 |
| Tummy troubles |
The vet ran a lot of tests. One pup seemed fine. I brought him home. The other one had to stay for sedation, X-rays, and IV fluids. They didn't have overnight facilities and suggested an emergency vet two towns over. And another, more reputable animal emergency center that was a 45 minute drive on the highway. My dogs are not good in the car and worse with highways. If they weren't secured by the back seat belt, they'd both be in my lap, trying to steer. I'm lucky I had already enlisted a dog sitter to keep them at her own house for the weekend we planned to be traveling: she has a fenced yard and I do not. A commercial boarder would've rejected the dogs outright so it's good we lost our reservations to that place (they couldn't accommodate an unforeseen extra day). The dog(s) being ill did cost extra since they had to be quarantined from other dogs, especially since test results could take a day or two.
The diagnosis was hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. The vet suggested pancreatitis as a possible cause, but I had had a dog with that and this pup did not have any of those symptoms. My dog sitter insisted the dogs must have giardia. It's not uncommon for one pup in a two-dog household to be infected while the rest of the family is fine. We drove up to Buffalo. My sciatica wasn't happy. I ate a lot of ibuprofen and gabapentin for the long ride. We got my kid settled in with his roommates, but of course, as soon as we left, he texted that he'd forgotten stuff. Like towels and sheets. Which were on his bed in a neat folded pile. Which I might've noticed if I hadn't been at the vet with the dogs, and left all the packing to the husband and son. Guess what's in the kid's first "care package" from home? Not cookies.
Come Monday, and the tests are back: negative for giardia, negative for pancreatitis. I bring the sick pup back to the vet so she can administer subcutaneous fluids. He's not eating or drinking, and he looks like his belly hurts. They increase the anti-nausea medication, and finally dispense Tylan powder in capsule form. Tylan has been a wonder drug for all my past pups with tummy troubles. We also have a case of Science Diet ID dog food for sensitive stomachs. It's labeled "digestive care: rice, vegetables & chicken stew," which is funny, considering that the can lists water, pork liver, and rice as the first three ingredients. It's at least tasty enough for my dogs to want to eat it.
It's Tuesday and I haven't had enough sleep which means I'm light-headed. My stomach is sensitive from ingesting all the ibuprofen for the past two weeks. That trip to Montreal and back was also 6 hours each way. The only things good about today is that the sick pup actually pooped something closer to the emoji rather than liquid that soaks into the soil, and that I got on elliptical #1 at the gym. The parking lot is crowded, probably because Dead Pool & Wolverine is still playing at the cinema next door, and it's "$5 Tuesday" and grade schools don't start until next week. (I so want to see that film! Maybe I'll go by myself this week?) The gym itself is relatively quiet.
I'm not sure if gym owner is just trying to save money, but there are box fans at both entrances to the Aerobics Room. It's been like that for a few weeks when there's no class in session. The room is cool enough though, and I do most of my routine. Actually, I do all of my routine, but there's a lot of discomfort with a few movements: hip thrusts, bird dogs, push-ups, one-leg hip thrusts, cobra pose. It's not just a dull ache in the tuchus (Yiddish for butt, and yes, I'm from NYC), but an unnerving, vibrating tingling and numbness that starts from the side of the right hip and runs down the back of the thigh, then emerges outside mid-calf and ends at the base of the fourth and fifth toes.
However, I'm dreading making an appointment with a doctor because all they will do is write me a script for PT (physical therapy) which will charge me $25 a session and insist I come 3X weekly for several months. Like I'm not doing it already by coming to the gym?
No comments:
Post a Comment