IndyLouWho

We’re helping Indy cross the rainbow bridge today as she took a turn for the worse. Our hearts are absolutely broken. I didn’t think I would say those words for years. She’s been the absolute best dog and I’m having such a hard time. Please pray everything goes peaceful and smooth. Please pray our hearts are comforted.

Thank yall @LBass @MaryJane. We had an accident free night. Still had to go out twice in the middle of the night, but huge progress in that area. One step forward, about 5 steps backs.. ugh. My poor Indy girl. Her CUPS disease showed up with a vengeance this morning. Her little muzzle is all swelled up and it looks like a bee bit her. We can touch it, and she doesn’t act like it’s painful. I know this is making her uncomfortable. I hope it doesn’t turn into a huge ulcer. Can she catch a break? It’s sooo incredibly hard to watch her struggle. As soon as she starts to get over one hurdle, there’s another. I feel like my eyes are constantly filled with tears. She looks so defeated. The vet had us pick up some prednisone today to help with the inflammation. Still on Baytril. Going to pick up some Pepcid cause I know pred can do a number on the tummy. Poor baby still isn’t eating. Syringe feeding, but she’s losing a lot of weight. I’m so hoping the pred will help her have a little appetite. Still walking disoriented. But we have been taking her up and down our driveway 2-3 times a day. She does better on a leash with us walking beside her. After she first wakes up she is doing circles, but after she’s up and going she’ll walk in a fairly straight line.. just unsteady. So that’s my update for today. Side note - We are aware if what’s caused the seizures, stroke, behavioral changes, loss of appetite, lack of coordination etc. is a tumor, the pred will make it worse. We also know if it were a tumor that invaded the brain, what our option would be.

Just in case anyone is curious. Today’s update: Got lab results in. Bactrim was not the right antibiotic to be on for the UTI. Back on a longer round of Baytril. So that’s good news in the sense that she’s still been needing to pee very frequently, crazy amount of thirst, etc... We were scared if it was the right antibiotic, that her other issues were causing this unfortunate bout of incontinence. Bad in the sense that we wasted 5 days on the wrong one. Vet is hoping to see improvements between Wednesday - Friday in those areas. He said very much of her lack of appetite could be due to nausea / discomfort from UTI. Bactrim also is known to cause nausea. My vet said he & his wife were going over Indy’s symptoms, history, and records all weekend and researching. Out of all the vets I have been to, he seems the most sincere about caring. He feels confident she had a stroke following her seizure since it was such a quick onset of issues. He said he has seen plenty of patients get totally back to themselves within 4 months. It’s just a time will tell situation. He is believing these seizures & stroke were either due to the anesthesia she was under on surgery #2 & #3 (same kind used & she hasn’t been under that type before), or just the stress of it. As for Indy.. last night she peed 3 times and didn’t even try to get up. Just peed. And then she also kept walking around and pooped. Then walked around about another hour. I’m glad she pooped, but in the house at 3am wasn’t ideal. Luckily my husband quickly recognized the stance (he originally thought she was just pacing) and he caught it with a towel.. the vows for better or for worse apply with fur babies too haha! She’s been peeing outside this morning / afternoon (thank goodness). Her ears are definitely perkier today. Her eyes seem ever so slightly more focused and alert. Her legs aren’t shaking as bad when she’s squatting to pee. She’s still walking - wobbly & unsteady, but walking. Seems a little more intentional in where she’s going to rather than wandering aimlessly when she’s outside. Inside I really can’t make any rhyme or reason to where she’s going... other than when she goes to her water bowl. I think she’d drink non stop if we’d let her. Still totally, totally uninterested in food & syringe feeding. I sooooo hope we see some improvements in that area after this new antibiotic kicks in. Yall keep praying if you think of us!! Welp just had another accident.. we’ll be calling a carpet/rug/hardwood cleaner after all this is over with FOR SURE.

@MaryJane Okay that’s good to know. One week ago today. I am trying to stay positive and remind myself this takes time, but my heart is always feeling heavy regarding the “what ifs” and my mind just cannot quit running! Now that’s one thing I haven’t tried! I will pick some up tomorrow. I’m desperate and willing to try whatever! Besides having a toddler and Indy sick I’m used to some pretty raunchy smells haha!

