Food – Adventures of Lupedog

Coming up on a week post surgery

Trying to remain pawsitive but Lupe seems to be fading. She is still not eating and seems to be so sleepy that she isn’t really moving. She is still drinking and will go out to pee 2 or 3 times a day, but still no poop. I have a call in to Dr. Z to give her an update, as Dr. B is not in the office today. Dr. B did call last night and said she wanted me to follow up with Dr. Z as she is more knowledgable on how dogs react post amputation.

I went to the office for a few hours yesterday. I needed to change of scenery and needed not to be jumping up every time I heard her move. I think we both needed a break. There were some tail wags and she did left her head up when I walked by her last night. But so far this morning, she went outside and is lying by the door, she didn’t even really walk into the apartment.

Do I regret surgery? No. I do feel like I had to give her a shot to be cancer free and live out her lifespan healthy and feeling good. I just don’t know if that’s a possibility right now. I don’t like the thoughts that are going through my head or the dreams I am having about things. But then I try to wipe those thoughts away and remember that she had major surgery at almost 15 and may need longer to heal. I guess I will see what Dr. Z has to say.

***Updated post for Lupe fashion show***

Lupe the life guard (and my foot) 6/12/12Orange sherbert 6/13/12

Quiet night

Lupe had a quiet night, I kept waking to check on her but she was out cold. I had horrible dreams about her which added to my sleeplessness. She is still sleeping and its time to get her up to go outside.

Hopeful that today will be an eating day…fingers and paws crossed. Wondering if going into the office tomorrow will help her return to some sort of “normal”. The rollercoaster ride is ongoing and don’t I hate amuzement parks!!!

Yet another vet visit

Lupe is still not eating even on the appetite stimulant. So I called Dr. Z’s office and one of the nurses called me back. She said it would be worthwhile getting her checked out to make sure there wasn’t any infection or underlying issues, but thinks that it may be an issue of pain management. Lupe has been on .20 cc of Bupranex twice a day and the nurse said that is the low end of the spectrum.

Brought her in to see Dr. B for an eval. Temp was good and she’s a little dehydrated. Her heartrate was high so Dr. B is agreeing that the lack of appetite is due to pain. She doesn’t think that there is anything underlying that could be an issue. So her Bupranex has been increased to .30 cc three times a day and she’s back on Pepcid for any stomach issues/reflux. Dr. B feels that if we can get her pain under control, she will start eating and to coax her with anything and everything. She was given sub-cuteanous fluids and a shot of Metacam to help with some of the inflamation around the incision. She hasn’t pooped since before the surgery which is to be expected, but Dr. B did a quick check and said she is forming a stool that I should see in a couple of days. I will be dancing the poopy dance like never before when that happens!!!

She was the hit of the office. Every vet tech had to come in and say hi to her. They were so happy to see her and all agreed (including Dr. B) that she is better than she was at this point last week. I almost had a heart attack when they first weighed her they told me she weighed 13 pounds and she was 16.5 pre-surgery…then I realized they took off a leg, duh! Dr. B weighed her on the baby scale for a more accurate reading which was 15.75 which is pretty good.

Fingers crossed that we get her pain under control and that her appetite comes back…pulling for her, she needs to pull back. I ask nightly for the patience to help her and I need to dig deep and give her time to heel. I guess this may be the crash and low I’ve heard about that hits about 4 or 5 days post-op. Baby steps end up equaling strides and leaps…hard to see it when you are the midst of it though.

Short respite?

After 2 days at the vet getting IV fluids and meds with no sign of improvement, thought yesterday was the day I would be saying good bye to my sweet bear (she has more nicknames than you can imagine). Just after making the appointment with Dr. B and sharing the news of my decision, Dr. B calls to tell me that Lupe is eating. What? So I went over to see her and she had perked up, was walking around and yes, even eating! Dr. B was going to send everything to Dr. Z so that she would be up to speed today. Dr. B feel that maybe surgery is Lupe’s best option. So Lupe walked out of the vet’s office yesterday! And I got a night of snuggling which I hadn’t expected.

