Vomited red blood, and black, tarry diarrhea :-(

TooTooMommy

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Jun 17, 2016
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Meaty, Sophie, & sometimes fosters
:(
We always knew that NSAIDs can have the horri-bull side effect of stomach bleeding (and other bad ones!) , plus, we know that black stools mean "old blood". Anyway, we weren't home when it happend, but Thursday at 5:00, DH came home to find Sophie sleeping peacefully and in NO distress, but had
vomited a VERY LARGE amount of red blood. ANNND, there was large amount of tar-colored (dark black) diarrhea allll over the floor in another room.


DH rushed to our local vet where I met them there soon after, and....oh my goodnesshhh....seeing the blood on her paws and legs and seeing her sweet face jusssst killed me.


Our PAWsome vet said that in his 30 years of practice, he has NEVER seen that large of an amount of red blood
vomited (I'm glad hubbs thought to snap piks before rushing her in!) . But as I said, she APPEARED okay----her gums were pink, she was breathing fine, etc., except for
seeming a little tired. Also, as we waited in the vet waiting room, she did NOT want to interact with the other
doggies or hoomans like she ALWAYS does.


Hubbs feels soo guilty that we didn't see this coming....our regular vet thinks the dark, tarry diarrhea indicates she was only bleeding for a few days.

He wanted us to take her to the emergency hospital where she stayed overnight and got IV fluids, acid reducers, and other meds I won't know until we pick her up later. Doc said she is FINE, and we're going to wait and see.

They all agree that it is PROBABLY from the ibuprofen she takes twice daily for her horri-bull arthritis. :sad: ---she and her brother also take other arthritis meds, and we do realize it's always a risk. The doc from the emergency vet did mention that it COULD be cancer, but we're not gonna go there....yet....



Today (Friday) the critical care vet said she's doing well after a night of IV fluids and other meds. No more vomiting or diarrhea, and tolerated breakfast well. Her hematocrit (total blood volume) was 25 (a bit low), but she's not concerned about it. She and our regular vets are ALMOST sure this was due to the NSAIDs.

BUT, to get a more accurate diagnosis, we discussed endoscopy, another ultrasound, and a (possible) Cortisol test which shows if she may have Addison's disease, which (I had no idea!) can also cause bloody vomit and diarrhea.

Later in the afternoon, she calls to tell me Sophie's hematocrit has now dropped to 20 ( 5 points lower than 8 hours previous), which wasn't what she expected, but still, she's not overly concerned. We talked about bringing her home and see how she does in the next week. Obviously, we plan to watch her VERY closely! Wellll....DH felt it'd be better to leave her there one more night, and he also said yes to a repeat ultrasound, which was inconclusive.

In the morning, they'll check her hematocrit again and I'm praying it won't be even lower than 20! Vet also mentioned that with the high rate of IV fluids she was on all night, that can give a "high FALSE" reading of red blood cells, and that her blood volume MIGHT be lower than 20. Ugh...

OBVIOUSLY, she will NOT be taking the doggie Ibuprofen any longer---vet said he'll put her on Galliprant. Meaty also takes Ibuprofen twice a day, and we want him OFF immediately, too!

Sooo, we'll see what happens in the morning....we miss herrrr !!! :'(
She just had her EIGHT birthday pawty on April 3rd ....

I'd appreciate hearing everybully elses' thoughts/ experiences with this....thank you in advance!
uHUOaqj.jpg


I'm wondering if Meaty is missing her after being gone two nights :(
1IdgDcI.jpg
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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Oh my gosh... what a horrible sight to see all that blood. Sending tons of prayers and positive thoughts!,


Have you thought about more natural alternative for the arthritis? We Movoflex supplements and turmeric powder mixed with their food. The boys also get laser therapy once a month.


Please keep us posted on your sweet girl


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Cbrugs

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So sorry to read this and I try hope it’s nothing serious.

As Christine said, I would try other alternatives. Turmeric paste would be good as would CBD oil and glucosamine. I’ve never used Movoflex but Christine does. There is also acupuncture and laser therapy.

