Allerzeit Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Well, I'm a cat on a hot tin roof this morning Nova is in at the vet with a suspected gastric obstruction. She had a barium series done yesterday afternoon which showed that the barium - although moving through - was moving very slowly compared with normal, and it looks like there is possibly something in the stomach. She was hospitalised overnight, put on fluids and when I spoke to the vet last night, Nova was bright and alert. No vomiting or attempts to vomit (last vomit would have been around 11.30am yesterday), so the vet wanted to give her overnight and do another x-ray first thing this morning to see what has happened with the barium overnight, and then she will go straight into surgery if the final results point that way. Please spare some positive thoughts for Nova this morning, if you can. Any positive thoughts would be very much appreciated. Also, does anyone have any positive stories to share about their experiences with gastrointestinal obstructions - recovery stories, etc. I've read more than enough scary stuff overnight thanks to Dr Google - I need uplifting and positive stories, because I'm sick with worry at the moment How about post operative care. Any recommendations there? Nova is a shocker for ingesting anything non-food that she can get her mouth on - any thoughts on how I can reduce this? A friend has already suggested muzzling her, but I don't think that would be safe to do when she is not supervised, and it's when she's not supervised that she's going to get into things. Even overnight - she eats her bedding in her crate. I could muzzle her overnight, but is that really safe? She might have to sleep in a bare crate instead, poor thing I expect to hear from the vet by 9am with the mornings news, but pretty sure surgery will be happening this morning. Please, please let her be ok! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 aahh .. I know that feeling . Hope all goes well with your girl :) When Hamlet was much younger he cleaned up some broken eggs outside, and hoovered sticks & leaves as well quick trip to the vet next day .. lots of barium balls... some surgery, a few days in hospital, a new best friend called "muzzle", and an uneventful recovery :) his wasn't actually in the stomach ..and hadn't caused and damage to the intestine, so surgery was fairly simple .He was cut from A to B though- no keyhole !! They wouldn't send him home until he was eating (canned stuff) and toileting ok .. and then he was on wet food with a small amount of psyllium husk for a while . He wore a muzzle pretty well continuously for about 12 months - I was petrified it would happen again..and he is SUCH a hoover (not a chewer) he still has muzzle on when we are somewhere there might be junk to pick up.... The soft basket muzzles which allow full mouth opening/drinking are best, and although I wouldn't leave one on unsupervised, he used to wear his at night for a while after surgery to stop licking etc (instead of a cone)..and he wasn't allowewd out of bed without putting his muzzle on at a later date . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9angel Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Crossing everything for Nova today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadbury Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Healing vibes on their way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HazyWal Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Sending lots of positive vibes for Nova and for you Allerzeit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allerzeit Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Thank you guys, I appreciate it. Thanks for sharing your experience with Hamlet, pers. I think I might have to get a muzzle - if for nothing else, I can see it being a better option than an elizabethan collar. God, she is going to hate me for putting a muzzle on her! Of course, being a 6 1/2 month old puppy, her head is nowhere near fully developed yet - I think I might take out muzzle shares, since I will probably be buying a few to match her growing scone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 How's the patient doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allerzeit Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Just had a phone call from the vet. She called my little darling "naughty"! :laugh: Nova got about 500ml of fluid last night before she ate the IV line :rolleyes: :laugh: They got a second line into her this morning, and it lasted only a few minutes before the Nova machine ate it! So - she's feeling pretty bright and full of herself apparently. We are crossing fingers and touching wood, but the report from the vet the morning is excellent! She was given the barium liquid yesterday afternoon at around 3pm. When the vet rang at 7.30pm she said that the barium was taking a very long time to leave the stomach. It was moving through ok once it left the stomach, but at 7.30pm most of the barium was still in the stomach when it should have been long gone. They also noticed that the barium looked streaky, so they suspected something like a sock (with the barium covering the fibres, displaying a streaky appearance) or grass, etc. This morning, all of the barium has left the stomach and is now in the large intestine - and still looks streaky. So they believe that the barium has coated whatever it was and is carrying it through the digestive system. It will be interesting to see what comes out the other end! Nova shows no signs of nausea, and still hasn't had any vomiting - so they are pretty sure that whatever was obstructing the stomach is now on the way out They are going to give her a small amount of water and a tiny bit of mushy food. Firstly, to see if she can keep it down and secondly to see what it does. They will x-ray again at around 2pm to see what has happened with the food and to make sure all looks good. If she passes that test, then she can come home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Oh dear she is a chewer!! Hopefully things move through!! