Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Back to square one

This morning Jamie was lethargic, refused food and had massive bouts of diarrhea.

We went back to the vet, who was as baffled and frustrated as I am. 

Jamie had an ultrasound, which was NORMAL.

Just like his bloodwork - NORMAL.

And the X-ray series - NORMAL.

And his temperature, heart rate, etc. - NORMAL

But he only eats about half the time. He alternates between vomiting bile and blood. His stools are all over the place. Literally.

He will have an endoscopy on Thursday. This is about the end of the line as far as diagnostics go because the next option is exploratory surgery and for me, that's just not an option on a dog who will soon turn 12. So keep your fingers crossed the biopsies something definitive because at this point, we don't have a freaking clue what's going on.

Tomorrow I get to start giving Jamie the same "prep juice" people take before colonoscopies so his gut is cleaned out. He gets three doses: one at noon, one at 6 p.m. and one at midnight. Guess who'll be sleeping on the kitchen floor tomorrow night so I can let him outside when he needs to go? I drug out my air mattress and sleeping bag already. And you just thought camping season was over.

Since I've spent the last week and a half washing diarrhea out of his butt fur almost daily, I finally wised up and got out the scissors tonight.

If you ever needed proof that I should NOT own a dog whose grooming requires precise scissoring, Jamie's butt should convince you. His britches are gone. So is part of his tail fluff. Poor guy. I'd take a picture but I think he's humiliated enough. Getting through the prep will be bad enough without having to keep washing his butt.

Tammy and Marsha always joked about putting him in a lion clip. Well, I've got it started.




14 comments:

  1. LOL - just call us and we'll finish the grooming job for you!!!

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  2. Oh no. :( I'm so sorry to hear that Jamie relapsed. Fingers crossed that the endoscopy brings some answers!! And lots of vibes for the prep. Yeah that sounds like fun! {{{{{{}}}}}

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  3. Poor you and jamIe. I hope you get some answers so Jamie can feel better.

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  4. I understand completely about drawing a line on what you will and will not do to diagnose an issue. Hopefully the anal probe will reveal a solution.

    Mango Momma

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  5. We will think healing thoughts for the poor guy. Hope you can find out what it is, or better yet I hope it stops.

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  6. Hopes for a diagnosis and a recovery plan for the boy and I'm sure he'd rather have a bad haircut than poop hanging in it! :) As a human who has been the gammit with undiagnosed tummy troubles I can understand the frustration and the difficulty diagnosing him. Here's also hoping it isn't anything too serious.

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  7. UGH that's so frustrating! My dog before Layla was Sonny, a chow mix. One day he was paralyzed from his hips down and incontinent, with the mushy yellow poops. They did every single test possible, all were normal. The next theory was, "We can do exploratory surgery.......but he probably can't handle the anesthesia." That was the end of our trying to figure out what was wrong, and I spent the next few months just keeping him as comfy and spoiled as possible.

    I hope this turns up some answers! You and Jamie are definitely in my thoughts and prayers.

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  8. I'm so disappointed it was just bacteria! Will cross fingers for a right diagnosis soon.

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  9. Um, that should be WASN't just bacteria...

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  10. Best of luck. Hope you find something easily fixable!

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  11. Sending lots of good thoughts to Jamie

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  12. Good luck. I just got back from the vet with Jazz. He has some disgusting looking thing that makes him look like he has a fat lip. Turns out that IF it is what they think it is - it isn't contagious or dangerous, just ugly. Trying drugs and we'll see. It's so hard when you want to help them and don't know how. Hope your night goes better than you expect.

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  13. Keeping Jamie in our thoughts here! Hope to hear Jamie makes a full recovery soon!

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  14. Thinking only the best thoughts for Jamie and you!

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