Ple/ibd Dogs Please Check In

[Guest zoolaine]

I wanted to see how all the pups with PLE/IBD are doing. I'll start with Sunny who was diagnosed with PLE last July. Sunny is doing great. His endoscopic biopsy was inconclusive but his intestines did look abnormal and bled easily. However, his albumin level is back into the normal range although his total protein is still below normal. His meds are starting to be cut back since he is doing well. He is now eating Natural Balance duck and potato food. He still has soft stools and occasional diarrehea, especially when he steals food he is not supposed to have - like 2 packs of tortillas/wraps. But overall he is doing great and is acting like he feels good.

How are others doing?

[Guest SoulsMom]

Well, not definitive IBD, but Soul has has two bout of HGE since 11/5 (gastro intestional bleeding). He's back on the Flagyl and I/D diet for another month to let him heal again, then we'll start trying to figure out the triggers

[RobinM]

Still trying to figure out which direction to turn.

 

As of 2 days ago, Beau is eating Hills ID with BG Chicken 1/2 teaspoon tylan powder. Today we are adding in vit. B12.

 

We are thinking of changing the kibble to the BG kibble as well, but don't know if this is the time. So confused.

[Guest mandm]

My greyhound has not been scoped, but labwork & symptoms indicated IBD. I tried everything except immunosuppressives. A lean, raw, carb-free diet fixed him. Not fixed him in the sense that he is fine now, but fixed him in that, as long as he stays on the very strict diet, he is fine, better than fine, fabulous.

[ahicks51]

A quick look at the ingredients shows that Before Grain by Merrick would be a good choice for a trial run; although it still has quite a bit of carbohydrate in it, if grain is at the root of the problem (not just starch), then that would be a good starting place. If there's improvement but not total control between that and meds, then you might step it up a notch to raw or homecooked, no carbs.

[montgomery2524]

Smokey has not been scoped but symptoms say IBD. We decided since he is doing well with diet and occasional round of antibiotics we would not do a scope unless he got sick again. When he was sick the first time he lost 8 lbs in about a week and was eating twice as much as the other dogs. He was tested for EPI and SIBO and fortunately only has the SIBO and low B12.

 

He eats Wellness Fish and Sweet Potato and gets dried sweet potatoes for treats along with apples or banannas. Poop consistency is a typical conversation each morning for me and DH. Whoever had morning duty lets the other know if the poo was good, ok or pudding (yuck). We also give him a herbal supplement from Azmira called Daily Boost and gets B12 shots every 10 days. For the SIBO he gets a human product called Culturelle which is a probiotic. After more than a year he is doing great.

[ahicks51]

Poop consistency is a typical conversation each morning for me and DH. Whoever had morning duty lets the other know if the poo was good, ok or pudding (yuck).

 

Here's an interesting experiment for you.

 

Apple peels are loaded with amylopectin- a polymeric form of starch. Bananas, on the other hand, are very starchy; it's the last few days of ripening that move the starches into sugars- but there is still starch left. Try going a week with no unpeeled apple pieces, and no banana. See if the stools improve. If not, I'm totally wrong.

[dmswartzfager]

Blitz has IBD confirmed by stomach biopsy. He's been doing awesome for the past year (exploratory surgery was October of 2006, had a few rough months, then things turned around sometime in January 2007). To get him better, he was being fed z/d, then Nature's Variety frozen venison, then finally, we switched him to the raw diet we feed the girls, except it appears he's allergic to beef, so no organ meats for him since I make a beef liver-heavy mixture. So he gets turkey necks and chicken leg quarters, veggies, salmon, and ground turkey. I rarely give treats, but I try to avoid grains and potatoes in the treats. No medications.

Edited January 11, 2009 by dmswartzfager