Schatzi is supposed to go back today for her recheck and to get her stitches removed. No big deal there. However, she apparently reacted to the Previcox over the weekend and just can't get past it. I now know that some dogs don't handle anti-inflammatory meds well. Mine happens to be one of them. Schatzi did great those first few days. She was back to her old self on Saturday. I had kept her on soft food at first, thinking I might have to convince her to eat. I was wrong about that. She wanted to eat everything. When they vet's office called to check on her Friday, I commented that she was doing great, just wanting to eat all the time. They said it was the pain med. What I didn't realize until later, was the pain med made her want to eat just like when I take too much advil sometime I want to eat because it's easy to mistake that heartburn type feeling for hunger. I noticed that Schatzi had softer poop. Not unusual after surgery or with soft food. On Saturday night, I noticed some mucous and a little blood. Still thought it was because her system was out of whack. Sunday was a lot of blood and mucous. Luckily I had only given her 3 days of the Previcox and not 4. I started researching and found out this was a common reaction in some dogs. Some had actually gone into shock and died from it. We have had a bad experience with out emergency vet here and I wanted to avoid them if at all possible. I told Schatzi she had until 12 noon or she was going to have to go there (of course I prayed a whole lot, too). She finally stopped "running" and later that afternoon shows up in the kitchen hungry. I followed the rice and boiled chicken regimen, giving her very little. When she finally went again, there was only a small amount of blood. Monday was getting back to normal, but soft. I talked with the vets office. They said if she was getting back to normal, I could continue to watch her until today, but if I wanted to, I could bring her in. Yesterday, we had the first real normal poop in the afternoon (thank goodness for paper training-no yard searches). However, after that, the diarrhea started up and last night she was having a large amount of mucous and then some bright red blood. Late last night she once again threw up. She didn't go anymore last night and hasn't gone at all this morning (of course, since we are going to the vet in a few minutes). It would be nice if she would so I could give them a last minute update! She is hungry this morning, but I'm only letting her have the food for sensitive stomach and only a tablespoon or so of that. She seems well hydrated, which surprises me.
I really feel the bleeding has come from the Previcox, especially after what I have read. I wonder if the harder stool yesterday was enough to irritate an already inflamed colon and start it up again, especially since it was much brighter this time. I know that I will NEVER let her have it again and I pray we never have back trouble, for more reasons than one, now.
I think I'm most upset with the vet's office that they didn't warn me that this could happen with this medication. It would have been nice to know to look for it as a possible side effect. Of course, I also pray that the medication is all that is the problem and it's not a complication of the surgery.
Sooo, a few prayers will be appreciated as we go and find out what is going on.
Poor Schatzi... and poor mom.... Yes, absolutely they should have warned you of the side effects..... can they substitute something else? Rays on the way - please let us know as soon as you get back from the vet.
We are home and Schatzi should be fine. As of now there has been no more poops/bleeding since last night. One reason I wasn't told of the possibility of this happening with Previcox is that it is a rare side effect. Schatzi is the first case this vet has seen that it has happened with. Even when I looked online, it was mentioned as one that could happen with long-term use. She has seen a couple of cases like this with Rimadyl. One thing I did read was that Previcox had been introduced as an alternative to Rimadyl because it was less likely to cause bleeding. It just wasn't the case with Schatzi. Hopefully there will be no need for it in the future. Last night's episode was most likely from the intestines being irritated already and Schatzi getting back to a normal food regimen. The vomiting goes along with the diarrhea a lot, and also can act as the body's way to heal itself by slowing down the digestive system. She gave me the i/d food to use for a few days and some FortiFlora powder to add to the food to get the intestinal flora back to normal. I'm supposed to let them know in a couple of days if things aren't back to normal.
I was surprised to see Schatzi so happy to go back there. She wasn't very nervous at all. Considering all they did to her last week, I'm amazed.
One thing they did while she was there was take out a tooth. It seems Schatzi is going to be having a dental very soon. She would have had it done last week if I had thought it though completely. Originally it was my plan, and then I decided not to, then I realized just how stupid that decision was! In typical doxie fashion, Schatzi seems to have lousy teeth. One of them was really loose. The vet noticed how loose it was today when she was checking her gums to see how pink they were. She asked me if I wanted her to go ahead and get it out. She did it without a problem. The vet was surprised that Schatzi eats only hard food and not soft. We discussed the fact that doxies seem to have really bad teeth! Now I just have to figure out when to do the dental. I'll probably try to do it a couple of weeks after we move. What is really strange is one side of her mouth looks so much worse than the other.
Now that our adventurous morning is over and Schatzi has eaten, I'm going to go and decide which room I want to pack. There are just too many to choose from. It would be great to be able to twitch my nose and it all be done!
awwwwwwwwwwww. Poor little pooper (sorry) Praying that a medication change clears things up :comfort: for you both
Glad to hear that she is improving! :hello2:
Oh my oh my....I am soooo glad Schatzi is feeling much better....here's hoping that everything is now back to normal :xfinger: or will be shortly.......Comforting hugs to you both :comfort:
Goodness what a scare you've been through! I've never even heard of Previcox. But I know most of the pain meds have that potential, I was really concerned when Hallie was on pred as she has a sensitive tummy too but we got lucky and she did ok. I had no idea this could happen that long after the fact, of course you would think things were going well if she were hungry...I also didn't know slight heartburn would make you think you are hungry, lots of new info here thanks for sharing all this (for more things to worry about LOL). I''m SO glad she is doing better and will be fine.
Sorry about her little teeth too...it is so hard to keep these little mouths clean! I agree, doxies just seem to have difficult mouths for that. I was just talking to Delia last night about teeth and was saying my Dane was sososo easy to scrape and brush his teeth, those big loose lips just fold back and lay there and all his teeth were easily exposed. With our Hallie her lips are so tight it is hard to stretch them back far enough and keep them out of the way while I scrape her teeth.
Hugs to Schatzi and good luck with the packing!
So far, so good. She liked the i/d food (much better than Molly did when she had it a couple of years ago-of course Schatzi IS a doxie) and so far, no poops. Of course, now I may start worrying if she doesn't poop. With all she puked up last night, it may really take awhile before anything goes through again, especially if her system gets back to normal. She's seems to feel pretty good.
A little while ago I was cleaning up the telltale stains from where she just couldn't quite make it to the paper and Schatzi kept circling around me giving me the l@@k. It was like she knew she was somehow responsible for my work. Randy said she was probably debating whether to add to it!
I must say she has charmed them all at the vet's office. They all love her and think she's sweet and cute, which she is, of course! That's one way I like for her to be memorable.
So glad she is feeling better..... sending rays to be sure !!!! Will you be able to keep the same vet when you move?
Smoochies Schatzi !
YIKES! Scary. I'm glad she is doing better. Your poor girl has been thru the wringer!
Yes, we can keep the same one. She is only a few miles away from either place. We have had a hard time finding a vet for the girls. I really like the office for this one a lot and I feel good with her. When Schatzi has her dental, however, I will probably have the vet who is my patient do it. He specializes in animal dentistry, especially canine, and I would just feel really good with him doing it. I like him and we have used him before, but he just isn't convenient at all. I'm still trying to figure out how her teeth got so bad so fast! I can just hear Dr. Creel now, he will give me so much grief since I clean his teeth. I'm sure I'll get picked on about Schatzi's teeth, ie: "What, you don't floss her teeth every day when you do your own?". He is good at what he does, though, which is why I'll go to him. There is a slight possibility we would go to a vet that Randy took our first bulldog to. That was before we ever had a doxie. She is really close to where we will live and he has mentioned taking Molly there for her ears and her next checkup since this vet sees a lot of bulldogs. I may consider switching Schatzi, too, but I'll wait and see. I just like that Schatzi is comfortable where I'm taking her now. That says a lot to me, also.
Good vets are wonderful to find. I take Willy and Alex to a vet in Anchorage I have used for years. Thought of switching when I moved to Wasilla, 50 miles away, but then thought 'no way!' Dr. Scott Rapp is so good with the animals AND people. He lets me drop the boys off for the day when they need dentals or just a check-up. My work place is just 10 minutes away. Even after I retire, I will still make the trip to Anchorage when my dogs need care.
