Dog Daze 2

About two weeks ago, I told you that Toby had a cough ... so he ended up going on drugs for that... and the good news...  while it did take about a week, the cough did go away.  But quite peculiarly as his cough got better, he started acting sicker -- low(er) energy, (more) inconsistent eating, a (more) glum demeanor, and absolutely, positively no interest in giving his ever active 'lil brother the proverbial time of day... in other words, he seemed much sicker than he ever did when he had the cough!

After getting thru the cough medication, I took him in this past Friday to see why he was acting so poorly... to make a long story short... x-rays showed his stomach was inflamed and the walls of his stomach were thick... and the doctor confirmed what we had suspected... Toby was in pain/discomfort.  So we left with two new stomach meds plus a pain shot and injection of fluids (for dehydration).

While he did get a boost from the fluids and pain shot, it was short-lived... by Sunday, the poor body language was back and Monday morning I decided to call the vet back and we had an appointment yesterday afternoon.

The doctor agreed that he still wasn't acting/looking any better.  The next step was blood work.  At this point, I mentioned that Rocky had been exhibiting some of the symptoms he had when he had an intestinal parasite a couple of months ago (I thought I mentioned it here, but can't seem to find the entry).  So that got the doctor thinking that maybe Toby has a parasite as well.  Long story short, both dogs are now on anti-parasite medication... with Toby getting another round of fluids yesterday.

If this parasite meds didn't work, the vet said we could come back in a couple days and do the blood work... but preferring to stave off a fourth trip to the vet in two weeks, I told him just to go ahead with it... something is obviously not right with him... and if anything does show up, we can get to treating that ASAP... and if nothing shows up, well at least I have peace of mind (granted I didn't think that "peace of mind" would cost $175 for the blood work alone!  The "blood draw" was an additional charge).

So despite that outrageously good Olympics news, it's not been a terribly happy time over the past week.  It is easy to get frustrated with the vet (and I certainly have been) with the "let's try this now" or "maybe it's that" and not have anything to show after nearly $700 worth of treatment... I do understand how hard it must be to try to treat a living thing that can't tell you where it hurts... and having to rely on just a visual or a groan when you poke him there... but still its pretty hard watching Toby feel so obviously not well and not being able to do much about it other than hope that the "next thing" will be the remedy.

Comments

[buckaroo]

...here's hoping everythings gonna be ok - my thoughts are with you guys.

[Scott-O-Rama]

Poor Toby.

Sounds like you are doing everything in your power to help relieve any pain or discomfort he might be having. Though it may take several "strikes" before the hit, I'm sure that eventually and hopefully soon the vet and you will figure out what it is that's got Toby feeling ill. You're good doggie parents, and Toby is luck to have you both.

My thoughts are with you.