Introducing Luna

[Halloweenqueen]

Re: Introducing Luna

Just back from the vet. Blood work came back with probable pancreatitis. They admitted her and she is on IV fluids and antibiotics.

Doctor said all other vitals look good.

Thanks, everyone!

[Halloweenqueen]

Re: Introducing Luna

Is it typical to leave dogs alone during the evening at the hospital? Staff leaves at 6 and they want me to come and administer her insulin and pain medicine before they leave. She typically does not get her shot until 7. They will not get back until 7 am. What if she has an episode? I'm upset and confused.

[Lolo]

Re: Introducing Luna

I would think a “hospital” would be staffed 24 hours. Is it a vets office or an emergency hospital? Is any care or fluids being administered overnight?

[jesse girl]

Re: Introducing Luna

With jesse i had to drive her to an emergency clinic for after hours and then return her to our regular vet during the day

Maybe you can bring luna home for the night and return for the day

[Halloweenqueen]

Re: Introducing Luna

I sent my husband to get her. I can monitor her sugar levels here.

I asked if she was in pain. They said yes, she was. I asked when was the last time they gave her pain meds so I know when to administer at home. They said, well you didn't bring any of her pain meds. She's had nothing.

They were the ones who gave me the pain meds on Saturday. They let her be uncomfortable all day?

I feel so guilty for leaving her in their care. I'm running out of clinics in this town.

[jesse girl]

Re: Introducing Luna

she needs the IV fluids .Pain medication is helpful because its quite painful . Actually my brother has pancreatitis at this time and has had 2 hospital stays with 2 weeks spent at the hospital . So its very serious depending on the severity

Glad you went to get luna . this is a situation she should not be left alone for any length of time . you can give sub q fluids at home but the vet usually well have to set you up for it

I think she will be happy at home and being happy helps with healing

[Lchow022]

Re: Introducing Luna

I have left my Mochi at the vet unsupervised over night for 2-3 nights when he had severe pancreatitis..That was my vets last resort because he wasn't getting much better during the past two weeks of me bringing him home during the evenings and being off of the IV during the night til morning. He would eat a bit at night and have more energy but the next morning when we wake up he becomes all lethargic and wouldn't eat again...
He needed the IV constantly so I had no choice but to leave him at the vet through the night..You can bring Luna to the emergency 24hour vet if you are really concerned but it'll cost thousands and thousands of dollars....I was in your shoes once...and I did not sleep at all every night knowing he was there alone. But the IV going into Luna's system to clean out the pancreatitis throughout the night will really help. Sending you and Luna some love. Stay strong.

[Halloweenqueen]

Re: Introducing Luna

Update: We took Luna home. They kept her IV port in case she needed more fluids. She came home and drank out of her bowl. She was starving, but we only fed her a small portion of the canned hepatic that night.

She is doing very well. She had her usual dry hepatic this morning. Gobbled it right up.

She looked so terrible over the weekend that we were all afraid that we might lose her. Amazing how quickly she turned around.

Thanks!

[jesse girl]

Re: Introducing Luna

Great news

Be careful with food and go slow . Its the enemy when you have pancreatitis

Relapsing can happen

[Halloweenqueen]

Re: Introducing Luna

I've been in lurking status, trying to gain insight on my dog's issues. The pancreatitis has become an ongoing problem. My once eager to eat pup is now struggling. The canned version of the hepatic seems to be tolerated if we can get her to eat it. There has been episodes of vomiting.

I've been a good diabetic dog mom and have done weekly curves. She was great, but now is all over the place. She developed cataracts last week. She was already blind from PRA, but her once glowing green eyes have faded.

The biggest problem now is aggression. I mean full blown Cujo like behavior. It comes out of nowhere. She will come and sit on one of my kid's laps as they sit on the floor. She starts to snap after a few pats.

I thought she may have a tender spot, but she's been looked over. She's been snapping during vet exams, etc.

My husband has stopped trying to administer her insulin because of multiple bites to his hands. I've been the only one who can test and administer and now she has turned on me.

The last two days have been miserable. For her and for me. It's probably the pancreatitis pain that has her so uncomfortable.

Doctor wants to retest for Cushings. My husband said for the first time we should consider giving her peace. My heart is breaking.

Has anyone had a dog that was temporarily aggressive? I've read online that these behaviors tend to become a pattern. Any suggestions on how to administer a shot to wildly mad dog? For such a small things she has the strength of ten men when it comes to shot time! Thanks!

[Lolo]

Re: Introducing Luna

Ugh I don’t have good advice for you here on the pancreatitis or aggression as it’s not something I’ve dealt with. They do make silicone anti-bite muzzles and I know some people have had to use them with dogs that just aren’t good with testing and injections. It’s obviously not ideal though. And some people put their dog (if small dog) in the sink for the injection because it helps to control them in a smaller space. Could it be due to the cataracts? Maybe she wasn’t totally blind before and now she is and it’s making her snappy because she’s being surprised?? Or maybe it’s pain/discomfort from the pancreatitis making her snappy? Hoping if you get the pancreatitis under control she’ll mellow out. I hope someone has some better advice for you. I’m sorry!

[jesse girl]

Re: Introducing Luna

As Lolo mentioned maybe the cataracts completed total blindness .

For a dog who was never aggressive something is definitely not correct

Pancreatitis if still occurring is extremely painful . You may want to double check with the test for pancreatitis to check if its still ongoing

I am not sure its worth a cushings test and go down that road unless you are seeing most of the symptoms and one of them is excessive hunger which you are seeing the opposite . You might want to join our sister site K9 cushings to ask their opinion

Now i dont know if i mentioned this but i do feed jesse one meal a day and did that because of pancreatic issues which seemed to end with this method . Cant be sure if thats why . So you could temporarily go with one meal and see if your dog will at least eat that comfortably

As lolo mentioned a muzzle maybe a good temporary solution until things get better . Not sure if you should have that ending discussion because i could not know your situation. Thats just a personal choice for your family to discuss

[amydunn19]

Re: Introducing Luna

I would muzzle her - it is humane and you can’t have her attacking you or the kids. I feel like she is full of fear. It could be the blindness. I would just reassure her and stay calm. It could be a bit of panic that she can’t see. Or she could have something neurological going on. I wouldn’t rule it out. Pancreatitis is painful but it is usually belly pain and general feeling bad. You might want to get her some pain meds if you suspect that it is indeed pain.

[k9diabetes]

Re: Introducing Luna

Seems to me it's an indicator of a problem definitely but hard to know what it is. Things that come to mind as possibilities:

- Something neurological and these are perhaps more like a type of seizure - if they don't seem to be triggered by anything.

- Pain absolutely is a possibility, especially if the aggression is all related to her being handled. Could be almost anywhere in her body or even perhaps a nerve problem like shooting nerve pain that doesn't have an obvious source.

- Since she was already blind, I think the cataracts might only be involved to the extent that her eyes may be painful. Cataracts cause terrible inflammation that generally can be controlled with relatively inexpensive drops so she would need to go on those regardless.

To me, a lot would depend on whether she suddenly becomes aggressive when no one is handling or touching her or if it only occurs when she's being petted or handled. If only when petted or handled, then some kind of pain seems most likely.

I'm sorry... it sounds like she is in a tough spot. Perhaps have a specialist anesthetize her and do a thorough exam, x-rays, ultrasound?

Right now, her quality of life seems likely to be poor if it can't be resolved...

Natalie

[Halloweenqueen]

Re: Introducing Luna

Thank you. I'm going to take her in again. Something just isn't right. We have tested for Cushings twice previously. Negative results so I hate to travel down that rabbit hole again.