Gastrointestinal Explosion!

[Guest gleigh78]

Hi, all! I was a member for a couple of years but drifted off, and had to re-register, so I'm officially a newbie again.

 

Our 7-year-old grey, Phineas, is having some major gastro issues today. We noticed he seemed a little weird yesterday, and this morning he was straining to do his business and not getting anything accomplished there. I just got home from work and there have been... shall we say... explosions all over the house. He seems to feel a little better now (he still won't eat but he did rub his face on my jeans in signature Finny style) and he's belching some.

 

How can I tell if there was blood in the diarrhea? Would it be obvious? What I just cleaned up is a dark brown/reddish color. Could that be blood, or is it normal? There were three piles of that, plus six or seven piles of foamy vomit. I tried offering him some bread but he won't eat even that -- and this is a grey with thyroid problems, so there is nothing he won't normally eat. Speaking of which, should I force him to take his thyroid pill or let it go till morning and try again? He did drink water, but he seems a little dehydrated anyway.

 

It's now been an hour and a half since I got home, and he seems ok, just depressed. I'm wondering if I should leave a message for the vet to come out first thing in the morning, or monitor him overnight and see if he gets better on his own. I have no idea what brought this on -- we have five dogs total, including three greys, and all the others are fine.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Guest EmilyandSioux]

It sounds like you need to go to the Emergency clinic. They can hime something to stop the vomiting. Alos, there is condition called bloat that can be fatal. It is rare in greys but needs to be checked out ASAP. He also could have something lodge in his GI tract. They can do x rays to find out. It could be something he ate. But I always say better safe than sorry. The healing process will be a lot easier than if you wat. I am not trying to scare you but I would atleat get a check for the night and then let your vet give you another opinion. It may be better if he apends the day at the vet while you are work it would put your mind at ease knowing someone is watching your baby. I was a vet tech for 20 years. I tent to be on the safe side.

[Sambuca]

Generally speaking, blood is easy to spot. If it's been an hour and a half since he's had any output, I would watch him carefully and see how he does. He's probably not eating because he feels sick. Is he comfortable lying down? If so, it's doubtful he has bloat. He probably ate something that bothered his belly or got a bit of a bug. 2 or 3 diarrhea accidents and vomit doesn't sound like an emergency situation to me. I would keep a close eye on him over the next day or so. If he doesn't get his appetite back by tomorrow or starts vomiting again, I'd bring him to the vet or e-vet.

[Guest gleigh78]

I gave him water in small increments, and he drank that and wanted more. Then he vomited it up. I was reading up on some of the bloat info, and I'm not sure that that's what this is -- we are hearing belly noises, he's successful with the vomiting and his belly isn't tight at all. He just really, really wants more water but we're afraid to give him much. Any other ideas on what it might be? I will call the e-vet to see what they think, too. We don't have an e-vet close by but we'll get him there if we need to. Thanks again.

[greyhead]

Wish I could offer you more than encouragement to go ahead and ask the evet what they think and proceed accordingly. It doesn't sound like a good thing, especially that he really wants water and can't keep it down. Hugs.

Edited April 27, 2010 by greyhead

[Guest gleigh78]

We're giving him smaller bits of water with longer intervals now. The person who answered the phone at the e-vet (would that be a tech?) said it's hard to tell but didn't think it was bloat. She did say he sounds dehydrated, which I was already pretty sure he is. I'm hopeful that giving him tiny bits of water will help. He's pacing a bit and belching a lot. He lays down willingly and hasn't turned to look at his belly or scratch it or anything. We think that if he vomits again, we'll take him in. Every time I've called an e-vet, they always want you to bring in the dog, whether or not they really need it, so I'm just hesitant to do it, especially since they're nearly an hour away and it's 1:15 in the morning! I asked her what we can do to help him here at home if we decide to wait till morning, and she couldn't tell me. She just said to bring him in.

 

Times like this, I miss living in the city where the e-vet was 10 minutes away!

[Guest gleigh78]

We're on our way to the vet. He just vomited foam again and there's some weird brownish stuff in it. Wish us luck!

[Guest gleigh78]

Finny is spending the night at the e-vet. I'm getting up in three hours to pick him up and transfer him to a regular vet, where he'll stay all day tomorrow and probably tomorrow night. He's on fluids to take care of the dehydration.

