Readers Respond: Hemorrhagic GastroEnteritis - Prompt veterinary care is critical

Have you experienced HGE with a pet? What were the first presenting signs? What was the main course of treatment? Read stories from other viewers. Share your stories here. HGE episodes with my pet

My Beagle hit suddenly with HGE

My 3 yr old Beagle Bowie had a diagnosed episode of Colitis a month ago which was loose and semi bloody stools. But now exactly 1 month later he is in the hospital with HGE. It came on suddenly within 24 hrs and started off with loose stools and within hours just blood running out of him. He had symptoms of tender abdomen and listlessness that quickly became foam vomiting at the mouth and blood in stools. No obstructions were found no parasites and no adrenal gland disease. He is on IV fluids and other medications as well as being tested for other conditions. For now they say it's HGE. I'm so glad I followed my intuition and rushed him to the ER because he would not have made it through the night. This sickness is quick and deadly so immediate attention is a must. $2000 dollars later and he's still not out of the woods but he's my everything so I will spare no expense until he's at home.

—Guest Fina

HGE hits hard and fast!!!

My 8yr old dog Piper was diagnosed with HGE yesterday. She was fine all morning then suddenly she started with the bloody diarrhea all over the house and then the vomiting came. She became limp and incoherent. We rushed her to the vet just in time. The said she has responded well to treatment and should be discharged tomorrow. Thank God above she was rescued and brought to me where I am a stay at home mom. If she was left home alone it would have been too late to save her life. Hang in there Piper! You have been through enough in your 8 years no more tragedy for you I promise!

—Guest Janet

React!!!!

Like so many other stories, I saw all the classic signs of vomiting, lethergy, and bloody stools. I waited 1 day from onset as my minature Lavbradoodle had moments of activity and brightness. By the next day, she was in a highly compromised and dehydrated state....on death's door. Quick action by the vet with IV's, Prednison, etc. she is now, after 2 days, considered out of the woods. I struggle constantly with what I gave her to eat that may have caused this. In reading, I have learned it is most likely a food-borne illness. I have a strong suspicion that it was treats that it was dog treats MADE IN CHINA.

—SandyRuffo

Don't wait

My little Jack Russell came down with an episode of HGE recently for a day she was only vomiting and not eating and then the vomiting stopped and was followed by bloody diarrhea. Luckily I brought her into the vet in time and after some expensive X-Rays we were sent home with some antibiotics (metronidazole). She began getting better almost immediately but likely would have gotten worse without treatment. If you notice your dog with these symptoms get to your vet fast.

—Guest Jimmy

What are the chances?

This morning my colleague told me Tess was acting odd: shaking, not eating, vomitting, salivating, dilated pupils, really under the weather. We put her to bed in a kennel to hear a few minutes later the sound of rushing water. She produced the bloodiest expanse of diarrhoea I have ever seen (and I've seen a lot!) it filled the kennel and the corridor outside the kennel. I rang the emergency vet who told me I could get an appointment in 2hrs! My boss suggested on the phone it might be HGE so I looked up the symptoms. After reading they can go into shock and die I decided not to wait around for her to collapse and took her straight into the vet. They kept her in on a drip, antibiotics and ran bloods. Her potassium was low and her glucose too so they have added it to the drip. And her body temp was much lower than normal. She's staying in overnight so they can keep her stable. What are the odds of her pulling through? She's 6yrs old, fully vaccs but has a few past health issues.

—Guest Holly

Side effect of medication?

My dog was prescribed Tramadol and within 48 hrs developed HGE and was very ill. She was on a drip with medication, luckily she survived but vet does not relate this to Tramadol. Anyone else had a reaction like this? My dog has NEVER suffered with previous stomach problems. She is an 8yr old labrador and suprisingly does not eat rubbish, she is always by my side when out.

—Guest Twinkle

Beagle HGE

Our 2yr old beagle just suffered from a case of HGE. We had just moved across the country and all of the changes most likely lead to her disease. She had vomiting and melena (black bloody stools). We took her to the vet. She was treated overnight with fluids, antibiotics, and nausea medication. She was discharged home the next day. If you think your pet may have this- please have them checked out sooner than later. Quick treatment improves the chance of a full recovery.

