Sophie and the dreaded bloat

[shirley walsh]

Have had a very distressing week with Sophie...She had bloat last week and I had to rush her to an emergency veterinary hospital which was luckily only 10 mins in the car. She last had bloat and torsion in July 2013 ( she had bloat and torsion 3 times in 8 months in 2012-2013, then last year had mammary tumour removed which really knocked her for six ) She went into shock very quickly this time. She had previous gastropexy x2 in the past so I of course was so worried that her stomach had torsion as well. They initially decompressed the abdomen with x2 needles as she was getting really distressed. She was then anaesthetised and oral tube was passed without any difficulty. I got her home the next evening looking a lot better. She was on antibiotics as she aspirated during the procedure. She was put on ranitidine and metaclopromide to aid gut motility. I gave a gig sigh of relief that she did not require surgery...However the next morning she had fresh blood on her shaved abdomen at the site of the needle puncture wound...I thought that was a bit odd...and there was a large red mark which I thought was a razor burn. I phoned the vets and they were not unduly concerned. With a bit of sustained pressure the bleeding stopped. Sophie was a bit quiet for the rest of the day but was eating and drinking etc. By late evening I was getting a bit anxious and thinking she was too quiet. Checked her mucous membranes and they were nice and pink and my hubby said to stop worrying and said she was fine ( he is a surgeon ) The next day she still looked 'depressed' and I thought that something was not right. I phoned the vets to say I was not happy with her and that I was going to bring her in. They initially said to bring her in layer that afternoon but I said I was bringing her in now. Well I just got my keys and bag together and was about to go out the door with her when Sophie collapsed in a heap!. By this time I was starting to panic as I was on my own and no way could I carry her to my car. I managed to get her up on her feet and somehow got her in the car. When I arrived at the vets I said she needs to be seen now!. Luckily the vet came out and we both carried her to the consulting room. Her mucous membranes were white and she was in a bad way. I thought that she was bleeding internally and her blood clotting was not right. The vet warned me that there was a very real possibility that she would not make it!. I was beside myself that I may lose her...Anyway they took some bloods for a clotting screen and it showed very low platelets and her PCV (packed cell volume) was low. There was no way they could do anything surgical as she would just bleed out. It was then decided that she should have a blood transfusion  and I suggested her sister Missy would be an ideal candidate. Bless Missy who gave her blood to save her sister. It turns out she has had an idiopathic thrombocytopaenia which they are not sure of the cause. It could have been antibiotic related ,or she has used up all her platelets with bleed which was not enough to be catastrophic to kill her. (she had fluid in her abdomen which was a mixture of red blood cells and fluid) They commenced her on prednisolone and she also had a one of dose of vincristine to kick start her bone marrow. I got her home yesterday and taking it very slowly with her. Getting her bloods checked tomorrow. Hope they show an improvement. Apologies for the long post.

[shirley walsh]

Well...surprise her Lipase is not raised...Got her home on Thursday..she was acting like her usual self that evening but my the morning she was back to being sluggish etc...I am pulling my hair out as to whats the problem..I am wondering if there is a problem with her thyroid as I don't think she has had that checked out. Has anyone else had their dog diagnosed with hypothyroidism ? Before her initial bloat in October she was a bit overweight, coat very fluffy..but as she has lost a lot of weight due to current health problems its very difficult to tell whats going on. Any advice would be appreciated.

Shirl

[silvia]

Dear Shirley , unfortunately i cant help, but just wanted to say we are close to you . So disappointing and frustrating when we dont know what's going on.. i really hope you get to the bottom soon.. a big hug to the beautiful Sophie from us! regrading thyroid, i think if you dig on the web site you can find quite a few  past discussions on this.. Xx

[shirley walsh]

Thanks Silvia..Thats all I seem to do these days is search the internet..I also thought about fluctuations in her blood glucose...I guess its back to the vet earlier than planned.

Shirl