An X-ray, an ultra-sound and $547.00 later . . . .

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

This a.m. started off just fine - well, except for getting up at 4:30 a.m. to help DH pack and drive him to the airport.  I fed Rooney about 5:30, he ate just fine, had aready gone poo and pee and he was just running around like a crazy toddler.  The mobile groomer was coming at 9:00 to give Roo a much needed spa day, I was excited - I love it when he is buffed and puffed - so cute.  So I'm thinking this is going to be a good day - till 8:15 when Rooney threw up his breakfast.  I didn't really think too much of it - sometimes puppies and kids just do that.  So I gave him a sip of water to get the icky taste out of his mouth and he immediatly vomited again, and again.  Hard.  7 times in all.  This all took me back to January 5, 2011 when Rooney ended up in the animal emergency hospital with a suspected stomach obstruction - that never was.  They never could explain what caused it that time and here I was again.  So the grooming got moved and off to our vet we went - thank goodness they are 5 minutes from my house.  I'm there so often that I'm now asking for my own private parking space - lol.  X-ray and ultra-sound later we are now home.  They thought they saw a cloudy area on the x-ray and because the ultra-sound guy just happened to be there today they also did that.  They concluded that they don't really see anything.  Rooney got fluids injected under his skin, got a shot of Cerenia for the vomiting with pills to start tomorrow, Famotidine for gas and bloating.  No food or water till this evening and then he has to eat their canned food - Hill's Prescription Diet i/d Gastrointestinal Health, for 5 days.  Both this time and last they thought there was something in the stomach at the Piloris (spell).  They say they don't see a defect but the vet said that if he has another episode then she wants him to get an endoscopy.  The 1st time this happened it scared me to death but then I figured it was a fluke, now I'm worried.  So for $1,500 we don't have a cause let alone a cure.    Those killer shoes I bought yesterday at Nordstrom - they'll be going back - lol.  So the vet said ANY vomiting on the Cerenia should be considered an emergency, I'm picking up copies of the test results today at 5:00, I asked for them just incase we have to head to the E.R. tonight.  Any help, experience with this or advice?************************************UPDATE****************************************

I decided to call the Referral Center /ER / Critical Care Hospital where Rooney was treated in Jan.  They would like to see Rooney tomorrow for a consultation with their internal medicine specialist, they had 1 spot open and I took it.  I like the idea of not waiting for the 3rd time around.  I'll sleep better knowing that I have done my best.  I'm not freaking out or anything - I don't see this as life threatening but of course I want him to be healthy.  I'll let ya know what they have to say!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Jane, I am so sorry Rooney is not feeling well. I have no advice, but hope he feels better soon and you get to the bottom of what is causing him to get sick.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Nancy - me too but he was just to darn happy, bouncy, playful puppy one minute and then out of nowhere - hard vomiting - cool, moist nose and all.  The vet isn't even considering that it is the flu, it just doesn't present that way.  Bummer.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I am so sorry. I am rooting for the flu!

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Chelsea - thank you so much for all of the info and don't worry it doesn't scare me - I just want to keep this from happening again.  Twice is enough.  I have severe GERD myself and live on Nexium - lol but I feel that Pyloric Stenosis is more of what we might be dealing with.  I've had some nephews who as babies had this.  It makes sense.  I'm just getting worried that my boy might have to have surgery at some point and it scares the dickens out of me.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

I asked the vet about his running around but she said that this type of vomiting - continual and so hard - would not be caused by that.  45 min. later he still couldn't keep water down.  Yes they could do an endoscopy now but they have to put them out with sedation and that always carries a risk, plus the cost versus will that actually give us an anwser.  And yes insurance at this point would be nice but I always find for your house or car - they always look for ways not to pay so I don't trust that it would have helped today as he has already had an episode so it would be considered pre-existing.  I hate spending that type of money but he is worth every dime - priceless to me - lol.  I just want it to stop happening.  I hate seeing him sick and now I'll be "waiting" for the next time.  ;(

[Chelsea and Bailey]

Jane! So sorry you guys have to go through this. I know how frustrating it is to take them to the vet, spend all that money, and have them find nothing, meanwhile our fur babies are still sick.  Off the top of my head can think of 3 medical categories that Rooney could fall into(again this is just thinking, I'm a nurse, not a doctor! haha): 1. He could be falling into the category or GERD, Heartburn and Acid Reflux, 2: Pyloric Stenosis, 3: Plain old flu or indigestion (lets hope its this)

 

1. With GERD(gastroesophageal reflux disease)- you have a lax esophageal sphincter- the food that goes down your esaphagus and into the stomach can come back up because the sphincter is not tight enough- causing heartburn, indigestion, vomiting, etc. It can also create an ulcer in the stomach area, which can also cause those symptoms.  GERD can be treated by many ways, you can take medication to help keep stomach acidity down, and strict diet change can help.

 

2.Pyloric Stenosis- now im not sure how common this is in dogs but in infants it is quite common.  Since the vet said they saw something in the Pyloric area, I am thinking this could be the culprit. The pyloric sphincter is at the bottom of your stomach where the stomach meets your intestine(duodenum). What happens with pyloric stenosis is the sphincter gets extremely rigid and swells up, barely allowing any food to pass, which often makes the stomach too full and then they vomit.  There are many other side effects as well, but thats what I have off the top of my head.  They dont know what causes this to happen, they think it is possibly a chance of genetics, or something that the mother was taking in utero- unfortunately the only way to find out the diagnosis is by doing the endoscopic procedure your vet suggested and then it would be surgery.  I do not know of any medication or food choices that will treat it, but maybe I am wrong! Lets hope its not this, and hope if it is a medical condition then it is #1.

 

3. This is the cause that I am rooting for for Rooney!

 

I hope this provides some information, I am not trying to scare you, I am sorry if I did! And who knows maybe I missed something that it could be that is much more insignificant then those... Do some research, look at the symptoms and then take those thoughts with you to the vet! Doctors-Vets, have such a wide base of patients that they are treating that sometimes they dont see the symptoms right under their nose and often do a wide range of tests, when really if they had time to think about it, may have only needed to do one or two. Hope this helps.

[BG and Gavin]

I feel bad for you and Rooney.  Don't you wish that they could talk?  Hopefully he recovers quickly and they can get to the bottom of things.  I understand that it is terrible not knowing.

[Christine & Shelby]

What a rough morning.... I hope Rooney is feeling his old self again soon.   Sending you both hugs and puppy kisses!   Christine & Shelby!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Don't you wish you had insurance?  Gosh...so sorry you are going through this.  If you don't get a lot of advice/responses here, I would re-post in forum.

Keep us posted!

[Phoebe's Mom]

I am so sorry both you and Rooney are going through this. I have no words of wisdom or experience to add, just the hope that there is no more upsetment.  This may sound off the wall especially because it is invasive but, if the endoscopy could give you a conclusive answer, could it be done sooner rather than waiting for another bout of this to potentially happen?  Raising puppies (and children for that matter) is never a smooth sailing, right?