Please help...hemorrhagic gastroenteritis!
 

First off, I should say "hello". My name is Erika and I just came across this wonderful site while searching for information about my Yorkie, Sammy.

I have two terrific little yorkies, Sammy (8 years old) and Winnie (6 years old). They are both generally pretty healthy, so we should be thankful for that.

Here's the situation we're in. On Wednesday night, we discovered a "hot spot" on Sammy's back that looked very red and the fur was mostly gone from it. He has very sensitive skin and does get these from time to time so we thought we'd watch it for a day or so and see what happens with it. On Thursday it looked the same so we thought we'd just keep an eye on it and maybe it would get better without having to go to the vet for it. Friday it started to get worse looking and we noticed more spots developing on his legs. He didn't eat or drink anything on Friday and also begain vomitting (brownish in color). Looking back, we think he may have not eaten much on Thursday either. By Friday night he was lethargic and not himself, so we decided first thing Saturday morning we'd take him to the vet.

Saturday I get him to the vet in the morning and he is so lethargic and sad looking. The vet was very concerned so she did some bloodwork and had me wait right there for the results. His numbers did not look good at all. Blood sugar was way low and red blood count was really high. I forget most of the other details regarding the blood work, but it seemed that most numbers were abnormally high or low. He was also severely dehydrated. So we took him to an animal hospital, where he is right now, in critical condition. :(

The doctor's are thinking hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. He's been on IV fluids for over 24 hours now, in addition to IV antibiotics. We went to see him today thinking we'd see some improvement, but not at all. He looks so lethargic and weak and just sad. :cry2: My heart is breaking for him right now. My husband and I don't know what to do at this point. We are going to see how he does tomorrow, we're really hoping to see some improvement after 48 hours on the IV fluids and antibiotics.

The other big issue is that right now, we've already spent $1000 and that is just up until tonight. The vet today estimates our total will be around $2000. And we don't even know if he is going to recover from this. I hate to think about money as a factor, but it is because we also have a baby and a 3 year old and right now I am only working two days a week...


I guess I'm just looking for some support, encouragement, or advice. Anyone have experience with this? Or just with big vet bills and medical expenses?

Thanks!

Hopefully someone who had gone thru this will respond. I have had many er vet visits with Cali some for vomiting and diahrrea and she gets better in about 48 hours with treatment. Good luck,

I'm sorry I have no advice, but I will keep you, Sammy and the rest of your family in my prayers. Hopefully, somebody will see this that has experience and will respond for you. Have you talked to the vet he is with about a payment plan? Some do that. I really hope Sammy starts responding quickly and has a complete recovery, poor little guy. Have faith that things will work out and they usually do. Hang in there Sammy, we will all be praying for you to get better.:(

Thank you both so much for your responses. Your support means a lot right now, I am so upset. He's all I can think about right now. I'm going to call for an update on him soon, but I'm honestly not expecting him to be any different than he was this afternoon. I'll update here as soon as I have any news. Thanks again. :)

I am sorry..I too have no advice or experience with it but I did find an online article for you...

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/hemorrh...hge/page2.aspx

I wish you luck with Sammy :)
XoXoXo
Fran

I'm sorry about your yorkie. They can become very ill very quickly.

Hey, guys! Don't most vets now have a care credit program or some such thing where they could pay over a time period?

Thank you Fran and Karen. :) Fran that article was helpful. The more I read about HGE the more it really does sound like what he has. The onset was so sudden. It was like one evening we were like, yeah, he's definitely looking lethargic and the next morning he look soooo sick.

They do offer a payment plan, but I looked at the brochure and I think the interest rate on it was around 9.9% or so. In that case, we can transfer our credit card balance to a lower interest rate one. I am just so bummed out that we could possibly lose our dog because we don't have an endless supply of money to spend on his treatments and tests. :confused: I just want him to get better! We miss him!

I am so sorry to hear about Sammy. I do not have any advice on the medical aspect of this but I can try and help where the bill is concerned. I just went through a bunch of medical bills when my baby broke his neck. I took him to the ER also and they had a pamphlet there for CARECREDIT.COM it helps with the bills. IT is like a credit card and it is intrest free for a year if you take that plan. It is great in a pinch like this. And it is so hard to worry about bills when your baby is sick. A lot of ER's offer this. You should ask your ER if they except it and if so you can go online to get an approval with in seconds. You put in the amount you might be needing. (I put in a thousand more than I needed)
This card can also be used for other things medically also. But the hospital bills for the baby is what you would be using it for. The whole process is very easy to go through on the website.
Good luck with everything. And I hope Sammy is feeling better when you see him later.
Val:aimeeyork

Where in NJ are you located?? I used Garden State Vetinerary Services in Tinton Falls if you want to go there they are excellent too...I know there is also a great vet hospital in Red Bank...

Yes, that is where we are going! Sammy is in the ICU at Garden State Veterinary Services in Tinton Falls. So far they have been nice and I've heard great things about them. We are remaining optimistic.

I called for an update and they said he has not vommited anymore, he did have diarrhea, but if there is no more vomitting over night, they will try to feed him bland foods tomorrow. I am praying that he can keep down some food and that maybe getting some food in him will help. Please think healing thoughts for my Sammy. I would truly appreciate it. :hug:

My Gizmo went thru this months back. He was bad enough that he was actually standing in a puddle of his own blood on the vets table. Doesn't sound like your baby is to that point so just give the meds and time a chance. Giz made it and there is always hope your baby will make it too. This disease comes on very quickly and can be caught in time, but is sad to watch. It is hard to leave them at the hospital, the worry. Vet told me he would give Giz meds to keep him "comfortable" during the night so I'm sure yours will too. I will remember you and your little one tonight, don't give up on him hun...it ain't over til it's over.:thumbup:

Denise, your post has me crying again. What an emotional time this really is. I'm so happy your little Gizmo made it through...I just don't want to get my hopes too high up again. Last night when we called for an update, they said he seemed "better". When we went to go visit him today, I immediately started crying because, in my opinion, he did not look better. It was a different doctor and he hadn't even seen Sammy yesterday, so I don't know what he was comparing when he said he seemed better. :confused: I know there's still hope. It just seems like he has such a long way to go to get better. How long was Gizmo in the hospital? What was it like when you brought him home?

