Jump to content

Merlin Is Sick Again :(


Recommended Posts

Spencer takes both Flagyl and Tylan, each of which has to be put into a capsule and then wrapped in a meatball. I was surprised at how much Tylan helped, actually, though my first thought in Merlin's case was to be surprised that your vet discontinued the Flagyl and didn't just add the Tylan. I have felt, though, that sometimes Flagyl has put Spencer off his food. My DH, who has taken Flagyl, tells me that it really affects the taste of everything you eat, even with food eaten much later than the pill. So I've been known to give Spencer a day or two off from his Flagyl when his appetite has become iffy.

 

Forgive me for forgetting, but has Merlin had an ultrasound? That how Spencer's IBD was diagnosed, and it was much cheaper than scoping or surgery, not to mention non-invasive. Oh wait, I remember now, that was inconclusive. Sorry. :blush

 

Lots of hope and good thoughts going out to you and Merlin!

Edited by greyhead
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

  • Replies 182
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

The tylan powder was a miracle for our Finney. I didn't read all the responses so this may have been mentioned already...tylan powder is very bitter. To hide the taste we stir it into a tablespoon of pumpkin before we mix it into his kibble. I also know that you can get empty capsules to put the tylan powder in if you need to pill your dog. Sending good thoughts for Merlin and you.

Bernadette with Jak, Horizon, Kota, Barnaby, Madison, Earl, Tiggy, Finney, Tommy, Woody, Tyler and Lincoln all at the bridge

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Kerry,

 

Sorry to hear that Melin is still not right. Dustin has been off the Flagyl for about five days and has been eating the I/D which he loves....but yesterday I noticed softer poop and mucus....today, appetite is still good, but he is pawing at the ground before he poops and then squats real low - and is almost afraid to lift his tail. Then when he finally went it was very soft....and then a few minutes later, diarreah with a trace of that bloody color. UGH!!!!! I don't want to jump and put him on the flagly and sucralfate, but I don't want to see it escalate. If I don't hear tummy gurgles, I may bide my time.

 

I know how frustrated you must be.....and worried about your boy.

gallery_22387_3315_35426.jpg

Robin, EZ (Tribal Track), JJ (What a Story), Dustin (E's Full House) and our beautiful Jack (Mana Black Jack) and Lily (Chip's Little Miss Lily) both at the Bridge
The WFUBCC honors our beautiful friends at the bridge. Godspeed sweet angels.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay, I've reread all the pages now and remember we were all thrilled that the US ruled out lymphoma. But I'm sure that if IBD were involved, structural changes should have been observable in some part(s) of the intestines and/or stomach, specifically changes in the thickness of the intestinal and/or stomach walls and changes to the structures in the cell walls. If there was nothing like any of that, I'd doubt it was IBD.

 

So does that leave HGE? or some kind of colitis? I don't know anything about what that would look like on ultrasound. But if this were me, I'd be questioning the vet more closely about what was and wasn't noticed on that ultrasound before agreeing to scoping. (We didn't scope Spencer because the equipment can't reach the places that the US revealed to be the places of inflammation! Only a surgical biopsy could have gotten to those, and we decided not to subject a dog his age to that when we already knew from the US that he had IBD and where!)

 

So sorry things aren't coming together more nicely and faster! But don't underestimate the power of Tylan and of capsules! And if that doesn't do the trick, consider adding Flagyl (hidden in capsules) to the Tylan regimen.

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

Robin, I'm so sorry that Dustin is STILL having troubles too :cry1 Let's hope he's not having a relapse :goodluck :goodluck :candle

 

Thank you for all the great advice on this last page especially. I am still so new to IBD (if this is indeed what it is, and it certainly does appear to be), there seems to be so much information to take in, with one thing working for one dog but not another...

