Inflammatory Bowel Disease

[Guest SusanP]

Wizard probably has inflammatory bowel disease and has just begun taking prednisone and metronidozole. Any experiences with managing this disease would help.

[dante2zoe]

I know that there is a difference between IBD and IBS, but I don't recall which was which. RobinM would know. Anyway, Dante has the milder of the two. The only thing that helped him (we did the Flagyl route and the other nasty tasting powder stuff (the name escapes me), but finally switched him to a grain and veggie-free raw diet. That has virtually eliminated all symptoms. He was able to form an awesome stool (only on GT!) and gain the weight that he lost. I also skin and mostly defat his chicken because that will cause distress. I know others have had success with a novel protein, usually fish. I tried all kinds of foods, but that didn't really help. If I can be of anymore help, PM me and I can call you, if you want to hear more about the trials and tribulations we went through. Good luck! BTW, he has been doing well for over 3 years now.

[Guest jskelton]

I have an IBD dog diagnosed via endoscopy. We caught it early. We noticed low albumin on a blood test following the presentation of diarrhea and took her for testing before she suffered from weight loss. She started on Prednisone, Metronidazole (Flagyl), and Azathioprine. Now she just gets Pred and Azathioprine every third day. Eventually, it will just be Azathioprine every third day probably for life.

 

We started on Canin Digestive/Lowfat for about 3-4 weeks and then tried transitioning to a unique protein source diet, in conjunction with the meds, in case her problem was related to a food allergy. But she grew tired of these specialty foods very quickly and we couldn't stick with just one. So we are back to her regular food with a variety of toppings. It is pretty much impossible to determine what causes the IBD and fortunately my girl responded very well to the meds alone.

 

We saw no side effects other than that typical of prednisone: frequent urination, increased appetite, and a little goofiness at bed time.

 

Cher did lose weight while on the Canin Digestive Low-Fat at an alarming rate. Didn't know if it was the disease or the food. I just started to feed her 3 times a day until the weight was regained.

 

I think the most important thing is to do is get treatment, which you have done, get regular blood tests to watch protein levels, and watch your dog's weight. Weight loss is a sure sign that the current treatment is not controlling the disease. Good luck!

[RobinM]

Susan, I sympathize. IBD SUCKS.

 

We almost lost Beau last year. First thing is how was he diagnosed? Beau was diagnosed via open exploratory abdominal surgery. The biopsies revealed severe IBD.

Beau was down to 52.4 pounds. It was so frightening. The first thing we did after the surgery and because we had a diagnosis was put him on prednesone. 40mg. He was not eating, he was so sick. We elimated ALL proteins he has had in the past and gave him tilapia becasue that was the one thing we were sure he didn't have and it was mild enouigh for his stomach. After lossing more weight over the course of the next week or so, he slowly began to eat the tilapia. I keep a journel of how much he ate. I brought him to a board vertified IM but she waas saying basically the same thing as my vet. 3 weeks later we raised the pred to 50mg and we added in the imuran. that's when things staarted to turn themselves around. He was eating every 3 hours round the clock and I do mean round the clock. We would set our alram in order to wake up and let him out to pee and to feed him. The pred was making him ravenous and we were thrilled. When we started Beau on the imuran we also started him on z/d which is a hydrolized protein. Which is a predigested protein. There is no allergic reaction. Some dogs have loose poops on it. Z/d has a wet and cookies too. We bought a dehydrator and we make tilapia strips for him. So, Beau has treats like everyone else.

 

This past Feb. after 1 year, 1 month on imuran and pred, we weaned him off and put him on budesonide. That has a lot less side affects.

 

You should join the IBD dogs yahoo board. In order to join you have to have your dog diagnosed by either scope or surgery otherwise they will not let you join! Just tell them what they want to hear. The people although, not warm and fuzzy are extremely knowledgable. Feel free to ask me any questions.

 

As long as you are really diligent 110% of the time, and stick with the diet and meds, Wizard will do fine. It's a challenge in our house with 5 dogs and crumbs which Beau can not have any taste of, but we are so diligent. Remember, a crumb of something he should not have could throw him into a full blown flare.

 

ETA- Dante2zoe- it is true that IBS and IBD are 2 completely different things. I only wish Beau had IBS which is very manageable and not life threatening.

An IBD dog would not have the same treatment as an IBS dog.

Edited April 14, 2010 by RobinM