Help Needed! Vet again - what are we missing?

[oscarmayer]

We did talk about it after her initial aspiration pneumonia. I will bring it up again today.

Aspiration pneumonia is the greatest risk with Mega E.
And...you said, "bring it up again"...DOH!

 

[LoveBug]

Aspiration pneumonia is the greatest risk with Mega E.
And...you said, "bring it up again"...DOH!

 

[LoveBug]

Easiest way to tell is by observing the "puking". If the dog heaves several times and then pukes then that is NOT Mega E.
Symptom of Mega E is regurgitation, the sudden evacuation of the large "floppy part" of the esophagus. There is no heaving involved whatsoever.

I have only seen evidence of puking - never seen her actually do it. Also going to ask them about hiatal hernia.

 

[LoveBug]

Update from Vet appointment:
Her x-rays are clear. No sign on any of her x-rays (5 sets now) of Mega E or hiatal hernia. They are referring us to an internist at the specialty center in Seattle and no surgery until after she has been seen by the internist.

Am I the only person who has a complete set of veterinary records and x-rays and insurance claim forms on my at all times these days Had to leave a voice mail for the specialist so no appointment as of yet.

 

[Clermont]

Update from Vet appointment:
Her x-rays are clear. No sign on any of her x-rays (5 sets now) of Mega E or hiatal hernia. They are referring us to an internist at the specialty center in Seattle and no surgery until after she has been seen by the internist.

Am I the only person who has a complete set of veterinary records and x-rays and insurance claim forms on my at all times these days Had to leave a voice mail for the specialist so no appointment as of yet.

Nope,.....

I had all recent labs and med records on Izzy (she had stage 3 liver failure)
Still have them in my desk

 

[rjisaterp]

Prayers and positive vibes for a quick...speedy recovery.

 

[2BullyMama]

Update from Vet appointment:
Her x-rays are clear. No sign on any of her x-rays (5 sets now) of Mega E or hiatal hernia. They are referring us to an internist at the specialty center in Seattle and no surgery until after she has been seen by the internist.

Am I the only person who has a complete set of veterinary records and x-rays and insurance claim forms on my at all times these days Had to leave a voice mail for the specialist so no appointment as of yet.

So, I know this is somewhere on the thread or other threads... what food is she on and protein?

 

[LoveBug]

So, I know this is somewhere on the thread or other threads... what food is she on and protein?

Nature's Domain - Beef & Sweet Potato 2 1/2 cups total a day split into 4 feedings
The only treats she gets are small pieces of apples (only 1-2 a day) and a couple of teaspoons of applesauce (natural & unsweetened) and ice cubes

 

[LoveBug]

So we're back at in this morning - started at 4:30am. I was able to get couple of short videos that we can show the vets. I will try to get them uploaded here later today. We're going to get a vaporizer toady and put it next to her kennel tonight to see if that helps any with the phlegm. The specialist is supposed to call today to set an appointment. I hope they can get her in ASAP - they see patients 7 days a week. About 1.5 - 2 hours from us.

 

[2BullyMama]

So we're back at in this morning - started at 4:30am. I was able to get couple of short videos that we can show the vets. I will try to get them uploaded here later today. We're going to get a vaporizer toady and put it next to her kennel tonight to see if that helps any with the phlegm. The specialist is supposed to call today to set an appointment. I hope they can get her in ASAP - they see patients 7 days a week. About 1.5 - 2 hours from us.

Think about asking for a full blood panel allergy tests... some vets say 'well, they are not totally accurate', but it gives a good baseline of what to avoid.
We had a similar issue with Nitschke, our first bulldog, poor guy would throw up after almost every meal... we tried everything for months, then our vet said.. lets get an baseline done via blood for allergies. Well, it cam back he was highly allergic to rice and a low tolerance for chicken.... guess what we were feeding? Once we changed his diet based on that info... he was completely fine.

Just a though and worth a try

 

[LoveBug]

So I am going to document here for myself and any other EBD families that are going through similar:
1. First vet visit - normal puppy visit a few days after we go her - January 3rd: fecal sample showed giardia and coccidia - treated for both and next sample was clear.
2. Next few visits were for normal puppy vaccines and she gained about 1 - 1.5 lbs a week.
3. February 23rd she choked on her breakfast and within an hour she couldn't breathe - rushed to the ER and diagnosed with aspiration pnuemonia
4. A couple of days of anti-nausea and something to coat her esophagus and two weeks of anti-biotics
5.Follow up x-ray for pneumonia at one week showed improvement but not clear
6. Follow-up x-ray at two weeks showed clear
7. March 20th emergency vet visit at our vet and the pnuemonia was back. She was given an antibiotic injection, anti-inflammatories and kept on IV all day. Released that evening in much better shape
8. Anti-biotics for two weeks along with anti-inflammatory for a few days
9. Follow up x-ray at 13 days was clear - kept on anti-biotics for another two weeks as a precaution
10. Follow- up x-ray on April 16th (another 13 days) was clear as read by two vets and specalist radiologist
11. And that leads to this past week and yesterdays vet visit

To note: at no time has she had any nasal or eye discharge, lumps, bumps, rashes or hives. No known injuries, limping or signs of pain. Her temp was normal again this morning. I will be editing this to add names of meds and other information.

Sure do appreciate all your thoughts, advice and prayers!

 

[LoveBug]

Could not upload the videos - they were too large so just going to add some pictures.
1st picture - the foamy mucus she hacked up after the lemon juice and while being steamed. It was approx. 2-3 inches long for reference

2nd picture - her laying in the bathroom during steaming

 

[LoveBug]

Internist appointment at 11:15 AM on Monday (4/30/18). They want us to fast her after 10pm Sunday so they can run tests if needed. Keep us in your thoughts! Hope the vaporizer helps tonight.

 

[LoveBug]

Happy to report we had a better night/morning. We did two things different last night:
1. Used a vaporizer (bought it last night)
2. Set alarm for 1:45am and got her up for about 10 minutes. She went out and went potty, ran around the living room a few times and barked at the cat.

She had some phlegm both at 1:45 and again at 5:45 when we got up but it hadn't really " settled" so she was breathing well.

 

[2BullyMama]

Happy to report we had a better night/morning. We did two things different last night:
1. Used a vaporizer (bought it last night)
2. Set alarm for 1:45am and got her up for about 10 minutes. She went out and went potty, ran around the living room a few times and barked at the cat.

She had some phlegm both at 1:45 and again at 5:45 when we got up but it hadn't really " settled" so she was breathing well.

NICE!! Well continue to keep her in my thoughts... hope this is the beginning of better things