 

He had bad diarrhea again this afternoon - I didn't expect anything different, but you know, you always hope :blush The specialist said he could have Sagan's food if he wanted, but I wasn't happy with the idea, so I opted to try the home-cooked bland diet first. I bought some ground-up cow (I'm so sorry, cow :cry1) . DH suggested trying to give him a few pieces of the Iams kibble Sagan eats, to see if he would eat it. I did. Within one hour he was vomiting violently :cry1 His stomach made HORRIBLE incredibly loud noises.

 

So I opened up the packet of ground-up cow and boiled it, and made some rice too. He ate it all, and didn't mind the Tylen. I gave him 20mg of Pepcid (the vet said to continue with that once a day) ,but even before it had time to work, his stomach had settled down. He is relaxing on the couch but both DH and I are apprehensive, watching him like hawks.

 

Thanks for the advice on the Z/D, too, and on Purina EN. I'm jotting down notes from all of these suggestions, ALL of them, believe me! Thanks again.

large.sig-2024.jpg.80c0d3c049975de29abb0

Kerry with Lupin in beautiful coastal Maine. Missing Pippin, my best friend and sweet little heart-healer :brokenheart 2013-2023 :brokenheart 
Also missing the best wizard in the world, Merlin, and my sweet 80lb limpet, Sagan, every single day. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kerry, I haven't read through all the entire thread, but I did search to see if anyone had brought up budesonide, and got no results. Have you looked into that?

 

I'm so sorry about Merlin!! After going through similar stuff with Happy, my heart is just breaking for you all. :( I hope things settle down, and you find a workable

"normal" you can all live with, SOON!

:bighug

GT-siggy-spring12.jpg

My Inspirations: Grey Pogo, borzoi Katie, Meep the cat, AND MY BELOVED DH!!!
Missing Rowdy, Coco, Brilly, Happy and Wabi.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh, and this has probably come up, too, but I'll say it anyway. With Happy, she'd eat one thing with gusto for a meal, surprising us, so we'd go out and buy a bunch of whatever it was. She'd eat a little the next meal, maybe two, then nothing. :( In other words, don't buy a lot of anything just because he seems to like it right now. :P I know how you feel about the ground cow, so you'll understand how I felt hand-feeding her pulled pork in bbq sauce, etc.. At that point, anything she would eat was better than not eating!

 

:bighug :bighug

GT-siggy-spring12.jpg

My Inspirations: Grey Pogo, borzoi Katie, Meep the cat, AND MY BELOVED DH!!!
Missing Rowdy, Coco, Brilly, Happy and Wabi.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest IHeartDogs

Kerry, I haven't read through all the entire thread, but I did search to see if anyone had brought up budesonide, and got no results. Have you looked into that?

 

I'm so sorry about Merlin!! After going through similar stuff with Happy, my heart is just breaking for you all. :( I hope things settle down, and you find a workable

"normal" you can all live with, SOON!

:bighug

 

Thanks for bringing this up.

Budesonide is an excellent option. I wanted to try it but it very expensive and my vet wouldn't give me an RX to get it from Canada. It is basically pred but safer and is absorbed by the body better with even less side effects... Runs around $1-$3 a pill in the US.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kerry, I haven't read through all the entire thread, but I did search to see if anyone had brought up budesonide, and got no results. Have you looked into that?

 

I'm so sorry about Merlin!! After going through similar stuff with Happy, my heart is just breaking for you all. :( I hope things settle down, and you find a workable

"normal" you can all live with, SOON!

:bighug

 

Well shoot, I would've mentioned budesonide if I thought you were this solid about the IBD possibility! I can't say enough good things about it. It suppesses the hyper immune response that hypes the inflammation. But unlike prednisone, it doesn't lead to muscle wasting, weight loss, increased drinking & peeing, etc. In short, it targets the gut for its effects rather than affecting the dog's entire body! The only down side is some loss of fur (legs, sides and chest for us). While it's not a cheap medicine, we found $40-ish dollars per month to be worth it to keep Spencer around!

