2.5 weeks post-surgery: Well, poor Stella was back in the vets office last night.
She had her staples taken out Saturday morning, it was traumatic - lots of shivering, big eyes, but she was a champ and didn't squirm or cry. We drove through McDonalds on the way home for some french fries - one of her favorite treats - and then she took a very long nap. That night I gave her some rice with her kibble. She gulped it down but then puked it back up a few minutes later, it was hardly even chewed so I didn't think much of it, just figured she had eaten too fast. I gave her some water and left her a little bit of plain rice which she never ate.
Sunday she ate and kept down some kibble mixed with canned food and seemed totally normal other than her poop being a little sickly looking - kinda green/yellow and slimy, nothing too out of the ordinary for a dog with an upset tummy the night before. Monday however, she didn't eat any of her food, just a few treats and some chunks of bread from my lunch. That night she woke me up around three gag/coughing up water and spit all over the carpet. Again, not totally out of the usual for her. She's not a big fan of dog food and often goes a day or more without eating in hopes of breaking me and scoring some people food, and if she goes too long without eating she'll spit up water and stomach juices. But Tuesday afternoon I gave her some canned food again which she loved. Then fifteen or so minutes after eating, she drank some water and puked everything onto the carpet. I cleaned her up and took her out back in case she had any more to spit up. When she peed, I noticed her urine was very dark, almost an orange/brown color and that got me a little nervous.
I called the vets office to ask their advice and they said to go ahead and bring her in, just in case. They checked her vitals, listened to her eating/puking history and the vet gave her an anti-nausea injection and sent us home with a few meds. We've got Sucralfate that dissolves in water to a chalky, cloudy mix that she takes two hours before any food. The vet says this is to coat her GI tract. Then we have an antacid, Famotadine, and a pain killer. She had been taking Metacam for the pain in her leg but it apparently commonly causes GI issues so I had stopped that one on Monday and the vet told me not to resume. Instead she gave us Tramadol in case Stella is still experiencing pain in her leg, in addition to any pain she may be feeling from her tummy.
She told me to give it a day and if Stella's not feeling better by this afternoon to come back in for some blood work and possibly an x-ray. I'm trying to stay calm, but we may be looking at ulcers or liver problems which is totally terrifying. I decided to stay home from my classes today to keep an eye on Stella, and also because this two-hour gap between meds and food is really not compatible with my classe schedule. So far today she's had a little water, a very little canned food with rice and no puking. She pooped for the first time since Sunday, it was very runny but normal colored, and her urine looked less orange, more dark yellow today so I am hopeful this is a stomach bug and she's on the mend! My fingers are permanently crossed for the day, this poor pup has been through so much already I don't want her to have to deal with any other major injuries or illness!
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