Oh God,What Have I Done?! (Long But Please Help)
 

I'm so scared for Maggy May and I'm afraid I may have made things worse for her. Last Monday I could tell Maggy May started acting different, I had moved my box turtle into the house because it has gotten cold and for all the years I've had her, she refuses to hibernate, so I have a huge tank set up in my bedroom I move her to when the temps get to cold. I brought her in Monday and Maggy May was not liking it at all. She's sit in my lap and growl at Daisy (my turtle) when Daisy would come out of her cave. I figured it was going to take her some getting used to so I just hung in there with her. Well by Wednesday I wasn't sure that was the problem anymore. Maggy didn't seem to be feeling well and the only way I could get her to eat was by bringing Dottie (our German Shorthaired Pointer) into my bedroom and making a big deal out of Maggy's food. I'd give Dottie a small piece and then give Maggy a piece, it worked, Maggy May ate it and was fine. I was relieved that she was eating. Come Thursday, Maggy May wouldn't eat, I tried the same thing as the day before but it didn't work, so, off to the vet I went with Maggy May. Doc asked if anyone in the house had been sick lately and I told him yes, 3 of our kids plus my husband had been sick, our youngest had tonsilitis, was on two weeks of antibiotics for it, the other two kids and my hubby had/had sore throats, stuffed up noses, congested but didn't require antibiotics. Maggy May is a real in your face kinda girl, she loves to give kisses and more times than not, she slips her tongue into your mouth before you can get her off your face, she just loves everyone and is super quick at covering your whole face in kisses. I also explained to the vet that I had started (2 weeks prior) switching Maggy May over to Wellness Adult for small breed dogs food.) I had done it over a 2 week period of time because I didn't want to cause any tummy issues. He checked her over really good and said two things come to mind. One being that some dogs just do not do good with adult dog food at all ad requested me to switch her back to her Wellness Super 5 Mix puppy food and just leave her on that for the rest of her life. I asked if it'd hurt her and he said no, but to adjust how much I give her (which I had been doing, her waist disappeared and I was concerned she was a bit over weight, she weighs 6 pounds 13 ounces.) Anyhow, the other thing he said that concerned him was all the sickness going around in the house and he's seen in so many times with people getting sick and then their dogs end up sick. He said he didn't feel comfortable taking chances with Maggy May (she's got a very low immune system) and wanted to put her on an antibiotic. She had puked the previous Monday one time, about the size of a nickle but that was it, no more, and she was having normal bowel movements, now runny stools or anything like that. So, the doc gave her three shots of meds he was sending home with her and gave her a dose of Bene Bac. We got home and she had vomited about a nickle size of the Bene Bac up, no big deal. The meds he sent her home on was, Bene Bac (once a day) Baytril (22.7 mg once a day,) Pepcid (5mg. twice a day,) Rimadyl (25mg once a day.) She did fine Friday and Saturday, had started eating better but still not like she normally does. I was sure to give her some kayro just in case, I didn't want her sugar going low and her becoming hypoglycemic. I was also giving her water through a syringe to make sure she was getting enough. Sunday morning she has the runs a bit, that was it. Throughout the day and the evening, she vomited a total of 7 times. I started to get concerned if the Bene Bac and the Rimadyl were causing her to get sick like this, so, I called the vet to speak with them about the vomiting and to see if I could take her off those two meds. I'm awaiting a call back, the doc wasn't in when I called. The only med I have given her today was the pepcid, she's acting fine now, eating her hard kibble, not as much as she normally does but she's eating and keeping it down. She's also drinking on her own. She had a bowel movement, it was formed, soft, but formed, not runny at all. She's also urinating ok. The secrary at the vet said the Baytril could cause vomiting as well and not to give her anymore meds till they call me back. So, in waiting for a call back, I started doing some research and now I'm scared to death! I came across this about Rimadyl:

