Why is my old dog still weak and not eating after vet sedation?

Hello, sorry to hear about Taz. Sedatives and anesthesia may take up to 24-32 hours to wear off in some dogs, particularly older patients. Other factors that contribute to this include any concurrent illnesses such as liver disease, kidney disease, or even his ulcer. If Taz continues to be sedate and without an appetite, then he should be rechecked at the latest tomorrow morning. If he seems more lethargic or painful, then he should be evaluated sooner. Please contact your veterinarian to inform them that Taz is still sedate and not wanting to eat as they may want to see him sooner depending on his concurrent medical history and what agents they used for anesthesia. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. What they used to sedate her with may cause her to be lethargic and weak for the next 24 hours. I would monitor her for the next 24 hours and if the vomiting worsens I would take her back in but if she does not vomit but is lethargic and weak, this should resolve. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. It might also help to contact the veterinarian who did the sedation to find out what drugs were used and why she is still sedated.

Hello, sorry to hear about Rocco. Based on the invoice, it appears that Rocco had full anesthesia, however, this should be confirmed with your veterinarian. With either anesthesia or sedation, pets can be sleepy and groggy until the next morning. So allow Rocco some additional time to recover from his procedure and contact your veterinarian tomorrow morning after breakfast if he is still not acting more like his normal self. One of the medications used appears to have been reversed (dexdormitor), and the the butorphanol can take up to 12 hours to wear off. Gas anesthetics may also take longer to be removed from the body. Keep him quiet tonight and allow him to rest after his procedure. He should be back to normal by the morning. Hope this helps and best of luck.

She is on a lot of meds and probably still not completely out of the woods yet. Medications such as ondansetron can also be a little sedating for dogs as well. It would be hard to put an exact timeline on when she'll be better, but energy should gradually return as she begins to eat more, and her body finishes fighting what is making her ill.

Poor Squeakers! Lethargy is a very general sign of illness, and because he is eating and drinking normally, I would keep an eye on him for now. He could be a little stressed from the vet visit yesterday even though he had the ace, and it might be showing with the lethargy. Should he still be lethargic in 24-48 hours, or he stops eating and drinking normally, then I would bring Squeakers back into the vet for a health check.

We would only be able to speculate here as to why they recommended pain medications for a relatively painless procedure. Unless of course they have a sedative that also had Butorphanol in it. This is a common combination drug used to achieve adequate sedation in pets. So if that was the drug used, there is a low reason for concern about any foul play. If Buster is still not back to normal however, he should be seen by your vet for a follow up. 4 days is enough time for him to recover from a sedative, so a follow up may be best if he can behave enough for a proper exam. If he is just a bit off but still eating, drinking, and has adequate energy, then he may just need a few more days. Older pets do take it a bit harder than younger adults. I hope that Buster feels better soon! Best wishes and take care.

Yes, urinary leakage can occurr after catheter placement and can last a couple of days. How long the sedation lasts depends on the type of drugs used but can last 24 hours. Hope this helps and that things settle soon.