***Tibbe Back To Vet Again Today - A Puzzle!!!***
 

On 5/23/12, Tibbe had an ?unwitnessed fall? in the night trying to follow me to the bathroom, I think, so, due to his standing in the bathroom doorway not "looking right", keeping his head turned to the right, then lying down, not wanting to come to me when called, unsteady & limping a bit on his left leg on arising, crying out when I tried to turn him over in my lap to examine him, he was taken to the Vet ER Clinic immediately, x-rayed from stem to stern, examined - all normal & couldn't palpate any tenderness. Sent him home on Prednisolone .4 ml. x2 daily x3 days, then x1 daily for 3 days, then x1 daily every other day & Tramadol for pain. His symptoms of limping & crying out disappeared once we were home again, as he had a pain shot at the vet, and they never returned.

I took him back to the ER vet about 10 hrs. later, just to be sure he was really okay, as he was sleeping a lot, still somewhat unsteady on his feet. A different ER vet examined him, reviewed his x-rays, did complete blood work with chemistry/lipids to rule out anything systemic & said Tibbe had increased lipids of 15,000, as I recall, with all other normal values on the CBC & other blood tests - amylase, etc., all normal, but since he wasn't nauseated, vomiting, having diarrhea & was eating/drinking well (with a history of only one bout of diarrhea in his life the day after eating tiny strips of marinaded grilled chicken 3- bites about 1/4" x 1/2" wide - March 11th), the increase lipase could mean nothing. He then said if he ever vomits, has diarrhea, spits up, have a CPL test done at the regular vet clinic.

I should add here that I have kept him on Iams Pro-Active Health for Adult Small & Toy Breeds as he had come to me eating that & had been so healthy on it, I kept dragging my feet about changing his diet. It seemed I read so many posts on YT about those feeding better food having so many problems of one kind or another from fussy eating to allergies to diarrhea to pancreatitis, etc., though I wanted to change to better food, I was really, really scared.

Thursday I bought some Science Diet Sensitive Stomach & started mixing that in with his Iams as it had lower fat content as that high lipase test had me worried. My Jilly ate that for years with her bad digestive bouts - could tolerate nothing else. Tried it all. Trouble is, Tibbe just picks the Science Diet kibble out & eats all that, gets full & leaves the Iams, so he basically switched to that food kind of suddenly without the combination of the two, maybe setting himself up for an upset.

Saturday, the day after his second to last dose of Prednisolone, he ate all his food in his bowl in an hour, even the Iams, an amount which he normally eats during the whole day, before I saw it, then drank lots & lots of water. Then, his tummy got distended, kind of hard, he was panting, restless, gums pink/good prompt return, normal temp of 101 with 2 normal BM's so, instead of going in, I called the ER Vet who said it's the Pred making him overeat & restless, just watch him & keep his food removed for 8-10 more hours & don't give his last wean dose of Prednisolone.

Yesterday, he ate/drank normally, had normal toileting, but today, he kind of heaved once but lay back down, slept 1 hour, then he spit up some frothy bile, hasn't eaten/drank except for a few kibble bits for treats after he came in from pottying outside & some sugarwater I syringed into his mouth. He acted clingy & just wanted to sleep.

I took him to the regular vet, a CPL to check his pancreatic enzymes & another full CBC was done - to be sure the Prednisolone hadn't done anything systemically or something else going on - and all tests were normal & his exam was normal - again.

The vet gave him a nausea shot, some nausea meds to take at home for a while & said he probably has an unhappy tummy still from the Prednisolone & all that eating/drinking Saturday or he ate something outside(he is a grazer - eats anything he can before I can stop him). The vet gave me a prescription for Royal Canin special digestive food(can't recall the exact name) to switch to should he still have future bouts of spitting up.

Does anybody have any ideas on why he was nauseated, spitting up & if that high lipase on 5-23-12 means anything? He's now seen 3 vets & they all say that without other meaningful symptoms & normal other tests, enzymes, etc., the high lipase was either "normal" for him or a reaction to something he got into outside or a reaction to "something"!?!? I'm worried. All thoughts & advice would be so appreciated. :tired:

I don't have any great advice but I will pray for little Tibbe. I hope he starts feeling better soon. I hope it is just the medicine that is making him feel bad. How is the limping?

