Guest ravenchilde Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 My dog Miley has recently been diagnosed with IBD (not confirmed with biopsy, but ultrasound). My vet is leaving Miley on a month's worth of Metronidazole @ 500mg twice daily. After a month, she would like to wean Miley down to a half dose a day. However, she just wants to give Miley one 500mg pill of Metro per day, instead of giving her 250mg twice a day. Has anyone had any experience with weaning down on Metronidazole with an IBD dog? If yes, what dosage and how many dosages per day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3DogNite Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 I LOVED metronidazole for my kids!!!! it was the only thing that made: firm poop kept weight on my kids, so that means kibble was being digested and used properly in their body no side effects my old doggies took metronidazole every time i saw runny poooo. within 3 days, firm poop ,, pick-up-able- poop!!! they usually took around of met. pills every other month or so??? i'm trying to remember. i just know, it was my go-to pill for my old doggies who had constant problems with runny poo and nutrition absorption. good luck! Quote lorinda, mom to the ever revolving door of Foster greyhounds Always in my heart: Teala (LC Sweet Dream) , Pepton, Darbee-Do (Hey Barb) , Rascal (Abitta Rascal), Power (Beyond the Power), and the miracle boy LAZER (2/21/14), Spirit (Bitter Almonds) 8/14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhead Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 (edited) We have experience with this, but I have to get to my other computer to find out if we started with 500 twice a day or three times a day. As soon as I nail down the details, I'll come back and edit this post to be more informative! ETA: We went from 500 mg 3X/day to 2X/day, then to 250 mg 2X/day, then 250 once a day. For two blessed weeks he didn't seem to need it at all! But then he flared, so he's back on 500 twice a day, after which we'll probably follow the same progression downward. As later posters point out, what works varies with the individual dog. So for most of us it's a trial-and-error discovery of what works for us. Edited March 12, 2011 by greyhead Quote Mary with Jumper Jack (2/17/11) and angels Shane (PA's Busta Rime, 12/10/02 - 10/14/16) and Spencer (Dutch Laser, 11/25/00 - 3/29/13). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pologal Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Hi, I havent checked on Greytalk forums for awhile so sorry for the delayed response. My Roger is on metronidizal (sp?) 500mg 2x / day. He also eats Purena EN. He is on both for life. I know a lot of people will tell you to experiment with various protein sources, attempt a raw or organic diet, try supplements, etc. But that is up to you how you want to handle what your dog eats. If you have the money and the time, go for it. Myself - really dont have time to try different foods and experiment with that. I work full time and was so stressed out with him pooping and peeing everywhere, I was so grateful this combo worked. He takes his pills in a marshmallow! Because it is a simple sugar, Roger can digest the marshmallow with ease. He also LOVES his food Roger was down to 48 lbs and has since gained back his 10 pounds and is in fine shape now. Ive also been informed that dogs with IBD on metronidizal have no different life expectancy than any other dog. My vet wanted to decrease the metro but after a few days, the IBD accidents started happening. Each IBD dog is different and can be treated differently. It just depends on the severity of the condition. He is doing very very well on the metro and Purena EN so I am sticking with it. Also - about eating things, yes, typically eating poo among other things because of malabsorbtion issues (IBD related in my case). IBD causes the intestings to be inflamed. The metro acts as an antibiotic/antinflamatory and allows the system to process simple and gentle foods. Hang in there and be patient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mcsheltie Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 What your vet is proposing is a good protocol. If Miley does well when decreased to 500 mg daily, the next step would be to try 250 mg daily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest d0ggiem0mma Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 Metronidazole is greyt stuff!!!! Just keep an eye out for any neurological side effects. In high doses or when used long term, it can cause weird neuro side effects like head tilts, ataxia, etc. etc. Nothing to freak out about, but something to remember in case he starts acting funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stripeyfan Posted March 12, 2011 Share Posted March 12, 2011 We did this too – not with metronidazole, but oxytetracycline, also for IBD. Kelly started out at 1500mg/day, which worked out at 2 tablets 3 times a day. After a few months on this dose we dropped it one tablet at a time, with about 2 weeks in between drops. He's now on 500mg a day (1 tablet twice a day), which is as low as he can go. We split the dose into a twice-daily dose rather than giving it as one dose as Kelly seems to do better with it this way, but like the others say it's completely down to the individual dog. