Need Help Quick! E Vet Worthy?

[a_daerr]

Out of nowhere, Henry started limping today on his front leg. Upon further look, I noticed that the wrist (at the joint) was very swollen. At this point, he's not putting ANY weight on it and yelping out in pain whenever he tries to move it. I've been putting an ice pack on it, alternating every 30 minutes or so. He's tolerating that well. I also wrapped it in an ace bandage to provide some pressure. He seems okay otherwise, gums are pink. A little bit of panting off and on, as he's clearly in pain. I'm using a towel under his belly to help him get around. I can get him into the vet's first thing tomorrow morning, but I feel so terrible that he's in pain. Is this e-vet worthy?

 

Also, I don't have any pain meds at home. I'm reluctant to give him anything that hasn't been okayed by the doctor due to his seizures.

[o_rooly]

I would e-vet, for Henry's comfort, and peace of mind at the very least.

Edit to add: The yelping is what makes the difference for me -- Aston's very stoic, so if he started crying over something I'd take him in. Not sure if Henry's a talker in general.

Edited June 30, 2013 by o_rooly

[Guest lanielovesgreys]

Would that type of stress trigger a seizure? If the panting is continuous I'd take him in. But we all have different thresholds for these types of things. Oh, and it's time to start saving a pain pill or two every now and again for times like this.

 

Signed,

antibiotic and pain pill hoarder

[Batmom]

E-vet.

 

Hope it's just a really bad bruise, but severe swelling and/or no weight on leg = e-vet visit.

[EnzaFerrari]

I'd take him in - swelling, no weight, and yelping would mean I take in my girl.

[PatricksMom]

I'd take him in for pain relief, if nothing else. Hopping for the best.

[Guest RMarie]

Poor Henry! He's pretty stoic, right? It's easier to dismiss such things with James because he's such a baby, but Henry seems tougher than most. If he's in that much pain and won't bear weight, I understand why you're considering the e-vet. Being this late on the weekend, though, I also see the struggle between taking him in and paying a butt load of money vs. waiting until tomorrow to see the regular vet. Have you seen any improvements? Was he running around and fell down?

[a_daerr]

He's improved a good bit in the last few hours. No more panting or yelping. I gave him two of his Xanax, which won't do anything for the pain, but has managed to calm him down significantly. Now he's quietly lying next to me on the couch. I already called off work for tomorrow so I can take him to the vet's when they open. I think he's going to be alright for tonight, but we're ready to take him to the e-vet if he starts backsliding. My heart really hurts for my boy.

Was he running around and fell down?

 

No idea how it happened... Sometimes they go outside and run around, then they fly up the stairs. That's my best guess.

I just looked over, and he's roaching now. That's promising.

[Guest RMarie]

 

I just looked over, and he's roaching now. That's promising.

Hahaha, he's keeping it elevated, duh!

[duncan41]

How is Henry?

[Charlies_Dad]

Hope Henry is going okay and vet appointment went well. Good thoughts for your boy.

[a_daerr]

Just got back from the vet with Henry. They took x-rays, and thank God, nothing was broken or fractured. The vet diagnosed it as a soft tissue injury, but admitted it was really bad. It's likely a tendon or ligament issue. She said that when she was looking at the x-rays, she was amazed it wasn't a break because he was clearly in an excruciating amount of pain. I think the process of getting him up into the car and being handled in the office put him over the edge. They actually gave him a pain/sedative shot in the lobby because he was panting hard and was also really twitchy and whiny. I insisted they give him the meds ASAP because I didn't want him having a seizure from the pain. That knocked him out right away (his tongue was fully hanging out of his mouth). Then they also gave him a shot of Rimadyl (for the swelling) and a Tramadol pill, so he seems much more comfortable now. It's going to take a long time for the injury to heal though- anywhere from 3-6 weeks. He has to be on pain meds and anti-inflammatories during that time. No stairs. Very limited activity. It looks like I'm going to be taking a little vacation from work so I can monitor him and help get him outside to the bathroom. It sucks that he has to be so doped up, but at least his pain is under control. Also, I'm very glad I decided not to go to the e-vet last night. The visit cost over $400, so I can only imagine how much they would've charged.

