A Small (but Longish) Blitz Update

[dmswartzfager]

So the poor guy has had his front legs wrapped in bandages from his toes to just above his elbows since he got home, and he really hated them. I had to do his bandage change last night, but I wasn't able to get exactly the right supplies from my regular vet, but I thought I could improvise. I was less than pleased with my handiwork, and Blitz was less than pleased that we were making him stand so I could get his foot wrapped so the bottom would be flat, so I asked Brian to take him in to Dogs and Cats to have them do the bandage. I did leave my bandage on overnight, but I cut it off this morning before I left because I was a little embarassed. Blitz was not at all happy that I was messing with him again, and for more than a few minutes - he was okay while I did the first leg, but I had just barely started on his other leg when he came 'round and bit my wrist (one slight skin break, otherwise bruised). Poor guy - he's so tired of being poked and prodded and pilled....

 

Anyway, DH took him in this afternoon and they thought he looked great and did not reapply the bandages. He does have some swelling around his "ankles" and some places are on the red side, but he definitely looks a lot better than when I gave him a good look last night. Most of the redness in his chest is gone, and the only major bruising and really red areas are on the inside of his groin.

 

He has been started on a low dose of prenisone for his IBD, and we are definitely seeing increased urination, and with urgency. Either he hasn't moved fast enough or my husband hasn't moved fast enough several times now. Once we have a final diagnosis, I'm going to be having a long talk with Dr. Patty. This pred dose is less than what he "should" have for the IBD and I don't like that we have to get him outside that fast. Some of it I think is just because his other medication is knocking him out and he may not realize he needs to go until it's very urgent, but if he's doing this on a LOW dose.... Anyway, I really think I should try putting him back on what he was eating this summer and seeing if we can skip the pred.

 

His appetite has been pretty good, but heavens, is he picky. He won't eat cat food or baby food, just cooked chicken (and mashed potatoes). We do need to get weight back on him, but we were able to get almost 7 pounds on him in about a week after he was in the hospital for his vomiting, so I am sure we'll manage and he'll start feeling stronger again.

 

Still no final biopsy results.

 

I really hope this all ends up being "worth it." Now that things have slowed down and I'm not quite as scared as I was, I can't help but wonder if we did the right thing to put him through the surgery. Then again, there was a mass on the ultrasound, and the surgeon did find some funny things going on with his liver.... They just said, this is our next course of action, and since Dr. Patty trusts them, and I trust Dr. Patty....

 

*sigh* It's late and I'm tired and it's my turn to sleep by the back door tonight so we can try to get him out before he urinates, so I guess I'd better get my bed set up.

[Guest LindsaySF]

[Greytlady94]

[Guest PiagetsMom]

I'll say it again - he's so lucky to have you and Brian!

 

Hang in there!

[Batmom]

FWIW, the "I gotta go!" pred effect wore off for B after @ 10 days? or maybe a bit less. During that time I just took him out every 2 hours whether he asked to go or not. He could make it @ 6 hours overnight. Once his system got used to it he had to go out maybe just slightly more often than normal, and without the urgency.

 

Sending hugs for you and DH and your boy. Hope your wrist isn't too sore.

[nyGreys]

:grouphug

[Guest ss556]

Continued prayers and hugs for Blitz.

[Burpdog]

[lothianjavert]

:grouphug I'm glad to hear that he's feeling better than that the swelling is down!!!

 

So sorry about the reaction to the pred... though I can certainly understand... I am WAY tired of having to get up 8 or 9 times per night to pee. :blink: Poor guy, I know how he feels with that!! It can be hateful stuff, but it can also be a lifesaver. Hopefully he doesn't need it for long, and things smooth out.

 

Don't feel guilty about the surgery. You did the best you could with the information at hand. That's all anyone can do-- there isn't a right or wrong decision there, you went for surgery with the best interests of Blitz in mind, thinking that there was a mass, something that really needed to be taken care of.

