I usually don't start threads because I'm not very good at it but since I've been having quite a few major headaches lately which I think have mostly to do with the barometer and partly to do with stress, I was wondering if anybody else can add stress as a factor to their headaches? All of us have been under alot of stress just having to deal with all of the AN issues let alone many other things life has to offer us! Which leads me to the following story:
Recently I had to have my pup spayed. She is a bit older for this but I had been told to wait until she was closer to 9 months before having her spayed and lo and behold, she went into heat. Ok, so now she's 11 months being spayed and I ran into a few technical difficulties. Anybody who has talked to me in PM's knows that she is very important to me. After a very difficult morning yesterday of dropping her off for the spay, I got a call later and was asked questions by the vet, one of which was, is she pregnant? Upon further conversation, it seems that she was going through a false pregnancy but I was told it was ok to still have her spayed. I was at work so I just told them to go ahead with it if it was ok. So then, on my break at home, I start looking through the internet and found out that she could also have had symptoms of something else. Here's what I read ......
"Dog Dropsy
If the dog's womb is bloated but the dog himself is thin, then we are faced with a serious symptom. Everything indicates a womb dropsy (ascitis). At first sight, the animal can seem fat, but the skin folds are very thin, his loins are angled and his womb has a large amount of liquid which makes a splashy noise. This is a very serious affliction and with an unfavorable prognostication, even with the right treatment. Don't waste any time and head for the veterinarian ASAP!
Dog Piometra
In the feared formation of pus in the uterus, medically called piometra, the increase of the corporal perimeter is only one symptom among many others (and it might not even show). If your female dog is increasingly thirsty, vomits occasionally, and has blood fluxes even out of the mating period, then you must consider the possibility of piometra. Female dogs who have never given birth are especially prone. Faced with the suspicion, you should go to the veterinarian as the chances of being cured are higher the sooner you go. In general, the veterinary treatment consists in surgically removing the ovaries and womb."
So then I started thinking, was she was drinking more or not. How long ago was it that I saw her eating grass? Was she spotting and I just didn't see it because I just didn't see it? My worry made me start to second guess myself. It doesn't take much to make me start worrying alot.
She isn't really that big in size, but I had noticed that she probably could be wearing a bra, and figured it was just because she had already gone in heat. Apparently she was producing milk because of the false pregnancy and didn't have the other problems noted above. I was really worried about her though and did not sleep well at all last night (she had to stay over at the vet).
I spoke with the vet again 2 more times last night, this morning and we picked her up around 11am. She's sleeping at my feet now but she does seem to be back to her regular self. I'm sure I will keep worrying until her 2 weeks of rest required by the vet are over and she can run around with us again!
I considered myself fairly knowledgeable about dogs and in the past, did have a dog (a beagle) who had a litter of 6 pups that I had to deliver and do remember hearing about the possibility of a dog having a false pregnancy, but I had never heard anything about piometra before. I just wanted to let everyone who has dogs and never heard of this before, become aware as it can be life threatening if not treated properly. We all have enough things to go through and I feel that by becoming aware of all possibilities in dealing with ourselves, our kids and our animals, it empowers us to become more responsive to our/their needs for survival. Sorry that this doesn't really relate to AN's and maybe it should have been posted somewhere else, but for me, it relates to stress headaches and this is where it ended up. Hope it can be of help to someone!
~Karen
