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Ask the Veterinarian/Prednisone 5mg side effects on Pug

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Expert: - 5/5/2011


Question
On April 18th, I took my Pug to the vet because she woke up trembling, had her ears and tail down, and was just not acting right.  My vet said that he believed she was simply having back pain(he did a physical exam on her) and told me that Pugs were prone to this.  He prescribed her 5mg of Prednisone once a day for 5 days and then one pill every other day.  He also prescribed her Tramadol 50mg twice a day as needed for pain.  She seemed to be doing fine on both medications (with the exception of excessive thirst, which he told me to expect) up until about 3 days ago.  She is now extremely lethargic and weak, still having excessive thirst, panting, swollen stomach, and loss of appetite.  She seemed to just wake up the day before yesterday with these symptoms.  I took her back to the vet yesterday because I had researched online about her swollen stomach and found out it could be something serious.  After another physical exam, my vet said that he felt nothing abnormal in her tummy and believed that all of her symptoms were simply a side effect of the predisone.  She seemed to get a little better between last night and today, but is still far from normal.  I wanted to know if these are indeed just symptoms of the medication (this is a new vet I am taking her to) and approximately how long should I expect them to last?  I am very worried about her; this dog is like my child.  I was also wondering how important it is to completely finish the prednisone.  She has 4 pills left (she is now on the 'every other day' dosage) and I do not want to give her anymore if it is what is making her sick.  Thank you so much for your time and help.

Bridget

Answer
Prednisone can make them look pretty bloated as it makes the body retain water.
Once she is done with the meds then she should return to normal within a few days. I would finish out the course of drugs so that you will make sure the inflammation is gone in her back.

You might want to stop the Tramadol and just finish up with the pred. It could be that drug causing issues as well.

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

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PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience

I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

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Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

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Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

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Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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