Need Some Help With Hge

[Guest AKJZD]

Hello, Some of you who read this will remember I posted on another HGE (hemorrhagic gastroenterisis) topic about a week ago. My greyhound Jake was diagnosed with HGE two weeks ago. He spent for days in the hospital (emergency clinic then transferred to our vet). He came home on a Wednesday, and after a few days appeared to be regaining strength and personality. We went for a follow-up with the vet that next Monday, and Jake was found to be doing very well. Normal activity could resume, we could work on adding kibble back into special canned food, and medications were to stop two days later (one week after "hospital" discharge).

 

Jake has been doing well for the most part. But, we had a bit of a scare this weekend - Sunday morning about 4 AM he woke us up vomiting, and Sunday afternoon around 1:00 PM he had another loose stool. We called our vet (yup, at home) and explained the situation. She said we should not be too concerned, since he was still active and we had found some grass in the vomit. She said to keep him away from grass, return to only the specialty canned food and call her if he got worse. Well, the symptoms stopped and he had several normal stools with no vomiting. This evening he had another loose stool.

 

So, I guess what I am looking for is some help on the normal progression of recovery for HGE. Is it usual to see some relapses along the way? Is it possible that this has been misdiagnosed? A fecal smear was done at the emergency vet and it was found negative for parasites, but should this maybe be repeated at my vet? Obviously I am beyond worried, this has been going on for several weeks now and I am ready for my pup to be happy and healthy again! He is still eating and has some periods of playfulness, so that is keeping me optimistic. Any advice would be welcomed!

[TheFullHouse]

My Emmy had a bout with HGE. She spent 3 days at the vets but when she came home she was still on antibiotics so we had no recurrance of any kind.

 

 

edited to add: Emmy's was caused by eating pooh and grass in the yard. When she came home I put a muzzle with a stool guard on it so she couldn't snack any more.

Edited May 29, 2007 by JillysFullHouse

[Burpdog]

Email Ohio State

 

Consult: greyosu@osu.edu

 

Sending prayers!

[Guest LynnM]

HGE isn't so much a particular diagnosis as it is a catchall for the oh-so-lovely event of bloody, blowout diarrhea. It can be caused by anything from bad food to worms to Parvo.

 

For the typical non-specific "bug", once the dog receives treatment, he rebounds pretty quickly. If he's fasted, he probably won't have a bowel movement for a day or two (he's pretty empty by this point). Once he's hydrated, his appetite will come around and you can start feeding. Start with a small meal at first. A little looseness on the first bowel movement is fine.

 

Diarrhea two weeks later is probably caused by something else, unless the dog was somehow able to get reinfected (cross contamination of feed, bedding, stepping in another dog's diarrhea.... whatever). I don't know what the endemic parasite population is in NY, but here in FL, parasites are a CONSTANT issue. It could also be something as trivial as a change of routine or he ate a little bit too much or not enough. No telling. One loose stool isn't a big deal. Even all-out diarrhea, as long as there's no vomiting, isn't a huge deal in an otherwise healthy dog and will generally clear on its own. There are a ton of things that can cause it.

 

Lynn

[Guest JillT]

Did they send Jake home with any kind of medication? Both of my hounds have had HGE (at different times)--IV fluids, antibiotics, electrolytes, etc. at the e-vet overnight/the next day, then followed by a course of Metronidazole twice a day at home for a week. We fed a special bland diet for several days and gradually re-introduced normal food. Neither had any relapses, though it did take at least a week until I could tell they felt almost back to normal. My vet did specifically mention that I needed to be careful not to let them eat grass or anything else outside, and to finish the whole course of Metronidazole. Both of my hounds seem prone to gastric problems, and I have found the Metronidazole to work wonders for them when needed--if Jake was not sent home with at least several days' worth of this, it might be something to discuss with your vet. Hope he's feeling better soon!

[Guest AKJZD]

Thank you all for your responses. Yes, Jake was sent home with one week's worth of Metronidazol which we completed. Today he was started back on that and an anti-diarrhea tablet, and he seems to be feeling lots better already. It is just so scary to have him so sick for over two weeks now (off and on). Hopefully it will be all up from here!

[Batmom]

FWIW, the few times I've had a genuinely sick dog (tho not HGE), I've kept up the metronidazol and the bland diet for 2-3 weeks after all symptoms resolve. No real scientific reason, just seemed the thing to do and vet at the time concurred.

 

Hope your pup continues to improve with no further setbacks.

[Guest Winterwish]

Sending get well wishes to Jake. Hopefully the medication and feeding regimen he's on will soon have his system back to normal.

 

My grey had an episode of HGE too and it was very scarey to see. When we got home,he did have I think it was 2 episodes of vomiting,but on the same day. Sometimes things go the one step forward,two steps back route unfortunately.

 

Having him on the metronidizol longer may have been the ticket to getting better more completely.

I'm not sure why many vets prescribe it for a week,but it always seems like more then that is needed to really get a pup better.

HGE is serious,and can become extremely serious,and you're taking greyt care of your boy Jake!