Katie is in the hospital! Vomiting, Diarrhea, Dehydration

[katie's_mommy]

Hi, I can't remember if I've ever posted here at YT but I have been a member since getting my sweet baby 2 1/2 years ago. She is a little pistol and always full of energy, so when she became sick this past Sunday it really had me worried. She threw up a bunch of food Sunday afternoon. Her tummy was very tender and she couldn't lay and get comfortable. She was restless from her discomfort. She drank quite a bit of water throughout the day and then started throwing that up. I took her to the ER Vet and her xray and blood tests came back fine. I was about to bring her home when she got explosive diarrhea. It was brown and gritty. Then it turned to brown water and just dribbled out of her. They had to keep her overnight and giver her an IV because she was so dehydrated. The next morning (monday) she was transferred to her regular vet where she stayed all day and had more IV and a barium xray. That turned up fine. She came home for the night and then went back in on Tuesday morning because she needed more IV. Tuesday they fed her Science Diet ID (bland canned food) and kept her on IV. She did great and was feeling good to be released from the hospital. All was good until 3:30am this morning (Wednesday) when she needed out to go potty and she had diarrhea. When we came back in the house she drank a bunch of water. I fell asleep and sometime in the next couple hours she threw up a bunch of water with some food in it. At 8am she drank more water and had more vomiting. She refused her food at this point so I took her back to the doctor. They did IV and an ultrasound. The vet said she has a lot of water in her belly and her system doesn't seem to be moving it anywhere. So she is overnight again at the hospital on a therapy to help her get her digestive tract going and tummy to process everything through. They also ran blood tests and urine analysis on her including a check for Pancreatitis and they are also concerned about Inflammatory Bowel Disease. They get the results back tomorrow. They said too it could just be a virus too but I'm not sure what is causing her system to not work. Her poor little belly I am so worried about my baby. She is so precious to me and I just feel like this is dragging out forever. If anyone has any thoughts and experience with something like this please me know. Thanks for listening.

[Wylie's Mom]

So sorry you're going through all of this, what a nightmare! I'm a little suspicious of sudden IBD since she's 2.5 yrs old, but it can happen. What were you feeding before all of this happened on Sunday? Had she been outside alone where she could've ingested something? Any new treats? Any toys that are chewed up where she could've gotten a piece in her belly? Has the lawn been sprayed? I'm just trying to think of any trigger that may have brought this on.

The blood work should be helpful. I can't think of why her tummy would not be emptying into her small intestine, this is concerning. But, delayed emptying could occur if there is something happening farther down - in the intestines. It's just so hard to say. Maybe her body is getting rid of something that she shouldn't have ingested.

I'm sending good thoughts your way - and I'm hoping for good news tomorrow. I know how scary this stuff can be - but know that we're pullin' for your baby.

[stovesj]

I'm so sorry you and your baby are going though this. I agree with Ann to be a detective and consider all possibilites of what she may have gotten into, if anything. Hope all goes well and your little furbaby recovers soon. My thoughts are with you.

[Beabble]

I'm really sorry to hear your lil one is going through this, I hope the tests they've ran gives some results to show what's going on. I'm wondering if it's the food she's eating? She was fine on the food they gave her at the vet? When you brought her home, did you put her back on her regular food she normally gets? What kind of food does she normally eat? Years back before I researched dog foods, I had given one of our furbabies the frozen Bill Jac dog food. She did fine on it until that one time. She got so sick, vomiting everywhere, had the runs very badly, I thought for sure we were going to lose her. Here come to find out, the Bill Jac I had just opened was no good!! I wonder if the dog food she eats may have went bad or if it was a bad batch? Hopefully the docs find the answers and she'll be ok and back to herself in no time. My thoughts and prayers are with you and Katie.

[Sempai-mj]

Sounds like HGE, our Maya just went through that, 4 days at the vet and she's 2 -1/2 yrs old also. Here's a write-up, I hope she get better fast.

HGE or HEMORRHAGIC GASTROENTERITIS**--- is particularly dangerous to the toy and smaller breed dogs, although dogs of all ages and breeds can be affected by it. Fever is not usually present in HGE. Signs of HGE usually begin with a very sudden onset of acute vomiting, anorexia, followed by severe bloody diarrhea, dehydration and depression, They progress rapidly, become severe within hours ( usually 8 to 12). The blood may be bright red (fresh blood) or dark (digested blood).

The symptoms start with vomiting, lethargy, refusing to eat, and progress to mucous covered stools, loose stools, severe diarrhea and bloody diarrhea. Dogs affected by this condition get very sick, very fast. Any kind of bacterial diarrhea can quickly dehydrate a dog, and the tinies are at greater risk, as they have little weight to lose before they are dehydrated and need IV rehydration.

Your dog can get infected anywhere. Then it can be from 2-10 days after exposure, that your dog can come down with this problem. Just as there are no specific tests for HGE, there is no established cause for the illness.

HGE is most common in toy and miniature breeds of dogs, ages 2 to 4, but can affect any breed, gender and age. The blood count of affected dogs is frequently characterized by an elevated red blood cell count. Most normal dogs have red blood cell counts of 37-55%, while dogs with HGE may have red blood cell counts well above 60%. The elevated red blood cell count provides the veterinarian with an important clue that the dog may have HGE.


