Is It Okay To Give Flagyl On An Empty Stomach?

EnzaFerrari · August 18, 2011

I am glad Merlin ate. As for Slippery Elm, I had no problem finding it at the local stores. It is in a pill form that you break and turn into a tea. I used it when Enza had colitis and I was content with the results. IE - not sure how much it helped but it clearly had no negative impact. As a whole, I tend to prefer mixing holistic with modern medicine as I figure if it is a cure that is made by nature and a known curative for hundreds of years, then it is worth trying.

Batmom · August 18, 2011

Really hope the food goes through him OK and that the increased dose of flagyl helps.

FWIW, slippery elm is an actual herbal product rather than a homeopathic one. This website http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/11570.cfm has rational info about a lot of herbals.

Continued good thoughts for your boy.

Remolacha · August 18, 2011

I have heard good things about A/D food, I hope it agrees with Merlin! I have not used slippery elm on Fletcher, my iBD dog, but I do take the capsules myself when I have to take a lot of pain and/or allergy medicine, and it definitely helps ease my stomach. :dunno It is an herb, and I never had any trouble finding it, I think even some grocery stores carry it.

greyhead · August 18, 2011

Budesonide is a great alternative to pred for IBD. Budesonide targets the gut and doesn't have the broad systemic effects of pred. It also doesn't lead to muscle wasting and weight loss. The only side effect we experienced is fur loss. Spencer has been on it for a little over two years and we've been able to decrease the dose down to .5 mg every three days. It isn't cheap, but it's worth it. We started with 3 mg and worked our way down. We have it compounded at a pharmacy in AZ called Roadrunner. Let me know if you want the contact info. They are used to working with vets and ship fast and economically. (I think they overnight the first order with free shipping, IIRC.)

BatterseaBrindl · August 18, 2011

Checking in for todays update and I am so glad Merlin finally ate something.

How is he today?

I do hope the new food doesn't cause more issues.

I used to get my Slippery Elm Bark from the US, as do others here in Ontario.

It was not a powder, but actual shreds of the bark...but of course feeding it to a horse is different than to a human or dog.

As far as the Marshmallow Root...it is also an herb. I have not used it on horses but know some who have with great success.

Please give our Wizard a big :kiss2 from me!!

An give yourself a :grouphug

Nancy

4My2Greys · August 19, 2011

How did the Wizard do yesterday? I hope things went well with the A/D and he ate again.

MerlinsMum · August 19, 2011

Thanks for the link, Jey, and thank you to everyone who clarified that it's Slippery Elm Bark I should be looking for. Maybe I gave the vet the wrong information.

Budesonide is a great alternative to pred for IBD. Budesonide targets the gut and doesn't have the broad systemic effects of pred. It also doesn't lead to muscle wasting and weight loss. The only side effect we experienced is fur loss. Spencer has been on it for a little over two years and we've been able to decrease the dose down to .5 mg every three days. It isn't cheap, but it's worth it. We started with 3 mg and worked our way down. We have it compounded at a pharmacy in AZ called Roadrunner. Let me know if you want the contact info. They are used to working with vets and ship fast and economically. (I think they overnight the first order with free shipping, IIRC.)

Thanks. I mentioned this to my vet a few months ago, and she said that if she ever put him on Budesonide, it would only be after trying Prednisone, if the side effects of Pred were too much for him. Not having any experience of the drug, I have looked it up, and I have found several very positive reviews of the use of Budesonide over Prednisone in veterinary practice, so I am planning to bring it up again with my vet when I talk to her next week. We had discussed the possibility of giving me some pred to administer for a little while when I see Merlin start to go off his food again (the very first symptom that a flare-up is developing - it starts about 7-10 days before the full-blown flare-up).

Now for the good news: Merlin is officially EATING!!! :yay :yay :yay And what's more, his stool this morning, while still diarrhea, DEFINITELY looks as if it's firming up!! :yay :yay :yay :yay

But wait! There's more

Yesterday afternoon something changed and he started to feel better. I know because his eyes had been lifeless, his demeanor was subdued, he hardly got up for anything, he just wanted to be left alone (it was breaking my heart :cry1 ). But yesterday afternoon, after I played Stuffy Wars with Sagan, I left the stuffed toy on the carpet and went into the adjoining room to lie down on the futon for a few minutes, as I'd had an exhausting day at work. Then I heard a bounce and DH saying "What are you doing Mr. Merlin??" with amazement in his voice. I got up and Merlin was doing his goofy twirl in the living room with the stuffy in his mouth :wow I was overjoyed, we both were. So I'm hoping hoping hoping we've turned a corner :goodluck

He loves this A/D stuff. I am now feeding him some wet I/D, some I/D kibble, and then smearing the A/D all over it, so that he will eat the I/D too. And so far it's working! He even asked for more food after breakfast this morning, but I don't want to overload his stomach at this point, so I didn't give him extra. I might give him some more at lunchtime. I know that the A/D diet is only meant to be temporary, so I want to wean him off it and back onto the I/D as soon as possible, but I also don't want to rush his recovery.

Thank you for your continued good thoughts!!

Edited August 19, 2011 by MerlinsMum