Keep us posted and sending positive vibes your way!


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thett

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I truly hate ready these stories. My heart and prayers go out to you all. Please keep us posted on updates.
[emoji3590]


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helsonwheels

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Reading your post is “proof in the pudding” as we say. Christine, Citte are bang on. Absolutely get them on the natural side. Ibuprofen should “never” be given to any dogs. Even humans we cannot use ibuprofen too long. It damages organs. Definitely start CBD oil for both, turmeric and a pinch of black pepper in their food on daily basis along with ginger. Sadly Galliprant isn’t any better! Below are your side effects of Galliprant.... I personally would start seeing a holistic vet. There is no way I would give any such meds to Nyala or Duke or any dog.

Herbs are fantastic to heal organs. Healthy organs, healthy body. Glucosamine and Chondroitin will help arthritis and joint problems and rebuild cartilage. Absolutely NO need for chemicals in a body. It boils down on what your dogs eats. Just like humans. Absolutely get them on the natural/holistic way and once they are back on track, consider raw as their meals. All the money you’re investing, won’t cost you more if not less getting them on raw.

https://www.doggieherbs.com/

7422CAB6-E44B-4809-AAB1-6B204455FC38.jpeg

The most common side effects seen in dogs receiving Galliprant are:
Vomiting;
Diarrhea;
Decreased appetite;
Soft stool with mucus; and.
Watery or bloody stool
 

Lalaloopsie

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I agree with guys. From my experience with human medicine if Ibuprofen caused bleeding ulcers in stomach (which I’m almost sure is the case), I have big doubts that other NSAIDS will be safe to give to her. I wouldn’t, especially taking into account her age. She is 8. To be honest with you, let’s say she lives 4 more years, which is a good life expectancy for EB. In these 4 years, her joint damage most probably will progress slowly, and it cannot be stopped with NSAIDS. They will do more harm to her stomach and not really stop the damage and pain. I think for her risk overweighs the benefit. In her case I would concentrate on good painkillers- I would try CBD oil, May be gabapentin, amantadine, tramadol or whatever the vet recommends. But NSAIDS are pure evil for her.
For inflammation reduction use Omega 3 supplements, turmeric paste, again CBD oil.
 

Lalaloopsie

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And yes, like Citty recommends, you can try laser or acupuncture for joints.
Absolutely all NSAIDS can cause stomach ulcers and bleeding.
 
OP
TooTooMommy

TooTooMommy

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THANK YOU, everybully !!!!

Our sweet girl hasn't had ANY vomiting or diarrhea since Thursday afternoon (it is now Saturday). After her 2 nights in the hospital with lotsa ant-acid meds and IV fluids, ultrasound, etc......she is HOME :tongue:

She seems a bit tired (obviously!), and is sooo happy and snoozing on her fave part of the couch. It was great to see her enjoy licking an ice cube like she always does. :p We'll see if she eats her din-din with GUSTO like usual. (Since we ALL know that not eating is an important sign of something being wrong!) ..... She's getting Sufulcrate (sp) and Omeperazole (sp) for her tummy right now; we'll talk more with our vet about how long those will be necessary, and also research NATURAL alternatives !!!


I TOTALLY agree about going natural !!!! ---thank you for ALL the info! And I don't remember if I mentioned, our sweet Meaty is TEN, and he also is on wayyy too many (potentially) SCARY meds for his horri-bull arthritis.
We will NOT give them NSAIDS again !!!!!!!!!! And of course, I would LOVE for them to NOT take their daily Gabapentin and Tramadol, either!


I DO truly know and believe that these meds can have horri-bull side effects----Hubby and I have discussed going natural for a while, and sadly; he's against it...ugh...! Although I DO believe CBD, essential oils, tumeric, ginger could MAYBE replace all the crappy pills they're taking, the thing that kills me is that since bulldogs are known to be very stoic and not SHOW you they're in pain, how will we know? That may be a dumb question---hee hee----I guess if they absolutely STOP walking and playing, it'd be pretty obvious, huh? :yes4:

Also, although this definitely isn't about ME, and doggies are different----I can attest that I also have horrrrible arthritis and have tried 2 different CBD oils, and tumeric, and they did nothing for me. BUT, peppermint and eucalyptus oils SOMETIMES get rid of some BAD headaches that I get from weather changes.


