Originally Posted by Judy in Waco (Post 2824701)

Kandi is continuing to do much better, but Gizmo suddenly started the exact same symptoms around 9pm, so we rushed him to the ER vet. They also checked Kandi out again, and she's continuing to improve. The vet at the ER went through a list of our medications and looked all of the symptoms up.

Well, her research all pointed to them getting hold of one of John's Fentanyl patches. It's for his chronic, severe pain issues. He is always very careful to flush his used patches, but this time he didn't. He was in a hurry and just threw it in the trash. :eek: We still weren't sure until we got home and searched the house. We found a patch that had doggie chew marks on it under the bed. John feels terrible, but with his chronic pain and fatigue, I completely understand.

The ER vet treated Gizmo with fluids under his skin and atropin (like they did for Kandi). He's tired, but doing better now. We don't know why it took him six hours longer than Kandi to show symptoms, except that he weighs several pounds more than she does.

Whew....at least we have the answer now. So, the moral of this story is that if you know anyone who uses medication administered through patches, watch out! Their is still enough medication on a used patch to poison your pets.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. I'll update again in the morning.

Originally Posted by Judy in Waco (Post 2824417)

Thanks everyone! She's home and doing much better. She's not eating except for trying to chew off the bandage they wrapped around her little leg after they took the IV out. She was happy to see us and immediately wanted John to pick her up.

They gave her atropine (not sure of the spelling) to help raise her heart rate, so we'll be checking when it wears off in a few more hours. If she can keep her heart rate up, then the vet says that she'll be fine. If not, then we have instructions to take her into the ER vet. He left instructions with them just in case.

So, we're holding her a lot and offering lots of water. Hypoglycemia has never been an issue for this little girl, so the not eating doesn't worry me. Plus, I think the IV had some nutrients in it. Is that right?

Thanks everyone! We are doing a big cleaning and searching of the house this weekend to try to figure out what happened. In the meantime, we're limiting her movements and watching her.

Originally Posted by kalina82 (Post 2824959)

Glad you found out what they got into and that they are feeling better.

just curious, what microgram was his fentanyl patch? these are used on dogs too and i'm curious to know how strong a patch for a human would be.

Originally Posted by Little Bit (Post 2824908)

I wonder if Gizmo had symptoms later because he didn't find the patch until later, possibly while you were busy with Kandi.

Originally Posted by Judy in Waco (Post 2825054)

It's pretty darn strong. The package says Fentanyl 100MCG/HR. Remember though, this was a used up (or so we thought) patch. They are supposed to be worn for five and he forgot to change it until the end of the 4th day. (He's having memory issues right now as well.) I'll be supervising patch changes from now on. I give him his other meds, I don't know why I haven't been doing this too.

Originally Posted by Judy in Waco (Post 2825054)

It's pretty darn strong. The package says Fentanyl 100MCG/HR. Remember though, this was a used up (or so we thought) patch. They are supposed to be worn for five and he forgot to change it until the end of the 4th day. (He's having memory issues right now as well.) I'll be supervising patch changes from now on. I give him his other meds, I don't know why I haven't been doing this too.

Originally Posted by kalina82 (Post 2825092)

that's the same patch we would give to a dog over 65lbs. yorkies usually don't even get a patch because dogs under 7lbs don't get one since they are so small. they are good for 3 days but we tell owners to leave them on for 5 and then flush them too. good thing it was used up or things could have been much worse. licking/chewing a patch that is good for their size usually causes foaming at the mouth and a "drunk" appearance. there still must have been a lot of micrograms left in the patch to cause that effect on your little guys. glad they are ok!

Originally Posted by kalina82 (Post 2825092)

that's the same patch we would give to a dog over 65lbs. yorkies usually don't even get a patch because dogs under 7lbs don't get one since they are so small. they are good for 3 days but we tell owners to leave them on for 5 and then flush them too. good thing it was used up or things could have been much worse. licking/chewing a patch that is good for their size usually causes foaming at the mouth and a "drunk" appearance. there still must have been a lot of micrograms left in the patch to cause that effect on your little guys. glad they are ok!

Originally Posted by Amazing Yorkies (Post 2825118)

I'm so glad you found the culprit.. after they felt better, they may have started chewing on the patch again.. Thanks for the heads up! CJ also has patches and he had one come up missing off his chest. We searched for days and couldn't find it. It doesn't help matters when it is tranparent. Until three weeks later, I noticed one of my boys wasn't himself, he was wayyyy too tired and had a "stoned" look to his eyes so off to the Vet we went. They gave him some of the same treatment and when we got home, we found the patch at the foot of CJ's chair. Luckily it wasn't chewed on, but he had gotten enough to affect him. Where it was for 3 weeks.. I don't know, but the little stinker had found it. He also was better the next day. But a very good reminder about meds, it could have been devastating!

Originally Posted by Amazing Yorkies (Post 2825128)

I never would have dreamed that they use the patches for Dogs too. Interesting! Good info, Thank you!

Originally Posted by kalina82 (Post 2825307)

Yup, we gave them to every patient that had surgery when i was working for the two board certified surgeons. the surgeries were major ones like knees, fractures, backs, and abdominal so they were more painful then your typical one at the regular vet. the patches are the same ones used for humans and come in smaller micrograms (12.5, 25, 50, 75, and 100).

Originally Posted by ladyjane (Post 2825332)

They used one on one of my fosters after major surgery on his leg and he got so messed up from it they did not discharge him on the day expected. I went to see him and he did not even recognize me....really scared me to see him like that. I don't think I would ever let them use a patch again after that incident.