{kimchi}

You`ve been following me on twitter, you`ll already know most of what`s been going on with Kimchi, but I figured I`d put a complete update here because we think we finally know what happened. Kimchi started vomiting last week, but sometimes he eats too fast and it happens, so we thought it was normal. 

Sunday Night: He vomited 8 times in a 2 hour span. Banfield (his normal vet hospital) was closed already, so we brought him to the ER in a 24-hour hospital. they examined him, but he wasn`t in pain, so they injected Cerenia (an anti-vomiting medication) into his back. I took him home, and he just slept all night and the next day. 

Monday: He slept until noon and seemed pretty normal until he had his first meal. The doctor told me to put him on a light diet, so I made rice and ground beef. he had a hearty appetite, but it didn`t even take an hour before he started vomiting again. I called it in, and they assumed the Cerenia had just worn off, so I gave him 5mg of pepcid to settle his stomach. *please note here that i would never suggest giving your dog any type of medication, etc. unless it`s what the doctor recommends* He continued to sleep on and off throughout the day, and would only throw up after his meals.  He was still really playful and happy, so it was really weird. 

Tuesday: Kimchi was still vomiting, so my dad took him to Banfield to get checked up. The doctor ran a few blood tests to rule out parasites and any pancreatic issues, but those both came up negative. Kimchi eats Tank`s (my brother`s tortoise) poop once in a while because it smells like vegetables to him, so we made sure to tell the doctor. The doctor said it wouldn`t be harmful to Kimchi, so we ruled that out. The doctor ended up prescribing Metronidazole (an antibiotic that fights off bacteria) and sent Kimchi home. Kimchi started eating his dog food again, still couldn`t keep it down. I figured maybe the medication hadn`t worked through him yet, so I decided to see how he was in a few days.

Wednesday-Friday: Kimchi continued to vomit, but only once or twice a day. I thought the medication was working and that he just needed a few days to get back to normal, so I just monitored his behavior.

Saturday: He didn`t throw up friday night, and he didn`t throw up all morning, so I thought he was finally back to being healthy. He laid outside all day with me and it wasn`t hot, so i was also able to rule out heat exhaustion. Just when I updated on twitter that he hadn`t thrown up for a solid 24 hours, he ate dinner and started vomiting non-stop. for dinner, he had boiled chicken meat and some home-made nothing-in-it chicken broth, so I thought maybe his food was too rich. up until his point, when he was vomiting, it was clear and foamy, but the food he threw up was solid. When he started again on saturday night, it was mushy and an army green color. He also started shaking and got really lethargic. I knew immediately something was completely wrong, so I rushed him to the ER again. They ran a bunch of blood tests, which all came up normal, so they sent me home again without an answer. I was so angry because clearly, things were not okay. When we got home, he was shaking even more than before, but I wasn`t about to take him back to the hospital just for them to charge me a few hundred dollars to tell me they didn`t know anything. I had kimchi in bed with me so that I could monitor throughout the night. he whined and cried every time he turned in his sleep and he started breathing and wheezing heavily. He also had a strange look in his eyes that almost made me think he could be blind.

Sunday: Kimchi didn`t want to get out of bed. he just laid there and looked at me with really sad eyes. He was still breathing really heavily, so my dad called his friend who owns a private veterinary clinic. He rushed us in on his day off (I`m so thankful that he did). Kimchi started vomiting again in the car, but his stomach was so empty that he was just dry-heaving. I felt so bad because I couldn`t do anything to help but massage his belly. Once we got to the clinic, my dad`s friend started doing a physical test. Kimchi was at a point where he couldn`t even control his movements, so he started leaking pee. He ended up finishing his business, and then the x-rays started. They must`ve taken over 20 x-rays. Because Kimchi dropped so much weight (about 5 pounds in 2 days), it was really hard to get a clear reading. The doctor didn`t find anything in the x-rays, so he gave Kimchi an IV and a few shots. He also told me to buy some Pedialyte to help ease his stomach. I did mention to him that sometimes Kimchi will accidentally eat Tank`s poop, so I gave him a list of what Tank eats. Once I got home from buying all of Kimchi`s things, he called me to let me know that Kimchi was mostly poisoned from Tank`s poop. Tank eats things from my parent`s patio/garden, and one of the plants is wisteria. Turns out, wisteria is poisonous, and Kimchi was eating concentrated amounts from the poop. so now, we just have to wait and let things pass.

So now, he`s eating a very light diet, drinking Pedialyte, and resting as much as possible. Thank you so much to everyone that kept Kimchi in their thoughts and for checking up on him. So glad my nugget is okay!


---------------August 2, 2012 update---------------
Lately, i`ve noticed that since he first started throwing up, he`s been very very quiet (more than usual), and if he barks or cries, It`s very minimal and is almost squeaky. He barked like a big dog before, so I found it unusual. Yesterday, the vet made a house-call and heard Kimchi`s "voice". He told me that because Kimchi was vomiting so much before, the acid from his tummy actually hurt his throat and vocal cords. We don`t know if he`ll ever get his voice back to normal )=. Kimchi`s currently at the vet`s clinic getting more fluids pumped into his body because he`s extremely dehydrated and also getting some antibiotics for the rest of his internal organs. Please please keep my baby in your thoughts!