Bladder infection or injury?

    • Silver

    Bladder infection or injury?

    I will try to condense this as much as possible. I've been off this board for a long time so I'll provide a little background info:
    Jake is an 8-year-old Brittany/GSD mix. He is 70 pounds of pure sillyness prone to bouncing off the walls and whining for hours on end if you merely *look* at the back door. He loves nothing more than tearing around the back yard except for maybe barking at the front window.

    Jake had a fall a week ago Monday (8 days ago). He didn't make it over a hole in the back yard and landed on his abdomen at the opposite side of the hole. He seemed fine except for a sore "wrist" which we nursed for the day with ice packs and restricted activity.

    Thursday night we arrived home to find him not feeling quite himself. He does have a sensitive tummy so we just kept an eye on him as usual. However, he quickly declined. He had a very unhappy expression and could not seem to get comfortable. He would take a few steps and sit down. If he laid down, he would get back up and just sit there looking very unhappy.

    My mind quickly turned to bloat and we raced to the emergency vet (60 miles away).

    After blood work, urine tests and an x-ray (and $300), we went home with a diagnosis of a bladder infection and some cephalexin. He also got a shot for pain, Metacan.

    Friday he seemed better, even ran around a little outside, although he did spend most of the day sleeping. Saturday morning he was still okay, but not quite as perky. By Sunday morning he was looking unhappy again, though not nearly as bad as Thursday.

    Sunday I called the EVet and she said that bladder infections are painful and it is normal for him to be uncomfortable for a few days, especially since his shot had worn off. I told her that I thought he might be stiff because he'd been sleeping on the floor and it had been chilly (he normally sleeps in the bed with us) she agreed that some aspirin might help him. I gave him one in the morning and one at night and took him with me all day long. He moved slowly but seemed better. He might have just been happy to be out of the house.

    Monday morning he woke with a wagging tail and was barking at the window bright and early. He slept on the couches instead of the floor, presumably because he felt good enough to climb up.

    Today, however, he's back down again. Moving slowly and not interested in barking or going outside. But he's not making that "sick dog" face. When he lifts his head, his ears are up... but he won't GET up.

    Thursday night, his urine was completely dark with blood. Since then it has been a good stream of yellow followed by quite a bit of blood at the end. Not much improvement there. He doesn't seem in pain when he urinates.

    Diet-wise, he has not eaten a bowl of food since Friday. I am told that might be from the cephalexin. However, he is a thin dog to begin with and I can already see the difference in him. I've been trying to sneak some calories in him any way I can. I wrap his pills in a slice of cheese and he takes it happily, he is still interested in food. Monday, when he was feeling good, he ate some ground beef and beef jerky. I have also been giving him Gatorade, broth, JuicyJuice and Ensure. The vet says to keep going everything but the Ensure (I don't understand why) and that it would be okay to give him chicken livers.

    It seems like 4 whole days into the meds he should be feeling considerably better. I am starting to think that we are not dealing with a bladder infection, but rather some kind of injury to his bladder or penis.

    Any input would be greatly appreciated. I apologize for the length of this post.

    And yes, we do have an appointment at our regular vet in the morning, I'd just like to go in armed with information.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Aw geez Heppie, I can't help you but I sure will keep Jake in our prayers, I hope he feels better really soon. I'm sure someone (callie) will come along soon and say something that makes some sense!
    • Gold Top Dog
    I hope evrything works out. It sounds more than an bladder infection to me, also since he took a fall and then this happens?? Did they do an ultra sound? I would have them look elsewhere, if you have a feeling stick to it. Have you felt and looked around where he landed to make sure he didn't land on something puncturing the skin. We and the emergency vet thought my mom's Saint pulled ligaments from a fall and it ended up being an infection most likely cause by something (stick, metal) that punctured a small hole enough to cause a bacterial infection inside the body.
    Just a thought.
    Good luck 
    • Gold Top Dog
    Heppie, you're right .. they're wrong.  Go further.
     
    I remember you, and don't I remember you are in Central FL (if I have you comfused with someone else I'm terribly sorry).  If you are in the Central FL area I can refer you to the BEST diagnostician I've ever known in my life (I've sent two message board friends to him and in one case he literally saved the dogs life on the day, and the other gal has elevated him to as high 'hero worship' as I do!)
     
    You're right -- first off, he landed badly -- and you shouldn't be seeing that sort of blood -- the risk of internal bleeding is too great.  Don't stop -- your gut is telling you something is wrong and you're likely right.
    • Silver
    Thank you everyone. Callie, I remember you as well and I would love to hear your referral, although based on the way he's behaving tonight I will definitely be keeping our appointment tomorrow at our old vet. It doesn't hurt to have a back-up plan.  I'm still hoping he just needs a stronger antibiotic... no harm in hoping...

    His x-ray Thursday night was fine, no sign of fluid in his belly. And the EVet said that as long as he was expelling urine that his bladder wasn't ruptured. He's pretty hungry tonight, go ahead and shake your finger at me, but I gave him half a cheeseburger and some corndog nuggets :)  He ate them greedily which seems like a good sign to me. He's been keeping everything down except for some beef jerky that he didn't bother to chew last night.