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pologal Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 just curious, what food is the dog on? is the metro working yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ravenchilde Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 I totally think it would be better for Miley to wean down to 500mg, but break up the dose into two pills, once in the morning and once at night. I think it makes a of sense to do it that way, but my vet seems to think it doesn't matter. But, if a once daily dose works, why aren't I giving Miley 1000mg once a day right now? Hmmm...lots of trial and error, I guess. Boy, lots of decisions. How long was Kelly on the medication before you started to wean down? We did this too – not with metronidazole, but oxytetracycline, also for IBD. Kelly started out at 1500mg/day, which worked out at 2 tablets 3 times a day. After a few months on this dose we dropped it one tablet at a time, with about 2 weeks in between drops. He's now on 500mg a day (1 tablet twice a day), which is as low as he can go. We split the dose into a twice-daily dose rather than giving it as one dose as Kelly seems to do better with it this way, but like the others say it's completely down to the individual dog. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ravenchilde Posted March 13, 2011 Share Posted March 13, 2011 (edited) Right now, she's on Medi-Cal Gastro. But I'm really unhappy with the ingredients, so we're transitioning onto a novel protein, novel carb to see if we can find something that she reacts less to. Right now we're going to try Go Natural Potato and Duck formula. We'll give it a shot. Many fellow GH owners have told me that feeding a raw diet fixed their bathroom woes, but I'm a bit nervous to try it. Yes, the metro is working wonderfully right now! It's so great to know she can get some relief on the medication!! She went on a greyhound walk with other greys today, and her tail did not stop waggling the whole time. just curious, what food is the dog on? is the metro working yet? Edited March 13, 2011 by ravenchilde Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhead Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 I totally think it would be better for Miley to wean down to 500mg, but break up the dose into two pills, once in the morning and once at night. I think it makes a of sense to do it that way, but my vet seems to think it doesn't matter. But, if a once daily dose works, why aren't I giving Miley 1000mg once a day right now? Hmmm...lots of trial and error, I guess. Boy, lots of decisions. You can get the 500 mg pills and split them into two doses per day. If your vet thinks it doesn't matter, then s/he should be okay either way, right? Many fellow GH owners have told me that feeding a raw diet fixed their bathroom woes, but I'm a bit nervous to try it. Our vets were hesitant about raw, but we tried it because of advice from other IBD greyhound owners. What we found through experimentation was that he does well on one-third raw and two-thirds kibble/canned. Messing with that proportion never ends well, so we've stuck to it. In the end the vets said to keep doing what we were doing because it was working! I know in theory it seems risky to give raw to an IBD dog, but it seems to provide enzymes or something that their guts really appreciate! Quote Mary with Jumper Jack (2/17/11) and angels Shane (PA's Busta Rime, 12/10/02 - 10/14/16) and Spencer (Dutch Laser, 11/25/00 - 3/29/13). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Stripeyfan Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 (edited) I totally think it would be better for Miley to wean down to 500mg, but break up the dose into two pills, once in the morning and once at night. I think it makes a of sense to do it that way, but my vet seems to think it doesn't matter. But, if a once daily dose works, why aren't I giving Miley 1000mg once a day right now? Hmmm...lots of trial and error, I guess. Boy, lots of decisions. How long was Kelly on the medication before you started to wean down? I think he was on the full dose of oxytet for about 3-4 months before we tried weaning down. Initially, we just halved the dose, but it didn't work. When we dropped it one tablet at a time, we had no problems. My logic for giving a twice-daily dose is that it keeps him 'topped up', as I understand most AB doses work in 12 hour cycles, which is why dogs (and people) are usually told to take them at evenly-spaced intervals. Edited March 14, 2011 by Stripeyfan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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