I have no idea, but I'll keep Tibbe in my prayers. I can't imagine why he would eat so much on Saturday. That's amazing!

Oh no! Poor Tibbe, bless his little heart! I'm so sorry you are going through this- gessh!! I will be praying for him, hope he gets better soon and you are able to find out what is wrong!! Hang in there ((hugs)

He was done limping by the time we got to the ER Vet, but I put that down to excitement but he was for sure done with it by the time we got back home. It may not have been a true limp, just that he was unsteady on his feet there in the bathroom door - couldn't tell if he was limping or just uncertain placing his feet down. Since I didn't see what happened to him, I suspect he was sleepy, tried to jump down his doggie steps to follow me to the bathroom, missed one or more & fell, maybe hitting his head or neck. The way he was holding his head looking back & keeping it that way when he appeared in the bathroom doorway & how unsteady he was on his feet when he started to go with me back into the den & that next day is what makes me say that, as the "limp" seemed to disappear as soon as I got him to the ER vet - but I didn't see what happened or hear anything so I just don't know. But thankfully, he's running, walking, jumping normally, especially after a week of confinement 5-23 - 5-30-12 & the Prednisolone.

Vet said the Prednisolone can cause increased appetite & thirst, panting, agitation, tummy upsets.

Pancreas, Gallbladder, Liver & meds can all elevate Lipase.

Thankfully all his other values indicating liver problems were normal. All the vets have said they think if it were liver, he would have some other levels high. They mentioned gallbladder & now his CPL is normal, think it's not pancreatitis.

What are gallbladder disease symptoms, do you know?

I forgot one... Kidney disease.

Mine are a sluggish digestion but it can cause pain & vomiting. Also light colored stools and/or diarrhea.

Tibbe's stools are darkish brown color, like toothpaste in consistency & he only has had diarrhea once in his life the day after I fed him that marinaded chicken in March. That night, his stool was normal. I did find 2 brownish spots of apparent spit-up on the spare bedroom bedspread that I didn't know were there so I don't know when he got up there & did that but it couldn't have been too long ago or I would have seen it, even in that room.

I'm feeding him small portions more frequently after today once his appetite returns, keeping his treats to just his kibble in a special container & just going to have to watch him, praying nothing more develops.

poor little baby. Hope he is ok. Prayers for him.

His tummy pretty distended & he's restless tonight. Refused some kibble. I'm about ready to call ER Vet again. He wants to stay right on me or next to me.

Poor little Tibbe. I will keep him in my prayers and hope the vets can find out what the problem is.

:thumbup::thumbup:add kidney disease

Poor little guy. You can hear his tummy making loud noises, like gas & could all night. He was restless, couldn't sleep much at all. Waiting to hear back from vet we saw yesterday. Maalox is all that will stop those noises - I pray the 2 doses of 1/2 cc. each since last night won't hurt him but at least he got a quiet tummy & a bit of rest after those doses. I pray I did the right thing - could find nothing too dire against it on the Internet & vet used to okay it for Jilly occasionally. He's had his nausea medication this a.m. but he won't eat or drink so am syringing water in his mouth.

So odd! I am sorry you are still puzzled by Tibbe's symptoms.

I really don't have much to add - but I know when Jackson was initially diagnosed with pancreatitis after lots of vomit, which then turned into diarrhea, the only thing they went off of was that his lipase levels were high. After that whole ordeal, when I spoke to our regular vet about it, she told me it's nearly impossible to diagnosis pancreatitis based solely on lipase levels - as a lipase being high can mean so many things, and sometimes it can just be normal for it to be a bit higher on a dog and since his CPL test came back negative, she felt secure saying he probably did not even have pancreatitis.

But the limping confuses me... as I feel like that was probably a whole 'nother issue?? So odd!

I'm hoping Tibbe gets well soon.

