Boxers and bloat

I believe my boxer is experiencing bloating episodes. I am researching it and will call the vet on Monday to have him checked and to see if there is anything I can do for him during an episode. Actually, I am trying to call them this morning and it is busy, busy, busy.  It started about a week ago, we thought he was eating too fast because sometimes our big dog, Sable will try to steal the food.

Slade (the boxer) does eat too fast most of the time. He gulps his food. I was getting ready to go out and I didn't have much time with him and put him outside to throw up. He proceeded to eat the ivy that was still green around my back porch. Oh, god! I pulled him back inside. He threw up the biggest pile of ivy onto my kitchen floor where it was easily cleaned up. That seemed to solve his problem. I did not think of bloat at that time.

Last night he got excited when my niece visited. I had not fed them their evening meal, yet. He began licking and smacking his lips. I was not putting him outside this time to eat the poisonous ivy. I blocked him in the kitchen.

I was on day six of a headache that was not responding to OTC medicine and I did not want to take another prescription Imitrex so I was riding it out. I was not feeling good at all. As I listened to him hack away, I thought I better look up bloat. I had heard about bloat, but never had a dog that experienced it. All his symptoms seemed to fit. 

He settled down (I skipped feeding all the dogs last night) and he seems fine this morning. I fed them this morning and all is well, so far. I will need to get some medical advice on this, though.

My headache continues. My Imitrex will take care of the problem, but after 8 hours it comes back and I just can't pop another Imitrex. You can't just take them every day (I don't think). If you research anybody who experiences the migraine headache you might come across the well-known fact that the headaches often appear during our off-peak days. Like, the week-end. After the stress of a work week or a big event. Mine are weather-related and hormonal this week and may be a bit stress induced. My sleep patterns are really whacked out because last week-end I had a houseful and we stayed up late playing games and such and I slept in and that is a big no-no for migraine sufferers. What can I say? I like to laugh and socialize with my family!

The migraine hit last Sunday and I've been taking Imitrex every other day since then. Physical exertion is really hard. While shoveling snow, I would gag and try to throw up and then shovel some more. It had to be done - I can't just leave our sidewalks covered. (Company is long gone and the kids are at their other home this week). Anyway, the cold air seemed to help a little bit.

Can you believe I only got our tree out on Thursday? I KNOW! I am battling pine needles trying not to ruin yet another vacuum cleaner and my Shop Vac. LOL! Crazy. I got tired of waiting for the kids who promised to take it down for me. I think they wanted to one day but I was sick with my headache and they didn't want to bother me.

I watched "Salt." As I have mentioned before I cannot lay still when experiencing a headache because I just dwell on the pain. I am better off in an upright position and I watch a movie to take my mind off of things. I used to laugh at hero action movies not having many females in the film. With Salt, it was only Jolie and maybe one or two lines from other females. It was a little far-fetched for me. And I don't like a lot of blood and there is plenty in this movie. I also get freaked out by how shiny-silver every body's eyes are. Like they are all moistened by glycerin or something. They shine like silver pools of water and is very distracting.

The part (and there were many) that gets me is when she rode in the police car up and over an overpass onto the highway below and walked away from the accident. She had no seat belt on. Well, besides the fact that she jumped from the top of one truck onto another and then did it again while they were moving on a highway was also a bit of a stretch, too. But it really wasn't much different than what Cruise did in his action flick "Knight and Day" with Diaz. It is movie making entertainment.

I also rented the movie "Date Night". I am hoping for some laughter.

Update: Now that I read more about it, I don't believe it is bloat. His sides did not extend at all, but I am still taking him in for a check up. Tuesday afternoon.