Today is a different story. She’s refusing food again and just wants to be in her bed in the bedroom. She was very uncooperative with her meds this morning as well. I did have to give her a 1/2 bath (the back end) cuz’ she just needed it and that does usually make her a little mad, but she usually runs around, rubbing into everything for about 5 minutes before she pouts. None of the today.

Waiting to speak with Dr. Z to decide if we move forward or it we make her as comfortable as possible until it time to let her go. The pit in my stomach and the panic in my chest is pretty much constant but I need to be strong for her…she who has shown all the strength in the world. Don’t know what today or tomorrow may bring but I am thankful for each extra day we have together.

Hunger Games, Part Two

Spoke with Dr. B this afternoon and she was concerned about Lupe not eating and a rise in her white blood cell count. So back to the vet we went. She has lost about a pound in the last couple of weeks. Dr. B re-ran the blood work and her white blood cell count was still high, kidney and liver levels were not extremely high but above normal. Dr. B also ran a pancreatitis screen and that came back abnormal. So Miss L is currently at the vet getting IV fluids, antibiotics and pain meds. I have to pick her up around 7 this evening, she’ll have the catheter in still as she has to go back tomorrow for another round.

So for now, Thursday’s schedule is off. Not sure when we will do it, we have to get her through this current crisis. Just want my girl home and resting…hope its not a sleepless night, but if it is, she’s worth it…

Taken last night…

The Hunger Games

Breakfast this morning was a bust. Lupe at one bite of chicken, one bite of hamburg and one bite of bread (sounds like a George Thorogood song) but not second bite of any of them and the bite she did take was me trying to feed her. She also does not want to be in the same room as me, which is very unlike her. She is normally so underfoot that I have to be careful not to step on her. So she’s on her bed in the bedroom, no lights on and sleeping. Is this truly the Tramadol and all that she is going through or is she telling me something else? I honestly have never had a sick dog in my life…growing up our dogs decided to move on when we weren’t around.

We are going to spend the night at a friend’s house. I’m hoping the change of scenery will do her some good and maybe spark her appetite. They have 3 dogs (all big dogs)…Lupe has met 2 of them before and loved them, but she hasn’t met the new one, a pitty pup so we will be keeping them separate for most of the time. The humans are heading out for a concert and a birthday celebration but my heart is so heavy that I find it hard to motivate this morning. I want to crawl onto her bed with her and snuggle. Maybe that’s not a bad idea.

She is still peeing, walking and drinking which are all good. I plan to check in with her normal vet (Dr. B) tomorrow to update her on Lupe. I just don’t know if surgery is an option if she’s already not eating. We do have a few more days to decide what to do…

Saturday ups and downs

Lupe had some great moments today…walking a little more, didn’t have her 3:30 am witching hour wake up (giving Tramadol around 1 am seemed to prevent that) and she even pooped! There was some serious dancing over that one!

Dr. Z called with the results of her blood work. Everything looks good, but she did point out that her thyroid levels were low. This has happened for the past few years and every backup test we do comes back normal. Her kidney levels were within normal limits but on the high side of normal. Dr. Z said this could be due to the colitis.

The low of today as that Lupe has really no interest in food. I tried boiled chicken, boiled hamburg, bread, cat food, Cheerios, a Dentastix (aka doggie crack). With the chicken hamburg, bread and cat food, a couple of bites but that’s it. She has been sleeping most of the day. She is recovering from a bad bout of colitis and has been poked and prodded so much in the last week and a half and the Tramadol may be causing a decreased appetite on top of everything else. Its just hard to see a dog that was so food motivated not interested in it.

Trying to hold it together but its not easy right now. Need to be the strong pack leader but even the strong ones get overwhelmed and scared…tonight that is me…