—Guest Guest Beth

HGE

My Alaskan malamute was only 4 months old and got this he died 3 days after in the vets his name was shilo we miss him very much a month after we bought another puppy of the same litter becouse of our loss we named her shyla in memory of her brother an we have had her 4 weeks now an she also has the virus we have seeked veterinary care an she still looks very bad i really dont no what to do all i can do is keep giving her the fluids the vets gave me all i can do is pray x

—Guest paul

Almost lost my pet.

My dog Eddie is a female jack russell. She had loose bowels movements which progressed rapidly the next day into very worrisome diarrhea and thick, bloody anal discharge. I took her to the vet immediately. I was worried that she'd punctured her bowel with something she'd picked up during her back year explorations. After a fecal sample to rule out poisoning, x-rays to rule out obstructions, the vet told me it was most likely HGE. He let me know that most dogs survive, but some don't. They kept her over night, I called the next morning, expecting the very worse, and thank God, she was better and I got to take her home the next day. It scared me because it got bad so quickly. If Eddie had been an outside dog, I don't know that we would have known.

—Guest EddieMomma

Loss of Pet

My dog was at the kennel when he came down with what we now know was HGE. In less than 12 hours, he passed away. It was cruel and vicious and my dog suffered terribly in his final hours. Although he did get prompt and specialized medical care, the onset was very sudden and the case was, in doctor's words, extremely severe. My dog fit all the categories: he was under stress at the kennel, he was a 9 pound mini doxie and he was very dehydrated. If you suspect your dog has this disease, take him in immediately to the vet but prepare for the worst.

—Guest Patricia

Make sure the vet knows about this...

We just lost Fatty, the most lovable, happy, energetic, 3 year-old yellow lab/golden retriever. Our story is the same as many above and I can't really relay the horror of it right now. Just make sure your vet knows about this and doesn't rule out Parvo then tell you to wait for two days for feces and blood test results. Fatty died within 12 hours of the vet sending us home with the bland diet cure. I can't imagine any vet knowing about HGE and not suggesting we drive the three hours to an animal hospital to get him hooked up to an IV with constant care.

—Guest Justin and Christine

HGE -Act Quickly

OUr mini schnauzer was fine when I left for work one night. When I came home at 2am I found her sitting in the living room shivering and bloody stools everywhere. We called the emergency vet clinic & they said to watch her the rest of the night. If she wasn't better by daylight, get her to a vet. At 6am she was still the same and we headed for the clinic. They diagnosed her with HGE and hooked her up to an IV and said we got her there in time. She would have gone into shock. She recovered thanks to the vets that treated her! That was 4-5 years ago and weve not had a recurrence. We were told it usually doesn't come back. We hope not - it was scary!

—Guest C Johnson

SadieMae lived through

Came home and she wasn't herself.Not as active,not hungry.Then the vomiting started,clear runny and slimey.Reconized it as the same as another puppy we lost a few days ago.Bloody stools,like big time bloody,shes getting weaker wont take water.Gave her pheneran,which is used by humans to control vomiting and nausea.Gave her pedialight for kids through a medicine dropper.Gave her ampicillian.Wrapped her up in a blanket because she felt cold.I dont be;ieve she would have survived without this done.No more diarhea(bloody)no more spitting up blood.All day on the meds.She still wont drink but making sure shes getting plenty pedialight.She wolfed down boiled chicken so shes hungry.I'm writing this because sometimes we cannot get to the vet,especially at night,sometimes times are hard.I hope if someone is as desperate as I was comes across this.I am not a vet just a person who couldn't get to a vet and got suggestions off here from different ones.THANK YOU FOR POSTING ABOUT YOUR ANIMALS.

—Guest Bee0000

hge recovered

After two days of bloody stools and vomiting everything our 4 year old beagle ate, we took him in to the ER vet. Vet took xrays to rule out swallowing any foreign objects then took a blood count which showed a higher level of red blood cells (over 60 count) and that he was more dehydrated then actually appeared. Rye was on IV fluids overnight, shot for anti-vomit/anti-diaria and prescribed anti-diarea meds for 5 days. Day 1 he showed great recovery, day 2 greater yet, day 3 playful, full of energy, full appetite.

—Guest weke

lost our lab luk

vets need to be more eductated with Hge, our lab vomited a lot of blood and stools, took him to our vet, she had no idea what it was or how to treat him, advised us to put him to sleep because he would not make it through the night, we were told he was in liver failure and it would be best to put him down did not give him a chance, it was a weekend and they did not want to be bothered with caring for him, why are you in the field of being a vet, pets do not have a schedule of when they get sick.........we are heartbroken, get them educated.

—Guest jan