At LEAST with the scary meds they're taking, they can still walk, and they don't APPEAR to be in a lot of pain----I'm not saying they aren't----and I struggle with this every day! We've asked (and ASKED!) our vets if they think they're suffering in ANY way from all their arthritis, and they assure us they're not. Of course, we know they're both elderly for this breed (especially MEATY!), and we know that "that time" may come soon when we have to decide to send them to the rainbow bridge.


Sophie ALSO has a luxated patella (floating kneecap) and what we THOUGHT was hip arthritis is actually lower spinal stenosis. We recenly had her Xrayed (again!) when her walking seemed to be getting worse, and that's then the vet released it's actually more her SPINE than her hips.


And....omg.....back when Meaty was Xrayed and the doc explained his lower spinal and worse ELBOW issues, it was sooo sad ! We did take him for many laser treatments , but they didn't seem to help. I can say that back when he had HORRI-BULL ear problems, laser DID help that !!! ONE natural thing we HAVE been doing for quite a while is massaging Meaty's elbows and his lower back....which he appears to LOVE! We need to start massaging sweet Sophie, too. They've both also had trials of Adequan injections---but it's sooo hard to tell if those helped, either. :(


I would also LOVE for them to have accupuncture; and please trust me when I tell you this isn't a lame excuse----but it would be very hard for me to take them due to my arthritis. Just helping them onto the ramp we have for the car is SO HARD for me now! I wish I could!!! I've looked into accupuncture and chiropractic vets, and they are all a bit far from our house, and since their hours are the same hours my hubbs is at work, it truly isn't something I could do easily. Poor babies !!!!!!!!!:(
 
Last edited:

helsonwheels

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CBD works. There are soooo many different kind of CBD. You simply haven’t found the right one. That’s all. Problem is that humans wants a quick fix immediately. Sadly life doesn’t work like that. Takes time to cure a long lingering issue.

And.....Hubby doesn’t want to go the natural way and rather stick to those meds the vet has been feeding your dogs? Great results them dogs had so far eh?
 

RiiSi

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I'm so sorry to hear this is happening to your bullies, but has a vet really prescripted ibuprofen for a dog?
 

Vikinggirl

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Sorry I don't have any experience with this, but just wanted to say I'm so sorry, you're going through this with Sophie, l hope the vet can figure out what's wrong, and that the bleeding stops. Hopefully the new medication will work, and she tolerates it. I hope she feels better soon, and comes home soon. Sending love, hugs and prayers.
 

cefe13

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Glad to hear Sophie is home again and hope she will feel better and that you find some medicine/product that will help her without bad side effects.
 
OP
TooTooMommy

TooTooMommy

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Thank you again, everybully! :) Sophie's been home from the hospital about 24 hours now, and is doing GREAT! Her appetite is normal, she's eating with gusto, plus her water intake, urine and poo are all fine, ANDDD.....after being so sleepy all day yesterday, she wanted to play today, just as she always does! :D

This was when we FIRST got her home from the hospital yesterdayyy......awww...her fave place on the couch!
(I realize her nails look very long (neglected), but honestly, she had them trimmed about a month or so ago....they grow so fast!)
2JGB3Gw.jpg





OOps!!! I pprobably should have been more CLEAR that they aren't literally taking the HUMAN type of IBUPROFEN; I just use that term (instead of "NSAID") so that people know what I'm referring to. They're on what's called "VETprofen." On the other hand, that may also be just as bad as the "human" type, I truly don't know!


[MENTION=15310]helsonwheels[/MENTION].... I agree with you about needing to be patient! And....Nope----these horri-bull meds do NOT great results at all ! :no: I'm hoping that after this nightmare, he'll be willing to try natural things! I have told hubbs MANY stories of doggies who have gotten SO MUCH better after CBD oil, but he thinks this is just a big trend / fad / faux "cure-all"; ESPECIALLY because we've seen SO MANY new CBD stores pop up.

