Hang in there....better days are ahead. I love the new sig pic. He really is very photogenic!

Natalya, late at night after we took Connie home from the hospital she wet the bed all over, several times. We rushed her back in. They said blood tests did not indicate any ongoing infection (if Oscar had UTI wouldn't it show on the tests they ran at Angell?) and bring her back for testing if this continues. She would absolutely not go downstairs to go potty so I had to carry her (with the bed, won't leave the bed) downstairs and outside every couple of hours. Sometime next day she realized we are not taking her back to the hospital every time she leaves the bed and she started going out on her own. Could this be the same with Oscar? Stress, travel, hospital - who knows where you'll take him next time he sets foot outside the house? Or maybe it's something else.

Natalya, how terrifying! I hope he's back to normal (sorry I just discovered this thread, haven't read it all yet). He's very lucky to have you.

Were they able to tell if a UTI from the urinalysis or do you have to wait for the culture to come back? What a roller coaster!

I was waiting to comment on the previous picture until things were more stable, was that your sketch? Beautiful.

Hey Aimee,

I brought in a clean catch and they took their own sterile sample (the ole needle to the abdomen... ) - they'll do a urinalysis in house, and I okayed them to send out a sample for a culture (which will take days to get a result)... they had me in a bit of a bind - they'll start antibiotics now, but if they don't have the desired effect, they'll want the results of a culture, and by the time the antibiotics have been started, a fresh urine sample will be tainted... so they needed to send out this sample for culture NOW ($160), or we'd be waiting potentially weeks for another chance... but it's all a gamble. My money is on the antibiotics working just fine first go round, but you know, once the arteries of my bank account have been slashed open, what's another $160??! I'm so tired of this... I just want the damn dog to be healthy again!! (to the vet's credit - this was the "regular" vet, not the e-vet - I got NO lectures about his raw diet, and they didn't once bug me about his "overdue" vaccines... I think we must be coming to an understanding... )

On that note, anyone ever used a bit of slippery elm "tea" as a prophylactic for dog digestive issues? The vet gave me a simple recipe and said I could add it to Oscar's food every couple weeks, to soothe his system... I've heard of it, but not done any research of my own yet.

And thanks for the compliment on the old sig pic - yes, that was a portrait I painted of Oscar a week or so ago. You can see the whole thing here .

~Natalya

A slippery elm "tea" as a prophylactic for dog digestive issues - what is that? What did your vet tell you about it?

Love your artwork

 Quote: ana kozlowsky

A slippery elm "tea" as a prophylactic for dog digestive issues - what is that? What did your vet tell you about it?

Love your artwork

The bark of slippery elm with its polysaccharides form a soothing gelatin-like soluble-fiber film that offers a lot of anti-oxidants too, as well as flavonoids like proanthocyanidins.

I suspect the vet is looking more to the first benefit.

This is an ancient remedy, similar to marshmallow root tea (or even tinctures). To begin, tea is almost always safer than tinctures, although tinctures can also be purchased in standardized concentrations and diluted.

These are actual herbal remedies and have nothing to do with the homeopathic "law of similars." These are natural medicines, in some cases as strong as or stronger than RX meds.

The mucilage-like coating from slippery elm tea can block absorption of RX meds and should be taken at different times, or exactly as directed by the vet.
eta

JMO!

Edited by Connie Sutherland (06/02/2010 10:14 PM)
Edit reason: eta

Isn't it scarry when $160 feels like nothing in comparison to what was already spent. Hopefully for Oscar, you and the bank account this will be the end of the illnesses!

I saw all the potraits on the link via prev. pix. Amazing talent!

I have used slippery elm before for simple gastro, short term basis. I think it soothed and without any side effects. Not an easy assessment to prove or disprove though. Did the vet recc the timing you should give it in relation to the other gastro meds?

Slippery elm tea sounds very similar to sucralfate(carafate) - coating of the stomach and intestine and interference with foods/meds. The poop comes out all slippery. Should it be used in the same manner - 30 mins before food and meds? Will have to read more about it.

BTW, Natalya, Connie is yet to have her crown installed on 16th (decided to do it anyway before she got sick). She is so far the most expensive pet in our lives. Combined. All pets. Maybe she and Oscar shall date or something