Zoolady

Della slept through the entire night. This morning she ate about 75% of her breakfast. She always ran around the coffee table while waiting for her food. It was good to see her going around this morning although at a much slower pace. She made one poop at 12:30 which wasn't a blowout like she's been having. Much less and a better consistency. No vomiting. I reported to the vet and we're leaving meds as they are until he sees her next week. I did do the ice in the water bowl. Great idea. I let the others have all the water they want but pick it up when they're finished. She has been sleeping all day.

Gentle hugs and good thoughts. The say, no more running into deck rails

Just wanted to share her picture tonight as she sleeps. (We have a black couch and the cover is in the wash. Temporary sheet.)

Scott came home this afternoon to a clean floor and a tail wag. We tried the canned food and she loved it. Dinner was half canned food and kibble. She gobbled it. Her thirst was tremendous but that was probably because of the prednisone. We restricted the water somewhat. She was a good girl and took all her meds. Thank you all for the food suggestions and supplements. I'm writing everything down and keeping it all in mind. She hasn't wanted to go out since she ate and is sleeping on the couch. I think we would have taken her back to the hospital if she had another blowout but everything seems to be staying in. It's so hard without a definite diagnosis but there could be so many causes of what's happening to cause the IBD and the PLE, I can understand how hard it is to pin down. Hopefully she will have a good night. Thank you all again for your thoughts and prayers.

She's been on steroids so an endoscopy is not an option. However they did do radiographs when she was hospitalized this week. The only other possibility is a surgical biopsy of her intestine but she's probably not a good candidate at this time.

I just don't know. Picked up the canned food and went home to a mess. Scott had left her a little water and maybe a cup of the dry food in case she wanted to graze. She ate about half the kibble. Diarrhea all over the kitchen floor...just like Tuesday. Also, a huge pile of vomit. Put her outside and cleaned her feet. Gated everyone out of the kitchen area and started to clean. Coming out of the garage with more paper towels I saw her in a bed by the glass slider door and she was vomiting. She had already done two huge piles, a smaller one and nailed the bed. Outside again to finish. She just stood there with her head hanging and panting. Came in and went right to bed. The vet said not to give her any food but two centrine to calm the intestinel tract and we could bring her in if it became unmanageable. I had to pick her head up to pill her. She doesn't look like she feels well but I can also understand why with what she's been through and all the meds. I cleaned the floor and gave her some clean bedding. Scott will get home before me so she won't be alone too much longer. Hopefully she will eat some canned food tonight. That's it for now. Wish I had better news.

I did ask the vet about it before and was told not now because it has so many things in it...rice, corn, meat and bone meal, animal digest and animal fat. They want her system to stay on a food source which is new to her system. At this time they are keeping everything as simple and uncomplicated as possible. I've also moved the cat food to a gated room that only the cats can get in. We muzzle her when she goes outside so she won't even get a blade of grass. We make sure the floor is swept under the bird cages. No place left to snack, much to her dismay.

So glad to hear she was able to come home. I'm wondering, have you guys tried plain boiled chicken? Chicken is a really digestible protein for dogs and while it's possible she's allergic to chicken, it's unlikely (more likely if it's an allergy issue that the issue is somehow related to the processed foods in the kibble, or that she's got IBD or something else going on). I wouldn't want to suggest something that could make her worse, but it seems like even the herring isn't sitting well with her right now so it might be worth a try. Of course I'd run it by your vet first as well. Fingers crossed over hear that her recovery picks up today! I'm picking up some canned fish at lunch today and will bring it back to her. She does have IBD and PLE. In the beginning we did try boiled skinless chicken. I will be updating the vet after lunch and ask him about chicken again.

She barely ate a cup of food last night. No hint of firm poop. Got up at 5:22 this morning to go out and squirted twice. She turned her nose up at food this morning. We can't give her anything else to eat besides her herring. She's got a lot of medicine for an empty tummy. She's acting fine though. Wish I didn't have to work today but will come home at lunch. We just want her better.

Greyt news! We brought Della home! She has a bandage on her leg from the iv (I think) and her neck is mostly red (probably from blood draws?) but she's home. Drove her home with the windows open and then she got a bath outside in the sun and we wrapped her and dried her quickly. All the other puppers were so happy to see her and had to smell and check out where she peed, etc. She did make a watery poop but maybe that was from excitement? Anyhow, here's her meds. Panacur suspension 12.5 ml by mouth once a day for five days Prednisone 20 mg twice a day Sulcrafate 1gm twice a day Tylan powder 1/2 tsp once a day (she doesn't like it so suggested we get some empty gel caps and make pills) Metronidazole 500mg twice a day (flagyl?) Omeprazole 20 mg once a day Centrine 2mg once or twice daily One of the meds is like prilosec and the other is supposed to be like immodium. He said if the prednisone seems to be bothering her he might switch her over to something called azathioprine. I quickly took some pics of her return home. One I didn't get was her roaching on the couch. Priceless. Della home from hospital Spine picture (looks like a washboard) Shoulders General pic (you can see her hip bones) I can't thank you all enough for your prayers, suggestions and thoughts. I just hope her next poop is firmer. Have to go hug her now.

Thanks everyone. What they will be doing today is transitioning her to oral meds rather than the ones they have been injecting and hope she continues without the diarrhea returning. Will keep you posted. We love our GT family.

The GT magic is helping. Latest report this evening is that they have stopped the diarrhea. She went from uncontrollable leaking poop water this morning with a belly that sounded like water sloshing to no more squirts. We are praying it will stay that way. She is not gobbling her food but is doing what they call "grazing." We'll take any improvement we can get. This evening's vet was in emergency surgery so hopefully we can get more info later. Thank you for hanging in there with us. Will keep you posted. Edited because of typing skills.

