Spay From He....

[MrLeadFoot]

Well, I decided to bite the bullet and have my bitch spayed. Before I finally made the appointment for her at 10 months, I went into my vet and asked about all the common potential problems that I might encounter.

Well, last Tuesday, the procedure was done. I picked her up and took her home. First thing she did was poop and pee. Everything was normal. The next day I dosed her with Metacam (anti-inflammatory) and sedated her mildly with Acepromazine.

On day 3 she started getting diahrrea.

On day 4, I saw that a stitch had undone itself. Boy, was that a bear to retie with such short amount of thread there.

At 5am on day 5 she vomited a horrendous 6 upchucks in one shot in 6 different spots in the house nearly all at once. This vomit was unbelievable, to say the least. It was totally rancid and actually smelled like poop!

I was beginning to wonder if they wired her up wrong, or something, that's how bad it smelled. It was as dark as Hershey's chocolate, too. For 4 hours, I ran between 6 spots, all over my 3300 sq. ft. home, trying to blot it all up before it dried. I then switched to a bland diet of rice and cottage cheese to try and dry her up.

This morning, day 6, I called the vet first thing. They told me that it's probably the meds and I should stop. They also asked if she had blood in her stool. What the....???? are they talking about? Sounds to me like it's not so rare, what I am experiencing after a spay! Why didn't they tell me about this potential side effect when I asked? GRRRR!

It gets better. While she only vomited that one time, albeit 6 in one, she now indeed has bloody diahrrea. I am so pissed that I had her spayed. Never again.

Any help (hope) would be greatly appreciated. Even if some of you don't like me, please don't hold it against my dog.

Thanks in advance.

[pupresq]

Yikes! Sorry your pup is going through all that. I don't know what's going on with her. In literally hundreds of dogs I've had come through here and get spayed, I have never put a dog on metacam nor do I commonly use ace, and have never had a dog have the problems you're describing. The occasional popped stitch yes, and even the odd seroma (fluid filled swelling near the incision), but these have been minor issues and the dogs have recovered without incident. Don't know about not so rare for them or not, but it's definitely rare overall. Other than maybe a vomit or two the day or surgery, that should be it.

Do you know what kind of anethesia your vet clinic uses? I wouldn't think that would still be causing problems 6 days later but old fashioned injectable anesthesias do seem to cause more problems in general than more modern gas anesthesias like isoflurane.

[Fodder]

sorry to hear about your experience, unfortunately i don't have any help to offer. it always takes me by surprise when i hear such bad spay stories because all of my females came thru just fine, as well as the many dogs i've fostered. it can surely be from complications or stress from the surgery - but i'd point my fingers at the medications. a decade ago, bloodwork, fluids, "comfort packages" and pain meds weren't pushed, recommended, or sometimes even required the way they are now days. shelters also don't do any of the extras and i'd imagine that their vets routinely spay and neuter more pets then other hospitals.

i will always have my future females spayed... it will just be a matter of "thanks bu t no thanks" to the extras.

[IliamnasQuest]

Sorry you're having such a tough time - actually, sorry your DOG is having such a tough time!

I'd be willing to bet it's the meds and not the actual spay that's the problem. In the "old" days (back when I was a vet tech) they didn't give meds afterwards - the dogs were sent home with instructions to keep them quiet and to not let them lick. And those who followed those instructions rarely had any problem. Nowadays they want to give pain meds and all that. Those additional meds can add stress to an already stressed system, in my opinion.

I'm not sure why they had you give her Ace after she came home - she'd already been anesthetized so to give her a tranquilizer afterwards seems like WAY overkill to me. That right there could be part of the problem, if you're still using the Ace at all. Anesthesia/sedation often causes nausea.

Metacam, like other pain meds, can cause stomach problems. Dark vomit can indicate blood in the vomit, which is probably why they asked about bloody diarrhea. DEFINITELY stop the Metacam and if you've given her anything else for pain (aspirin, etc.) stop that also.