Poor Tibbe, it is so hard when they are sick- I am keeping positive that Tibbe will be ok- Sending good thoughts and prayers for Tibbe!

Stay strong and Positive- XoXo

I don't know enough to give advise.. except I know you are doing all you can. Sending (((hugs))) and positive energy that he will be better soon

I hope they can find out what is wrong. I will keep him in my prayers.

He was so miserable early this a.m. - we've had no rest. Then, at 9:30 a.m., after turning down his food all yesterday & this a.m., he took a tiny bit of Oroweat Sandwich Thin, ears perked(which I tried since it was something different & he loves the smell of it and he'd been turning down his dry kibble for the last 36 hrs.) So I mixed 2 tablespoons of his new & old kibble in lots of water, heated it in the microwave, cooled it & gave him 1/4 of a plastic Dairy Queen ice cream spoonful of the kibble soup. He slurped it up. We waited 1/2 hour with no nausea or gas or tummy noise & he had 1/2 a DQ spoon of kibble soup with an hour wait after. Tummy feels a bit full but no sounds. Just now, he ate a tablespoon of kibble soup & drank from his water bowl at my urging. Now we wait to see what happens as it tries to digest. I think when I go out for Physical Therapy treatment today, I will go ahead & stop & get the Royal Canin Gastrointestinal food & gradually work that in until he's solely eating that. I hate to leave him alone but am hoping he'll rest. I'll admit I'm a helicopter parent when he's sick so he hopefully will sleep while his worried mommie is gone & off his back for a time.

If he is doing badly again when I get back from my 45 minutes at PT & the stop for the food, we're going back to the vet.

Britster, thanks for that info. I've followed all your posts about Jackson's issues after the party when he got sick & your posts on any threads about pancreatitis, G-I problems, nutrition so you've given me a great insight into how this can work when most tests are normal but the dog is sick. And the rest of you who've given me help info & prayers & good thoughts - I'm soaking all of those up. They get you through when your dog is miserable & it's the middle of the night. I just pray there is nothing really wrong lurking & this is just a bug that has no second, worse punch or a really mad tummy from something he grazed on outside.

Still waiting to hear from the vet once his surgery is over. Tibbe is now sleeping - finally. Thanks, everybody.

Tibbe is still asleep. Looks like a little angel. I'm so glad he's finally getting some rest - he's really been through it. I pray that this little morning meal will digest well & we won't have to go sit in the Vet's Office all afternoon again today. But I think the fact that he's sleeping must mean he's comfortable. Last night, if he would drift off, suddenly he would jerk awake & get up, walk around, find a new place to lie down a while. So far, this nap is long & he may even be dreaming. His paws are kind of moving & his eyes are rolling under those lids.

Thinking positive thoughts for Tibbe and Jeanie. I hope that he is turning the corner with his tummy issues.

Praying little Tibbe is still doing well!

Just now seeing this. Sorry to hear that Tibbe has been feeling icky again:( Hopefully he's doing better now, poor baby!

Sending hugs and prayers:love:

I hope little Tibbe gets better soon. I'm so glad that he showed some improvement and was resting comfortably. You must be worried sick over it. Ashley had IBD late in her life, so I know all about the gurgling sounds in the belly. I'm sending good wishes for your baby's recovery.

Glad Tibbe is feeling a little better. Hope he continues to improve.

How was Tibbe when you got back from physical therapy. I know how frustrating it is when you want to help them, but you're not sure what's wrong. I'm keeping him in my prayers that he's been eating more and feeling better.

My Cookie is on prednisone every other day and takes Famotidine (Pepcid) with it to prevent stomach upsets. You might want to speak with your vet about doing that. You might also want to try feeding him Hill's ID or Purina EN...but, of course, ask your vet about that. I have a pup who is now on Purina EN because he just kept having problems with digestion. He is fine now.

As for the elevated lipase...I have seen that quite a few times in my pups and it has never meant anything at all. All by itself like that, my vet does not put much into it. Any of them who have had that, have later had labs that were perfectly normal.