[Guest Tenderhearts]

 

:grouphug

[turbotaina]

Still sending happy, healing thoughts to Blitz and you! Regarding surgery, wasn't his spleen in the wrong position? So you got that fixed, plus biopsies (which hopefully will all turn out OK), so I think it was worth it. No sense in second guessing yourself - it's done. Take good care.

 

How are YOU, btw?

[Guest bowiebears]

Deanna!

 

Prayers and good thoughts continue from us.

Chicken and mashed potatoes sounds wonderful: I'd refuse other food if you offered me that!

 

Hope Blitz will heal well and quickly.

Sorry to hear of your wrist injury.

 

All the best,

Isaac (& Jeff, with Dowland & Azalea)

[dmswartzfager]

How are YOU, btw?

 

Tired, worn out from the stress of the past month, thoroughly bummed that we can't be in Dewey, especially with the non-rainy weather (but not holding it against Blitz in any way, it just is, and we'd cancel Dewey for any of our hounds if we thought it was in their best interests). Glad that I am taking these days off from school so I can relax a little and get caught up with grading for my AP class and also taking some time to plan the rest of this unit so I can catch the kids up and explain things I wasn't able to explain because I was out last Wednesday and am out three days in a row now.

 

Am starting to seriously consider taking the whole crew over to Dewey just for the day on Saturday and sitting on the beach and relaxing. I think Blitz is feeling well enough to handle it, especially if he'll ride in Frazzle's cart, which I think he will. I'll talk to Brian about it tonight. I'm also about to leave to run some errands and Blitz is coming for the ride since one of my stops is our regular vet to pick up some more Tramadol for Blitz. I'll see how he does with the ride and visiting at the vet and ask Dr. Patty what she thinks about my idea after she sees him.

 

The only time I notice my wrist is when I'm using the touchpad on my laptop and have the worst of the bruising sitting on the edge of the laptop. I iced it immediately yesterday and took some pain/anti-inflammatory medicine yesterday as well.

 

Gotta run so I can catch Dr. Patty before she leaves for lunch.

 

[dmswartzfager]

Am starting to seriously consider taking the whole crew over to Dewey just for the day on Saturday and sitting on the beach and relaxing. I think Blitz is feeling well enough to handle it, especially if he'll ride in Frazzle's cart, which I think he will. I'll talk to Brian about it tonight. I'm also about to leave to run some errands and Blitz is coming for the ride since one of my stops is our regular vet to pick up some more Tramadol for Blitz. I'll see how he does with the ride and visiting at the vet and ask Dr. Patty what she thinks about my idea after she sees him.

 

No Dewey - Dr. Patty thinks it would be too stressful. Oh well.

[Guest greytmonty]

Try to take care of yourself over the long weekend. Sushi is wonderful for both you and Blitz!

[turbotaina]

Am starting to seriously consider taking the whole crew over to Dewey just for the day on Saturday and sitting on the beach and relaxing. I think Blitz is feeling well enough to handle it, especially if he'll ride in Frazzle's cart, which I think he will. I'll talk to Brian about it tonight. I'm also about to leave to run some errands and Blitz is coming for the ride since one of my stops is our regular vet to pick up some more Tramadol for Blitz. I'll see how he does with the ride and visiting at the vet and ask Dr. Patty what she thinks about my idea after she sees him.

 

No Dewey - Dr. Patty thinks it would be too stressful. Oh well.

 

Bummer. But, it's a good opportunity for you to rest up and just hang out

[turbotaina]

Checking in on Blitz - any updates?

[Guest bcswartzfager]

Checking in on Blitz - any updates?

 

It's Deanna, posting under Brian's login/computer (my laptop broke and it's in the repair shop - good thing I bought the extended warranty...).

 

Tomorrow is Blitz's follow up appt, he may get his staples out, and the referral vets will share their plan of action with Brian (I have to work).

 

He has not put on much weight (and had lost a lot to start with), but Dr. Alison, the acupuncture vet, said that most of his calories have been going towards healing rather than putting on weight, which makes sense. I finally weighed him on Monday and weighed him again today, and he did gain 0.6 pounds.

