Bacchus Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 My 11 month old Rotti has gone through a pretty rough week. He started gagging last Sunday night and after rushing him to the vet, we found that he was going blue and needed immediate sedation. An X-ray showed that he had 'inhaled' a date palm seed (we don't even own one so it most likely was dropped into our yard by a bird) and it was stuck in his trachea. 1.5 hours of a 'snatch and grab' endoscope couldn't get it. It was at least though pushed out of his main airway and more toward one lung. 2 hours later (post procedure) he had a heart attack and had to be revived. He was intubated and kept under heavy sedation all night and after another 1.5 hours of procedure in the morning, the offending item was removed. We then had to wait to observe motor skills (in case of brain damage post heart attack) and were told that he threw up under anaesthetic and aspirated some into his lungs which has now caused pneumonia through a few bugs, the most nasty one Pseudomonas. He has been home for 3 days now and I am coupaging his chest at least 3 times per day to help him clear the fluid. His cough and wheeze are lessening but are temperamental. He is on three types of antibiotics, Clavulox, Metrogyl and as of today, Ciprofloxacin. I am allowing him light exercise only - just enough to move some of the lung infection so he can have a good cough. He's definitely not himself. Still wonderful but so much quieter...he has been through so much though so I can kind of expect that. I guess I am after any feedback at all on this. What else could I be doing to aid in his recovery? The Ciprofloxacin is a generic human antibiotic ($91) vs the vet's original recommendation of another antibiotic which was $760. Has anyone any feedback on the use of a human antibiotic on a dog? What should I be looking out for in terms of future cardiac issues - if he's had an arrest, does that mean that his heart will be damaged somewhat and more susceptable to another? The biggest one - he seems much better within himself today although his cough is waining. Is that a good sign as it shows his lungs are clearing? or a bad sign that he's not bringing enough up? Any comments or feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Bacchus - I'm of no help to you whatsoever in this, but just wish to let you know my thoughts are with you and your boy. What a traumatic experience for you both. I really hope you are able to see him back to full health. Best wishes Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bacchus Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 Bacchus - I'm of no help to you whatsoever in this, but just wish to let you know my thoughts are with you and your boy. What a traumatic experience for you both. I really hope you are able to see him back to full health. Best wishes Erny Erny, you were there when I lost my 10 year old Rotti in 2007 so the fact that you have responded again is lovely enough. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 (edited) Well, I hope someone here might know some answers to some of your concerns. It is such an unusual sequence of events and (fortunately) not something I expect would occur frequently, so not sure if anyone is really going to be able to help you. I'm sure there will be many who when reading your post would be offering you and your boy good thoughts though. I can only imagine that you would have been absolutely beside yourself when it all began . Edited April 25, 2009 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lappiemum Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 What else could I be doing to aid in his recovery? Keep him quiet and rested - but resist the temptation to baby him too much (should it occur!) as its been a very traumatic expereince for him (as well as you) and you don't want him to sending him any vibes that could be negative - the soon he's up and about the better! The Ciprofloxacin is a generic human antibiotic ($91) vs the vet's original recommendation of another antibiotic which was $760. Has anyone any feedback on the use of a human antibiotic on a dog? Not sure on this - my advice would be to watch him regardless, but there are vet nurse people on DOL who may have better knowledge of this. What should I be looking out for in terms of future cardiac issues - if he's had an arrest, does that mean that his heart will be damaged somewhat and more susceptable to another? You can get his heart tested when he recovers, but i would keep an eye out regardless. The biggest one - he seems much better within himself today although his cough is waining. Is that a good sign as it shows his lungs are clearing? or a bad sign that he's not bringing enough up? I'd say its probably a good sign, if he seems to be more 'himself' overall - its best to look at 'symptoms' as a whole, so don't worry too much, but just watch! Good luck and let us know how he goes - what a traumatic experience, but hopefully you are through the worst! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Bacchus what a horrible thing for yourself and your dog to have to go through. Did they say that his heart had been damaged by the first heart attack? I would be more concerned about the pneumonia then anything else. I would think that being unable to breath properly most likely caused the heart attack. Now he is able to breath and is a few days into recovery I would think, unless he has heart damage, another attack would be unlikely. Here's hoping you get ontop of the nasty pneumonia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodle proud Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 I'm sorry, I am of no help either but just want you to know I'm thinking of you and praying for you both. I hope one day the trauma of this will be a distant memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 most animal antibiotics are actually human ones repackaged or flavoured for dogs. I have used human ones I had around the house (I asked my friend first who is a vet of 10 years) and that is what she said - same ingredient just different package. make sure he stays warm and dont walk him out in the freezing cold air, wait until the ambient temp is a little nicer before taking him out. I also would not be letting him sit about all day even if thats all he wants to do as for the cardiac issue you can have some testing done when he gets better. Depending on how long the hear was without oxygen will dictate how much of the cardiac tissue was damaged. See what the vet says but if it were my dog slow steady exercise, keep him lean and healthy. Bypass patients are made to get up and walk asap (my dad had a quadruple and no cotton wool there!) so same for the dog. A healthy heart is one that does regular exercise. They should have been doing an anaesthetic chart and giving him pure oxygen during his anaesthetic, he should also have been under an O2 saturation monitor. If they used just an injected anaesthetic for that prolonged period with no oxygen there may be more damage to both the brain and heart. If the dog had a properly sized tube then how did he aspirate vomit? Or was there no tube in when he vomited Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bacchus Posted April 30, 2009 Author Share Posted April 30, 2009 Thanks to everyone for your advice and assistance. It has been a week or so now and Mack is doing brilliantly. His cough is all but gone, his cheekiness is back and today he was so excited when I threw his ball for him for the first time in a couple of weeks. The nice part is that he has also matured just a bit. He's still a puppy but used to jump up and unintentionally knock the kids over if he was excited. He's much more considerate and gentle now which is absolutely wonderful. It was a big vet bill but well work it - he's a great boy. They should have been doing an anaesthetic chart and giving him pure oxygen during his anaesthetic, he should also have been under an O2 saturation monitor. If they used just an injected anaesthetic for that prolonged period with no oxygen there may be more damage to both the brain and heart.If the dog had a properly sized tube then how did he aspirate vomit? Or was there no tube in when he vomited I believe that he was fully monitored for O2 sats plus being on constant O2 during his treatments. I can't comment on the aspiration as I didn't query that with the vet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Crikey!! I've only just read this.. what an ordeal for you both. The only useful suggestion I have is to add some Vitamin C to his diet (good for times of stress and an immune system booster) and some probiotics to counter the effect of the antibiotics on his gut flora. He's clearly a fighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUGGA-LUGZ Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Sorry no help here...just wanted to wish you well with your boy and hope he makes a full recovery. What an ordeal for you to go through. You have a strong boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Great to hear that he is almost recovered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laneka Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Just came across this then so glad to read that Mack is recovering. Hopefully he will fully recover and have no side effects. Just back to being a normal Rott with a great sense of humour. and a for Mack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tru Borders Posted May 1, 2009 Share Posted May 1, 2009 Oh my gosh Baccus you and Mack have been through a lot havent you!! I was a mess 2 weeks ago when Asher had a tooth out.... i feel a little bit silly now after reading your story and recovery Am so happy Mack is doing so well! Good on you for doing everything you did and obviously helping with his speedy recovery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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