Val, I'm sorry I missed your post. I am going to look into the CARECREDIT website right now. We've already put $1000 on our credit card but I am going to still look into it. I sooooo wish I had known about that. Thank you so much. It doesn't help that not only are you devastated about your baby's condition, you are also worried about putting yourself in a bad financial situation.

Thanks again for the well-wishes!

So sorry your baby is sick, but as far as the bills go, they just can't be helped. Fran just spent about $7,000 on her baby, MeganS had a liver shunt surgery on Tucker which had to be 3 or 4 thousand so it's unfortunate, but necessary.

Just concentrate now on getting your baby well and deal with the finances later. We will all be praying for a positive outcome. Please keep us posted.

Prayers for your little sick baby. I will keep him and your family in my heart. :)

Oh babe I didn't mean to upset you, was just trying to show you as bad as it was he got better. Me and my mouth. Giz was in ICU for 2 days. Seems to me the whole thing was a little over 500. Vet let me pay half and write a bunch of post dated checks that I didn't know or care if they were going to be good or not at the time. When you look in those eyes nothing else matters. ok, now i'm upsetting my dam self. Honey, you go see your baby in the morning and hopefully will perk him up. Be strong and fight for him, sounds like he is in a top notch place. I know they will do everything for your little love. :aimeeyork

My Sammi's doctors were...Dr's Worwag and Hoock...2 wonderful doctors...She was with the internal medicine team for about 6 days...

I hope he's doing lots better by tomorrow and is able to eat something. We'll say a special prayer for him tonight.:hands:

Sending prayers that by tomorrow you see that hes feeling better. Those vets where you have him are supposed to be good. Jackson NJ there is another vets office thats good.

Thank you again for all your nice thoughts and encouragement. It helps to talk to so many people who can relate and love their little ones as much as I do.

I will update here as soon as I get the update from his doctor tomorrow morning. They said they would call late morning. The waiting is soooo hard. :cry2:

We sometimes have differences of opinions (but that's okay, the more opinions the better), but you're right about the members on this site - we all love are Yorkies and feel like they are our children (even though most of us have children of our own (and grandchildren in my case) and you will never hear "it's just a dog" from any of us!

I know you haven't had time to see Sammy yet, but I just wanted to check in. All the prayers from everyone here have worked miracles for some very sick and lost babies. So don't give up on Sammy. These little guys are fighters and he is in the best place he can be right now. We will keep praying for Sammy and for you. Keep us updated when you can. (((HUGS)))

Things are not looking good. :( I just got a call from Sammy's doctor who said he had several bloody vomitting and diarrhea episodes throughout the night and this morning. Therefore they cannot feed him. They don't think he has responded to the supportive care (IV fluids and antibiotic). So they are now thinking that he has another condition possibly in addition to the HGE.

I'm not sure how much more we can do. The doctor didn't sound too optimistic, but did say there are some other tests and other options to try, if we want to. First, she said they could take some additional XRays, an abdominal ultrasound, have a dermatologist look at him who would probably do a skin biopsy, and some other things that I can't remember now. She's considering the possibility that it is an immune disorder, possibly cancer, we just don't know. We have spent well over $1000 now, she said by tomorrow morning it would be over $2000 with another nights stay and the ultrasound. The dermatologist couldn't see him until Wednesday and she didn't even get into the cost for that evaluation and biopsy. I don't want to give up. But I'm at the point where I don't know if I truly feel he can get better. :cry2:

What do you think?

I know this is a difficult time for you...I was in the same place...about a month ago with my Sammi...
I kept going with everything that they said...I knew it would be alot of money, but I had to make sure in my heart that I did EVERYTHING I could do for her...I felt if she was meant to be with me she would be and if she was meant to be at Ranbow Bridge that is where she would go...
I dont know your $ situation...Believe me mine was not good...But I didnt even think about it...I know they offer Care Credit...Maybe that is an option for you?
Just know your Sammy is under the best care at GSVS! Really he is...

Please know I am thinking of you guys...If you need to chat please PM me

Lots of love to you!
Fran

Sending prayer & kisses from Monique.
Sorry that I don't have any advise for you, but you & your baby will be in my prayers.

God bless & get well very very soon.

Erica honey, I am so sorry to hear this about Sammy. Don't know what to say but that we are here for you, and as for as prayers go..we have connections. You'll have to follow your heart on this one, I do know it is a painful situation, for you and him. Please keep us updated and know all of these people with all of their prayers are pulling for Sammy.:animal-pa

Erika - my thoughts and prayers are with you and Sammy. I hope you get some good news soon.

Oh poor you and sammy, i am sending well wishes. I know 2 puppies that had this, they were both so ill,critical infact, they were sedated and on IV drips, but they both pulled through and they were only 8 weeks old. The vet told my friend (the owner) that it can be caused by bacteria, airbourne or in the home, im not sure if this is correct? i am praying that sammy will get better soon! :thumbup:http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/dogd.../HGEindogs.htm try this link it says about the causes and bacterial infections is on there

Erika... sending Sammy, you, and your family prayers and hugs
:hands: :hands: :hands: :hands: :hands: :ghug: