Tummy Troubles :(

[Guest amysgreys]

I have a 5 1/2 year old girl with IBS. any one out there had any luck with adding weight to a Grey with a sensitive tummy? She's had a rough month, with at least one episode a week, and that means she's missing meals. the vet has checked her out head to toe and found no other issues, but I can't get weight back on her. Any ideas???

 

Thanks so much!!!

 

[Walliered]

I have a 5 year old with IBD. I feed him ONLY Science Diet Z/D There is the gold bag and the silver bag. I mix them equally. For treats I give him a hand full of his kibble and tell him it is a cookie. He weighs about 85# and looks good. I have learned over time to give him NOTHING but his kibble. My vet had him on Predisone for about 2 months, tapering it off to none. He has been off now for about a month and is doing very well.

[Guest amysgreys]

I have a 5 year old with IBD. I feed him ONLY Science Diet Z/D There is the gold bag and the silver bag. I mix them equally. For treats I give him a hand full of his kibble and tell him it is a cookie. He weighs about 85# and looks good. I have learned over time to give him NOTHING but his kibble. My vet had him on Predisone for about 2 months, tapering it off to none. He has been off now for about a month and is doing very well.

 

 

We have also used panacure successfully two years ago when her IBD first surfaced it was SO scary. We have never tried prednisone. Now we know not to feed her anything but her food, but we can't seem to conquer the latest flare up. I appreciate the advice, thank you. My poor girl is too thin, any ideas how to get some additional weight on her? We are feeding her small meals more frequently to try and increase her weight. It's amazing how much a few pounds can make for these lean machines~thanks again!

[OwnedBySummer]

Can she eat Satin Balls? Sorry, I don't know anything about IBS. Here's the recipe if so:

 

Ingredients:

5lb. Fatty ground beef (fattiest you can find)

½ lb. Cream cheese

1 Small jar of natural peanut butter (nothing but peanuts in it)

12 Egg yolks (not the whites)

2 cups Oatmeal, soaked for at least 2 hours (better overnight) in 18% cream

1 cup Wheat germ

 

Directions:

Mix everything up in a large bowl, you'll have to use your hands to do this, just dive in. When well mixed, roll into ping pong sized balls and place on cookie sheet. Freeze, put into a bag and serve 4 with each meal.

[Walliered]

Talk to your vet about prednisone. I think my vet put him on 40mg a day for about a month, then 30mg a day for a couple of weeks, then 20 mg a day for a couple of weeks and then 20mg every other day for a couple of weeks. I know it was long and drawn out. She was not absolutely sure this was going to work, but so far it has. Anything will set my boy off..bullysticks, sweet potato dried treats, dog biscuits, turkey necks. Oh, I also give him a few tablespoons of the canned Science Diet Z/D with every meal..he really likes it and I think it adds a few more calories. I know what you mean about IBD/IBS being scary. Early on my grey spent about 4 days at the vet's office. He would not eat or drink anything and that is when she said she wanted to keep him. She sent a sample of his blood to Texas A&M and it came back that he needed B12 shots. So, he had one a week for 6 weeks and then 1 a month for the rest of his life. It seemed that he was not absorbing the vitamins and minerals in his food. I finally gave her permission to do a biopsy on him. It came back positive for IBD...that is the only sure way to know. It is in his lower intestines and a scope either direction will not reach. The surgery was a little rough on him and he stayed another 4 days at the vets because my car is an old SUV and he would have had to jump in and out and she thought that would be too much on him. Like I said, he is doing find right now. She said if it flared back up she would put him on steroids for the rest of his life.

[greyhead]

Is it IBS or IBD? How was it diagnosed? Was there a worm diagnosis that led to the use of Panacur? Is she on any monthly treatment?

 

One of ours developed IBD at age 8-9 and required lots of meds. He put on weight well the first year, once the meds were allowed to do their work. We feed both kibble and raw, at separate meals, but venison is his only protein. And no grains. Now that he's 11, he's having more trouble gaining the weight he lost from this year's flares. But one thing that has worked very well to add calories and spark his interest in eating in the morning is Vanilla Ensure. We started slow, a third of a bottle per day, because it can lead to softer poop if too much is given too fast. Now he gets a whole bottle per day most days, a half-bottle at a time twice a day. We've also gone from three meals a day to four, two kibble/canned and two raw.

 

If it's IBD, budesonide works well and just targets the gut, so you don't get the weight loss and other weird side effects that can happen with pred. It can affect the liver over time, but otherwise the main side effect is hair loss. We also used Flagyl and Tylan to good effect. Weekly flares are not good, obviously, so you might consider using one of these meds.

 

I could probably write a book about IBD. So if you need or want more detailed info, just ask. And I can give better info with the info I requested above. But I don't know anything about IBS treatment.

[Guest mcsheltie]

First you have to get the flare up under control. Otherwise she can't gain weight no matter how much you feed her. Plus the longer her intestines are inflamed the more chances are she could develop food intolerance (or more of them if this is the cause of it)

 

How much work have you done with her diet? If she has a food intolerance and it is not being addressed she will continue to have flare ups.

 

You didn't say what you have done with her, but what comes to my mind are: Pred, as has been mentioned or Budesonide. Metronidazole and/or Tylan. All can be given on a long term basis. One of the inert ingredients in Pancur helps control idiopathic diarrhea and is often used in conjunction with Metronidazole. If the flare is caused by a opportunistic bacterial overgrowth this may take care of it. Low fat diets. Adding L-glutamine to her food.

