So, I bought a value-pack of 200 mg. ibuprofen, where if I bought one 100-count bottle, I got a second one absolutely free. I probably paid around $3.00 for 200 pills. I pretty good deal, right?
Wrong.
A couple of days ago, I had a bad headache, much like a migraine. I had taken Excedrin first thing in the morning, but by noon, relief had not come, so I opened one of the bottles of ibuprofen and took two. No problem.
Fast forward to today...Em and I were celebrating her latest feat....she has finally done #2 on the potty!!!! So as a reward, I made today about her. She wanted to go to Burger King for lunch (and mostly to play in the play area). Then we visited a couple other stores.
Since it was 91 degrees and humid, I left Bella inside, knowing that she is usually fine on her own for a couple hours. We got home a few hours later and she had torn into a new package of diapers (that are now destroyed). They were old in that they were the wrong size, but I was planning on keeping them in case we ever get brave enough to try for a sibling for Em. Then I noticed a couple of bright orange stains on the carpet of animal origin....and then I found the two value bottles of ibuprofen in the middle of the living room.
Despite picking them up off the floor before we left and their childproof caps, one bottle (the one I'd already used) was ripped open and full of tooth marks...and only 3 pills remaining. By my calculation, that means that Bella must have eaten 95 pills or 19,000 mg of ibuprofen, thus explaining the orange stains.
So, one hour, one vet trip and nearly a whole bottle of cleaning solution later, my value-pack of ibuprofen has now cost me an estimated $750 (assuming that all goes well, which is still not certain). Bella will be staying at the animal hospital until at least Monday, maybe longer. She will be catheterized, iv'ed, charcoaled, tested, etc...and hopefully not much worse for the wear.
Calgon....take me away!!!!!!!!!!
UPDATE
Well, it's now 5:45 pm on Saturday and I spent the morning grocery shopping and transporting Bella to a different emergency clinic. She does not look good. When I dropped her off yesterday, she seemed fine other than the vomiting. Today is patently obvious that she is very, very sick. Her liver and kidneys are definitely being affected right now, leading us to believe that she must have just eaten the pills shortly before I got home yesterday. Maybe we got to her in time, but either way, she is extremely ill and the vet says it's just too soon to tell. She can barely walk more than a few feet at a time, her breathing is very labored, her tongue just hangs out of her mouth and she is peeing on herself all the time (this is a good thing though). Please pray if you think of it. Losing her would be terrible for all of us, but it would devestate Emily, not to mention probably terrify her.
Oh and did I mention that the earlier bill for the first vet was just the "intro to veterinary emergency medical costs"? You (and I) don't even want to know!
4 comments:
Oh my goodness! Bella eats like a dog.
When I was a kid our little dog, Fifi, would shred Kleenexes whenever we left her home alone. Kleenex bits are a whole lot cheaper than Ibuprophen. I hope Bella pulls through OK.
I'm speechless.
Just read your update. Oh, the poor pooch! It's so sad.
My little dog Abby was an EXPENSIVE dog, so you're right--we don't want to know.
Keeping all of you in prayer...
Oh my Christina, I pray Bella will recover from this accident. You're all in my prayers.
If it's any consolation, when I was 3 I ate an entire bottle (50 or so) of Johnson & Johnson baby aspirins. I, like Bella, chewed the cap off and began to enjoy. A couple tablespoons of syrup of ipecac later I was leaving (again, like Bella) orange spots on the white carpet.
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