    He was fine while he was laying on the couch, but then he tried to get up and that seemed like it hurt. Then he laid on the floor looking like he was hurting. I gave him a pillow and blankie and helped him get comfy. He seems okay now. I think moving around irritates it. His belly would feel hard by now if it was internal bleeding, wouldn't it?
    • Gold Top Dog
    I did email you -- see so much can impact the bladder and kidneys -- at one point long ago, Foxy had apparently a little lesion on his spine that somehow got irritated.  We didn't make him get up and go 'out' and he was running a bit of a UTI (almost a normal occurrence for him *sigh*) and had been drinking a lot.
     
    Long story made short, his bladder got full enough that it pressed on this 'lesion' and THAT irritated a never and suddenly I had a dog that couldn't stand up!!!
     
    That's not what's going on with Jake, but my point is that stuff like this can snowball -- and suddenly weird stuff happens.
     
    I sent you Dr. B's phone number (I honestly was just hoping I wasn't sounding like a total nutcase) -- and I know Dr B well enough you can call them and blow in any time, but he's NOT open on Saturdays (only on the 2d Saturday -- he coaches T-Ball for his little boys the other weekends). 
     
    He's just the best diagnostician I've ever known -- and he LISTENS to you.  He won't tell you all the reasons why you can't possibley know what's going on with your dog.  He's gonna listen to everything you say and the piece it together with symptoms.  A vet who listens -- you'll think you died and went to heaven! LOL. 
    • Silver
    Well, I am about to head to bed and I took him out for one last pee and I think he tried to go but I didn't see anything come out. He just had a real strong pee a few hours ago and he hasn't had anything to drink because he's been sleeping.

    If it were day time, I would have put him in the van and gone already, but given the time right now and the long drive on deserted country roads, I'd rather do this when I have a few hours sleep. I just don't feel like I'd be a safe driver out there. I guess I have to decide if I can afford to sleep right now or do I need to get going?
    • Gold Top Dog
    Do you mean should you get going to the EVET to your reg vet or to the one Callie recommended? 
    • Gold Top Dog
    Oh heppie, as thrilled as I am to see you back, what a reason.
    [:o]
    I have no ideas.  Other than Callies Dr. B is wonderful.
     
    But, Jake is in my prayers and I'm sending him tons of healthy vibes.  All six gsds have paws crossed for Jake to feel better fast!
    • Silver
    Well, Jake is in the hospital right now. He does have internal bleeding and a coagulation defect. Dr. B's top 3 suspects are rat poison, cancer and snake bite.
     
    Jake has also been battling an eye infection for a few weeks that the doc suspects may be related to the coagulation issue. However, the eye infection has been responding to the antibiotic ointment so that doesn't really fit either.
     
    Jake has no outward marks of a poisonous bite and his bloodwork doesn't have all the call signs of cancer. I found out that my neighbor put out mole poison and I suppose it's possible that either the mole brought it into my yard or the mole had poison in it's system and Jake caught it.
     
    For now, Jake's blood numbers are stable (not falling, as the doc expected) so he is not getting a transfusion. They are giving him potassium and IV fluids to try and raise his volume.
     
    Jake is mad at me. They let me go in the back to visit him and he's in a crate with an IV in his arm. He gave me a dirty look followed by the cold shoulder. I'm going to try not to take it personally.
     
    I'm at my brother's house now which is near the vet, hubby is here and we're going to visit Jake in a little while. I'll update later...
    • Gold Top Dog
    O wow, Im so glad you got him there quickly!!  Your a good mommy to him, and he knows it, dont be upset that hes giving you the cold shoulder right now.  Hes still in the cage wondering why the heck your just standing there and not letting him out most likely, but when he is done and feels better he will thank you for making him all better!! 
    So everything is going to be fine once hes treated? Or does poisoning like that have long term issues?  Hope everything get well soon!!!
    • Gold Top Dog
    I'll be thinking of Jake, Sounds like he is a trooper.
    • Gold Top Dog
    Jake will stay in our prayers until you let us know that a corner has been turned and he's on the mend.  Hugs to you, too.  I bet you need some!
    • Silver
    Doc still doesn't know 100% what is wrong with him. We are still dealing with poison, rupture, cancer or lupus as suspects.

    Jake handled the IV fluids very well and his bloodwork remains stable. The PC 29 did drop to 25 but he said that was because it was diluted with the fluids they gave him. He sent out some lab work that he hopes to have back first thing in the morning that will tell him more specifically what kind of coagulation problem we are dealing with and in turn tell us if it's poison or genetic.

    He is home with us tonight but he is going back in the morning to get back on the IV. We are giving him chicken livers for dinner and Ensure for a late night snack, per Dr B's instructions. He seems to be feeling better. He got out of the van on his own and even went out back to pee which he hasn't done in days (I've been walking him out front, sometimes forcefully).

    I'll update if anything changes...
    • Gold Top Dog
           Glad to hear that the treatments at Dr.B's are making him feel better. I hope it isn't cancer and that he'll be well soon.