The Senior Dogs Project


There's good and bad writings on it but now I'm scared to death I've hurt Maggy May by giving this to her. She had a shot of it on Thursday at the vet and then I gave it to her for 3 days at home, a total of four days. What have I done? I'm so afraid I've done the wrong thing in giving this to her. Do you think she's going to be ok? I thought this drug sounded familiar but I didn't research it before I gave it to her. I was so scared cause of her being so sick I just gave the meds as directed. When I researched it today, I realized this is the same drug that was given to our boxer boy Isaiah over a year ago and it caused him to become VERY bad sick, he passed blood like a faucet from his butt. He made it through but my God, it was horrible. I normally research all the kids meds (skin and fur) before I give it to them, but I was so scared with Maggy May that I threw caution to the wind and didn't research it. We've got so much going on here and I'm at my wits end. Maggy May is sick, my son NOW has strep throat, my Uncle has MRSA, my sister is going in for a heart catherization here shortly. I've got way to much going on and all I want is for Maggy May and the rest of our family to be ok. Please, has anyone every given Rimadyl to their furkids and they were ok?

I think she is going to be okay.:)

I have NO idea why a vet would prescribe Rimadyl unless the dog needs serious pain management. It isn't a drug you give just for the heck of it. There can be serious risks to it and it shouldn't be given unless there is a good reason.

That said, it has only been a few days.
She is fine now that she isn't taking it and it could've been any one of those meds causing the vomiting.

If you are really concerned about it causing problems you can ask the vet to do a blood panel and check her liver enzymes to see if the med has caused damage.

Other than that, I have no idea what the problem could be but I imagine it is just a virus or something or possibly GI issues that will need to be checked out.

I hope all goes well with her and it has been one of those terribly stressful times around here too. :(

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it was the meds making her that sick and now that I'm not giving it to her that she will be ok. He said when he checked her that she was in obvious pain, that's why he gave her a pain medication. Isn't there something safer that can be given that doesn't have THOSE kinds of side effects and isn't that dangerous to give to our furkids? She still hasn't vomited this morning, so I'm hopeful she'll be ok, but I wished she'd eat a bit more. Still no call back from the stand in vet, I wished Maggy's regular vet was in today. Hopefully she continues to improve today, if not, I'm going to talk to the vet about having a blood panel done. Thank you for taking the time to read through all that up there, I know it was a lot and I appreciate your reply.

Tramadol or something else that I can't remember the spelling for can be used but aren't as good and Tramadol is sometimes used with an NSAID (like Rimadyl). Rimadyl is good for pain but other things can be tried first.

Thank you Ellie May, I'm going to speak with my vet about this. I want to find something that doesn't have such serious side affects should any of our furkids need pain meds ever again. Part of me feels like medication is a double edged sword. I just pray she improves today. I'm not giving her the Rimadyl anymore, she doesn't seem to be in pain like she was when I took her into the vet so hopefully this is the start of her getting better. Keeping fingers crossed here.

Did Maggy May interact in the turtle at all? While it's not common, salmonella can affect dogs, and since turtles carry it, I thought you might want to mention this to your vet. Just touching a turtle and touching something else can spread the bacteria.
Hope Maggy May is feeling better soon.

No, no interaction at all. I know turtles can carry that, I ALWAYS wash my hands after I've handled ANYTHING that has to do with Daisy. This day just keeps getting worse. My son just came home from school sick, soon as he got in the door he puked all over in the sink, prior to that, Maggy May just puked! If has a spec of blood in it about the size of a match tip. I spoke with the secratary at the vets, they said to with hold all meds except for the pepcid until tomorrow and see how she does. I've gotta go, gotta call the doctor for my son, thank you for your reply though, I appreciate it greatly.

Oh my goodness, you have a lot going on with your skin family and your Maggie May! EllieMay has already given excellent advice. I too am surprised at the Rimadyl, but I think she'll be okay. How is her appetite now? If you want to give mashed potatoes (canned/sliced or fresh), that might help her tummy a little too :). Poor honey, I hope she feels better soon!!

I hope she get to feeling better soon.

I think you should find a new vet. He should know that colds etc are not human-canine contagious. I don't think he knows what he is talking about.

