Well, Travis doesn't have a UTI. But the vibes bounced.
Sam had me up every 90 minutes or so last night, to take him out to pee. This is uncommon in a boy who likes his sleep as much as Sam does. (And, like a bad mommy, I was swearing at him every time he woke me up.) By this morning, there was enough light to see what was going on. He was peeing a bit. Then he was straining to pee, and there was some blood in the urine.
4+ hours (and lots of dollars) later: Sam has a UTI. He's on Clavamox, and I have orders to get as much water into him as I possibly can, and to take him out to pee frequently. They took x-rays to make sure there weren't any stones or other obstructions (the possibility that had me going to the ER rather than waiting until the vet opens on Monday). The x-rays look fine: no stones, suspicious masses, etc. (Sam's such a long dog, the x-rays are in three parts.) Tomorrow, I need to get him to his regular vet, who can draw blood to get other tests made; we need to make sure there's not some sort of kidney trouble going on.
I was supposed to work today, but I called out. Actually, I called and said I'd be late, called again to say I'd be later, then even later. When we got home and I fed Sam and started him on his antibiotics, I could have made it to work to do my last two dogs, but coworkers said they had them covered. This is nice, since I'd have had to bring Sam with me, then take him outside frequently, etc. So I missed work today, and I'm off tomorrow, too. By Tuesday, I hope Sam will no longer be peeing his brains out. ;)
I'll have to go back to the ER later with paperwork for the vet insurance claim; I'll need to get signatures on stuff.
ETA: I have a vial of "sterile urine" in my fridge right now. Eeeeww! I'm supposed to take it to Sam's vet tomorrow. "Sterile urine" is urine drawn from the bladder with a needle rather than obtained in other, more traditional ways. "Pee in the cup, Sam" isn't always effective.
2 comments:
I sure hope Sam's issue is just a UTI and that he's better soon. Quite a scare. I was wondering how you got a sterile urine sample in your fridge... I see that the ER must have given it to you to take. Lots of luck and good thoughts.
Jen
The ER folks wanted to grow a culture on the urine to see if they chose the right antibiotic to target the infection. They said the cost would run about $100, and that most vets would charge the same price because they'd use the same lab. I told them I'd let my own vet decide about the culture, and they offered to give me the sample.
I didn't let Sam drink anything this morning before I took him to the ER. I was afraid he might need surgery, and I know an empty stomach is helpful. But when they needed to get a urine sample from the boy, he was bone dry. They said they could "start him on fluids." I said, "Just give him a bowl of water. He'll do the rest." Sure enough, they had a sample and the preliminary lab results in less than an hour.
Now my guys just need lessons on how to have "emergencies" during regular vet hours.
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