At present, the exact cause of this disease is unknown. There are many theories -- diet, a bacterial infection or bacterial toxin, virus, reaction to an intestinal parasite, etc. -- but nothing has been proven. Stress may play a role in the development of HGE. Dogs that have an episode of HGE may be prone to another occurrence. Many dogs never experience HGE.

The main treatment for HGE is intravenous fluid replacement to restore hydration. If intravenous fluid therapy is not given, the dog's red blood count will continue to elevate due to dehydration. Eventually, the blood may become so thick that the flow through the blood vessels gets very slow. If this happens it is possible for the dog to get a potentially fatal clotting disorder called, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Once this happens, it is often irreversible and may result in death for the animal. In some cases it is necessary to give plasma to correct loss of protein and antibiotics to combat the suspected Clostridium infection, or blood transfusions may be needed if blood loss is severe.. In a few dogs, it is necessary to give fast acting cortisones to counter shock, which is a problem due to the very rapid onset of dehydration in dogs with HGE. It is generally necessary to totally restrict oral food and water for one or two days when treating this problem. This makes hospitalization necessary for several days for most dogs with HGE. Relatively large doses of fluids are usually needed to replace fluids lost into the intestinal tract and to reverse shock, if present. Fluids are continued as long as the diarrhea persists. Antibiotics are used because many times bacteria may be a causing factor. Most animals with HGE recover fully with prompt treatment. Recurrences are possible, but they are not common.

[DonBiLe]

I just went through the whole scene with Molly. It took over 3 weeks for her system to settle down. I went through all the blood work and medications they told me to give her. After all that I took matters in my own hands. I gave her immodium for 3 days and kept her on as little food as possible.
Till I saw her BM were getting back to normal. She had it really bad I had to contain her because it leaked out constantly. Now she is as good as new. My belief is that she can not have table food ....only dog food. She is too tiny to digest human food....

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Sempai-mj

HGE or HEMORRHAGIC GASTROENTERITIS**--- is particularly dangerous to the toy and smaller breed dogs, although dogs of all ages and breeds can be affected by it. Fever is not usually present in HGE. Signs of HGE usually begin with a very sudden onset of acute vomiting, anorexia, followed by severe bloody diarrhea, dehydration and depression, They progress rapidly, become severe within hours ( usually 8 to 12). The blood may be bright red (fresh blood) or dark (digested blood).

The symptoms start with vomiting, lethargy, refusing to eat, and progress to mucous covered stools, loose stools, severe diarrhea and bloody diarrhea. Dogs affected by this condition get very sick, very fast. Any kind of bacterial diarrhea can quickly dehydrate a dog, and the tinies are at greater risk, as they have little weight to lose before they are dehydrated and need IV rehydration......

Your whole post was really informative, thank you! I hope your baby is getting better and better - please keep up posted.

[Patti]

I am so sorry, I will keep her in my prayers. Cali was at the vets for a very similar episode yesterday. They did xrays and bloodwork. He gave her 2 shots and 2 medicines and she hasn't thrown up or had diahrrea since yesterday, but she is lethargic. My vet said their were a lot of bugs going around. Hopefully both of our babies will get better soon.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by DonBiLe

My belief is that she can not have table food ....only dog food. She is too tiny to digest human food....

Hi and WELCOME!

Dog food is "human food" - it's just human food processed to death, with a bunch of additives and preservatives thrown in. Giving "table food" however, can be dangerous bc it usually has all kinds of spices/flavors that *we* like, but are not appropriate for our doggies. Real food is best for dogs, but just needs to be fed properly. Glad your baby is feeling better, that must've been scary!

[Jody Renfroe]

I will keep this little one in my prayers. I'm so sorry that the both of you are having to go through this. Hopefully, the vet will have some answers soon.

[katie's_mommy]

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH - YOU ARE ALL SO SWEET! i appreciate everyones replies. I am just leaving now to go visit Katie at the hospital. I hope to know more about what is going on this afternoon. I feed her Eukanuba Yorkshire Terrier formula. When she came home from the hospital, I continued her on the I/D Science Diet canned food that the vet had been feeding her as they told me not to giver her regular food or water. I'm very careful and watchful of her. We live downtown so I walk her every time I take her out and sometimes she'll eat a little grass or grab a piece of rabbit poop but that is usually about it. She does come into contact with a lot of other dogs, but she is vaccinated and on Frontline and Interceptor. Thank you all and I hope I can have so more answers later for you. I appreciate all of you and I hope that the babies that are sick are improving quickly. I'll be praying for them, and for you, because us mommies really go through it when our babies are sick.

[katie's_mommy]

Just wanted to let you know that Katie is eating and drinking now. The vet will examine her at 2pm today to see if he thinks she can be released. Still not sure what has caused all this. He feels that it might be an underlying problem in her gut, but says to determine that he needs to do an Edoscopy. It could be a bad virus or something too. We just don't know at this point. He did say it could be HGE so thank you so much for that suggestion!!!! I'm hoping Katie will have a bowel movement before she comes home. In my opinion that would be a good sign that things are moving and working they way they should be. Please continue to pray. And thank you for caring. I will update more soon.

[katie's_mommy]

How are you guys doing? Is Cali better? My prayers are with you.

[Mitzis Mom]

Oh no!!! We pray your precious baby is getting well very very fast!

[Zanders' mom]

Oooh my gosh, what an experience for your sweet little girl! I will join the praying for her to be back to her normal self and for God to give the vet the wisdom to help this little one feel healthy again.