Constant anxiety over dog's illness?

I sure can relate to being anxious about a dog being ill. Especially when you don't know exactly what happened and with a dog that's older.

If he hasn't had a senior blood panel done lately, I would do that.  Unless he's not better (sounds like he's been improving) I wouldn't do the x rays but that's your call.  Sometimes we have to go with our gut instincts when it comes to our dogs health.  If you suspect he's really worse before you can go back to your regular vet, take him to the ER vet clinic.  They can do all the tests necessary to rule out anything truly catastrophic.

Sending lots of calming vibes for you.  Hopefully whatever was going on is over and you're anxiety will ease as you see he's feeling better and better.  

Thank you for your reply!

He hasn't had his senior blood work done so that's definitely something that needs to happen. And I think I am going to try to get an appointment for tomorrow since he still really isn't the same dog as before.  He's still pacing/restless and seems uncomfortable after eating. The vet had told me if he wasn't feeling better or still not acting like himself to bring him back in this week so I'm going to do that.  And maybe I can get an answer then that will get me some idea of what's going on since he really didn't do much other than take his temp and palpate his stomach.

If you aren't happy with what the vet did, why not go elsewhere?  I think much of your anxiety results from the fact you don't think the vet did much so you don't trust it?  In other words -- see if you can identify *why* you are stressing out -- and it's never stupid to get a 2d opinion.

Sometimes we blow off what family says again if we don't trust that they "see" whe you think you're seeing.  But if you then go to a well-repected vet you'll have to then **decide** to believe what that vet comes up with.

I understand why you're over-reactng -- so decide for yourself *why* and then go to someone whose advice you *can* trust ... and then do so.  If another vet comes up wtih the same "nothing's wrong" then you probably need to believe it.  But going back to the vet (particulalry for a senior blood panel -- Jackie's offered a good suggestion there)  is a good idea.

@LanieA

He's still pacing/restless and seems uncomfortable after eating

  He could have pancreatitis. My dog has chronic pancreatitis and she was restless and panted a lot during her first attack. Being uncomfortable after eating (in pain) is a common sign.  Also, the tenderness in the abdomen that the vet found when examining him is a symptom. You said you're feeding him smaller meals; that good, but he may need a lower fat diet too; 10% fat or less. The senior blood panel ( or just a cbc) would indicate if he has pancreatitis; the lipase would be elevated, and the amylase and some of the liver values may be elevated too. So blood work is definitely in order. AS for being drowsy, that may be caused by the medication the vet prescribed. Maybe the vet didn't do much testing since this was your first visit but when I took Jessie to my vet with those symptoms, he ran a full blood panel.

 I will keep you and your dog in my thoughts and prayers, but please do have blood work done, and let the vet know that your dog seems to be in pain, especially after eating.

So we went to the vet today after Tucker regurgitated his supper last night (pretty sure he just ate too fast). We had  a different vet this time and she did a SNAP cPL test for pancreatitis. The test takes 10min and it came back negative. I was so happy.  His senior panel was done as well and should come back tomorrow or Thursday.  

He also had a Lyme disease test and that came back negative as well.  He also is going to take a broad spectrum wormer that may take care of some things.  But the stomach discomfort seems to be pretty much gone and the gurgling is minimal.  I'm noticing a lot more energy and alertness with him today/yesterday.  However, he's just swallowing quite heavily and licking his paws a lot more so I don't know.  He used to lick his paws when he went to bed, now he's doing it more. But Tucker's notorious for getting into the trash cans and eating things off the floor so I'm thinking it's just some stomach upset and he's got the antibiotics to clear anything up.

I have calmed down a lot more but until after the senior blood panel comes back I'm still wary.  I'd hate for anything to come back unusual.

Thank you all for the advice and tips, after the bloodwork comes back, I'll check in again.

Thanks for updating.  I hope he continues to improve and that all is normal on his bloodwork.  

 I'm so glad he doesn't have pancreatitis, and that he's getting his energy back. Heavy swallowing is a symptom of nausea ( Jessie does it sometimes). I know that licking the front legs is a sign of nausea but not sure about licking the paws. Antibiotics can cause nausea; if you give the Baytril with some food, that may help.

Thank you @JackieG!

And thank you so much @jessies_mom, I'm very happy as well! Or at least I will be happier once I stop reading through different symptoms and diseases and doing the 'looked at petmd.com, now he has this disease' game.  Currently stressing over if he has kidney failure.  I need to stop, oh my gosh. And once his results come back and are hopefully clear. *fingers crossed*

And I never considered the antibiotics causing the nausea! I have been waiting until after he's eaten to give him is chew tablet antibiotic but it could still cause the tummy ickyness. The Cerenia blocks the thought of vomiting but I'm sure it doesn't totally cancel out a tummy feeling yucky.

And Tucky's always licked his paws before bedtime or while he's lying on the couch with me so maybe he's doing it more now since he's drowsy from the meds?  Plus I've started to come to terms he's not his energetic little self anymore. The pup is aging and there's a lot more sleepy times and snoring involved.

Going to give him the dewormer tomorrow, we'll see if any thing happens with his stool and if it helps his tummy.

So bloodwork came back today.  It was mostly good news.  Kidneys and blood look good. As does everything else tested except his liver (I can't recall what she said about it) and thyroid (was slower than normal) not so much, but the vet didn't seem concerned and said we could test liver again next week and thyroid in a year.  

I should've waited on doing dewormer since it gave him some stomach upset and he's kinda mopey. He less whiny after he went potty this afternoon, which I didn't see much in way of worms but I read that you can't see then unless they're tape worms?

Hopefully by the morning after it's out of his system, he'll start feeling better.  Not really too concerned since there wasn't any vomiting or diarrhea and he's ate today and drank and has gone to the bathroom twice.

Hopefully he starts to improve more and more.  Last night he was more like himself, running around the house trying to get into the garbage cans, ugh tucker! Just going to let him chill out tonight, snore away and keep my fingers crossed it doesn't storm since he'll be up barking.  

There are a couple of things you can do to calm the liver down ... if you want to email me at callieatcritturs@yahoo.com I will send you some info I've collected.  

Typically -- a regular dewormer does not address tapeworm.  And you won't see segments of tapeworm necessarily in every bowel movement.  And no, usually you won't see any parasites in fecal matter (and it totally depends on what type of parasite you're talking about.