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Soul Has Relapsed Yet Again


Guest SoulsMom

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Guest SoulsMom

He refused breakfast and had the bloody pudding poo yesterday afternoon. Good thing I already had the Flagyl on hand to give to him. I had once again been trying to transisiton him to a 'regular' kibble (and one that's grain free to help his Discoid Lupus). He had been eating about half the I/D and half the grain free for about a month.

 

Looks like he's gonna have to be on all I/D all the time, and I'll need to figure out something else for his lupus symptoms

:( Damn. And the I/D is so frickin frackin expensive. $54 for a 20lb bag . . .

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D.R.A.T. I really feel for you and hope he recovers asap.

 

Worth trying home cooking instead of I/D once he stabilizes?

 

Only reason I suggest is, you might be able to serve his lupus better for the same $$ or less. I know some turn up their noses at I/D but in my experience it goes through a dog awfully well ... but you've got the lupus to consider too.

 

ETA: Might also shop around for better I/D prices? I've fed mostly the canned, not the dry, but believe it's quite a bit cheaper here than what you're paying.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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Guest SoulsMom

I have considered the home cooking but wouldn't know where to start . . . . and you're right about the I/D. I hate the contents but it really, really works for him. His poops are great on it and he's totally gas free.

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All the Hill's script diets are expensive. What about the Purina? If I remember correctly, they're a little less expensive.

If you want to try a home cooked diet, is there someone at your vet's office who can help with that?

I hope the SoulMan feels better!!

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Missing my little Misty who took a huge piece of my heart with her on 5/2/09, and Ekko, on 6/28/12

 

 

:candle For the sick, the lost, and the homeless

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Guest Energy11

I/D really does work for a lot of dogs with GI problems. I THINK you can get it cheaper at PetSmart, or maybe online. You vet would have to write you a script. Good Luck with this!

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In your position, I might do the below, in either order:

 

1. Start very slowly adding what you want to improve lupus symptoms, to the I/D, and then proceed to 2 below.

 

2. Start homecooking with the key ingredients in the I/D (chicken, rice, whatever -- I forget what all's in there), and then gradually do #1 above. For rice, barley, etc. I add extra water so the cooked product is *very* soft.

 

Hard tho because it seems your boy will be fine for a long while and then WHAMMO! So very difficult to tell what causes the problem.

 

FWIW, I gave up on commercial foods for Zema because I could not figure out what ingredient(s) caused her urinary problem. She eats a very limited ingredient homecooked diet and a multivitamin/mineral supplement.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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Guest MAXNAV
He refused breakfast and had the bloody pudding poo yesterday afternoon. Good thing I already had the Flagyl on hand to give to him. I had once again been trying to transisiton him to a 'regular' kibble (and one that's grain free to help his Discoid Lupus). He had been eating about half the I/D and half the grain free for about a month.

 

Looks like he's gonna have to be on all I/D all the time, and I'll need to figure out something else for his lupus symptoms

:( Damn. And the I/D is so frickin frackin expensive. $54 for a 20lb bag . . .

 

 

Oh Amber. :( It's awful when our pups are sick. We're thinking of you.

 

ETA: Can he have IAMS L&R? Have you tried it? Max could only eat the IAMS, otherwise he'd have the big D for a few days, be good for a week or so, and then it'd start all over again, until we switched to IAMS. We'd be up all night long. Link to IAMS http://www.iams.com/iams/premium-pet-food/...ce-dog-food.jsp

 

Edited by MAXNAV
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Guest momofevie

Oh no, poor Soul. :( Poor Amber, too. I guess the bright side is that you know what it is this time and how to manage it. :kiss2 for Soul, and :goodluck that you're able to find a more inexpensive yet effective food option.

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Guest MorganKonaAlex

Poor Soul. Which kibble are you trying to switch him too? I did home cooking for a short while when Kona's kidneys were declining. We had a consult with a nutritionist at Angell Memorial. I'll see if any of the recipes would work for Soul.

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Guest SoulsMom
Poor Soul. Which kibble are you trying to switch him too? I did home cooking for a short while when Kona's kidneys were declining. We had a consult with a nutritionist at Angell Memorial. I'll see if any of the recipes would work for Soul.

