Help! - Irritable Bowel Disorder

[Guest Gr8hounds]

Hi! We have a greyhound that has been throwing up its food. It is kind of foamy. we put her on prednisone - one pill in the morning and 1/2 at night - and no more puking - she has been on the same food. We had tons of tests done on her, and everything came back normal (for a greyhound)! The vet said she could have irritable bowl disorder, but we would have to do a really invasive scope. Does anyone have any experience with this disease!? it does tend to get worse if she gets stressed. She acts really happy, but she has thin hair on her legs and thighs.... We do have victoria peak beds, so I know she isn't laying on the hard floor! I had never even heard of this until now!?

[Guest KipperGrey]

Does the pup have diarrhea? I thought IBD involved the other end but I could be wrong.

[dmswartzfager]

IBD can involve both ends. Blitz's manifested as both vomiting and diarrhea when he was really sick, and then diarrhea and a touch of nausea during flare-ups.

 

What food is she on currently? We have fairly successfully controlled Blitz's IBD with food, though stress does throw him out of whack.

 

What tests have been done? A TLI and/or cobalamin and folate assays may be indicated to determine the functioning of the pancreas and the small intestine and rule out other conditions (if those tests come back normal, IBD is one of the few things left as a probable diagnosis).

 

Is the dog actually vomiting? As in retching, stomach heaving, etc. versus a reflux, which is the dog just opens the mouth and out it comes (with a little "blurp" as I call it). When does this happen in relation to the time of feeding?

 

With a good response to the prednisone, I would say chances are you have an IBD dog. Other people will chime in with their experiences - I have heard people use Tylan powder and something else that is slipping my mind at the moment.

[Guest Gr8hounds]

Hi! It basically is just the "front" end? everything seems to be ok at the other end! So can IBD involve just the "front end"? She is on science diet right now. it does seem that when she is more stressed she will puke... So what food do you recommend? I think there was about 500$ worth of tests/x-rays done, but I don't have a list with me....As far as the puking goes... it is the "reflux, which is the dog just opens the mouth and out it comes (with a little "blurp" as I call it)." and it usually happens within seconds after she eats... The vet said that if it was a food allergy she would be puking just as much... I just feel bad I can't get any weight on her!

Edited September 2, 2008 by Gr8hounds

[Guest MomofSweetPotatoes]

Dougie has IBD and his also manifested as throwing up etc. Nothing in the lower end, all upper GI. I'm going to send you a PM>

[Ragsysmum]

Is she eating too fast? Maybe you could try to slow down her eating and change to three smaller meals in case that helps any.

[Guest tobinhr]

If you can handle it (and I mean that quite literally).. try raw feeding. It eliminates the preservatives and grains that are present in most kibble.

 

PM me if you need to. I went through something similar with Mac.

 

Jan

 

Mac, the raw-fed wonder dog

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

Hope this helps, my 16yr old male cat has IBD. We give him 1ml of "Prednisilone" not to be confused with "Predisone" each day. He originally displayed vomiting and the "d" simultaneously. Our vet said he either has intestinal cancer (which would require exploratory surgery) or IBD, either way, the treatment is the same. What would happen (so I am told) is that if it was cancer, the treatment would stop working after 4-6 months. He has been on Prednisilone for about 1 1/2 years, so we are pretty certain its not cancer. He actually was wasting away at the same time. He lost 60% of his body weight in about 4 months. Like I said, 1 1/2 years later, the Prednisilone, he is back to a healthy weight. One thing that we noticed is that his appatite increased dramatically for the first few months on the med. It is back to normal. Otherwise, it does seem to work well. But you do have to realize that either med that you may have is a steroid based med, and long term steroid dosage is not good for the animal. We tried to wean our guy off the med at the 1 year mark, and not a good idea, he started vomiting as soon as the dose was very low. Your vet may have your guy on the med for a while, and then try to wean off the med, that is typical, dont worry. Good luck.

[Guest MZH]

We had a greyhound who did that. He had a thyroid tumor that had been pressing on his esophagus; it blocked the food from going into the stomach so the food came back unchanged very soon after swallowing. It had no place to go. He was able to drink fine. We took the tumor out and, after recovery, he ate fine again for 16 months until we lost him at 14.

 

Check for a telltale lump on the throat/neck. His was on the side.

 

One oddball possibility is stomach worm. It may be hard to check for, but we Panacured our cat when our vet in CT suspected she may have it. After the Panacur she now only throws up hairballs. She had been a very big vomiter for years until we tried this. Might be worth a try. She had bloody, mucousy poops now and then too.

 

Marcia in SC

 

Edited (twice) because my eyes and fingers aren't working right today.

Edited September 2, 2008 by MZH

[Guest LindsaySF]

I would deworm her first of all, that is my standard response when digestive system issues arise.

 

It is good that the prednisone is helping. I would also change her food ASAP, as the food seems to be exacerbating the problem.

[Guest koolaidnconner]

Conner has Inflammatory bowel disease(pathology stamped). His was constant diaherra, I had never heard of it being the other way. He is on a complete only Z/D diet, he can't have anything else or he gets very sick.

 

He went through lots of tests before we did the colonoscopy. Expensive procedure but it gave us a definite answer.

[Guest MZH]

I think it's important to find out if she has irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The treatments are very different.

 

A friend's greyhound has inflammatory bowel disease and her main manifestation is vomiting with a little diarrhea thrown in. She had full-blown diagnostics done at a referral center so it's definitely IBD.

 

She's on pred (not sure if it's the -nisolone kind), prilosec, bentyl, and cerenia -- not all at once -- but my friend has found a combo in sequence that works for her dog. She has to eat all things ZD too -- dry, canned, biscuits. It took about 3 years to get the right combo of meds and food. She's not been sick since Easter Sunday and that's a record for her. The ZD has been a lifesaver too, although it's a challenge to get her to eat it day after day. But it has to be that way or it's "get sick time".

 

Marcia in SC

[Guest MZH]

PS I'm with Lindsay on the food and med.

 

If you don't want to do invasive testing, why not feed ZD in all forms and stay with the prednisolone? ZD is expensive food, but it may be the ticket to getting her feeling better quickly. Even one food item that's not ZD can cause a stomach upset, unfortunately.

 

If it's any consolation, my friend cheers when her dog gains 4 ounces or hasn't lost any weight; it's hard to keep weight on these dogs. Her dog has the reflux as well as vomiting, hence the Prilosec. Seems to be working!

 

Marcia in SC