I HOPED he would be convinced after we also heard from some of the pawsome hoomans in our bulldog rescue group that they are seeing AMAZING results with their older, arthritic bullies after taking QUALITY, TRUSTED CBD. Sorry if I'm hurting your eyes with my NOVEL :cool:, and maybe you won't even want to read allll of this (and i DON'T blame you....LOL!) but....IF you're still reading....

I DID convince him a few months ago that we had to at least TRY! I also researched and learned that CBD can interact/ be less effective when taken with other meds, so I weaned her slowly off of her Tramadol and Vetprofen. I was too afraid to wean her off of the Gapapentin, only because it's SUPPOSED to block pain, and I obviosuly didn't want her withdrawing / being in terrible pain. Sadly, I couldn't get advice from our vets on the PROPER way to wean/ how much CBD to give, etc. because ....wellll, they don't believe in it....ugh!

Aside from our pawsome rescue friends who we trust IMPLICITLY, we also go to a local, non-chain pet supply store where the employees are pawsome. One of the owners of the store (who we've known and
trusted for 10 years) told us about a sweet 10-year-old pug they rescued whose arthritis was SO bad, he could barely stand up, much less walk. They were heartbroken when they considered euthanizing him so he wouldn't suffer any longer.

BUT then they decided to at least TRY a CBD powder made with some types of mushrooms. They gave us a very helpful pamphlet and website address to research it ourselves. They sprinkled it on his food every day and a few weeks later, he was walking and playing like a happy PUPPY again! FINALLLLLY....hubbs was convinced. I want to explain all of this so that you know hubbs isn't a jerk....LOL....and he adores our babies as much as I do!

He bought a small-ish bottle of their CBD blend and I admit, we both were a litttle shocked at the 90.00.....BUT, they're our children, and we love them IMMENSELY, so who cares about money? Hubbs also NEVER complains about their high vet bills, or the $2,000.00 eye surgery she had a few years ago. Also, when we've fostered/ adopted in the past, he also voluntarily paid for MANY vet bills, meds, etc. that our rescue would normally reimburse us for.

Anyhoooo.......after a solid month, no changes at ALL, so he wanted her back on her regular meds, and I have to admit, I agreed. I DO reaiize we probab-bully needed to give the CBD more time, BUT.....every. single. person. we spoke to about their doggie's amazing improvements said they saw it much quicker. Since I've explained all of that, I think you can understand better why he's sort of anti-natural remedies. :)


Whatever we're going to try next, what I know for SURE right now is that we are NOT giving her or Meaty ANY type of NSAID again, annnnd, I also got rid of the "wonderful", HUGE bottle of prescription-strength Aleve that my doc RX'd to me. Sure, it helps my CONSTANT pain SOMEtimes, but honestly.......every time I take it, I KNOW the risks and it's scary. So....no more!

I also take a wonderful supplement called Kratom that helps most of the time. It's a plant that grows in places like Thailand, Malaysia, etc. Perhaps I need to do more research and decide if it'd be safe for dogs, too. (P.S....if anybully is interested in trying it, I need to let you know it's illegal in about 7 states in the U.S., plus, I THINK it's illegal in a few countries).
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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Thank you again, everybully! :) Sophie's been home from the hospital about 24 hours now, and is doing GREAT! Her appetite is normal, she's eating with gusto, plus her water intake, urine and poo are all fine, ANDDD.....after being so sleepy all day yesterday, she wanted to play today, just as she always does! :D

This was when we FIRST got her home from the hospital yesterdayyy......awww...her fave place on the couch!
(I realize her nails look very long (neglected), but honestly, she had them trimmed about a month or so ago....they grow so fast!)
2JGB3Gw.jpg





OOps!!! I pprobably should have been more CLEAR that they aren't literally taking the HUMAN type of IBUPROFEN; I just use that term (instead of "NSAID") so that people know what I'm referring to. They're on what's called "VETprofen." On the other hand, that may also be just as bad as the "human" type, I truly don't know!


