relief for upset tummy?

[Wandering Man]

PD, our tweenie, hurt his back, and we've started him on steroids. Yesterday he got an injection and was put on prednisone and pain pills that the vet assured us were compatible with the prednisone.

He seems to be doing better with the pain and walking.

The problem is, he has a sensitive stomach.

He wouldn't eat all day and didn't drink water until 4 this morning. This morning he's still not touching his food, although I did entice him with a bit of donut (his first ever), which helped to get the prednisone down.

We've offered yogurt, but he turns his nose up to that.

Its a bit of a quandry. I want him to take his meds and I know that the meds need to be taken with food because they upset his stomach, but I can't get him to eat because of his upset stomach.

Any ideas of what we can give PD to help his stomach feel better?

 

[Inkeri]

I usually cook them rice and chicken for a few days and give that with sour milk. We also have some meds, Aptus digestion and Inupekt forte. I don't know if you have those where you live, but they both work well. Good luck, I think his stomach will get used to the meds in a while, but it's not easy to try to make dachsie eat...

 

[Wandering Man]

Last night PD was still not eating or drinking anything. I put an I-dropper full of water in his mouth, and he immediately threw up.

We decided to wait unitl this morning, and not give any more medication to see if things got better.

This morning I put him in front of the water bowl, and a his food. He turned his nose up at it. I placed my finger in the water and rubbed his lips, and he again threw up.

I took him to the vet's this morning and left him, so they could start him on fluids and do some blood work.

The vet says he did not have a back problem. He has pancreatitis, which is also causing liver and kidney problems. They will keep him at the vet's over the weekend and run fluids through him via the IV.

The hospital we took him too on July 4 made the same assumption we did, that he has back problems because he is a dachshund, and no one looked any further. The meds likely exacerbated (but did not cause) his problems.

The vet is cautiously optimistic, even though on paper PD is a very sick dog.

This is just too soon after losing Henry ...

 

[Inkeri]

Oh no!! I'm so sorry to hear that. I hope he gets well soon!!
Take care and keep us posted.

 

[DonRamon]

Hope he gets better soon.

 

[natural curl]

Yes, please keep us posted! This a valuable less for us all, not to make assumptions just becase it's a doxie. Did anyone tell you what causes pancreatits? How to keep it from coming back?
I know what you mean, that it's too much after losing Henry. But PD is a lucky guy, having you care so much.

 

[Wandering Man]

The vet walked me slowly through the blood test results he gave, and of course I remember very little.

What I remember is that the pancreasitis seemed to be the strart of a lot of bad things. The enzymes released went to work on the gut, and then the kidneys, and then the liver. He was basically digesting himself.

He said this kind of thing most often happens with over-weight dogs who eat a lot of table scraps. PD is not overweight, and he rarely gets "people food." So the cause is really unknown.

One of the webvet sites said that a typical symptom is for the dog to hunch up. Looked a lot like back pain to us .

My best guess is this may be a residual from a previous poisoning. He had a Sago Palm seed when he was about one. We almost lost him then. They warned us then that there could be permanent liver damage. But six years seems like a long time to go before something suddenly pops up.

The vet should give me a report sometime tomorrow, and I will pass it along. Thanks for your concern.

 

[Wandering Man]

The vet says he is doing much better today. He has a smile on his face and is running around the clinic marking everything.

He's not yet out of the woods, and they are keeping him on IV fluids until tomorrow. They will try him on solid food tomorrow.

The vet said he's a complicated dog, and really making them work for their money. According to the bloodwork, he should be dead.

Still, we are encouraged.

 

[Wandering Man]

He's Home!

He's looking really thin, and is tired, but the reunion at the Vet's office was great.

Possible liver damage. Possible kidney damage. Inflamed pancreas. The put him on lots of IV fluids. He was better on Saturday. The vet said he had a little bit of a set-back yesterday, but seemed to be better today. He wanted to try sending him home to see if that helps.

PD has been thoroughly inspected by Frank, and seems to have met with his approval, although PD does not seem quite so appreciative of Frank's inspection.

Both are currentlly asleep on the couch.

Very little food to be given today, make sure he drinks lots of water, and meds for his liver and anti-bacterial to prevent infection.

No fatty foods ever again, including peanut butter (difficult not to do, our #1 choice for pills, peanuts ), or any kind of table scraps (not difficult to do, a rarity at our house).

He's a little miracle dog. He survived eating a Sago Palm seed when one, and now has survived this at almost age 8.

Oh yeah, in the future, if he acts like he is hurt, we are NOT to assume that it is his back!

We are happy, but cautious.

 

[Inkeri]

I'm so glad to hear he's doing better!!! I bet being at home is good medicine for him also. He truly is a miracle dog!

 

[Kitaku]

aww im glad to hear he's home