Just want to keep the updates coming... only woke up twice last night too pee. But then it would take an hour+ for her to get settled. Today her ears are moving around which makes her seem more alert. They were pinned back non stop unless she would see a bird or track a frisbee. Her eyes feel like they are starting to focus more. I explained them before as it looked like the lights were on, but nobody’s home. I feel like I’m seeing a very, very dim light come on. This morning she was going in circles. My husband thinks it’s the worst when she’s been laying down for awhile. Really scared me. Still does. Later in the morning and this afternoon no circles.. thank goodness. Still wobbly - similar to yesterday. She licked her wet food a couple times. We didn’t push it so still syringe feeding. Still drinking lots of water. And lastly, still very much in need of prayers. I’ll do a daily update just in case anyone in the future finds themselves in this position.

@tbhounds The neurologist told us we could do a CT scan and that would possibly give us more information about the seizures, but it was having to put her under anesthesia again and we just feel like we cannot risk that right now. The last two times after she went under anesthesia we’ve had, obviously, bad experiences. The board certified dental specialist that did her last visit was aware I was concerned about a brain tumor possibly causing her previous seizures and the sneezing. He did xrays of her head from the very front to very back. I know that wouldn’t pick up all the details that a CT scan would though & I am aware we could be dealing with a much bigger issue. The positives since her last dental where they removed the root tip and got rid of the teeth that were aggravating CUPS are: she has had no sneezing, eye swelling gone, no third eyelid constantly visible, & before she would flinch and turn away if we’d even put a hand next to the side of her face, now she just blinks normally. Overall, today our little improvements are: she is laying down by herself (she was relying on help before), she did her big stretch on the floor where she pushes out, we have the water bowl on the floor & she’s drinking from it without it raised up at all, she’s panting much less, she’s acting like she wants to be more active (still very wobbly though). Do you think we’d be seeing any improvements if it were a tumor?

@LBass Thank you so much for the links! We have been in frequent communication with our vet and I definitely wouldn’t start/stop any medication or do anything drastic without the vet’s go ahead. There are things though like the ice cream , ice pack, dark room that I know won’t hurt. So ugh the stinkin’ tooth root! First vet was worried he left root tip behind cause she was acting in pain 2 weeks after her extractions. Second vet with X-ray said there was no tooth root, just another infected tooth so he removed it. Still acted like she was in pain.. then had her seizures. Got her to a specialist and there was a tooth root and CUPS. He got the tooth root removed + two additional teeth.. he said that would help with the CUPS. Her eye that was swelled up/having third eyelid show because of the root tip was back to normal and we could put our hand on that side of her face without her flinching. She would eat chicken and rice. Then another seizure!! Fix one problem just to get even more problems. Her last seizure was the shortest. But like I mentioned earlier we’re having the hardest time recovering. Whether it’s the seizure, the UTI, a possible stroke, stress, anesthesia is all up for debate. You’re so right, my poor girl has been put through the ringer. I just hope we start to see little improvements over the week. I know it won’t be night & day. I am so incredibly disappointed the lab results didn’t come in so we could at least get her on the right antibiotics for her UTI. It seems like it’s a touch better, but still having to take her out for sure at least every 2 hours. She’ll sometimes have an accident just laying down or while carrying her down the stairs. Then the antibiotics she’s on now make her nauseous. She’s tried to throw up the past couple mornings about an hour after taking them. We are syringe feeding her before we give them to her. I just think it makes her feel crummy. After she gags and gags, she’ll lay down as if she got some ease. Gosh it’s soooo hard to watch. Disorientation is still similar today. Any change in the ground throws her off balance. She’s very wobbly. She’ll run into furniture. But she is able to turn around on her own. First couple days she would walk into a wall and just stand there until we helped turn her around. She’s still drinking, not eating (hence the syringe). Really hoping we can help her get a little appetite where she’ll eat some on her own terms over the next week. Just keep prayers coming our way! We need them!

@MaryJaneAll great info. Thank you so much for taking the time to help me. You truly don’t understand how much I appreciate it. I asked the ER vet after her 2nd seizure (2 within 24 hours) to give me something that would stop them if they turned into cluster seizures or lasted over 5 minutes. But they told me they did not want to do that because they thought so much of it was related to the tramadol or stress of her surgery. I need to ask my regular vet Monday to see if he would be willing to give me a script for a worse case scenario. I would like to just have something on hand. The closest ER vet is 30 mins away. I can’t imagine trying to load her up if she’s seizing that bad! I gave her ice cream last time because @LBasstold me about that tip! I’ve received so much help on here. Thank you everyone!!