Scott brought her food to her this morning. Her condition is "guarded" whatever that means. She hasn't eaten since Monday evening but they fed her this morning and she gobbled it up. She will spend another night at the hospital. If they can slow her gi tract down and get a handle on her squirts she can come home tomorrow. If she continues like she has been they're not too encouraging. If it's cancer she will continue to deteriorate. They have nicknamed her Helter Skelter because if her explosive range. Unfortunately today it just keeps running out of her behind as she walks. Something is very bad. I asked them to throw anything they could think of to stop it at her. They will. Scott saw her this morning and she was bright and alert. Her body has accepted a little hydration but I think not as much as they would have liked. Her regular doctor that was with her last night will be in tomorrow. Thank you for all the prayers, candles and good thoughts. Have to go back to work. Will keep you posted.

We just called again. Her regular vet, Dr. Krane, is with her tonight. She says there is no evidence of pancreatitis and her radiographs are normal. Her white cells are high as well as her liver enzymes. She's had two more diarrhea blowouts. We have the printed estimate of what they're doing. I don't understand half of it but here it is. Catheterization/Cephalic Fluid-Plasmalyte A TRV 14X1L Boarding-Hospital-Canine-Over 50?SHIFT Nursing Care/Shift - Level 2 Doctor Care/Shift Level 2 Metronidazole Injection 500 mg/ml Ondansetron injection Radiology - initial view Radiology - view each additional General Health Profile Blood pressure/initial reading IV fluid pump/shift They are gently suggesting it's cancer but hoping for the best. We are to bring her food in the morning. They are amazed at how happy she is with all that's going on. It's like she's at camp. So excited and loving to see everyone. That's our Della.

Della's symptoms are identical to LaceyLaine's when we almost lost her due to Pancreatitis. Sending many prayers and gentle hugs. I will certainly be asking a lot of questions about pancreatitis. Thank you.

She had a few food changes and is on the herring/sweet potato to keep it simple. We were almost doing fine until we added the new food Sunday. She won't be having any more of it and will go back to the herring tomorrow. I don't know. They're giving her tests and fluids now. Will keep everyone posted when we hear more.

The vet questioned in depth about the slimey mucous. Wasn't worms. It's hard to say. Tomorrow we're to bring the new bag of herring/sweet potato food to the vet. No food for her today.

Worms was one of the first thing the vet thought of. She was wormed for different kinds three or four times to rule out worms. Sorry....I should have mentioned that when I posted. Not thinking too straight now.

WARNING: gets graphic but will try to keep it short A month and a half or so Della wasn't well. Long story short, not absorbing food. Vet put her on a protein source she's never had (herring and sweet potato kibble) and nothing else. She weighed 64 pounds then. Weighed her a week ago Saturday and she was 67. Poops kept getting firm and going to mush. Started prednisone a week ago Monday and she firmed up again but began Dairy Queen yesterday. We were low on food Sunday and called to see if a store had her food. They said yes. When we got there, they didn't so we went to another store and had to substitute a fish, rice and potato formula for dinner Sunday and breakfast and dinner Monday (mixed with the herring formula). She began vomiting this morning huge amounts of water. Covered one dog bed 60%. Vomited four more times with water and a little kibble and white things that looked like amoebas and were about two inches across. We gated her in the kitchen this morning with two beds. I bought her herring food on my way home at lunch. When I got in the door, the beds and kitchen floor were covered with loose watery diarhea and more watery vomit. I called Scott and he was able to come home. He took one look at her and off to the vet they went. They weighed her and she's down to 54 pounds. Lost 13 pounds since a week ago Saturday. She squirted all over the exam room floor while waiting for the vet. Just spoke to the vet. Della needs IV for dehydration and will be hospitalized. We will keep trying because she hasn't been acting sick and her quality of life has been normal until today. Need a little GT magic please. Will keep you posted.

Praying here too.

We did look at Barking At The Moon when we were trying different things but it was too costly for four. Maybe for one it might be possible. Just don't want to introduce anything new until she either settles down or they can't find anything wrong. Tummy gets hard and bloated when she's solid and just the reverse the more squirty she gets. He wanted her on a food that had a protein that she never had so we'll see what the next appointment brings. Thanks for the idea. Hopefully we get to try it.

Della is going through the same thing. Bloodwork is fine. Two rounds of worming although no signs of worms. Two rounds of antibiotics and continuing the FortiFlora. All four of ours had the big D a few months ago which we attributed it to a bad bag of food. Della just never recovered. The vet has her on Hills Science diet, the z/d formula which has no allergens. We're not thrilled about Hills because it has either BHA or BHT (can't remember which one) and ethoxiquin (rubber preservative). It seems to be helping a little although she seems loose today. The next step for her would be a protease (sp?) test being sent to Texas and if that comes back negative, endoscopy. She goes back to the vet a week from Monday. I'm surprised at how many on GT are dealing with this. Hope your baby gets better soon.

Hi from Boca Raton

Update 6/5/07 Vet just called. Bloodwork back says intestinal disease, small intestine. She said it may take 6 to 8 weeks to resolve (twice as long as she was sick) Game plan: Worming (even though none are showing) Flagyl continue Amoxycilian Probiotics powder (discontinue yogurt) Call her Monday. If Della's had no response, change diet to something her intestines never had like venison or rabbit (special diet). If that doesn't help, then endoscopy or surgical biopsy of the small intestine. I do think Della may be getting better because she's gone from orange squirt to melted chocolate. I'm so happy our GT family understands poop and I can discuss the color chart freely. Noticed this morning her shoulders look boney and her ribs are showing a lot so her weight has probably dropped. The swollen tummy seems to be down a tad which is good. No protein in the urine to speak of but will know more when it gets back from the lab.