Her appetite is ok but she just can't keep anything down. I softened some of her food for her and gave her a few pieces at a time to see if she could hold it down but it was a no go. I just got back from the store a lil while ago and actually got some rice and boneless skinless chicken breast. I boiled it all, rinsed it real well and cut the chicken up in teeny tiny pieces and gave her about a teaspoon of it to see if she can hold that down. If she can, I'll give her more in a bit. She's puked more today but thank God none of it had anymore blood in it. I'm still giving kayro as a preventative and giving her tiny bits of water through the syringe throughout the day so she doesn't get dehydrated. When he checked Maggy May, she was showing signs of pain, that was his reason for giving the rimadyl. I to thought she was in pain cause of the way she was acting. I looked back over my posts here after she was spayed, she had rimadyl after her spay as well for two days. She was sick back then as well. I knew this drug sounded familiar, I just wished I would have remembered before I gave it to her this time. So far she's keeping the chicken adn rice down. Crossing my fingers and praying like crazy she'll be ok.

Thanks so much Diggy, I sure do appreciate it. I hate when she doesn't feel well, I worry about her so much, she's such a tiny lil girl.

I think I may have came across wrong in my first post. The docs reason for putting Maggy on the antibiotics is because of the things we've had here that HAVE required antibiotics. My youngest son now has strep which is contagious. I don't question the fact that dogs can catch some things that humans have, I've seen it happen before. I've been with the same vet for years now and I really do trust his judgment. I know he was trying to relieve Maggy's pain when he prescribed the pain med, I know he'd never intentionally do anything to hurt Maggy, he was pulling for her just as much as I was when she first came to us and almost died. We lost her brother and our vet felt so horrible about that, we all fought hard to save him. Now our vet doesn't take chances with Maggy May, specially with a compromized immune system.

Streptococcus pyogenes, the cause of "strep throat" in humans does not cause tonsillitis in dogs or cats. However, dogs and cats can acquire a transient infection with this bacterium when they are in contact with a human with strep throat. Although they do not get strep throat, they may harbor the bacterium and serve as a source of it for other human infections. As this is the case, it is suggested that dogs and cats be treated when family members have strep throat, especially if recurring infections occur in the household.

Page URL: Tonsillitis in Dogs ~ Pawprints and Purrs, Inc.

I am so very sorry that little Maggy May is not feeling well, on top of all of your family sickness right now. Gee whiz, when it rains it pours. I hope EVERYONE in your house and family gets better very soon - I'll keep you all in my thoughts :hug: and prayers :hands: .

Just a thought - did you happen to mention to the vet that you had moved Daisy into the house. I know that turtles (and other reptiles) carry salmonella - I wonder if she has contracted that from sweet Daisy?

Hmmm, I don't understand why she's continuing and continuing to still vomit, this concerns me :(. Was blood work done?

Also, you mentioned the vet said she was exhibiting signs of pain (hence, the Rim.) - do you actually still think she is in pain? And, where?

Ya, I told the vet about that, I also let him know she's a box turtle and not a water turtle, I know water turtles cause a lot more problems with upper respitory problems. I NEVER let Maggy May around Daisy, she's in a huge tank that sits way up on a very long dresser we have with a top on it, so nothing can get in or out. I ALWAYS wash my hands with iodine, hand sanitizer and dish washing liquid that has bleach added to it after I touch Daisy and after I touch her dish to feed her. Call me crazy but I just want to make sure I have clean hands before I go touching Maggy or the other furbutts in the house. I even put all the furkids away in their kennels while I get Daisy her food cause I won't touch them until I've washed my hands. I don't take Daisy out and let her walk around the floors or anything. I change her water in her pool daily, I wash her dish daily and she has clean peat moss I purchased at the store to fill her tank with. Her enclosure inside as well as the one I have her in through the warmer months of the year are kept very clean. Heck, I even wash off the night crawlers before I put them in her dish for her. I went earlier this evening and got rice and boneless skinless chicken breast and trimmed any fat off of it, boiled it, rinsed it all really good and gave her some, so far she's kept it down and hasn't puked. I'm hoping and praying tomorrow will be a better day.