 

I can't remember the name of his illness, but it's a sort of gastro bug. There was blood in the vomit and stool. He still looks pretty good, considering, and the vet sounded confident that he'll be just fine. No idea what caused it but I'm nervous for our other dogs!

[robinw]

hope he feels better soon, keep us posted, ok?

[macoduck]

Better that it's a bug and not bloat.

They'll probably give him something to help coat and calm his intestines plus IV or subQ fluids.

Any idea what might have started this? Eat something odd? Get into any mischief? Drink out of any birdbaths?

[Guest gleigh78]

She ran some tests and his lipase (sp?) and another reading were elevated, indicating possible pancreatitis or hemorrhagic gastro(garble)itis. She said that either way, the treatment is the same. They're keeping him on an IV and a medicine to keep him from vomiting. There is still blood in his stool but there's been nothing to come out either end since the car ride to the e-vet. I just got home from taking him from the e-vet to a regular vet -- not our own, because she's in a mobile clinic and isn't set up for doggies with upset tummies. We'll call them this afternoon to find out if he can come home tonight or if we have to take him back to the e-vet for another overnighter. I am hoping and praying we can bring him home!

 

edited to add: Macoduck, we have no idea what he got into. The other four are fine. We don't feed any table food.

We do give them green beans with breakfast and half a slice of bread each with dinner, but we've been doing that for years. My husband checked the backyard this morning and didn't find anything weird like mushrooms. I wish I could figure out what caused it -- the last thing I need is for the other four to come down with the same thing!

Edited April 27, 2010 by gleigh78

[Guest zombrie]

The poor baby good thoughts your way for a quick recovery

[Guest mirthlesstroll]

I was going to vote for Hemmorragic Gastroenteritis - an inflamation of the lining of the digestive tract.

 

Can be caused by viral or bacterial infection, eating something irritating or that the dog is alergic to. The worst threat is dehydration - my Logan almost died when he got HGE. He made a full recovery (aside from a slightly sensitive tummy)I hope Phineas makes a full recovery, too.

[Guest gleigh78]

I was going to vote for Hemmorragic Gastroenteritis - an inflamation of the lining of the digestive tract.

 

You may be right -- our regular vet (the mobile clinic) has received faxes from the town vet and the e-vet, and she's leaning toward HGE. None of the vets are 100 percent sure of what it is!

 

Phineas is spending another night at the emergency vet for observation because none of the regular vets around here have someone on staff all night. He was going to get to come home tonight, but as I was on my way to pick him up at 4:30, the town vet called and said he had done great all day until just then when they took him outside to potty. More "projectile bloody diarrhea." So back to the e-vet he went for the night.

 

Hopefully he can come home tomorrow morning. I'm getting dizzy with all the different vets!

 

Thanks to everyone who urged us to take him to the e-vet immediately instead of waiting till morning. That could have had very bad consequences!

[Guest vahoundlover]

Gretchen, I'm just seeing this. Hope Finny is feeling MUCH better this morning and can come home today.

[Guest gleigh78]

Gretchen, I'm just seeing this. Hope Finny is feeling MUCH better this morning and can come home today.

Thanks, Hope! Finny's home and resting. He's clearly exhausted but his personality is coming back. He's on a canned diet that the vet sent home with us for a few days. After that I'm going to look into a more bland diet. A friend of mine whose dog had HGE a while back recommended Wellness. Not sure if I'll actually change him, or just cook rice more often and add that to his old food and see if it helps.

[greyhead]

So glad you took him to the e-vet! HGE is not trivial. Glad he's home and hope he continues to improve. Don't want to rain on the parade, but I think the course of HGE is not entirely smooth... But it's manageable with a bit of effort!

 

Hugs,

Mary

[Guest vahoundlover]

Glad he's home and starting to feel better! I don't know much about HGE other than it may take time for Finney to be able to eat a regular diet and for some it's a lifetime change. Keeping your fella in my thoughts.

[2ndChance]

Prayers for your Finny....I can only imagine the emotional rollercoaster you have been on.

 

Thinking of you and Finny

 

 

[Guest VaGreymom]

Hoping Finny is feeling better.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Glad he's home. I hope he starts to feel better.