has anyone heard of this and know how common it is?
Ein did NOT throw up for the vet when he was there overnight a few weeks ago, despite being given prescription wet food, so the vet opted not to do xrays or a barium study. He didn't want us to have to pay for it if he didn't think it was necessary, and since Ein kept his wet food down, it wasn't necessary.
Instead, the vet was going to have us switch Ein to Purina's sensitive stomach prescription food until he found out that I had already bought Purina's over the counter sensitive stomach food. The ONLY things Ein has eaten in the past 36 hours are that food and 1/2 of a Nutro Sensitive Stomach forumla biscuit.
So my question is, when does the barium study become necessary? How long should I observe Ein at home and put him on a rice/boiled chicken diet before taking him back in? There's no sense in me paying another $330 for them to run bloodwork, give fluids and observe him overnight again if they aren't going to do anything different from last time. Yet at the same time, if the barium study ISN'T necessary, I am glad the vet hasn't done it because we can't afford to pay for anything unncessary. I think the worst part is knowing that we're already spent $1000 and haven't solved the problem. Even though I know that Ein needed the fluids, I can't help but feel like the $1000 we already spent was "unneccsary" since we haven't solved the issue.
I don't know for sure that it's Ein that threw up. I'm just thinking worst case scenario so that I can get mentally prepared for the possibility of further treatment. So if it turns out that it IS Ein, how long should I wait before calling the vet for a price quote on the barium study and insist that it be done?
Lucas' mom (retired groomer, has worked for vets as well as private practice) also told me about some type of syndrom - I can't remember the name of it, but it's something about the dog's intestines folding over on themselves and causing problems. She said there's no test for it and can only be diagnosed through exploratory surgery. Has anyone heard of this and know how common it is?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Nicole on
-
Another thought:
How much of a difference in digestibility is there between can food and dry kibble? Would switching Ein to the Pro Plan sensitive stomach canned food be any different than using the dry kibble of the same formula? Other than price and not being as good for his teeth.
-
Permalink Reply by Sam on
-
Sadly different medical conditions can have many of the same symptoms. With chronic problems I think it is best to keep a journal. This helps you and the veterinarian see if there is some sort of a pattern or cycle. If he is on a special diet you may find that you need to eliminate ALL treats as this adds a variable to the diet. Vomiting bile occasionally is not usually cause for concern. If it becomes frequent then it is time to investigate.
Sorry you feel the $1,000 was unneccesary. While it didnt "cure" the problem it did stabilize a dog that was obviously dehydrated and got him past the crisis. Sadly some digestive issues require quite a bit of investigation to find the cause. I know, it has taken me over a year to help one of my boys regain a normal digestive process.
May be time to have a heart to heart talk with your vet, let him know of your limited finances and make a plan. If this does become a chronic issue you may have no other choice. You may also consider an appointment with a canine GI specialist. While they are more expensive they often have the knowledge to find a cause quickly.
Good luck in finding the cause. Digestive issues can be most difficult to diagnose.
-
Permalink Reply by Carol Braitman on
-
Hi Nicole,
Oh geez, just when you think you get things sorted out...first, what was in the vomit? Was it solid food, or fluid? Mucus? A barium study is done to diagnose the motility of the intestines, how well food and fluids move through the intestines. It can also show any blockages, or lesions in the intestines. If Ein is throwing up solid food, I'm sure they would wonder if there is a blockage of some sort. If it is fluid or mucus, and he's having a normal bowel movement, then he's not obstructed, but throwing up stomach contents. Again, I'm not a vet, but if he only threw up the one time, and it wasn't the solid food he's eaten hours ago, I'd make the chicken and rice, cottage cheese etc, and start over again. You could also try some yogurt and see if it helps calm his stomach. Sometimes when the normal flora is disrupted, too much acid can occur, and upset the stomach.
The intestinal condition is called volulus, and it is when the intestine telescopes back on to itself. This would be a life threatining situation, and he would be very sick. Probaly not able to get up off the floor. Hope this helps! Carol
-
-
Carole, thanks for the info on volulus. My biggest fear for him is an obstruction or something else requiring surgery, so it is good to know that we don't have to worry about volulus right now. Not only because of finances but because I know that surgery would require a long and probably uncomfortable recovery for my sweet boy.
Sam, you're right that the money spent was worth it for the fluids because he probably needed them. It just seems like so much to spend to not have an answer, if that makes sense.
As for his vomitting, what we found this morning was what we usually find the first time he throws up. Brownish gunk about the consistancy of very thin oatmeal. Both times he was sick, this was what came out first when he vomitted. Then, both previous times, he would throw up any food that was fed within about an hour of eating (both times we weren't aware that he was the one that threw up. Just like this morning, I didn't see it unti after I fed him breakfast). When he throws up after eating, most of the food is still whole and undigested. Usually when he throws up like this, he also throws up watery liquid that takes several papertowels to sop up (bile?). Both previous times, we withheld food after this and he would throw up water shortly after drinking it.