 

ETA: We inherited some pills from Xan's Happy, bless their hearts. :grouphug After that we have it compounded at a pharmacy in AZ called Roadrunner that my vets have worked with and think well of.

Edited by greyhead
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

UPDATE 4/27

 

We had a horrible night. I thought Merlin might keep the hamburger and rice down, but he didn't. Around 9pm it all came up, presumably together eighths Pepcid and the Tylan :cry1

 

Then before bed he asked to go out and he had liquid diarrhea - with blood at the end. I didn't sleep again last night as his stomach was loud and I wanted to be ready if he needed to go out. I laid down next to his bed and stroked him. He really relaxed for a bit, bit around 3am he got up and dry-heaved (or close, there was just foam in the bowl when I looked). I went out with him just now - "garden hose" type blood.

 

What now?! Clearly the hamburger and rice don't work. For now I'm going to have to see if he eats some I/D - at least that wasn't producing rivers of blood out of his rear end :cry1

 

I really hope my vet has some suggestions on what else we can try. I don't want to do the scope yet without trying other things first.

I'll put together a sheet with your suggestions and see what she says....

Edited by MerlinsMum

large.sig-2024.jpg.80c0d3c049975de29abb0

Kerry with Lupin in beautiful coastal Maine. Missing Pippin, my best friend and sweet little heart-healer :brokenheart 2013-2023 :brokenheart 
Also missing the best wizard in the world, Merlin, and my sweet 80lb limpet, Sagan, every single day. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am so so sorry.

 

By now means as severe, the last time Enza had diarrhea, my vet said that rice just doesn't seem to work so we went with instant mashed potatoes. It's easier to digest and she will eat it.

 

Fingers cross there are others options than a scope.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And yes, I do want to know more about the ultrasound and exactly what she saw and didn't see there. All I was told is that they didn't find anything. I'm not medically trained, so I don't know enough to be able to ask all the right questions without doing some personal research first, which is frustrating.

 

I have also thought about a consult with OSU. My vet met him a couple of years ago and is familiar with his work, which helps.

 

DH and I have decided to fast him this morning. At least that will give his tummy and GI tract some rest until I can talk to my vet. I think I may go see her this morning before she heads into surgery.

large.sig-2024.jpg.80c0d3c049975de29abb0

Kerry with Lupin in beautiful coastal Maine. Missing Pippin, my best friend and sweet little heart-healer :brokenheart 2013-2023 :brokenheart 
Also missing the best wizard in the world, Merlin, and my sweet 80lb limpet, Sagan, every single day. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe another set of eyes on the ultrasound?

 

I have zero experience with what you and Merlin are going through - but sweet potato and chicken liver work best for Maggie when she has Big D issues.

 

More prayers and healthy vibes coming for the Wizard. Hugs for you Kerry.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g240/mtbucket/siggies/Everyday-2.jpgJane - forever servant to the whims and wishes of Maggie (L's Magnolia of JCKC) and Sam the mutt pup.[/b]

She's classy, sassy and a bit smart assy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

:(

 

Sending prayers.

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kerry, if you have any thoughts about having him seen at Angell Memorial down here near me (veterinary teaching hospital with the very best of everything available) you could camp out with me. Angell is about 30 minutes from me.

 

I think you probably need to see a specialist at this point.

 

My mother had similar issues with Davy, and her vet sent her off the island and over to the Cape.

 

 

Davy did great on I/D and NOTHING else, and daily Flagyl.

 

It may not be optimum, but it stopped ALL of his diarrhea and vomiting issues that troubled him of his life.


Hamish-siggy1.jpg

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest SoulsMom

Oh Kerry, I'm so sorry. Maybe it's time to back up and go back to basics. He improved on the I/D and Flagyl right? Just that and nothing else? And then he started to decline again when going off the Flagyl and the treats/Panacur were introduced?

 

Hang in there, I know the awful rollar coaster you are on :grouphug

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...