# HELP - diarrhea/vomiting after sedation



## Jersey's Mom

Ozzie was sedated on Friday for X-rays. He was given Dormitor and then reversed. All seemed fine Friday night, he was a little groggy, mostly slept and took down a very small meal (as directed) and some water. His stool was mostly normal but a little soft at the end.

Saturday morning I resumed normal feeding and watering (as directed). His stool was softer than the night before, but nothing I found particularly alarming. I went out for a while during the day, he was crated, and I came home to him acting normal. Within an hour he began vomitting, probably 5 or 6 times. There was no food present, just liquid, mostly phlegm. At that point he had turned to full on diarrhea. I gave him a little water, but it came right back up. I decided to sleep on it and see how he was doing this morning.

This morning he is keeping water down without a problem but he is still having diarrhea (not much of it as he's not eaten in over 24 hours). He's acting fairly normal (maybe a little quiet for him, but mostly he seems to be waiting around the kitchen in hopes that I will feed him). His eyes are bright and he doesn't have that "droopy" look of a sick dog. He has been given a light sedative before, I believe the same one back in December with no adverse effects.

My question is, how worried should I be about this? Normally at this point I would start him on a bland diet this evening provided he did not vomit anymore... chicken and rice to help firm him up. But given that this is likely a reaction to the medication he was given, I'm curious whether this is worth a trip to the emergency vet to make sure everything is okay. Has anyone here had any experience with this? Any and all advice appreciated.

Julie, Jersey and Oz


----------



## Dallas Gold

This happened to us with Toby after he was sedated in 2010 for a dental. He was groggy and the poops started getting softer and softer over the next couple of days and then he started vomiting. Of course it was on a Sunday too. Our veterinary clinic is open on weekends, with limited veterinary staff, so I called the clinic and talked with one of the nurses who did his dental earlier that week. I told her what was happening, that I thought he was still reacting to the sedation and that I was going to give him a Cerinia tablet we had on hand for Barkley in case he got nauseous after chemo (he never did so we had several tablets at the house). She agreed, confirmed I should forgo feeding for about 24 hours to give the stomach a chance to settle, and then start up with canned ID for a few days to see if he improved. We did just that and he slowly improved. I'm not sure which anesthesia was used, but I asked the ophthalmologist clinic to contact his regular vet to find out what it was so they would not use it for his cataract surgery. They used another anesthetic and sedative and he was fine. He underwent another sedated procedure in early May with a different anesthesia and also did fine. 

I'd suggest holding food to give the tummy a rest and then start up with something that is easily digestible for a few days. If the vomiting continues try some plain pepcid or get some Cerinia from the vet. Does he have a fever? I made sure Toby didn't have one when I called the clinic about it because I knew they would ask. The nurse also wanted me to confirm there was no blood in the stool or in the vomit. If he had a fever or was eliminating blood, a vet visit was in order. 

Good luck.

ETA--Toby was acting normally, but still vomiting, which of course made it more difficult to figure out what to do.


----------



## Jersey's Mom

I was just about to take his temp and confirm that there was no blood present in his stool but he just went again and this time I think I see some. Off to the vet we go. Wish us luck.


----------



## Wagners Mom2

Don't blame you for taking him in--sometimes peace of mind is so worth it. Please let us know how Jersey is and (((HUGS))) for both of you.


----------



## Dallas Gold

Oh no, I'm sorry--good luck, and please keep us posted.


----------



## Penny & Maggie's Mom

Thinking of you guys. Keep us posted.


----------



## hotel4dogs

Poor Ozzie, and poor you. Hope you get good news at the vet.
FWIW, my guys all automatically go on bland diets for a couple of days after sedation, we've had *issues* before, too.


----------



## Jersey's Mom

Ozzie's at the hospital now. I was right about the blood and his potassium is apparently REALLY low. Her first suggestions on why that would be were that 1) he was sick longer than I realized or 2) it could be an obstruction. I'm a helicopter mom with my boys and am fairly sure neither of these could be the case. Then she commented that sometimes the diarrhea is just so severe, like pure water coming out that digs straight into the ground and that this could do it as well. Describes what I was seeing today to a T (little harder to tell last night as it's quite dark in my yard, but I think the same there as well). So he's hanging around there for IV fluids, potassium replacement and GI support. 

We aren't sure if this was caused by the Dormitor (had it once before with no ill effect), the 2 doses of Rimadyl I gave him (he's never had it before), or some other random occurrence. Not a pleasant quandry for a dog who is certain to need sedation for x rays and occasional use of anti-inflammatories for his hip dysplasia in the future. Poor boy can't catch a break.

As long as I'm venting: This particular vet requires payment for the high end of the estimate up front and they will refund what they do not use. When the vet came in to give me the estimate she asked me if I was okay with the plan (aka cost).... of course I said yes. When we went out to the front desk for me to pay she told the receptionist the total and said "she thinks Ozzie's worth it." Then when I was signing the paperwork I had to choose whether to perform CPR or to have a DNR. I immediately said, "Definitely full CPR," to which she replied "Well, you should read through it." I'm assuming because the cost of full CPR is listed (and NOT cheap). I replied, "Oh no, it's really no question." Now I don't feel like they were trying to talk me out of providing this care for oz or suggesting that he wasn't worth it... but the bedside manner was a little off. I can only conclude that they see many many owners not willing to see past the cost and provide all care necessary to save their dogs... and that makes me so sad. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a nominal cost and it's going to set me way back financially... but it's just impossible to me to even have considered not providing the best care possible for my boy, especially in a situation like this. (I understand that when talking about something like cancer or a very traumatic injury that the lines aren't quite so black and white.... but there's no reason to believe in this case that his condition isn't completely and relatively easily treatable). Anyway, that was just on my mind.

