Ivy has Entropion - Opinions on Surgery?

[ruthcatrin]

poor pup

 

[Catia]

yes--poor baby--hoping the sedative helps (either of you or both).

Hoping this passes quickly. She still so pretty even in Frankenstein mode!

 

[elastigirl]

Thanks Ruth and Catia.

She had a much better night. The Trimadol is amazing. Really knocks her out. She's currently out on her long tether watching the yard which is what she likes to do best in the mornings. I don't have her in the fenced yard because I am trying to keep her more quiet, but she's happy to be outside.

Now if I could just get some sleep. Every tiny movement had me up and out of bed to check on her. Downing coffee like mad this morning. We go back to the vet at 10:15.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Crossing fingers she's better!

 

[broccolini]

I hope the appointment goes well.
We had Athena on Tramadol for her pano. It worked great and knocked her out.

 

[Smokeycat]

Hope the vet appointment goes well. I'm also glad that she does better on tramadol than Kryten did.

 

[broccolini]

Hope the vet appointment goes well. I'm also glad that she does better on tramadol than Kryten did.

Minor hijack:
What happened with Kryten?
We tried Tramadol on our GSD but it kind of made him act like we'd given him an espresso.

 

[Smokeycat]

Minor hijack:
What happened with Kryten?
We tried Tramadol on our GSD but it kind of made him act like we'd given him an espresso.

When given at a high enough dose to actually be effective as a pain killer it destroyed his willingness to eat. Bear in mind that this was following surgery which included cutting the bone and his prescribed dose was 900mg/day. It turns out anything over 200mg/day he stops eating. It made getting enough food into him so that he could have ALL the necessary medications incredibly difficult. I was hand feeding him piece by piece and getting just enough into him to avoid having the vet force feed him so he could start healing properly.

 

[elastigirl]

Well, the awesome vet cleaned her up, gave us more Rimadyl (she's taking that with the trimadol) and looked her over. Turns out, the beating her head against the floor (I can only assume this is what happened) actually ripped out three of the sutures.

*sigh*

He gave her a shot of something like morphine (that's how he described it, not sure what it was) after watching her beat her head in the exam room as I'd described. I got her home and she passed out on the backseat (I mean really passed out - puddle of drool in my car). I was able to get her almost 50 lbs of dead weight out of the car and into the backyard where I clipped her onto her tether, probably totally uneccesary as she has not moved an inch. Getting ready to go get the kids and start the afternoon/evening carpools. Don't want to leave her alone so going to try and get her back in the car.

Silver lining - apparently she did such a job on her stitches that the vet said it is likely to cause scar tissue. This may turn out to be a good thing as if there is enough of it, it might pull her eyelid down enough that she will not need the permanent surgery in the future. Crossing fingers on this one because I do not know if I can go through this again!

 

[elastigirl]

When given at a high enough dose to actually be effective as a pain killer it destroyed his willingness to eat. Bear in mind that this was following surgery which included cutting the bone and his prescribed dose was 900mg/day. It turns out anything over 200mg/day he stops eating. It made getting enough food into him so that he could have ALL the necessary medications incredibly difficult. I was hand feeding him piece by piece and getting just enough into him to avoid having the vet force feed him so he could start healing properly.

Shockingly, the one thing that has not been a worry is Ivy's appetite. At least up til now (knocking wood here) she has eaten very well. She is used to being hand fed so since we are doing that with the e-collar on, she takes it well. I think she has actually gained a pound since the surgery last Wed.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Oh my, poor pup! I hope she doesn't need tacking again, at this rate that would be hell.

 

[Catia]

sigh--I don't know why they don't dope them up a bit more than they do to avoid this stuff. Keep her sedated til she's out of danger of hurting herself.
Good luck & I hope you get some sleep tonight!

 

[elastigirl]

Well, Ivy had another rough night ... got her meds at 8:15 p.m. (a bit early because I was getting desperate) and I was still full-body restraining her from beating her head an hour later. At 9:30 I took her out for a short potty break and then put her in the kitchen to sleep. I think she would have settled but my husband came in 45 minutes later ... woke both dogs up and then he and my oldest had a very loud conversation downstairs ... I came down not at all happy ... everyone settled down by 11 but then Ivy was up crying at 4:45 a.m. Barry got up and took her out ... I think she might have tummy upset from the antibiotics. I am giving her probiotic powder on her food and she had 1/2 cup of yogurt last night but she had very runny poop all yesterday (sorry TMI).

She stayed outside on the tether and slept til I got up at 6, fed her and gave her all her meds, now she's in the kitchen sleeping.

The emergency vet told me that the trimadol has a wide dosing range - to start at 1/2 pill and move up, the max is 1 1/2 pills every 8 hours - I am at 1 pill now but wondering if I should move up to 1 1/2 pills. Don't want to make her comatose but she needs to be more sedated or she will rip out more stitches. I absolutely cannot go through this again ... sigh ... so she needs to heal up and stop making things worse.

This would be so much easier if she just spoke English so I could explain, lol.

 

[elastigirl]

New picture - Ivy's eye is so much better today. I can't believe the difference. She's much calmer and seems happier too. Such a relief. I think we have finally turned the corner!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ruthcatrin]

Yay!

 

[elastigirl]

Ok smart people, new problem ... Ivy is on Cephalexin, 500mg 3x/day, to prevent infection. I'm not willing to take her off early because that eye was pretty bad over the weekend. However, as they warned me it might, it's causing bad diarrhea. Any ideas? I have the NaturVet Digestive Enzyme powder and have been sprinkling that very liberally on her food. I've also tried vanilla greek yogurt (she didn't like the plain) but it's not getting any better. She is eating well and I always give her a pill with a full meal.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ruthcatrin]

How many more days does she have on it?

If she'll eat it you can try canned pumpkin (or home pureed pumpkin, just make sure if you buy it that its pure pumpkin and not pie filling)

Also make sure she's getting enough to drink, if need be "float" her kibble by adding water to it, with bad diarrhea thats the biggest worry, they dehydrate QUICK

 

[elastigirl]

I think 11 more pills, so 4 more days including today. She's been on since Sunday so it will be a week total. Thankfully we finally figured out how to rig a water bowl on a 'pedestal' so that she can reach it herself with the e-collar on, so I think she is drinking plenty. And it's not hot today - another blessing.

 

[elastigirl]

OH, and thanks for the pumpkin tip. Did not know that one. I actually might have some pureed pumpkin in the freezer. Will look.

 

[Catia]

I 2nd the pumpkin--helped with Tessa, though if you do not mix it thoroughly with the food--it comes out in the order it went in...
meaning when I put a big dollop on top of Tessa's food, the 1st part of her poo would be solid & the rest runny...
When I mixed it fully through, I got more even poos.

I used about 1/4 cup of Libby's pumpkin puree when I mix it with her food. Tessa seemed to love the taste of it-especially if warmed.
I measured the rest out & put it in ziplock baggies & froze it for emergencies.