 

Well, when he first got sick he had been on Natural Balance Fish and Sweet Potato LID (grain free). Then I tried Venision and Sweet Potato LID and he got sick again. This time it was with Lamb and Rice LID (thinking it might be the potato). I always get him to the halfway point and after he's been there for awhile he'll start bleeding again :(

 

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Poor Soul. Which kibble are you trying to switch him too? I did home cooking for a short while when Kona's kidneys were declining. We had a consult with a nutritionist at Angell Memorial. I'll see if any of the recipes would work for Soul.

 

Well, when he first got sick he had been on Natural Balance Fish and Sweet Potato LID (grain free). Then I tried Venision and Sweet Potato LID and he got sick again. This time it was with Lamb and Rice LID (thinking it might be the potato). I always get him to the halfway point and after he's been there for awhile he'll start bleeding again :(

 

 

I admit I know little about this - and I would agree that a LID for IBD makes sense. But I wonder if it's the brand? I know Natural Balance is a great food, but maybe something else in it is also affecting him. So maybe once Soul is feeling better, a different brand to switch him too that has few ingredients?

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Poor Soul. Which kibble are you trying to switch him too? I did home cooking for a short while when Kona's kidneys were declining. We had a consult with a nutritionist at Angell Memorial. I'll see if any of the recipes would work for Soul.

 

Well, when he first got sick he had been on Natural Balance Fish and Sweet Potato LID (grain free). Then I tried Venision and Sweet Potato LID and he got sick again. This time it was with Lamb and Rice LID (thinking it might be the potato). I always get him to the halfway point and after he's been there for awhile he'll start bleeding again :(

 

I'm so sorry that you are faced with this again ...

 

I would suggest doing the consult with the nutritionist at Angel Memorial (Dr. Remallaird) with the intent of moving to home-made. I would call first and make sure that she handles IBD diets but, I would think that she does.

 

As Batmom has said, with you spending $40 for 20 lbs that's likely over $100 a month on food already. At that amount, moving to home-made might even be cheaper and you can control what you are giving and adjust as necessary.

 

Hope you get this under control ...

 

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My parents just spent a couple thousand dollars on their dog, Davy, who has had a sketchy gut his whole life.

 

He IS on I/D for life, and basically on Flagyl full time.

 

Controls his issues very nicely. It might not be ideal, but it's working.

 

Hang in there Amber!


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Susan,  Hamish,  Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck

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Oh no, not again....poor both of you. Hopefully, since you caught it so quickly, you'll be able to reverse it easier than other times. I can't imagine how frustrating (and scary) this is for you.

Sunsands Doodles: Doodles aka Claire, Bella Run Softly: Softy aka Bowie (the Diamond Dog)

Missing my beautiful boy Sunsands Carl 2.25.2003 - 4.1.2014

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Guest greytbookert

I'm sorry Amber! Do you have any of the Slippery Elm Bark left? That might help for now. I wish I had a magic wand to make him all better!

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Petfood Direct has the food for just about the same price. However........once you become a regular, you start to get promotion codes in email good for 13%, 15%, 18%, 20% and 22% off food. (I generally wait for the 20% coupon). I buy a lot and it includes heavy cans and the coupons pretty much pay for the shipping. But, if you have just one bag, you should end up with a savings.

 

Petfood Direct I/D

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Guest BlackandBrindle

Sending lots of prayers for the Soul man :(:grouphug :grouphug

 

Does the vet have any other suggestions about food or does the vet just want you to stay on the current one?

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Guest KyGrey

Lee Lee was diagnosed with kidney issues and is on a prescription diet. I have found that Purina is a little cheaper than the Hill's. Every little bit helps in these situations.

 

I know the health issues between Soul and Lee Lee are different but just wanted to note the price of the food. Maybe his food will be a bit cheaper if you go with Purina over Hill's.

 

 

Wishing the best for Soul. :heart

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I am so sorry Soul is sick again! I think you should consider home cooked, it is more work, but you can tailor it to just what they need and can tolerate. Like Batmom said about Zema, I've never completely figured out what all of Fletcher's "triggers" are, but I never did find a commercial food he could eat.

 

Good luck with whatever you decide!

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