Today, we took Sydney for his 1 month checkup since his last chemo treatment on 10/30/03. Since it had only been a month, they didn't do chest radiographs, butgave him a thorough exam. Since his last chemo treatment, he has been
whining/crying more at night and also vomiting up bile once in awhile. When he does that, he gets very disoriented and shaky in his back legs for a few minutes, then recovers. It's not like a seizure, but it's weird. He also hasn't been eating all that well and only eats sometimes a small can of food at night. We just try and let him have other things during the day that he wants to eat.
At any rate, because of his increased nausea and vomiting, they did a CBC on him. They said it looked good, but they also did a urinalysis on him and were concerned because his "gravity" or concentration wasn't what it should be. We told them that he had thrown up on the way up to K-State (which he normally doesn't do) but we had fed him a good breakfast beforehand (due to him normally not getting car sick in the past). We told them he hadn't had anything to drink since the night before and they said that his urine concentration wasn't very high if he hadn't been drinking water. They were concerned with kidney problems with the possible piroxicam he may be getting (he's on a clinical trial for piroxicam). They said that could be the reason for his nausea and vomiting and lack of appetite. (I also forgot to mention that in the past month, he has lost 7 lbs and is now down to 125, which is okay for his 3 legs, I guess, if I look at a bright side). SO they did another UA and said it looked okay and wouldn't have to do any further tests, but said they were examining it further and would know more later that day. (If it didn't look okay, they were going to do an abdominal xray and ultrasound). They did a culture also and that should be back next week. So right now, they told me to keep him off the P pill for 10 days and instead, give him some stronger meds to help his nausea and help repair any damage if there is slight stomach ulcer. They also called us when we got home and said it appears he has a Urinary tract infection which could lead to a slight kidney infection and gave us some anti-biotics to treat him. We do that for 10 days, then we'll go back for another UA at our local vet's office. (My husband said he wants to get the camera when I try and collect urine for the test!).
On the way back from K-State, we normally have to stop 1 time for a potty break (for Syd), but this time, we had to stop 4 times to pee. One time we were only 14 miles outside of K-State and he started whining. When we let him out, he must have peed for at least 5 minutes. We're assuming if they used a catheter to retrieve the urine for the sample at K-State, that it might have caused him more irritation and wanting to go more. Poor guy!
So that's all the news that is news with Syd. They said hopefully, if he has been not feeling well due to a slight ulcer or GI upset, that he will rebound and feel so much better. He just seems so depressed, but on good days wants to play tug and be goofy. I guess that's to be expected. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers for old Sydney.
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