2/19 Ripley PMPS 174, +2 241, +3 194 miralax dose

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Josie & Ripley (GA)

Josie & Ripley (GA)

Member Since 2012
Yesterday.

Yesterday recap:
AMPS 242
+3 348
+6 350
+9 vet visit, bloodwork, constipated
+10 home enema #1 (no poo)
+11 home enema #2 (no poo)
PMPS 348
+1 fluids, 50ml
+6 276

Late last night Ripley poo'd 2 hard spheres, each about 3 or 4 hours apart ~ so she is likely still blocked. :sad:

Poor girl. Yesterday was such a, well, an invasive day to say the least.
And if there's no poo while I'm at work, I have a feeling there may be some vet intervention in order.

She was chirpy this morning, begged for tub water, peed for me (neg. ketones), and is licking her soupy b'fast. She really likes the squash baby food (added 1/4t. Miralax to the squash ~ been adding 1/8t. Miralax twice a day, but apparently not enough for her). Unfortunately, the squash and Miralax won't really help her if she's this constipated. I hope I'm not making it worse.

I feel so bad that she's constipated. I've been monitoring her LB, but I guess she's been getting backed up over the last week or so. Still pooped, but apparently not enough. I still need to find the right balance to keep her regular, as her FD + CKD + phos. binder make her constipation-prone.

Thank you for all of the condo visits yesterday. I was pretty worried; but if it's 'only' constipation that's causing her high numbers & lethargy/poor appy, then at least it's fixable. Not knowing what's making her feel under-the-weather simply sucks. Your encouragement and sharing your experiences mean the world to me, especially when my brain gets stuck in worst-case-scenarios.

I wish everyone a great Tuesday. Sending vines to those who need them, and cheering on the OTJ trials!
~Josie

ETA: CPC!! yay!
 
Re: 2/19 Ripley AMPS 359, a little poo

Hi Josie, sorry I missed some of your condo yesterday. Sending you poo vines. I wonder if some lactulose would help her. Mags and I sympathize with you. Hoping she'll poo some more today.
 
2/19 Ripley AMPS 359, a little poo

Hi, Ann -- Thank you for the lactulose suggestion. I'm unfamiliar w/it, but I'm seeing the vet today to get blood work results, so I'll look into it.
 
Re: 2/19 Ripley AMPS 359, a little poo

Good morning Josie. I'm sorry to hear that Ripley is feeling under the weather. I hope your visit to the vet today can get her constipation issue straightened out and that she'll be back on the road to a quick recovery.

Have a great day.
 
Re: 2/19 Ripley AMPS 359, a little poo

Hi guys .. sorry to hear that ripley is still having LB issues .. I will send poo thoughts her way! Have a great day guys!
 
Re: 2/19 Ripley AMPS 359, a little poo

Morning Josie ~O) ~O) ~O)

I too am sorry that Ripley is having LB issues. Sending poo vines for her. I hope the BW comes back in good shape. I so hear you in the hard it si when you can't really tell what is bothering them. I hope that once the LB things are better that the rest will fall into place. Thinking of you guys today.
 
Re: 2/19 Ripley AMPS 359, a little poo

Know how you feel--Sending Poo vines to sweet Ripley..Will send you a PM-Hugs from me!
 
Re: 2/19 Ripley AMPS 359, a little poo

Hi Josie :smile:

I hope Ripley feels better soon, and doesn't require vetty intervention, and the added stress (on you too!)
 
2/19 Ripley PMPS 174(!), BW results, no poo yet

Thank you so much for the positive thoughts, Devon, Michelle, Bruce, and ((Roni))!

Ripley didn't poo today, so the vet wants me to give her one more enema tonight. If no results, then an x-ray tomorrow, and possible extraction tomorrow (w/anesthesia and fluids to flush her out). I HOPE THE ENEMA WORKS TONIGHT. This will be home enema #3 -- last night's enema #1 & #2 didn't produce anything.