Tracy, it sounds like you are doing all you can do. Just relax and try not to worry - if you are worried Maggy May knows it. Part of the continuing problem might be she is worried about you. You know, she got better from the initial sickness but has worried herself sick over you worring about her being sick. Vicious cycle.

She vomits everytime I give her/her food. Obviously it's just to much for her lil tummy right now, so, I went and got skinless boneless chicken breast and rice earlier this evening and started out with a teaspoon of that. She kept it down and after about an hour, I gave her a bit more, then about an hour later, gave her a lil more. So far she's kept it down (thank God.) This evening her personality seems to be a bit more like herself, she actually wanted to play with me for a few. I won't let her play to much though cause I don't wanna push it and her end up vomiting again. No bloodwork was done at first, he wanted to try this first and see how she did, if she didn't start to improve after having had the meds, he said we'd do testing. As for her still seeming to be in pain now, no, I don't think she is, I mean, now she holds her ears up and not down, her face doesn't look so sad now and she doesn't whine when she's picked up. She did whine 3 times before I first took her to the vet (over a three day period) when she was picked up and I though perhaps the kids picked her up wrong or something, but then when she just started acting like she wasn't herself and didn't want to play or eat and kept her ears laid back down on her head and just wanted to lay on my lap, I knew something was wrong. She also growled at my husband when he tried to pick her up out of the bed with me the one night, I think it's cause her tummy hurt, cause she's never done that before. And when I was sitting here in my chair and had her on my lap, my leg would get sore and I'd have to stretch it, so, I'd put my hand under her tummy and try to gently move her and she would growl. So I'm thinking it was her tummy that was sore. She doesn't seem to be tender there anymore though, as I pick her up and move her around and she doesn't growl now. The doc said since she was having normal BM's it's not a blockage. I just hope things are better tomorrow.

I really hope you're right and that she's better tomorrow. I try not to let her see me worry, but as in tune as I am with her, she's got to be just as in tune with me and no matter how hard I try to hide my worry or fears, I bet she can see it all over my face and in my body language just like I can read in her face and her body language when she doesn't feel good. I swear this lil one has worried me more than any furkid we've ever had. She's so tiny and I'm used to big dogs. When something goes wrong with her, it doesn't take as long for her to go down fast and I get so worked up and upset when things aren't right with her. I'm gonna try and just relax and as much as I can around her and hopefully she'll get better. With everything else going on with the skin kids and the family, it's hard at times though. I love this lil girl with all my heart and all I want is for her to be better.

Gosh...it really does sound like she was in some real pain before (and maybe still is in some residual pain if she's still vomiting). Pain can cause vomiting, so now I'm wondering about that as a trigger. Really tough to say though since there has been the combo of pain, sickness, Rimadyl, possible other things. I almost think if it continues though, it might be worth taking her in again for bloodwork and to have the vet realllllly palpate her entire body very, very well to check for soreness, tenderness. This may be a dumb question - but could the turtle have bitten her?

You are having a really hard time this week. I hope little Maggy May feels better soon. It was somewhat encouraging that she ate the chicken and rice and hasn't gotten sick. Also, that she is acting more like herself. I was worried about the growling...especially since you said she has never done that before. Not even when she had any stomach problems in the past? Hopefully, like you said, it is just sore. I'll say a prayer for Maggy May and check back tomorrow. I hope she is back to normal by then.

Oh believe me, if she doesn't improve and starts back with vomiting, she's going back to the vet tomorrow and blood work will be done. Crossing my fingers and praying like crazy though that she's feeling better tomorrow. No, there's no way Daisy could have bitten her. Before I brought Daisy in the house, she was always outside in her fully enclosed pen I made her, the bottom part is all brick, (a brick enclosed wall) and then further up the sides is fencing. I'm the only one that has ever taken Maggy May outside to potty, play or anything, I won't let anyone else do it, but I don't take Maggy over to Daisy's outdoor pen. And before I brought Daisy in the house to her indoor enclosure, I already had everything set up and ready so all I had to do was carry Daisy in and put her in her enclosure in my room and then the top went right on. There's no way Daisy can get out and no way Maggy could get in, she can't reach it at all. Oh, and the doc did palpate her when I took her in, that's how he knew she was in pain cause she reacted. Oh how she makes me worry. I just want her to be get better and be ok.

