Last week, my little guy, Vinnie, woke up in the middle of the night and vomited repeatedly. He threw up bile all night long (foamy white/yellow substance, never any food). The next day, he would not eat all day long and was quiet, but alert and still would bark at people and do some of his usual stuff. He had a normal poopy. Despite not eating ALL DAY, he walked around and looked relatively ok, although I could tell he didn't feel well. The next couple of days were filled with intermittently wanting to eat, some more vomiting of foamy white bile, and one severe episode at the end of diarrhea that was the consistency and color of strawberry jelly followed by some really bad gas.
My vet ran a fecal test (came back negative for any parasites), a complete blood panel, and a series of abdominal x-rays. The x-rays showed that everything was ok, but the blood work was abnormal. His white cell count was elevated (neutrophils) and his blood sugar was low (61). The vet did another blood glucose test today and it came back at 63 (still low). Vinnie ate last night and this morning, a few hours before the second glucose test was done. He has been acting just like his normal self again, no vomiting and no diarrhea, resting comfortably in between all of this. He is alert, wants to go for walks, responds when I call him, and seems like himself.
The vet, however, is concerned that the low blood glucose levels are indicative of something else, either an insulinoma or Addison's disease (which would explain some of the tummy trouble). My gut tells me that there is nothing wrong with Vinnie, except maybe a small infection somewhere.
The vet has prescribed a course of de-wormer (he said that the fecal tests are not 100 percent accurate and often come back negative when a dog really has a parasite) and a course of antibiotics (Flagyl) just in case there is an intestinal infection.
I have not yet proceeded with the other series of blood work that would identify if he has an insulinoma or Addison's disease. I have a feeling that Vinnie has always had low blood sugar; in the past, when I was just feeding him once a day, he would have periods of acting sort of spacey and not right, symptoms that would resolve as soon as he ate something. He has never had a seizure, nor has he ever become unconscious. Also, twice during the tummy trouble this past week he went an ENTIRE DAY without eating and not once did he lose consciousness, have a seizure, or do anything that would make me believe that there was something terribly wrong with him. I feel that if he did in fact have an insulinoma, he would not be able to tolerate fasting for an entire day.
Is it possible that he has some insulinoma? Wouldn't the symptoms be more severe? I am terribly worried about him, but at the same time, I see him acting normally and really just don't think that there is anything wrong with him. I spend A LOT of time with him and know his personality very well.
My gut tells me this was just an intolerance to the food he had been eating. I had been feeding him Nature's Variety raw food (medallions and kibble) but when this episode started I took him off the food, just in case that was a source of trouble. He is now eating ground turkey or boiled chicken with rice or pasta, pumpkin, and a little hardboiled egg. He is eating normally and eagerly, just like he always does.
I would appreciate any thoughts or comments.