 

We think he may be sensitive to chicken and are switching him to a hydrolyzed protein diet (Hill's Z/D) at least until we get his IBD under control. Dr. Alison suggested having him on the Z/D for about 12 weeks before trying to switch him to something else - adding one thing at a time back in until we can pinpoint what he can and cannot tolerate.

 

His appetite is great, and he hasn't been too picky, thank heavens. Not a fan of pumpkin though....

 

What has been worrying me, and the reason why I think he's sensitive to chicken, is that his stool has been getting increasingly liquid - the same thing happened in between his initial episode and the surgery - stool would be okay for a day or two, then go downhill. He has been "off" chicken since Sunday evening, and I *think* his stool may be getting better. Certainly he is not going out for a bowel movement as frequently as he was Sunday/Monday, and his flatulence has *greatly* decreased since cutting out the chicken.

 

I did peek at what the referral vets sent to Dr. Patty about the beginnings of their plan - they will be reducing his prednisone dose and switching him to another drug as he is still urinating quite frequently, albeit without the urgency we saw the first few days. Still, one of us sleeps out in the living room with him to make sure he goes outside as needed, especially for a BM. I discovered last night that he will let himself out the dog door to urinate, but he really prefers to do the BM in the "big yard" which means we have to open the sliding glass door for him. So we sleep with him and keep the noisiest tags we can find on him so we know when he gets up.

 

Dr. Alison will be meeting Blitz next week to determine if there is anything holistic that we can do to help him get back on an even keel.

 

So that's what I know right now.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Thanks for the update.

 

Maybe he is sensitive to the chicken. Hopefully he will continue to improve being off the chicken.

 

If his liquid stool continues you may ask the vet to culture it for bacteria. I can't remember if it was mentioned, did they give him antibiotics or Flagyl for the diarrhea?

[turbotaina]

Deanna - you can try metamucil powder on his food if he won't eat pumpkin. Dr. Kellogg recommended it for dogs that have chronic soft stool.

 

Keep us posted!

[dmswartzfager]

Thanks for the update.

 

Maybe he is sensitive to the chicken. Hopefully he will continue to improve being off the chicken.

 

If his liquid stool continues you may ask the vet to culture it for bacteria. I can't remember if it was mentioned, did they give him antibiotics or Flagyl for the diarrhea?

 

He just finished Baytril yesterday and is on cephalexin (though the cephalexin was more to prevent a skin infection when his legs were so swollen) for a few more days. He was on Flagyl for a little bit, but I can't remember when. They did stop some medications he was on when it looked like he was having a drug reaction right after surgery; the Flagyl might've been one of the things. I have been speaking to Dr. Patty (and I hope Brian brought it up in today's appointment with the surgeon) about the loose stool and since it seems to be getting a little better, she's not too concerned yet. Certainly if it continues despite these adjustments, I will be banging on some vet's door with a stool sample in hand Dr. Patty also suggested sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin.

 

He refuses to go towards the treatment room at my regular vet, despite the fact that none of the bad things happened there, so I had to leave him up front at the receptionists' desk when I stopped by yesterday to pick up Wren from her blood donation. Four different female staff members were totally loving on him, and he was soaking it all up. The receptionist had to turn away from him to help a client and he stuck his nose under her armpit and pawed at her.

 

Anyway, I need to start packing up here at school so I can get to work at the vet's office on time....

[Guest LindsaySF]

The receptionist had to turn away from him to help a client and he stuck his nose under her armpit and pawed at her.

Awwww.

 

 

You can try giving Benefiber powder too. It is tasteless and odorless, and dissolves easily in water or wet food. My vet said that Metamucil powder may be "gritty", but I haven't tried it so I can't say for sure.

[Guest bowiebears]

Here's hoping his good progress continues.

 

FWIW,

Dowland and all his co-dogs (including Azalea) have not been very chicken-tolerant.

 

Still keeping you all in thought & prayer!

 

--isaac et al.

[Guest Pinky]

Good thoughts coming for you and Blitz.

[Guest vahoundlover]

Keeping Blitz in my prayers.