Portage has been very sick, but is now doing a little better
He had two more. The middle one lasted for about four hours and we again had to give him a tranquilizer. I took him into the vet, and they checked him out and said his tummy was out of control. So, we put him on some antibiotics (although a sample showed nothing obviously wrong in his stool). The next day was even worse. He woke up crazy and did not settle. Even sedating him early didn't help. He was dragging his back legs behind him and pacing all over the house. I have never ever cried so much. We were sure we were going to lose him. It was gut wrenching to watch. Throughout all of this his tummy was rock solid, and he was passing awful gas. I took him back to the vet and they were sure he'd settle, but he didn't. He kicked at the door to the kennel ALL day long. They gave him a loading dose of valium but it didn't help. A second dose followed but no change. They couldn't give him any further valium so they switched to phenobarb. Finally, he collapsed exhausted. They again changed the meds (and took him off his regular pain pills), and we took him home. He had to be carried in and he slept for nearly 48 straight hours. (We woke him to eat a little and to go out, but other than that he slept.) I guess it made sense, as he'd been going nonstop for nearly all of the 48 hours before. While he slept I think the antibiotics did their job. His tummy settled, and it's now soft and gas free. The vet added antidepressants for him, and once he awoke he has been much better. He even stopped the constant leg licking he's been doing since Theeps passed away. So, now he's on boiled hamburger and rice (and I'll do that for the rest of his days if that's what he needs) and off all pain meds (he has some arthritis at the base of his spine). He's still doing the antibiotics and we won't be tapering off the antidepressants until at least a month has passed. He actually seems to be just fine without the pain meds, and there's even a spring in his step. My Portage has come back to us. A week ago I wouldn't have believed it. We're still not sure if the tummy problems caused the panic attack or were a symptom of it. We nearly lost him to bloat three years ago, and only saved him because we made it to the emergency vet in time. His tummy reminded me of the earliest stage in that (although at that time it went to critical very fast). I almost wonder if he remembers that that feeling is a sign of something awful ahead. The only bright side to this is that I was home last week (for spring break from school). Thank goodness I was able to be home with him. I would have been using up sick days otherwise. There's no way I'd have been in any condition to be at work with him suffering alone at home. We're not sure that he's going to stay fine of course, but things are certainly looking more positive now. Thank goodness. |
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| i am so glad he is doing better,, our sheeies are so sensitive.. sat nite i woke up to duffy bleeding in his stool and throwing up , rush him to the vet, he too is on the same meds.. they found nothing in his stool that would be doing this, they think it might be stress like you no sleep for a while, why are sheepies so emotional? |
| Oh bless, how awful for you and your baby. Glad he seems Ok now. I believe you when you say he remembers being ill before and panics. Our Summer hates being sick really gets distressed and scared. I am sure she remembers last Easter when we nearly lost her. Whereas my little yorkie is sick and doesnt bother. Will keep my fingers crossed that he is on the road to recovery now. xx |
Oh my- what a time you have been through. Thank goodness he is doing better. Give him a big ole hug and an extra belly rub. And here's a hug for you!  |
| I'm still not sure he wasn't bloating again. Yes, it could be he remembered the last time or the fact that it was early bloat and it HURT! Since the docs don't know what all the various factors are that go into bloat, how can they easily dismiss it?
Did he have the tummy tack surgery with the original bloat incident? Perhaps that was tugging on his insides. In any case, I'm happy he's quickly returning to his old self. And yes, sheepies tend to be Drama Queens........especially when compared to the very stoic Great Pyrs. |
| Wow....!
Glad he's feeling better! |
| Oh, what a bad time. I am glad he is feeling better.
What a way to spend your break time - but at least you had the days off. No way you could be at work with him that sick at home.  |
| Glad he is feeling better. |
 for portage hope all is well from now on. |
| Oh my, how awful for you and Portage!
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Yikes, how scary!!   So glad Portage is getting better, and I hope he continues. Big hugs to him AND mom and dad! |
| Thanks for all the well wishes. It's so hard to look at him now and think that a year ago we were commenting on how he was still a puppy at ten years old. What a difference a year makes.
When he bloated three years ago it was not typical bloat. His tummy didn't flip. Rather he had overfilled it (ate his body weight in kibble due to an unclosed bin, and was on prednisone at the time so he didn't stop eating). He couldn't throw it up, and we found after the fact that it was because of his enlarged liver. Once the tummy was full there was no room for his diaphragm to move. He can throw up if his tummy's not overfilled (our carpets can attest to that), but it's pretty rare. I think things were backed up past the point of getting it out that way so he just got sicker and sicker. Things are MUCH better now. During that surgery the vet said there'd be no point in stitching his tummy to his abdomen as there wasn't room for it to flip anyway, so we didn't have that done. I'm sure his liver has continued to enlarge, but we at least know to stay away from any meds that may make that speed up. He's been off his pain meds for a week now, and this morning was the first day he seemed stiff. I'm hoping it's a humidity thing. Also, we're expecting much warmer temps tomorrow and I have a headache too. Whenever the pressure starts to go up it hits me hard, and I'm hoping that's all that's happening for him right now. He's been great this last week. We'll definitely be keeping our fingers crossed for Portage. I really see every single day as such a gift at this point. |
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