OMG! What a nightmare!!!! I, like DD, have never heard of Previcox. I've used Rimadyl with no problems, thank goodness. Is Previcox an antiimflamatory or a pain med? If it's an anti-inflamatory, I'm a little confused as to why she was on it. To keep her spay surgery pain down? I'm glad it all ended well. And here we were all telling you the worst part was taking her in to get spayed! You'll never believe us again! LOL!
OK...the dental. Genetics has to play a big role here. Gretchen has had her teeth cleaned twice since Ilsa, and she'll be getting her teeth done again next month. Ilsa's teeth still look better than Gretchie's. A couple years ago, we took them both in and the vet said she just scraped Ilsa's teeth. Ilsa let him do it without anesthesia and that was all she needed.
I'm with ya on which vet to use. Why is it the good vets are always a geographic inconvenience?!! We have one we use for big stuff and one we use for little stuff because she's closer. From what to feed to vet care, nothing is an easy decision with these little guys.
Previcox is an anti-inflammatory. It was given for the post-surgery pain, once a day for 4 days. They had told me I could stop after 3 if I thought she was okay, and since that was the day she decided she could flip over and get belly rubs again, I decided she was okay without it. It has been around a couple of years and is supposed to have less side effects than Rimadyl, especially with long-term use.
I agree with you on having a vet for major things and minor things. Sometimes I think I should take some time and go and interview different ones and find out who likes doxies the best! I would really like to find one here that I know would be great for Schatzi if she ever did show symptoms with her back-one who has treated doxies a lot and keeps up with the latest information on them. We used to have a dachshund meet-up group here, but it disbanded a while ago. I think they were trying to start back up and if they did, it would be a great place to find out what vets other dachshund owners in our area use.
I still can't get over her tooth being that loose. It seems as if they suddenly got really bad. I noticed a little while ago that they needed cleaning. Now they are really bad. I wouldn't want her to be one of my patients, I know that much, for sure!
It does seem, in Schatzi's case, that the spaying was the easy part. Hopefully she is over the worst of everything now. I do wish she would decide to poop sometime today (never thought I would be thinking that after the last few days of poop city here). It would be nice to know her system is functioning the way it is supposed to.
Thanks for all the help and concern here. It's one of the best places to go for reassurance and to find out a little more about this treasure of mine.
Forgot how old is Schatzi ? glad to hear she is doing better sometimes with diarrhea you can give plain canned Pumpkin also for the plain Yogurt helps too with tummy problems. Hope she is doing better now, did a dental on Patches at 2 years old you could see the plaque on her canine's now brush her teeth almost every day or every other day. Hard to get to the back teeth Patches also has tight lips trying to teach her to open her mouth not doing very well yet.
Papbouv
Schatzi is much better. Normal poop this morning!!! Now I'm hoping it stays that way for awhile. She loves the i/d food but I hope she doesn't think she's getting it forever! I'm off to work and it'll be nice not to worry all day today.
Oh thank goodness for the normal poop :headbang: Yea... :hello2: I was about ready to tell you about the vaseline and q-tip trick. It's great that she is back to normal this morning and you don't have to worry now while you are at work.... :apls: :apls: :xfinger: that she continues to do well from now on and no more worries for you. Please let us know how Schatzi is feeling tonight! Take care, Cheryl
That is great!! :thumb: So glad she is better and you won't have to worry all day. That is great news!
We finally had a normal day again. Such a nice thing. I was impressed that the vets office called to check on her this afternoon. I waited until I got home and made sure she didn't revert back to her earlier state before calling them and telling them she was doing fine. I could just imagine me calling them from work and telling them one thing, based on this morning's finding, and then having to call them back again. I decided waiting a few hours was better.
Randy was holding Schatzi last night and said to her "Schatzi, Mamma fusses when you poop everywhere and then she starts fussing when you don't poop. You just can't win. Isn't life just schitty sometimes?" :grin: