bladder stones???

[mia625]

Mia had several accidents over the summer on her bed. Then about a month ago she had one on the in-laws couch and then on our mattress within a week. So, I took her to the vet to have her checked out. They tested her urine, found a high pH, red blood cells, white blood cells and crystals. They put her on an antibiotic called Simplicef for 3 weeks, and then I took another urine sample in today. She hasn't had an accident since then, and has never had any other signs of not being well.

The vet called and said her pH was still elevated, and she still had red cells, white cells, and crystals. So, they're sending her urine away for a culture and they want me to bring her in on Friday for an X-ray to see if she has stones in her bladder.

I have some concerns: I googled Simplicef and found that it's used for skin infections and couldn't find any info about for urinary tract infections. I asked the vet about this and she said they also use it also for UTIs, but why are they sending her urine off now for a culture if they didn't know what bug they were treating to begin with? Should we let them do all these tests when she doesn't have any symptoms?

Anyone had experience with bladder stones? Sorry so long, and thanks in advance for any advice you have.

 

[Jan]

but why are they sending her urine off now for a culture if they didn't know what bug they were treating to begin with? Should we let them do all these tests when she doesn't have any symptoms?

It probably would have been best if they had sent off a culture right away and by now you might know what you were dealing with.

I would want them to do the tests as she does have symptoms. She was having accidents, which I assume are uncharacteristic for her. I hope they find out what is wrong.

Good luck!

 

[gmacleod]

She may not have any noticable symptoms, but she clearly still has something quite wrong. Bladder crystals are not normal, and can be quite dangerous if not addressed. And the presence of red and white bloods cells in the urine tells you that she still has some sort of infection going on there (doesn't matter if she's not peeing all over the place).

Obviously, your vet is the best person to ask but I'd hazzard a guess that he's sending her urine off now for a culture because the original antibiotic didn't do the job. It makes quite a lot of sense in that case to discover (via the culture) exactly what bug you're dealing with so that a more appropriate antibiotic can be prescribed, and hopefully it can be cleared up for good. Make some sense?

You would need antibiotics for getting rid of the bacteria. But as a longer term thing - and assuming that her crystals are struuvite (not calcium oxalyte - you'd need to ask which), then adding a capful of apple cider vinegar to her food or water daily can be quite helpful. You need the natural cloudy stuff (can be obtained from health food stores), not the clear stuff from the grocery store that's been scalded and sterilised to death. That has useful properties that can help to acidify the urine.

 

[mia625]

Thanks for the info. She has her X-ray tomorrow, so hopefully everything will work out.

 

[mia625]

apple cider vinegar

We tried the 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar in her food on Wednesday, and she had an upset stomach all day, and then for the next several evenings. She's always had a sensitive stomach, so I don't know if it was caused by the apple cider vinegar or something else. Has anyone heard of the vinegar causing an upset stomach?

 

[TossBranAbi]

We tried the 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar in her food on Wednesday, and she had an upset stomach all day, and then for the next several evenings. She's always had a sensitive stomach, so I don't know if it was caused by the apple cider vinegar or something else. Has anyone heard of the vinegar causing an upset stomach?

Never heard of it but I would say it would be possible. Instead of giving her so much at one time, spread it out during the day or even decrease the amount and slowly work her up to a tbsp. I use ACV for my pups but I put it in theri water instead of on the food. That way it would be less concentrated and may be easier for her belly to handle.