[TwiggysMom]

You've received good advice above, but please do not try the satin ball recipe for a sensitive tummy dog. The most iron-clad-tummy dog would have a hard time stomaching that (pun intended). I cringe when I see that recipe posted every time there is a dog who is losing weight. I know it is posted with good intent, but it can be detrimental - from explosive diarrhea (and subsequent inflammation and dehydration - even causing IBS or IBD) to acute pancreatitis.

 

Anything she can tolerate consistently is better than a diet that supplies calories just for the sake of calories. So, if she tolerates low-fat beef or turkey plus rice or oatmeal or chickpeas or potatoes.... then that is good for now. Once she is stable, start with a fully-balanced food (commercial or otherwise) that is based on the ingredients you know work for her.

 

Good luck!

[Guest amysgreys]

First you have to get the flare up under control. Otherwise she can't gain weight no matter how much you feed her. Plus the longer her intestines are inflamed the more chances are she could develop food intolerance (or more of them if this is the cause of it)

 

How much work have you done with her diet? If she has a food intolerance and it is not being addressed she will continue to have flare ups.

 

You didn't say what you have done with her, but what comes to my mind are: Pred, as has been mentioned or Budesonide. Metronidazole and/or Tylan. All can be given on a long term basis. One of the inert ingredients in Pancur helps control idiopathic diarrhea and is often used in conjunction with Metronidazole. If the flare is caused by a opportunistic bacterial overgrowth this may take care of it. Low fat diets. Adding L-glutamine to her food.

 

We have switched her diet several times, now she's eating Natural Balance Duck and Potato. She's been on this food for two years and done very well. I agree, we have to get the flare up under control. After several rounds of antibiotics the first time in 2009, we tried Panacure and she was remarkably better for two years. This October she had a bad flare up and we've been fighting it ever since. The good news is the flare up in early October was very bad, bloody liquid diarrhea...and now it's just growly tummy and skipping a meal. But I don't want her to miss any meals so it's tough. She has been on Tylan powder for several weeks, now the vet wants to try Panacure again since it worked last time. Thank you so much for your help and support.

 

Is it IBS or IBD? How was it diagnosed? Was there a worm diagnosis that led to the use of Panacur? Is she on any monthly treatment?

 

One of ours developed IBD at age 8-9 and required lots of meds. He put on weight well the first year, once the meds were allowed to do their work. We feed both kibble and raw, at separate meals, but venison is his only protein. And no grains. Now that he's 11, he's having more trouble gaining the weight he lost from this year's flares. But one thing that has worked very well to add calories and spark his interest in eating in the morning is Vanilla Ensure. We started slow, a third of a bottle per day, because it can lead to softer poop if too much is given too fast. Now he gets a whole bottle per day most days, a half-bottle at a time twice a day. We've also gone from three meals a day to four, two kibble/canned and two raw.

 

If it's IBD, budesonide works well and just targets the gut, so you don't get the weight loss and other weird side effects that can happen with pred. It can affect the liver over time, but otherwise the main side effect is hair loss. We also used Flagyl and Tylan to good effect. Weekly flares are not good, obviously, so you might consider using one of these meds.

 

I could probably write a book about IBD. So if you need or want more detailed info, just ask. And I can give better info with the info I requested above. But I don't know anything about IBS treatment.

 

 

Yes, it is IBD. Sorry for the confusion. She's not getting the bloody diarrhea any more, just the growly tummy and loss of appetite. It's greatly improved, but I am trying to get some meat on her bones! thanks!!

 

Talk to your vet about prednisone. I think my vet put him on 40mg a day for about a month, then 30mg a day for a couple of weeks, then 20 mg a day for a couple of weeks and then 20mg every other day for a couple of weeks. I know it was long and drawn out. She was not absolutely sure this was going to work, but so far it has. Anything will set my boy off..bullysticks, sweet potato dried treats, dog biscuits, turkey necks. Oh, I also give him a few tablespoons of the canned Science Diet Z/D with every meal..he really likes it and I think it adds a few more calories. I know what you mean about IBD/IBS being scary. Early on my grey spent about 4 days at the vet's office. He would not eat or drink anything and that is when she said she wanted to keep him. She sent a sample of his blood to Texas A&M and it came back that he needed B12 shots. So, he had one a week for 6 weeks and then 1 a month for the rest of his life. It seemed that he was not absorbing the vitamins and minerals in his food. I finally gave her permission to do a biopsy on him. It came back positive for IBD...that is the only sure way to know. It is in his lower intestines and a scope either direction will not reach. The surgery was a little rough on him and he stayed another 4 days at the vets because my car is an old SUV and he would have had to jump in and out and she thought that would be too much on him. Like I said, he is doing find right now. She said if it flared back up she would put him on steroids for the rest of his life.

 

Thanks for the advice. Your pup has been through a lot more than we have. Hope he continues to stay stable. I will look into the pred and the Z/D diet. We learned the hard way she can not have anything other than her food. It's hard to keep others from giving her treats and such, my hubby sez we should hang a "no treat zone" sign on her when we go to meet and greets so no one gives her goodies!! Thanks again1!!