I'll keep you guys updated when I know more. They told me to call back in a few hours for an update, hopefully it will be some good news.:crossfing

Julie and Jersey -- missing our buddy Oz


----------



## cgriffin

I hope that Ozzie gets well soon and that it is nothing serious.
Wow, I never had anybody present me with option of CPR or DNR. Is this an emergency clinic? 
Anyway, good luck and a speedy recovery to Ozzie!


----------



## LauraKuykendall

I'm so sorry!! Hope Ozzie get's well soon. Please keep us posted!! I totally understand your feelings about how they handled it. Hugs!


----------



## Dallas Gold

You know, I wonder if it was the Rimadyl that caused the vomiting and diarrhea, especially since he tolerated that particular anesthetic drug twice before. The IV fluids will help him a lot. Toby gets colitis episodes from time to time and when it's really bad they admit him to the hospital for the day and give him the IV fluids. He usually feels much better when I pick him up. 

Did you go to a VCA hospital by any chance? When we took Toby to one for an internist consultation and sonogram they asked us to sign a DNR or CPR form. It was eye opening to read through them, because the one we reviewd was graphic in description, but my husband and I elected to have them do the CPR and exert life saving measures, especially for a sonogram (???). They also do oncology there and I figured the form was geared more to those patients anyway. 

The ER hospital we used for Barkley's overnight care after his splenectomy also made us pay the higher of the low/high charge estimates and refunded when we picked him up the next day. I figured that was standard practice for most ER hospitals. 

I hope he feels better soon.


----------



## Jersey's Mom

Just called for an update. Ozzie's doing well. I got to speak to the tech who put in his IV and worked with him to get the meds going. He said Ozzie was wound up for a little while but that he's calm and relaxed now and being a model patient. That's good to hear because I know how he stresses when he's not with me and/or Jersey. 

So he's gotten the IV fluids and potassium going, gotten a combo of 2 drugs for nausea (Pepsid and I didn't catch the other one) and an IV dose of Flagyl. They're not offering food yet but should likely do so late tonight or early morning tomorrow. As long as the diarrhea doesn't recur, he should be able to come home tomorrow afternoon. So overall, all good things. Hoping things continue on this route... I really want my boy back home.

To answer some of the questions asked - I don't know what VCA stands for, but it was an emergency vet. It wasn't a full form or any major description of the CPR, more like a small rider with a basic description and price. 

I wasn't too surprised that they required payment of the high estimate upfront. It was more the repeated "Are you sure you're sure?" type questions that threw me.

I am more apt to suspect the Rimadyl because he's never had it before... but to be accurate, he's only had the Dormitor one time before (in January). I don't suppose there's any test that can be run to check for sensitivities to drugs... sort of like one would run for allergies? I'm guessing not, that would be too easy.

Julie, Jersey and a long-distance Oz


----------



## Buddy's mom forever

Prayers for Ozzie to come home soon. I am glad he is "model" patient and doing very well.


----------



## Dallas Gold

I hope Ozzie is better and will be home very soon. The treatments you describe are what they do for my Toby during his colitis episodes, usually caused by an eating indiscretion of some sort (grabbing road kill or countersurfing things like unused Keurig K cups). They really do help him recover, though we keep him on the bland diet for up to a week after and build him back slowly to his regular food.

You know it could be the combination of the Rimadyl and anesthetic or the pre-sedative (if they used one) that caused the bad reaction. All those things combining is a recipe for a bad reaction in the intestines like colitis. Maybe your vet can help you figure out what the culprit probably was. Was the Rimadyl prescribed for the pain/inflammation associated with the procedure or will it be a daily prescription?


----------



## Jersey's Mom

AWESOME NEWS!!! Ozzie's electrolytes normalized, he has eaten and kept it down, he looks bright and alert... and best of all I can pick him up this morning!!! The doctor sees no problem with him being alone while I'm at work as everything is back to normal so I'm going to grab him in a few minutes as I think he'll be more comfortable resting here than at the hospital. So excited to see my boy!!

The Rimadyl was just for a few days since he was sore from all the manipulation during the x rays. Actually he had seemed fine in that regard following the dose on Saturday morning so I was probably not going to give him anymore at that point anyway. We'll have to chat with our regular vet and get her input later today when I drop by to get a copy of our x rays (twice they've burned me the wrong films on a cd... not really sure how that keeps happening). 

So glad that the worst of this is over!

Julie, Jersey and a soon-to-be-home Oz


----------



## Buddy's mom forever

Go get him back home. I am glad like you said the worst is over.


----------



## Jersey's Mom

Home and feeling bouncy... he rolled all over the floor when he got inside just to "reclaim" it, lol. So glad to have my boy back with me!


----------



## Dallas Gold

That's fabulous news!


----------



## missmarstar

Glad to see he's home and happy Julie!!


----------



## Tennyson

Me and Mick doing the happy dance because The Oz is back home!!!!


----------