I got Ripley's blood work results back, vet discussed them at length with me. I updated them in Ripley's Labs link below.
In general, there are some improvements, though still some highs/lows due to her various conditions (FD/CKD/anemia...).

When I discussed the possibility for pancreatitis, we both came to the conclusion that she isn't really showing the 'typical' symptoms; that her lack of energy, etc. was more likely due to the constipation. But when he went over her lab work with me today, I saw the spec fPL. He said that he went ahead and ordered the test (w/o charging me ~ perhaps it's because I've been spending so much money there?). Unfortunately, there wasn't any real fasting involved ~ only about 6-7 hours (instead of the 12 hrs necessary for accurate results). Her test came back positive, OFF THE CHARTS at >50 ug/L! But, both he and I are taking this with a grain of salt: he isn't concerned because of the lack of symptoms of pancreatitis (and if there are no symptoms, how can they be addressed/treated?); me because of the strong possibility that the test was tainted due to not fasting (and also because there aren't any symptoms). We both agreed that if Ripley does indeed have pancreatitis, then when she starts showing symptoms, we will address them (ie, vomiting, diarrhea, pain, etc).

Right now it's more urgent to take care of her constipation.

In general, Ripley seems to be doing a little better than yesterday; she ate all of her b'fast and dinner without needing much help from treat-inticements. Once she got going with her eating, she seemed hungry and eager to finish her food. She's still a little more tired than normal, and not as talkative tonight.

But check out that PMPS!! First blue pre-shot in quite some time!
 
Re: 2/19 Ripley PMPS 174(!), BW results, no poo yet

Sending many poo vines to sweet Ripley Girl! C'mon, sweetie, you can do it!!
 
Re: 2/19 Ripley PMPS 174(!), BW results, no poo yet

I'm so happy to see her phosphorus has improved so much!!! I think her bloodwork looks very encouraging!

I hope she clears out tonight. Poor, poor baby! I also hope the squash works and Im glad she likes it.

Did you talk to the vet about giving her fluids every day? You are correct that the AlOH can cause constipation.

I'm not surprised at the specfPL test results ;-)
 
2/19 Ripley PMPS 174(!), BW results, no poo yet

Thank you, Rhiannon, Sienne (that's just what I was thinking!), and Amy!

Marje: When he was discussing the specfPL results, I was thinking "Marje told us so" the whole time (but in a rather snarky voice in my head, the kind of tone I hear some of my kindergarten students use :lol: ).
Re: fluids -- he said I could give her fluids each day, or every other day, or even a couple times a week -- that it's up to me. He either is annoyed with me, or trusts me to figure out to do what I feel is best for Ripley (I'm hoping the latter ~ he's more often impressed with my pages and pages of printouts than not. When he saw my google docs ss for Ripley's lab work, he said "wow -- how did you do that? that's a great idea. i've never known of anyone to keep track of records like that." I, of course, told him that my newly-found mad ss skills were due to the FDMB ;-) ).
Soooo I'd like to change her fluids to 100ml each day, but probably not tonight due to the enema fun later. (I have to wait til DH comes home from the gym, to be my handsome assistant again. He's a really good cat-in-a-towel-burrito holder.)
 
Re: 2/19 Ripley PMPS 174(!), BW results, no poo yet

On the test... :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I bet he could learn alot from you if he'd listen! At least he doesn't lecture you that he's the vet. ;-)

If you start giving 100 mls a day, be sure you check her closely before you give them each day to be sure she has absorbed everything. Check down her legs, around her chest, etc.

Hope you get poo when DH gets home. Go Ripley go!
 
2/19 Ripley PMPS 174, +2 241

At least he doesn't lecture you that he's the vet.
Click to expand...

