Hacking coughs – Day 10

May 10th 2021

– On May 6th 2021 –
Steve’s cough had gotten much better, but he was still coughing. He’s been taking both cough medicine 7.5mg (3 times a day) and Doxycycline antibiotics 50mg (2 times a day) on schedule. However, we will be running out of antibiotics today.

Since he started to take antibiotics, his appetite is gone. He won’t eat nor drink. Sometimes, he looks nauseous and he couldn’t support his body. But sometimes he is pacing around the room and doesn’t look lethargic.

I contacted to his vet to see if we need to get more antibiotics since it’s running out and he is still coughing.
I was told that “let’s stop antibiotics at this point and see if his condition settles.

In order for Big Steve to increase his appetite, I have been giving some baked beef. He takes beef but not his regular food. We also bought some electrolyte water and beef broth and chicken

Since he won’t eat or drink, he won’t pee or poop. He also looked week a bit. My husband searched and calculated how many water he supposed to drink a day. It seems like he need to deink 20oz water a day. However he is not drinking liquid on his own, so we had to use syringe to shoot liquid in his mouth. 20oz is like 120tsp. Our syringe can contain 2 tsp. That means we need to give him 60 times a day. …Well, this is very unrealistic, so we tried at least 30 times a day.

– On May 7th 2021 –

I found him tangled with code this morning. Based on the internet information, this is one of the dementia dog’s behavior. He is circling around and got tangled. I shouldn’t laugh, but it kinda cute.

He was still coughing but he pooped finally! He still did not eat his regular food, but he was eating chickens and taking beef broth and electrolyte water. He looked week. We patiently took care of him and giving him liquid as much as possible. At this point he is mostly coughing when we shoot liquid in his mouth.

– On May 8th 2021 –

Big Steve got his appetite back!! He seems super thirsty and he is eating his regular food without us forcing him!
We felt so relieved.

– On May 9th 2021 –

He is still coughing but doesn’t sound so bad like goose honk. He has his appetite and drinking fine. He also pooped!

He is not peeing as much anymore but he is getting better.

I read the article about : Doxycycline is a medicine used to treat or prevent a variety of infections caused by bacteria, including: Pneumonia or other respiratory tract infections. Infections of the skin or eye. Infections of the lymphatic, intestinal, genital, or urinary systems.

I wonder if he actually had Urinary Tract Infection for a long time and we just did not know…. and this Doxycycline antibiotics helped his Urinary Tract Infection .

– On May 10th 2021 –

He is doing great! He is eating his food and dinking a lot and pooping fine as well! 🙂
We still need to be careful with his condition but I feel like he is gonna be fine!!

Hacking coughs – Day 5

– May 2nd 2021

– April 30th 2021
The day after we gave him Hydrocodone(cough medicine) and Doxycycline Monohydrate(antibiotic), he really wouldn’t eat and he wouldn’t pee or poop at all. He usually poops everyday and it’s just not normal. Also he was coughing more than before. It’s not like he looks lethargic or breathes heavily. He is still pacing around and moving around the house. However, the vet directed us to give him antibiotic with food. If he does not eat his food, what should we do?

I called the vet to ask what we should do. I was asked if he is breathing heavily. I told them that the room temperature is just fine for him and he is not breathing heavily.

The vet suggested us to withhold the antibiotic since it could cause him not to eat.

After we finished talking on the phone, I noticed that he is sneezing and yellow mucus is coming from his nose. According to the internet, this is usually caused by bacterial infections. That means we really have to give him the antibiotic. We decided to keep giving him the antibiotic.

We really cannot tell if the medication is working or not since he is still coughing and it sounds like a goose honk…

I usually trust my hunch. But at this point, It’s about Big Steve and I’m not 100% sure if we are on the right path…..

Since I’m into astrology and tarot and oracle card reading, I asked the cards how he is doing now and asked for advice.
I got a very special Tarot card from England and Moonlight Oracle card from Russia.

These are the cards I got.

Tarrot Card and Oracle Cards

Current : I got Nine of wands for his current condition. The card usually indicates “Don’t let your guard down and be prepared for any battle to come, prepare flexibly.”

I got reversals for Four of Wands for advice. It’s a good card and it indicates peace and happiness, but since this card is reversed, I took it as – it’s not bad but don’t be too comfortable. There might be a little conflict about him also.

The last card is a oracle card. I picked this card for some more advice. This JADE card is a good sign. It indicates good fortune and luck and healing. But do not expect quick results since it will take some time. You are on the right path. Time will heal it.

I think the cards are telling me that we are on the right path for giving him these medications and how we take care of him now. However, since Steve is 17 years old, anything could happen. So be alert for anything to happen. Also we need to be patient since this will take time for him to heal.

I’ve been playing soothing music for Big Steve whenever I notice he is coughing a lot and looks stressed out. He usually seems like he can relax and go to sleep.

We also hold his body to support his weight when he eats his food. I noticed that he lean forward when he eats and it is so heavy to support his body. No wonder why he breath heavily after he eats his meal. It must be like muscle training just to support his body while he is eating his food.

– On May 1st 2021
Big Steve was not eating as much. He is still coughing. Here is a video of him coughing. At least he does not sneeze and I don’t see yellow mucus anymore.

We hope he gets better soon. We need to be patient.

Hacking coughs

– April 29th 2021

Big Steve has had a hacking cough for 2 days. He has been coughing every hour or so. However, this is not a normal cough ….. this cough sounds like a goose honk. We were not sure what to do and were worried about him. If we check his symptom online, it could be anything… it could be simple or serious. However, beside his hacking coughs, he seems like doing okay to me.

He won’t be eating as much since he is coughing, but I think he has an appetite. Although he was not eating, we gave him honey since it seems like honey soothes his throat. We weren’t sure if we should take him to vet at this point, and we called 4 vets yesterday, but they were all booked up. So we made an appointment for the next available time, which was today. So today, we took him to the vet.

The Vet told us that his heart sounds okay and his throat is not bothering him. She couldn’t figured out what is the cause for this. However, she suggested that we can still give him some medicine to treat the symptom.

“Hydrocodone/Homa (gen) 5” (1.5mg) 1/2 to 1 Tablet every 8 – 12 hours for coughing

and

“Doxycycline Monohydrate (gen)” (100mg) 1/2 Tablet every 17 hours. This is an antibiotic drug that can treat and prevent infections. 

She said if the medicine works he will get better within a week. If his cough does not get better, an X-ray might be our next option.

If I remember correctly, he started to cough after he finished his dinner that night. Did the food go to the wrong place and he tried to cough it out? Did that cough trigger his bronchitis?

Anyway, he is 17 years old and we really don’t want him to suffer. I hope these medications work for him.