Severe reaction to a Cortisone shot
Bulldogs World Forum Archives
These archives contain a copy of the contents of the old Bulldogs World Forum for reference purposes.Posting is disabled in the archives.
Click here to visit the active Bulldog Forum
Severe reaction to a Cortisone shot
Submitted by SweetBulldogz on April 20, 2010 - 9:48pmHas anyone had something like this happen?? It's a bit long, and I appreciate everyone who reads it. Thank You
I took my girl Dolly to my Vet on 8-16-07 for her annual shots and checkup. When my Dr.was checking her out, he noticed her right ear to be nearly swollen shut. He gave her a shot of "Medrol" a cortisone to help reduce the inflammation, he also gave her an antibiotic shot of Baytril, a take home antibiotic of Ciprofloxacin. And lastly an ear wash potion of T8 Keto mixed with dex & baytril.
After 4 days I could see that Dolly was getting fatter, and at 7 days later, I was so concerned I took her back in. She weighed 46 pounds on the 1st visit, one week later she had gained 6 pounds and weighed 52.
Dr. said that she was having an overreaction to the cortisone shot a week before, and that it had caused her to drink tremendous amounts of water. Dolly was normal in every other way, she was eating, drinking, going potty, and for the most part acting very normal. I wanted him to do an x-ray on her, I thought she had a blockage or something. Dr. felt strongly that she was just having an overreaction to the shot, and there was no need for an x-ray. That was on 8-23-07
So without asking him, I thought I should monitor her water intake and only let her drink a small amount of water each day. On Monday 8-27-07 I called him again. I was still concerned with her weight gain. She was even bigger than before. Dr. still felt that Dolly was having an overreaction to the cortisone shot, and that eventually all the water WOULD work itself out. He asked me how much water I was giving her, I said about 2 cups a day now since I started to monitor her water consumption. He said that was NOT enough, and to let her have at least a quart a day. He suggested giving her some OJ and a Banana to help with the balance of electrolytes. I had pedialyte, gave her that and feed her some banana. This helped her a little bit, by quenching her thirst, but she still wanted to drink water like a crazy woman, and I continued to monitor her consumption.
I had scheduled a recheck appointment for her ear exactly 2 weeks after the initial visit, and we went back in on August 30th. Dolly weighed 54 pounds, a total gain of 8 pounds. Dr. was still very surprised at the way she reacted to the shot, and still thought that she will come out of the this eventually. Her ear was better, but still very swollen. We also did a CBC (complete blood count) and a Glucose test, to be on the safe side, and they came back perfect. Dr. asked me if she had been coughing, NOPE, no coughing. If she HAD been coughing, it might have indicated a heart issue.
Dolly is so full of water, I can see it on her legs, and on her belly, it's just under the skin, and her right side is retaining more than her left. I'm so concerned for her, and I can't help but wonder what the heck it happening to my poor girl.
Has any one ever had anything similar happen to your bullies? I'm just stumped. Dolly will be 4 years old in December.
Thank you all for taking the time to read this, and I look forward to hearing anything that might help.
Amy
www.Sweetbulldogz.com
Simple Proteins
Sorry to hear that you and Dolly are going through all this, but glad to hear that you have answers to work with?
What are examples of the simple proteins that you have to feed Dolly?? I am just curious.
Thanks...
Sharon
Amy, im glad you have some answers
i hope Dolly is back to her self very very soon.
Hugs to Dolly.
Will you be at Nationals?
Vicky,
Bosco, Bella, Breve' & Holly
http://www.rubarbsoap.com/
PHOTOS ARE PROPERTY OF LANGAGER BULLDOGS, YOU MUST HAVE WRITTEN PERMISSION FOR ANY USE OF THESE PHOTOS FROM LANGAGERBULLDOG.
Dolly Update
Dr. did x-rays on Dolly this morning. Her abdomen was completely filled with water. He said he has never come across something like this in his entire career. (30+ years). He referred me to an Internal Medicine Specialist, and we went in at 3pm today.
New Dr. said that Dolly had extremely low "albumin" in her blood, which is the blood protein level. That is what has caused her body,(the small intestine) to deposit the water directly into her abdomen. Her blood protein level is at 1/3 of normal (she was 1.2) and normal is more than 3.0. We are currently doing blood tests to pinpoint the cause of the problem.
Meanwhile I need to feed her simple proteins to help bring the albumin level back to normal. Then she will able to pass the water like her body is supposed to, and that will begin to bring her weight back down.
I asked him if he could drain the water off her belly, he said he could, but it would NOT fix the problem, she would simply fill back up again. So for now I concentrate on feeding her simple proteins, and wait until the blood results come back.
Thank you all.
Amy & Dolly
Dolly
Will keep Dolly in my thoughts and prayers that you get some good news and she will be on the road to recovery. Please keep us posted.
Thanks Vicky :)
YES!!!! I'm goin to Nationals & and soooo excited it's almost here.
I'll be one of the RVer's camping for the entire week.
My girl Margie with be in the 9-12 month class, it will be her first time in the ring.
Dolly's coming too, but just for the company and ride.
See ya in Spokane.
Kym
Hi Kym,
No ultrasound yet. Tomorrow morning I plan on meeting my Vet first thing in the morning, for an x-ray, and to possibly have some of the water removed with a syringe. He doesn't have an ultrasound machine, so I will most likely be going to get a second opinion from a clinic that does, NW Veterinary Specialists, in Clackamas Oregon.
Dolly is carrying the water in pockets on her belly, and legs so I think he will be able to extract some of the fluid, fairly easy. I will ask about the Lasik. I gave her Aqua-Ban tablets over a 2 day period, and when I told my vet I had given her them, he told me not to give her any more. (I didn't ask why) But those are meant for people, and I just assumed that was why I shouldn't have given them to her.
I hope to post some good news about Dolly tomorrow, after we visit the Vet. Thank you for sharing your experience, I appreciate it.
Amy
Re: Severe reaction to a Cortisone shot
http://books.google.com/books?id=dagAdIIuWG8C&pg=PA137&lpg=PA137&dq=overreaction+to+cortisone&source=web&ots=QcUWnW6Yyt&sig=XZLApfGzA0R479sTkA35dUtzfWs#PPA137,M1
omg!
Poor girl, I would definitely look for a second opinion.
Heart Failure
Hi Amy, Did you vet do an ultrasound of the heart just to make sure it is not a heart issue. Our MiMi had right sided heart failure and she did not cough at all. MiMi would put on 4-6 #'s of water in just a matter of days in which she would then have to go to the vet to have the fluids removed by needle. I'm surprised your vet did not prescride Lasix. If possible I would definitely get her in for a second opinion.
If the doctor is so sure that it is water
retention, maybe he should prescribe Lasix? Poor girl, I would be afraid of that much water putting such a strain on her heart and lungs.
Best of luck
Lynn King CPDT