[MENTION=15310]helsonwheels[/MENTION].... I agree with you about needing to be patient! And....Nope----these horri-bull meds do NOT great results at all ! :no: I'm hoping that after this nightmare, he'll be willing to try natural things! I have told hubbs MANY stories of doggies who have gotten SO MUCH better after CBD oil, but he thinks this is just a big trend / fad / faux "cure-all"; ESPECIALLY because we've seen SO MANY new CBD stores pop up.

I HOPED he would be convinced after we also heard from some of the pawsome hoomans in our bulldog rescue group that they are seeing AMAZING results with their older, arthritic bullies after taking QUALITY, TRUSTED CBD. Sorry if I'm hurting your eyes with my NOVEL :cool:, and maybe you won't even want to read allll of this (and i DON'T blame you....LOL!) but....IF you're still reading....

I DID convince him a few months ago that we had to at least TRY! I also researched and learned that CBD can interact/ be less effective when taken with other meds, so I weaned her slowly off of her Tramadol and Vetprofen. I was too afraid to wean her off of the Gapapentin, only because it's SUPPOSED to block pain, and I obviosuly didn't want her withdrawing / being in terrible pain. Sadly, I couldn't get advice from our vets on the PROPER way to wean/ how much CBD to give, etc. because ....wellll, they don't believe in it....ugh!

Aside from our pawsome rescue friends who we trust IMPLICITLY, we also go to a local, non-chain pet supply store where the employees are pawsome. One of the owners of the store (who we've known and
trusted for 10 years) told us about a sweet 10-year-old pug they rescued whose arthritis was SO bad, he could barely stand up, much less walk. They were heartbroken when they considered euthanizing him so he wouldn't suffer any longer.

BUT then they decided to at least TRY a CBD powder made with some types of mushrooms. They gave us a very helpful pamphlet and website address to research it ourselves. They sprinkled it on his food every day and a few weeks later, he was walking and playing like a happy PUPPY again! FINALLLLLY....hubbs was convinced. I want to explain all of this so that you know hubbs isn't a jerk....LOL....and he adores our babies as much as I do!

He bought a small-ish bottle of their CBD blend and I admit, we both were a litttle shocked at the 90.00.....BUT, they're our children, and we love them IMMENSELY, so who cares about money? Hubbs also NEVER complains about their high vet bills, or the $2,000.00 eye surgery she had a few years ago. Also, when we've fostered/ adopted in the past, he also voluntarily paid for MANY vet bills, meds, etc. that our rescue would normally reimburse us for.

Anyhoooo.......after a solid month, no changes at ALL, so he wanted her back on her regular meds, and I have to admit, I agreed. I DO reaiize we probab-bully needed to give the CBD more time, BUT.....every. single. person. we spoke to about their doggie's amazing improvements said they saw it much quicker. Since I've explained all of that, I think you can understand better why he's sort of anti-natural remedies. :)


Whatever we're going to try next, what I know for SURE right now is that we are NOT giving her or Meaty ANY type of NSAID again, annnnd, I also got rid of the "wonderful", HUGE bottle of prescription-strength Aleve that my doc RX'd to me. Sure, it helps my CONSTANT pain SOMEtimes, but honestly.......every time I take it, I KNOW the risks and it's scary. So....no more!

I also take a wonderful supplement called Kratom that helps most of the time. It's a plant that grows in places like Thailand, Malaysia, etc. Perhaps I need to do more research and decide if it'd be safe for dogs, too. (P.S....if anybully is interested in trying it, I need to let you know it's illegal in about 7 states in the U.S., plus, I THINK it's illegal in a few countries).

So happy she is home and doing well!

CBD are popping up all over because it is now legal and available ... as Helene stated, you may have to find a better blend or give more.
[MENTION=15364]oscarmayer[/MENTION] which one did you buy that helper Pippy?


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