Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005
Posts: 31571
Loc: North-Central coast of California
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Quote: Sheila Buckley
Thanks so much for all the support! We are home and Thor is resting peacefully after receiving a liter of fluids under his shoulder. He is off all food and water until tomorrow (may need more fluids) to give his digestive tract a chance to chill. He has been diagnosed tentatively with HGE (Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis).
I say tentatively because my vet and I decided to treat before performing more invasive tests that may not be necessary. The stool sample was basically all blood and there was also traces of blood in the vomit.
The good news. His blood work is normal and there are no growths or obstructions in his intestinal tract based on xrays. He is off the metacam until further notice. If there is not a marked improvement over the next two days or the lab finds something else in the stool sample then he will need to have further testing with an ultrasound and an endoscope.
My vet gave me her cell phone number in case there are any changes and told me to check in tomorrow for further instruction based on how he is doing. She is off tomorrow and Saturday but will make herself available for Thor....which I am so greatful for but makes me a little nervous that he's maybe sicker than she let on.... Thanks again! I swear this dog has species confusion and thinks he's a cat with nine lives. That's not a bad thing he has a few more to go.
Oh thank goodness! Yes, it's serious, but it's also what I was hoping (because of the much scarier alternatives that your vet pretty much ruled out).
Don't get nervous. He needs you calm, and you need you calm, and this really is a relief.
If he goes to the bathroom and sprays blood, stay calm.
Can you be more descriptive so I know what to expect?
I kind of hope he just gets fluids again tomorrow and no food or drink because he's empty now...nothing to spray. WIMP that I am.
Thor is digging that he and Turbo have the HGE in common he feels so cool now; part of an elite group.
Hi Sheila,
I'm going to weigh in with my human GI nurse opinion here, again
Don't be surprised if Thor passes more tarry stools or even vomits a bit more of it. Old blood in the GI tract is VERY nauseating. As the areas in his stomach begin to heal depending on the size of the areas that were bleeding, they will develop small clots which will slowly dissolve as the areas stop bleeding. This is what you'll see him pass. This most likely will happen today and possibly tomorrow. But the amount should significantly decrease.
What you need to watch for is any sign that he's passing bright red blood either by vomiting or in his stool. This is a sign that he could be actively bleeding and needs to be treated ASAP. If this happens call your vet immediately! If he has developed a gastric ulcer (which is quite common with NSAID's) and the clot that has formed becomes dislodged, it can cause that ulcer to begin bleeding again. This is something that is usually EASILY TREATABLE using an Endoscope.
Has you vet said whether Thor can have anything today in the way of fluids? In my human patients we normall recommend fluids for at least the first 24hrs and then slowly increase their diet. This gives the areas in the stomach a chance to begin to heal.
The active bleeding would definitely be a worse case scenario. I completely agree with your plan to treat this symptomatically and forego the Endoscopy unless things change. I would have done the same exact thing. The only downside is that we don't really know if Thor was bleeding from multiple small irritations in his stomach, or if the Metacam did possibly cause a larger ulcer. But again, I would have done exactly what you are doing. Ulcers can be treated without being positively diagnosed via Endoscope (plus I can imagine how $$ that would be).
But, just so you know, if for some reason Thor does require an endoscopy, I want to assure you that the procedure itself is quite simple and painless and usually only takes maybe 10-15 minutes even if they need to treat an ulcer or something else.
I'm glad that Thor is doing well. Please let me know how things go and if you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them if I can.
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Re: Vomiting and Black Tarry Stool
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