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allerzeit Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 I'm laying my bets on a bloody great furball! I brushed Radar out on Sunday morning because he was blowing coat - masses of undercoat flying in the air as I was brushing him, which Nova thought was so much fun to chase.... After the vet commenting on the streaky appearance of the barium, I immediately thought "hair!" I bet the little minx ingested a heap of hair while chasing and catching it! I won't be at all surprised to hear reports of her having a great hairy poo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) Good news about the mass leaving the stomach AND that it wasn't a complete obstruction. And yes, it will be very interesting to see what comes out the other end. It will be one expensive dog poo You might want to bronze it. Edited February 22, 2012 by Telida Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Good luck for Nova - they can test us can't they... Our first stafford, Louis, was a nightmare - he had 2 surgeries for obstruction years ago. Both surgeries went fine and he recovered well. He was an absolute horror for eating 'everything'... The last surgery removed some foam (from a foam mattress) and lots of wood splinters, as he used to chew the wood on the wood pile. This was not a bored dog, he was walked every day, played with kids all day (our youngest was 3 years old) - he had someone home with him all the time and he was an inside dog... He was just a chewer of everything and some of those everythings were swallowed... Fingers crossed for good news today Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allerzeit Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 It will be one expensive dog poo You might want to bronze it. One for the trophy cabinet! :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasha Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Sounds like she has it all under control then. I had a 12.5 year old dog just have a partial bowel resection due to a bone stuck in there. She was just a little quieter than normal and had vomited the day before. Her recovery was fine. SHe just had to eat soft food for a few weeks and had antibiotics and pain relief for a few days. On the way out of the door of the vets, she raced into their tea room to the bin and grabbed a whole BBQ chicken carcass out of the bin and started wolfing it down before we got to her. We got most of it back but it was a bit of a laugh. Soft food hey She was fine and has not looked back and she is an older dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allerzeit Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 Nova sounds a lot like Louis, Staffyluv! She's always chewing something - she is very, very mouthy. Gets lots of attention and activity, but just always has to have things in her mouth. A bit like a toddler who just can't keep his hands off of things! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allerzeit Posted February 22, 2012 Author Share Posted February 22, 2012 On the way out of the door of the vets, she raced into their tea room to the bin and grabbed a whole BBQ chicken carcass out of the bin and started wolfing it down before we got to her. We got most of it back but it was a bit of a laugh. Soft food hey Don't exactly learn from their experiences, do they? :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 On the way out of the door of the vets, she raced into their tea room to the bin and grabbed a whole BBQ chicken carcass out of the bin and started wolfing it down before we got to her. We got most of it back but it was a bit of a laugh. Soft food hey Don't exactly learn from their experiences, do they? :laugh: You're not wrong! @dasha - what a story - cheeky dog. Allerzeit, sounds like this one will turn out OK. I was going to post the reassuring story of a friend's Bernese, who snacked on she-oak cones - those little knobbly spiky ones that are not designed to pass through a GI tract comfortably. He recovered fine from his surgery (probably sooner than his owners' pockets :laugh: . Best wishes to you and the naughty little Nova baby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chequeredblackdog Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Sending crossed fingers for the naughty 'little' munchkin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasha Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Sounds like Nova will be ok. At least it appears to be something soft so her insides won't be scraped and bruised on its way through. Then when she feels fine, she will be looking for more stuff to eat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Nova sounds a lot like Louis, Staffyluv! She's always chewing something - she is very, very mouthy. Gets lots of attention and activity, but just always has to have things in her mouth. A bit like a toddler who just can't keep his hands off of things! Yep and our new pound pup is the same - I picked up a poo this morning that was more plastic bag than poop... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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