[carronstar]

I hope Henry feels better soon.

[Neighsayer]

Good news that it isn't a fracture. Hope he feels better soon.

[a_daerr]

We're not out of the woods yet. Yesterday, the leg didn't look right to me. The swelling migrated from just the joint to the entire lower leg/paw area. Took him back to the vet's yesterday. Looks like a secondary infection. Either that, or it was some sort of bite or sting all along. He got two shots of ABX, and we also went home with Baytril and Amoxicillin.

[Guest Davros]

poor guy : ( hope he heals up again quickly!

 

i can only speak from human perspective as i've never had a dog badly bitten by a bug, but there's been times when i've had a bad bite and swelling that has started lower down on the limb has been quite painful and migrated, to the point that the intial bite site is back to 'normal' and the big lump is entirely further up the limb...

[a_daerr]

Update: After starting the antibiotics, we saw no improvement by the next day. If anything, the swelling was even worse and continued to migrate away from the site of the injury. He was also refusing food and water. Our vet recommended that we take him to the e-vet yesterday, which turned into a 7.5 hour marathon event. They aspirated the joint, ran a CBC and TBD panel, and adjusted some of the medications. As it turns out, the joint is now septic. When she did the aspirate, they couldn't even draw it back in the needle because it was a thick pus. The 'swelling' in the lower part of his paw actually wasn't swelling at all- it's edema. The e-vet is recommending a very aggressive antibiotic treatment for at least a month. If that doesn't work, we'll need to bring him back in to have the tissue debrided. Henry continues to be very 'out of it' but stable and in good spirits.

 

At this point, I'm really considering the possibility of a spider bite. While I was waiting, I researched 'spiders native to western PA' and came up with a very thorough study by Penn State. I found one whose bite very closely matches Henry's symptoms.

 

The long-legged sac spider: These two spiders probably account for a significant number of human bites. People usually incur C. inclu- sum bites outdoors while gardening in the summer. C. mildei will readily bite, despite their small size, and they have been observed crawling across the human skin surface and biting without provocation. Although most of these bites are painful at the outset, they normally do not result in any serious medical conditions. For C. inclusum victims and some individuals sensi- tive to C. mildei, the bites will exhibit the symptoms described below... The bite is usually very painful and burning at the outset, with developing erythema, edema, and intense itching. The burning sensation associated with the bite will last for an hour or more, and a rash and blistering will occur during the next ten hours. Some patients may exhibit systemic reactions with fever, malaise, muscle cramps, and nausea. These symptoms are similar to black widow bite symptoms but are much less severe.

Edited July 4, 2013 by a_daerr

[Yamaha_gurl]

Omg...how awful, hoping for a quick recovery! You'd think spider bites wouldn't be as common in Pennsylvanian.

[macoduck]

Here's a link to Harold's spider bite: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/293032-spider-bite/?hl=harold&do=findComment&comment=5391023 Is this similar to what you saw in Henry?

[Guest Gemma]

Oh, poor boy! Keeping him in my thoughts and hoping the new antibiotics kick in soon.

[MaryJane]

I'm sorry to hear that he is not better. I might suggest thinking back to what Henry was doing for the hour before the swelling occurred. While it is starting to sound more like a spider bite, I wouldn't discount a snake bite at this point (although it is unlikely) . Have they been able to shave the fur and look for any bite marks?

[Remolacha]

Poor Henry, that sounds painful! I hope the ABX knock it out, and the pain meds keep him comfortable.

[a_daerr]

Here's a link to Harold's spider bite: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/293032-spider-bite/?hl=harold&do=findComment&comment=5391023 Is this similar to what you saw in Henry?

YEP!! Almost exactly, even down to the same spot on his leg.

[PatricksMom]

How awful, hoping that the new antibotics help Henry feel better soon. What a nasty spider

[a_daerr]

 

Here's Hen's swollen leg. It looks a little better today, but Ducky, you can see how similar it looks to Harold's.

Edited July 5, 2013 by a_daerr