Thank you so much Jeanne, I really appreciate it with all my heart. Nope, she never growled like that before when her tummy was sore, that was after she was spayed and gave me that scare when her incision came open, then she had vomiting and the runs after that to. I looked back through my posts on that and she had the rimadyl then as well, but only for two days. I'm praying to God I haven't hurt her by giving her the rimadyl. I don't know what I'd do without her, she's so precious to me in my life and, well, I don't even wanna go there or think about that. I'm so happy she's kept the chicken and rice down, if we can get through the day tomorrow with no vomiting, no blood or the runs, I'm sure we'll both feel so much better.

Well, I'm waiting on the vet to call me back, he's in surgery all day today until 2:00 this afternoon, but the secretary said he does come out between times for questions and stuff and she'll talk to him and call me back soon as soon as she does. I gave Maggy May her pepcid this morning at 8:10, she hadn't eaten anything so she had an empty stomach, about 10 minutes later, I gave her some of the chicken and rice, at 8:35, she puked. The secretary said normally you should wait about 15 -20 minutes before you feed them anything after giving meds, so maybe I just fed her to soon and it made her sick. There was no blood in her vomit this time. She had a bowel movement this morning, it was formed and had no blood in it but there was a TOENAIL in it! My son had been in here a few days ago and trimmed his toenails and she obviously got one!! I'm now wondering if that's why I seen the blood in her vomit the other day. I let the secretary know this so she could tell the vet. I also asked if I should go ahead and start giving her the antibiotic (Baytril) again or if I should still hold off as directed by his stand in vet yesterday. She's only got one pepcid left, not sure if he wants to give me more for her or what. Soon as I hear back from the vet, I'll post and let you know what's going on. Going to wait another 20 minutes and try giving her a teaspoon of the chicken and rice again and see if she can hold it down, it'll have been an hour by then since she puked.

Well, the day didn't start off to great. I gave Maggy May her medicine this AM and then about 10 minutes later, she puked. I'm thinking I gave her the chicken and rice a bit to soon after I gave her/her med. Called the vet and let them know what was going on and awaited the call back from them. The doc was in surgeries till 2 so it was a while before they got back to me. In the meantime, I continued to give Maggy May a teaspoon of chicken and rice every hour or so. Poor girl hasn't had much to eat this past week, or couldn't keep it down rather. So, throughout the day, Maggy May has had 2 bowel movements, soft but not real soft, more on the formed side AND she has managed to keep her chicken and rice down!! VERY happy here! I called the vet back to let them know I had fed her since she vomited and she had kept it down and that she also had bowel movements and they were soft but formed. Doc wants her on the pepcid a bit longer to keep her tummy settled and said to continue what I'm presently doing. If anything changes or she starts to go downhill again, contact them right away. I'm feeling much better about her today since she's only vomited once, I think things are going to start looking up for her now. Thank you all so much for your concern, replies and prayers, I appreciate it more than I can say. If anything changes, I'll post and let ya know.

:thumbup: Come on, baby girl! Eat that chicken!! :D

Awe, thanks for encouraging her Jeanne. She wants more, and I feel bad for not giving her more, but I'm afriad to give her to much at a time, I'm afraid she'll start vomiting again if I give her to much. She's such a precious girl, she's laying her all balled up in my lap and looks up at me occasionally to make sure I'm still here. Don't know what I'd ever do without her, she's one of the greatest loves of my life.

Awe, I'm so glad she's doing a little better, chicken always makes makes my tummy feel better, and when I can't eat anything else, I can still eat chicken. Hope she continues to improve.