That's very true, Marje. I feel bad for harping on him so much ~ he does seem sort of impressed with my knowledge/research (& persistence), and because he has seen Ripley's beautiful greens & blues on her ss (pre-UTI), he has commended me on my hard work (& persistence). When I left his office today, I felt truly glad that he is Ripley's vet; though he and I don't see eye-to-eye sometimes, he doesn't seem to hold it against me when I question him and want to do something 'new.' We've had wonderful conversations about her various treatments and options, and he seems to appreciate my questions (& persistence) when he has the time for them. He truly cares for her. And that alone is good enough for me. (And I would never want to tell him how to be a vet, just as I don't like it when parents of my children tell me how to teach.)

Oh boy, it's enema party time!
I'll keep you updated on all the juicy details! :lol:
 
Re: 2/19 Ripley PMPS 174, +2 241

Josie & Ripley said:
...Oh boy, it's enema party time!
I'll keep you updated on all the juicy details! :lol:
Click to expand...
Good luck!

And try to keep it in for 5 to 10 minutes, and tilt her so gravity can help it soak in.
 
2/19 Ripley PMPS 174, +2 241, we got poo!

...not as much as I was hoping for, but we held her rear up for 5 mins (tried for 10, but she was too squirmy), and a few mins later, out came 2 hard cylinder-shaped prezzies!

I'm not sure if this is good enough, but she's already acting 'relieved' and even gave me a "head-but thank you" just now.

I'm going to take her in to the vet tomorrow anyway, so he can feel her for constipation. So we'll see...

But for now, I'm considering this a small victory, and I hereby declare it dessert time!

THANK YOU FOR ALL THE POO VINES!!!!! THEY WORKED!!!
 
Re: 2/19 Ripley PMPS 174, +2 241, we got poo!

Great news!

The fact that it's still too hard and dry says the miralax hasn't been enough.

It may be a pain (if she doesn't always eat the same thing) but mix miralax into every bite of food you feed her.

Fluids every day should help too. :smile:
 
2/19 Ripley PMPS 174, +2 241, +3 194 miralax dose?

Thanks all!

:?: Is there a maximum dose suggestion for Miralax?
Last night I upped her Miralax dose to 1/2tsp. daily, along with 1T. baby food squash.
Would it hurt to increase it even more? And maybe more squash?
 
Re: 2/19 Ripley PMPS 174, +2 241, +3 194 miralax dose?

I'm not sure there really is an upper limit until the poo is obviously too soft.

Instead of a daily total you might mix 1/8 tsp.or so into every serving she eats.

Even the squash needs miralax or it may harden into a larger volume of cement.

You might go easy on the squash until you know for sure she is regular.
 
Re: 2/19 Ripley PMPS 174, +2 241, +3 194 miralax dose?

Thank you. I've been mixing M'lax into each serving of food (even the squash), but I should probably go easy on both the m & squ, as I don't know for certain that she's 'cleared out' yet. I'll know more tomorrow. Once she is unconstipated for certain, then it'll be easier to manage her doses to keep her regular (I hope!).

I appreciate all the insight/advice!
 
I think it's better to err on the side of too much miralax until things are moving good.

The worst that might happen is the poo turns into mush, but she should be happy to easily be rid of the mush.

More miralax while blocked shouldn't hurt, it just may not unblock.

You do need to keep her well hydrated since more miralax removes more moisture.
 
Hi Josie, good luck on the enema. I use a lot of Miralax on Mags. To make sure it gets into her system, I mix a little bf with it, and she licks it off the spoon. I can never overdose on the Miralax with Mags. The onlt side effect of too much Miralax would be a little too soft or runny poo.
Come on Ripley, we want poo! I hope for good poo news in the morning. :YMHUG: :YMHUG:
 
I disagree. Too much of anything is not a good idea. The max dose of Miralax I've seen discussed is 1/4 teaspoon twice a day. I'll do some checking around but I would discuss giving any more than that with your vet.

Frankly, if 3 enemas plus a laxative aren't working, you need to be talking to your vet. There could be motility or other issues that are contributing to Ripley's constipation. Please discuss the possibility of megacolon with your vet. This is a motility problem that causes constipation and a laxative may be a bad idea.
 
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