As for BM, the first time, he had stopped going #2 and did not start again until about 24-36 hours after leaving the Emergency hospital. The second time, we took him to the vet the morning after he started throwing up again, so I didn't really give him time to see if was going to have bowel problems or not. I was so worried because we didn't do the exploratory surgery that I wanted to get him in right away. However, the vet also sent us home with meds for diahrrea and said that the fecal sample suggested loose stool. This time (if it is him that is sick), he had a very tiny BM this morning. TMI, but it seemed like he was having trouble getting it to come out and when he did go, it was a very small amount.
I had some of his medicines left that the vet gave us leftover (for vomitting) so I gave that to him this morning. I guess we'll see when I get home from work if he kept his breakfast down.
Ein is a little pig and always gulps his food down, which has me really worried about a blockage from food or bloat problems. Since I got paid yesterday, I went ahead and ordered a Brake-Fast bowl for him. I checked at petsmart when I bought his proplan and they didn't carry it. http://www.brake-fast.net/
-
-
Also, because I forgot: the Nutro sensitive stomach forumla is chicken and oatmeal versus the fish protein in the proplan. He's only had a 1/2 biscuit a handful of times, but I wonder if the chicken may be a problem for him (chicken was in his beneful, too). It could also be the fish, though he's been on this exact food before with no problems.
Once he is better, I need to do a few weeks on just the salmon and see if not having the chicken & oatmeal biscuits helps. If it doesn't, I'll try another sensitive stomach formula. I've seen some with catfish instead of salmon, plus there are also other premium foods that are more "exotic" than nutro and pro plan that have formulas like duck & potato that we can try.
I am going to hunt for a spiral notebook in my closet tonight so that I can keep a journal of what time he eats and any stomach or bowel problems.
-
-
It was definitely Ein, and he threw up in three different spots while we were at work. Some of it was still whole pieces of undigested kibble, with a pool of "water" and some of it looked like what he threw up this morning. No BM this evening yet.
I left a voicemail for the vet telling him that changing Ein's food hasn't helped. He has office hours until 8, so I might hear from him tonight, but most likely not until tomorrow.
-
-
I will keep you in my thoughts Nicole. I know the frustration....however my guy had issues more from the other end. We went through it for over a year before we got it under control. Amazingly even at this time we are still not sure the "exact" cause and because we seem to have it under control I do not wish to take away one of the variables. We did bloodwork, stool samples,different medications, different foods, home cooked foods, supplements etc. We have been good for a bit over a month now and I am crossing my fingers that we continue.
-
-
I'm glad that your little fellow is doing better. I can understand not wanting to make any changes just for the sake of figuring out which thing is what is helping. I just want Ein to be happy and healthy, even if we don't figure our what it is.
Good news is that he still wants to drink water so hopefully we don't have to worry about dehydration quite as much. I had some cans of the rx bland diet left, too. We'll see if he keeps that done while waiting for the vet to call us tomorrow.
-
-
Friday morning update:
Ein did keep down the 2 tablespoons of canned bland diet that I fed him last night, so I went ahead and gave him about 1/4 cup for breakfast. He's still eating like a little pig (so normal), so he's still doing better than the first time he got sick. No BM since the tiny one yesterday morning before I left for work.
I'm going to be leaving in a few minutes so I won't know if he keeps his breakfast down until I get home from work this evening. I admit, I'm starting to wonder if the vet had the right idea about suggesting the dry version of this food for Ein's regular diet. I wanted to try the Pro Plan first since it's about $9 per 8 lb bag versus $20 for the same size bag of the prescription food, but I would certainly prefer buying the pricy food over surgery because it would be so much easier on Ein if he doesn't need surgery.
Just in case, does anyone know if there are any online sources to purchase prescription diets (with a vet's prescription)? I've gotten meds (heartguard, interceptor) through DrsFosterSmith with a written script from the vet, so I know that you can get meds online, but not sure about the foods. I just checked the cans we have left and it's Purina EN. I'll have to do a google search on it when I get a chance and see if I can find anything.
-
Permalink Reply by Greg Zaffuto on
-
Glad Ein seems to be doing better this morning. As long as he doesn't dehydrate, he can probably pull thru this again as he did before when he stayed overnite at the vet's under observation. Let me know tonite how my grandpup is doing when you get home. Nick seems to be doing well after his first heartworm treatment yesterday. He seemed pretty much normal other than tired and a little clingy (he probably didn't sleep or go to the bathroom when they kept him overnite). He ate well last nite and a little bit this morning. I gave him the steroid medication this morning that he is on for the next 15 days, and he went into the kennel without a problem when I left for work. Greg Z
-
-
I'm so glad that Nick's first treatment went well! My mom was asking how he was doing, so I'll be sure to let her know that he did okay for the first run.
I did some looking up on the EN food. The bagged(6 pounds, not 8 like I thought) and canned have completely different ingredients, so I'm really not sure if he'd do as well on the dry as on the canned.
First 5 ingredients of the canned:
Water sufficient for processing, beef, brewers rice, egg product, coconut oil
First 5 ingredients of the dry:
Brewers rice, corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, chicken meal, coconut oil,
no corn in the canned, plus a different meat source. I guess we'll see what the vet says.
Rescue Store
Stay Connected
FDA Recall
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Recall
Groups
We support...
Badge
© 2024 Created by Sam Tsang.
Powered by
