The first one wasn't gentamicin because I recognize that one from a spray we had one time. He did say it was an injectable. I think you hit the second one correctly. The third one I think began with an "i."
The Vet in Macon who did her ultrasound had mentioned they are seeing more of these drug resistant e coli infections, but this is the first my Vet has had. Danged things...what I have read and the Vet said is that they easily mutate. So we were hoping they mutated into something we could take care of. So the battle goes on...
Will it never end...
If not gentamicin, maybe tobramycin or amikacin? There aren't too many others that cause liver problems that would be targeting E.coli. All three of these are in the same class, and if the bacteria are resistant to one, resistance to the others may develop during therapy, so I would not think of them as first choice. Since are all excreted by the liver, they are not good options for urinary tract infection. An antibiotic excreted by the kidneys would be preferred because the concentration in the urine would be high.
The one with an 'i' was probably imipenem. I can't think of any others that start with an 'i'. It's an injectible antibiotic and is a penicillin "cousin". Imipenem is excreted in the urine. Here's some info:
http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/im ... page1.aspx
(BTW - the brand name is misspelled here - it's Primaxin not Premaxin) Note that there are some liver warnings.
If it were me, in general I'd accept treatment with either the chloramphenicol or the imipenem for my dog, but I am unsure about how great the effect of either is on the liver. Your vet may even want to consider combination therapy, especially because of the liver issues. (Also thought I'd mention that my daughter was treated with chloramphenicol in 1981 for pneumonia - she was hospitalized on her 1st birthday - she was also just fine and had no side effects.)
Good luck!! Sending you and Winnie all my best!
The one with an 'i' was probably imipenem. I can't think of any others that start with an 'i'. It's an injectible antibiotic and is a penicillin "cousin". Imipenem is excreted in the urine. Here's some info:
http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/im ... page1.aspx
(BTW - the brand name is misspelled here - it's Primaxin not Premaxin) Note that there are some liver warnings.
If it were me, in general I'd accept treatment with either the chloramphenicol or the imipenem for my dog, but I am unsure about how great the effect of either is on the liver. Your vet may even want to consider combination therapy, especially because of the liver issues. (Also thought I'd mention that my daughter was treated with chloramphenicol in 1981 for pneumonia - she was hospitalized on her 1st birthday - she was also just fine and had no side effects.)
Good luck!! Sending you and Winnie all my best!
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." ~ Josh Billings.
Re: Will it never end...
Ok, it will be the chloramphenicol...they are ordering it now. The other one is super expensive and administered by IV. So we're keeping paws crossed here that it works with no side effects.
That's interesting that your daughter took it...guess she wouldn't be given it nowadays. I'm supposed to use gloves to give it.
That's interesting that your daughter took it...guess she wouldn't be given it nowadays. I'm supposed to use gloves to give it.
Re: Will it never end...
My daughter got it when she had a left lower lobe pneumonia and was not responding to the other drugs ( I.V. penicillin and oral erythromycin combination). The chloro was added to the other two, and she was only on it about 36-48 hours (if that). It was stopped as soon as her fever broke (she was spiking over 106 for 3 days). It was a very scarey time, and, unfortunately she was started on antibiotics in the doctor's office 24 hours before she was hospitalized, so none of her cultures were positive and we never knew which bacterium caused her infection. To be honest, I'd rather take this one if I had a serious infection before any of the aminoglycosides (gentamicin, etc.) that cause permanent hearing damage 30% of the time, or most of the fluoroguinolones (Cipro, Levoquin, etc.) due to the large number of bad side effects with some of them.
Good luck with the chloro. If you are at all concerned, have your vet check her RBC and WBC counts during therapy.
Good luck with the chloro. If you are at all concerned, have your vet check her RBC and WBC counts during therapy.
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." ~ Josh Billings.
Re: Will it never end...
I got the C med today...1 1/2 pills 3x day...ugh, but I can handle it somehow. Went to break one in half...it isn't breaking even though it has a perforation...DH couldn't break it He gave me a coping saw which helped, so I cut up half the pills at one time. Maybe I shouldn't have done that???
Re: Will it never end...
I don't think it will hurt to have cut them all at once. I've done that with Allie's meds and never had a problem. It might not be a good idea for long-term storage since the pills might have a protective coating to keep out air and moisture, but for the short term, it should be OK. Sending lots of good wishes for successful therapy with no side effects!!!!
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." ~ Josh Billings.
Re: Will it never end...
Your vet should have scored them for you. If you still have some that aren't scored, take them back and ask them to do it for you, they can do it for no charge. You can also get a pill crusher at any pharmacy for this purpose. The pills should stay in the container they gave you (i.e., an amber plastic bottle).
..........Traci
Re: Will it never end...
Hmm, thanks. I didn't know there was such a thing as a pill scorer. If she has to be on them longer than this 10 day supply, I will ask about that. And yes, I always leave meds in the original container for ID purposes.
Re: Will it never end...
get one like this:
There's a blade under the top, line pill indentation under blade, snap the top closed, presto, your pill is cut in half. (can also use it to score 1/4's too)
Just be careful to have your fingers out of the way before you snap the top down.
You can get these for around $5, more or less, at your pharmacy.
There's a blade under the top, line pill indentation under blade, snap the top closed, presto, your pill is cut in half. (can also use it to score 1/4's too)
Just be careful to have your fingers out of the way before you snap the top down.
You can get these for around $5, more or less, at your pharmacy.
..........Traci
Re: Will it never end...
Thank you, Traci. I might look for that. I am glad I posted what I originally thought might be a rant. But I learned something... 