greyhead

Oh geez, hope you and Connor get some good help! Keep us posted.

I'm very sorry. You're in my thoughts and prayers.

Agreed!

Just a quick update. Dr. Vilar from OSU has said he'd be pleased to consult with Spencer's vet! Probably won't happen until after the holiday but at least it's gonna happen! Took Spencer back to 2 mg/day budesonide + metronidazole, and he's doing fine. So it's not urgent. But not having an internist to work with, it'll be great to be hooked up to guidance from OSU when we need it! Thanks for the encouragement to make the contact. I had this irrational feeling that if Spencer didn't have cancer, I shouldn't bother OSU. I know was dumb and I'm over it!

How's it with Minerva today? You're in my thoughts.

I'd be tempted not to give the medicine, lest something be masked. But then I'm not the one hearing my pup yelping! Good luck, and please update us.

Is this where you get the x-rays/ultrasound?

Bonsoir et bienvenue! Your twitter pics/commentary are way fun!

I told my vet I haven't seen anybody report giving more than 3 mgs of budesonide to a greyhound. He's already on metronidazole, 1000 mg/day. The thick tongue went away within a few hours of his second dose Sat night and hasn't returned since I didn't continue giving him 4 mg. So he's okay today and still has a pretty good attitude. The tummy rumbling seems to be progressively decreasing on the 3 mg dose he has been getting starting Sunday. He has lost a couple pounds, I'd say though, since this "flare" began a week ago. I haven't seen him have a BM today; our morning walk was too short for him to get that done, thanks to his brother's lameness, and he hasn't wanted to go out to the yard. But we're about to take our evening walk shortly, so we'll see. In general his poops are soft but decent as long as he has some kibble; but if he has too much kibble, he develops D and starts rumbling. I guess the vet and I agreed today to keep him on 3 mg but the divided dose I improvised: 2 mg morning, 1 mg nighttime. That's cuz I only have 2 mg-capsules, and fearful of what happened on 4 mg, I didn't want to give all 3 mgs at once to start with. But looking through internet lit tonight, it appears that this drug is intended generally to be given all in one daily dose. Is that your understanding? I have no problem continuing the divided dose, but I want him to get the best effect from the 3 mg, whichever way that will happen. I didn't know budesonide is so much more potent than pred; I just thought the side-effect profile was more benign. Thanks so much for asking! Hope you and Stan are doing well!

I'm so sorry this is happening. Sending hugs and prayers.

Okay, we're good. The vet just called back and we formed a strategy for now: 3 mg budesonide, add beet pulp to raw food, reduce kibble, give Gas-X, and call OSU for consult. She was nervous about the budesonide and wanted to dial it back to 2 mg, but I said I'd like to stay at 3 for now since he doesn't have the swollen tongue on that dose and I can and do watch him closely. He really is doing better on the 3 mg than he did on the 2; if the budesonide alone doesn't work, we have to add in azothiaprine, and neither of us is in love with the idea of a second immunosuppressant. She said the rumbling intestines may be bedeviled by gas, and it's worth a shot to see if the Gas-X helps that. (I had mentioned how distended his belly gets when he has the rumbles.) A huge thank-you to all of you that have helped! (I PM'd someone who was signed in about the thick tongue Saturday night and didn't get an answer, so I thought it was just something that went with the panting and nothing to worry about. Boy was I wrong!!) Please hold good thoughts for Spencer that we'll come up with a plan that will improve things for him.

Wish I had some help to offer, but all I have is good thoughts to hold for you. I can imagine how perplexed you must be. All I have is my bias, if that's the right word, that they do this stuff for a reason, and I hope GTers can keep coming up with good hypotheses to consider.

Off I go for Benedryl then! Thanks VERY much, everyone.

How much Benedryl do you give a dog? Never had to do it before. Trouble with getting a compounded drug mailed from a pharmacy is nobody gives you a side-effect sheet! When I checked the internet yesterday, I looked for "canine budesonide," and nothing mentioned tongue swelling. Thanks, Deirdre, for the link to the human info. Sometimes I get too tired to think well. Anybody know if OSU consults on IBD in greyhounds particularly?

Hm, maybe a cup of tea and a muscle relaxer! Thanks, okay, I won't give the extra, and I'm apparently not crazy. Good to know! Now if folks would just hold a good thought that we can get him straightened out. He's really hungry, but the vet wants me to feed him less to rest his intestines. He does best on raw food (venison), but he needs kibble to have something otehr than totally runny poops. But he can only have so much kibble (1/3 of the diet) or his poop volume increases to the point that I don't think he's absorbing any of the food. Sigh. He's such a fine boy and doesn't deserve this at all.

Spencer the IBD dog has been on 2mg/day budesonide for two months and improving -- until last week when his stomach again became swollen and gurgling, etc. After a week called vet. Last Friday she recommended going to 2mg budesonide twice a day for three days, then call back and report. Started that protocol Saturday and by Saturday night he was panting and had the thickest tongue I've ever seen. It was only a half-inch from the roof of his mouth and I wondered if it was going to get worse. I don't know about him, but I couldn't handle it! So starting Sunday I took him down to 3 mg/day -- 2 in the a.m. and 1 in the p.m. That cleared up the panting/tongue problem and no gurgling. But Monday night the gurgling came back, which suggests that either he needs the 4 mg or he needs an additional drug like azothiaprine or...something. So I've left another message with this info for the vet, who's out until tomorrow but sometimes checks for messages. (I could call or email in emergency, but this isn't that.) So if I give him the extra 2 mg tonight and he starts with that panting/thick tongue thing again, at what point should I be worried? Does this behavior become a danger itself at some threshhold? Am I an idiot for worrying about this? Is it not as bad for him as it looks? I should mention that I only drink alcohol rarely, and socially, thanks to migraines. So having a glass of something isn't an option!

Okay, I see that k9 EPIGLOBAL is for EPI dogs. Was Julie diagnosed with EPI?

Do you mean SIBO? I wish somebody had told me about that Yahoo group when Spencer was dealing with this last winter! Yes, B12 is like a miracle substance. We have continued using it once a week, with our vet's blessing, despite the protocol that calls for decreasing frequency of dosing over time. We opted for ultrasound instead of biopsy. It can show the condition of all the organs and can show if there is structural damage to the intestines that is consistent with IBD. In Spencer's case, it was. The only problem is that a textbook diagnosis, meaning one that everyone acknowledges as valid, requires biopsy. Our internist wouldn't continue to advise our vet on Spencer's treatment because we didn't do a biopsy. I could go on and on, but it would probably be better if you just ask whatever specific questions you have, or PM if you'd like. If you look up my posts on Spencer from November to May, you'll see the progression from intestinal malabsorption to SIBO to IBD and all the considerations about his treatment. (He's doing reasonably well now and has regained 10 pounds.) Best wishes to you and Julie!

You and Cora didn't need this. Prayers for quick improvement. And flowers just cuz!

He is SO gorgeous! Holding good thoughts for him out here!

So sorry! He sounds magnificent.

I'm so very sorry for the loss of your beautiful blue Smokey. May the thought of his peaceful passing give you some comfort.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Glad you found Greytalk.

I'm so sorry. Thank you for sharing his touching story.