@macoduckI will mention that to my husband. He’s been with her 24/7 in our upstairs area because that is where she is most comfortable. Our almost 2 year old is so loud and noises are seeming like they stress her out. I have a video of the pre-ictal phase in the first seizure because I had no idea a seizure was about to start. I thought she was behaving crazy and I was trying to get my husband to see it. When she fell over and started foaming at the mouth, I realized what I was dealing with. We’ve been taking notes including the length. This last one on Sunday was a minute and a half including the pre-ictal phase. So by far the shortest of the 3. Similar pre-ictal phase (Biting air). Similar seizure (treading). Post-ictal was similar in the sense she was disoriented, panting, extreme hunger and thirst... but much different in the sense that after she initially ate, we cannot get her to eat without syringe feeding. She also is still disoriented/confused/dizzy acting. So that’s why vet mentioned she may have had a stroke. We do know we’re dealing with a UTI too. I’m bummed because I don’t think the results are going to come in today. I was so hoping we could either confirm she’s on the right antibiotic or get her on the right one over the weekend:(

@BatterseaBrindlThank you so much! We need both!

@MaryJane just saw your post about the UTI! Yes we had it sent overnight to a lab in Memphis. They will culture/do susceptibility testing to see what antibiotic will treat it. I wish that would have been done the first time. This whole thing is a huge learning experience.

@MaryJane If I could, I’d give you a hug right now! My husband and I had felt like seizures could take a little time to recover from. But the vets have told us within minutes-6 hours, if it were just a seizure, she’d be recovered. So we have just been at a loss. It’s so comforting to hear your experience and it puts my mind at a little ease in these tough times! Thank you!

Forgot to mention, I took a urine sample to our regular vet on Wednesday. There was bacteria. We started on Bactrim (used Baytril sp? last time when bacteria was found in urine). He was nervous about starting her on another medication, but we felt like we had to at least give something a shot because she couldn’t get any ease. Her whining and panting was nonstop for a few days. The labs we get back by Monday should tell us if Bactrim is the correct antibiotic to have her on.

So I thought I would post an update. Our sweet girl quit eating again after the Rimadyl wore off and her eye started swelling again. We took her back to the vet who did her last dental. I also needed a recheck of her urine because she had finished her antibiotics for her UTI. He came out within minutes of seeing her and said her muscles were deteriorating in her head and to get her to the neurologist for a consult that day. He refused the re-check of her urine because that was not a big issue compared to the neurological problem. I was devastated. He, nor the 2 ER vets, nor our regular vet had seen that. Get her to the neurologist and she checks out as just fine. No muscles deteriorating. I’m guessing the swelling of her eye just made him think that. Also... This was the vet that was supposed to remove the suspected root tip. Remember - he said there was no root tip, but another infected tooth that he removed. After neurologist appt, immediately call a dental specialist 2 hours away. We get her an appt 2 days later (last Friday). There WAS a root tip and CUPS. He did dental X-rays before & after to confirm root tip was gone. Her eye looks so much better. Sunday rolls around.. another seizure (#3 now). We were thinking it was the tramadol, but we totally avoided it this time. Gave her gabapentin for a few days after to try to possibly prevent another seizure / help with pain. She was totally disoriented and lethargic. Both specialist and regular vet said stop all meds. So we did. I had my regular vet compare anesthesia she was under during all procedures. Could be a coincidence, but the anesthesia was the exact same with the specialist and the previous vet when she had her seizures in the exact same timeframe. So where are we now? At a point where my heart feels like it’s in a million pieces. I thought she was dying this morning. She whimpered throughout the night and threw up. She is still so disoriented and dizzy acting. We are feeding her by syringe. She is having accidents. It’s awful. She is drinking. She can walk, though she’s very wobbly. She responds to her name. She can track a frisbee, bird, etc. Cannot walk up 2 steps, have to carry her. My husband took her to vet this morning. Vet said she is definitely not dying. He would in no way suggest putting her down right now (Obviously, great news) That the disorientation could be from her UTI, she could have had a stroke right after her last seizure. It’s just something where time will tell. Please just send up some prayers for my girl. Seeing her go through this tears me up. I don’t want her to suffer. She has been far too good to us to do that to her, but I also want to give her a chance if she’ll recover. Vet said if it’s UTI, once we get her on the right antibiotic (labs results should be in from Memphis either today or Monday) we should see improvement within a few days. If it’s a stroke he said 3-6 weeks for improvement, but up to 6 months to get back to her usual self. We’ve got a journey ahead of us and I just hope we’re on the right path.

@zimsmom Thank you! We’re so glad to have our happy girl acting like herself!