Tahoe: Rough Night (Colitis/IBS?)

[DesertChildAZ]

Yesterday was a very rough night for us. I wasn't really even sure Tahoe would make it through the night. On Monday, Tahoe started having trouble pooping. He had just finished his medication for diarrhea and vomiting he started having two weeks ago. At that time, the doctor had done a fecal and said he had massive amounts of bacteria in his stool and they put him on antibiotics. He seemed to improve with the antibiotics, until we finished them and it started right back up. He started having diarrhea and then on Monday night he started vomiting, but I think the vomiting was related to him eating the grass to sooth his stomach because each episode resulted in a watery foamy vomit with a blade of grass in it. He also seemed to be struggling to get air on two different occassions and his breathing was labored when sleeping. And he kept having episodes where he sounded like he was coughing or clearing his throat.

When he stopped eating on Tuesday night, we thought we'd give it a day and let his colon clean out to see if it helped. Wednesday, he was still drinking a ton of water but refused to eat. I woke up Thursday morning and he had defacated in my bed (pure liquid though, nothing solid or even soft...pure liquid). And, what more, he didn't seem to even realize he did it. (Johnny Cash jumped off the bed as soon as he did it and that's how I woke up.) He has never done anything in our bed. We brought him in Thursday morning to the vet. They did xrays on his chest and abdomen and saw nothing unusual but sent it to the radiologist for a second opinion. The second opinion won't be back until Wednesday! Anyway, they decided to put him on the novel protein diet for colitis, give him sulfasalazine (90mg - 2 to 3 times per day) and a cough medicine (hydrocodon) for his throat issues. he also gave me Cimetidine (I think), an anti-vomiting medication. They said he had not pooped all day so they didn't get a sample and gave me a container to obtain a sample and return to them.

Last night when I picked him up from the vet and brought him home, Jason and I worked together to give him the sulfasalazine by putting it on my finger and forcing it onto his tongue. Afterwards, he went to sleep on the couch but his breathing was very very labored and I saw that he was shaking. After a few minutes, Jason found droplets of poop beside him but it almost looked like blood. We couldn't be sure. So we brought him outside to poop and it was raining (in AZ, we wait months for it to rain and the one day it rains, I can't have it raining. Tahoe didn't seem to want to go out in it.) He obviously had to go. He was shaking and I could see his but curling or hunching like he needed to go, but for some reason, he wasn't going. I wasn't sure if he was trying NOT to go. I was trying to get a sample, but he simply wouldn't go despite his whole body making every effort. Finally, Jason and I decided that I would have to put on latex gloves and try to help get it out. As soon as I put my finger in there, brown liquid shot out like a cannon. Naturally, you can't get a sample of liquid shooting out horizontally at great speeds. I got nothing more than drippings.

I took him to the bathtub and cleaned him off. (He was a MESS.) I put him in a towel and rocked him and sang him his special song and he seemed to calm. His shaking stopped completely. He seemed to be relieved once we got that build up of liquid out of him. He slept without laboring and rasping or shaking. He seemed better. After a while, he seemed almost too calm....he wouldn't lift his head...when I touched his paws (usually he pulls them away instantly), he let me hold his paws in my hand - even squeeze them. Very, very odd. When I pet him, I got no reactions...no skin reflex...nothing. If his stomach wasn't moving, I would have thought he was dead. He was like this all night. When I lifted him, all his limbs just fell.

He did, however, drink water from a syringe and he ate the equivalent of a size of a quarter of soft venison this morning. He was reacting to stimuli (pulling his paws away, etc.) and even walked around the house, albeit slow, a bit.

I explained the events of last night to the vet and he asked Jason to bring Tahoe in for IV fluids today and to monitor him. Tomorrow is the start of Memorial Weekend and the vet is closed until Tuesday. I'm terrified that we'll need vet care this weekend and the emergency clinic nearby is one I despise (because they, who are both a vet office/emergency clinic, suggested putting my cat to sleep once over the phone because, at that time I had no money to treat her mystery disease after having just spent $1200 there on Tahoe's pancreatitis diagnosis and treatment).

Has anyone's dog been treated for colitis or Irritable Bowel Syndrome and, if so, did they see similar immediate reaction as I have noted in Tahoe above?

What if he's having a bad reaction to the medication? How would I know?

~ Kelly

[Juliealfies mum]

Sorry that Tahoe is having such a bad time. He may just have a really bad case of gastro enteritis. Sometimes antibiotics also upset the good bacteria as well as the bad that is in their tummy.
Try doing a search on gastro problems on here assome good you might get advice.

[DesertChildAZ]

Thanks for the idea, I will research that online as well.

Jason just called and said Tahoe seemed to have more energy this morning when he took him to the vet for his day of IV fluids. Tahoe stood in the car during the whole ride (yesterday he just laid limp, which is odd for him...we can never get him to sit or lay in the car) and Jason said that when he got out of the car, Tahoe seemed to want to JUMP in Jason's arms and that he was panting, which is more than I've seen him do in two days.

Jason talked to the vet and insisted that the vet "go in" and check Tahoe's colon. He advised the vet that when we were finally able to release his fluid-like stool last night that it shot out like it was stuck behind a blockage and noted that I felt something foreign during the process - although it could have been a bone of his body for all I know...I don't get around to sticking my finger in asses very often, so what do I know? They are going to recheck his colon as well.

~ Kelly

[Juliealfies mum]

Hope everything goes well today and wish Tahoe a speedy recovery.

[TLC]

Oh my, poor Tahoe. I hate when they aren't feeling so well.

TJ has IBD - when he was younger he would have these horrible episodes. These noises would come from him and I swear it was a monster inside him. He WOULD NOT eat during the episodes, and he would at some point during the day poop out pure mucus globs, orange in color. As time when on, he would have pure liquid poops too and sometimes vomit

We did fecals and nothing. We try flagyl and nothing. We tried a limited protein diet (duck and potato) and nothing. We did a complete blood panel and everything was fine except his folate levels that were sky high. The Vet could venture to say he has an overgrowth of bacteria in his intestines.

He would up giving me some Tylan Powder, which may or may not work, but it is given to dogs with colitis issues and seems to help. And it did, not over night, but in time it controlled and then stopped his episodes. TJ was on it for about a year and we were able to take him off. Tylan is very safe for dogs and even if they have to be on it forever, its ok.

Keep us posted - Tahoe is in my prayers