Anyhow - what I would do in your position is to maintain her on a bland diet of rice and boiled chicken (boiled by you so you know what ISN'T in it). Remove the skin/fat and boil the lean chicken and then you can use the broth, too, to make sure she's hydrated enough. You may want to do this for a week or so, and then wean her back onto her normal food.

The pulled stitch is not unusual if she was active at all. A single jump can pull out stitches and it's VERY difficult to keep a 10 month old calm for the time required to get the incision healed. In addition, dogs easily lick sutures loose. As long as the incision isn't swollen and red/inflamed she should be fine. If she acts like the incision is uncomfortable, or there's some redness, you can use warm compresses on it (pad of paper towels in hot water, squeeze out all excess water).

If she continues to vomit and/or have bloody diarrhea, then a trip into the vet is probably a good idea. I wouldn't be too upset with them, however - what you're probably seeing is your dog's sensitivity to the pain meds and that is not something their fault. If there was something wrong with the spay (internal bleeding, infection, etc.), she should have had major problems by now.

Hope she gets better soon!

Melanie and the gang in Alaska

[BowWowMeow]

I'm sorry your dog isn't feeling well. I would bet money that the reaction you're seeing has everything to do with the Metacam and nothing to do with the spay and that is why the vet told you stop the meds and asked about bloody diarrhea.

Metacam side effects:

(from FDA website):

When giving a pet an NSAID, watch for these side effects, which are listed on the Client Information Sheet and on the drug label:

* Decrease or increase in appetite
* Vomiting
* Change in bowel movements (such as diarrhea or black, tarry, or bloody stools)
* Change in behavior (such as decreased or increased activity level, seizure, aggression, or lack of coordination)
* Yellowing of gums, skin, or whites of the eyes (jaundice)
* Change in drinking habits (frequency or amount consumed)
* Change in urination habits (frequency, color, or smell)
* Change in skin (redness, scabs, or scratching).

From Vet website:

"The most common side effects of meloxicam are nausea, appetite loss, vomiting or diarrhea. If any of the above are noted, meloxicam should be discontinued and the pet brought in for a liver enzyme and renal parameter blood test. In most cases, the reaction is minor and resolves with symptomatic relief, but it is important to rule out whether or not the patient has more than just a routine upset stomach."

Metacam can occasionally cause liver and/or renal failure, hence the warnings above.

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2006/506_nsaid.html
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1752

[BowWowMeow]

I would get the tests recommended above done to be sure she is ok now that you've stopped the meds.

[Remo]

I have had hundreds of female fosters who had just been spayed stay with me and I can only think of a few that had problems afterward, and certainly none had anything like your poor girl went through.

As the others said, I'd be willing to bet it was the meds.

Also, take heart in the fact that you will probably never have to worry about your sweet girl getting mammary tumors. It is a horrible fate for a dog. I had to watch a wonderful dog die from this and it is horrendous beyond belief.

[tony123]

Hey there Leadfoot. Sorry to hear about your girl. Please keep us updated. I'm particularly interested, as I'm making the appointment for Dharma sometime this week.

Dharma's had a few throw up spells around the house. Hardwoods make it not so bad. With our Lab Riley, we had all carpet....what a pain in the...

[allieg]

Sorry to hear of your problems.I wouldn't say it is the spay itself.Any dog I have known that has been spayed has had no problems from it.If it continues I would ask for some bloodwork and maybe an XRay.The times my dogs have vomited poopy smelling vomit it was because they had eaten things they shouldn't have and the body was forcing it out instead of blocking them up.Hopefully it is over and she can heal now.

[aubie]

I agree, my bet is on the meds. We didn't get any medications post-op. Well, we did get some pain pills/anti inflamatories only to use if she looked like she was in pain, but we never used them, and we had no problems. In fact, mine was up and going by the next afternoon.

did you stop the medications? can you tell any difference?