Help! Ibd

[Guest jurishound]

Harley was DX with IBD via endoscopy on February 18 and lost a whopping 20 lbs during his 5 day stay in the CCU. He hasn't gained any weight since then (has actually lost a couple - I am waiting for someone to call the local SPCA, he looks so thin) and still has chronic diarrhea. He is on prednisone, azathioprine, flagyl, zeniquen, pepcid, and sotolol (for tachycardia). We have tried Royal Canin rabbit and bison (he was exposed to venison when Talca was DX with IBD) and he is now on Hills Z/D (hydrolyzed protein) and cooked lamb. He won't eat the Z/D without the lamb "supplement" but wolfs it down when lamb is added. I am not sure what else to try that he will be willing to eat and am starting to panic!

[XTRAWLD]

What about Satin Balls?

 

Satin Balls.

 

I really have no idea (it's my best suggestion, but I have no idea) I hope everything turns out ok.

[tbhounds]

No satin balls!!!! Dogs with IBD/diarrhea need to back off the fat.

Might want to eliminate the lamb- it is no longer consider a hypoallergenic food.

Also pred will just melt the muscle off of your hound- you may need to substitute the pred with Budesonide.

Sadly, he's not going to gain an appetite until his gut is feeling better.

I have been down this road before and it sucks.

[greyhead]

Satin balls are probably out for an IBD dog. As long as he's eating with the lamb added, let him keep doing it for now.

 

Spencer never had to take azothioprine, so I don't know what effect it has. We used budesonide instead of prednisone because of the weight issue, and that solved the problem. (Spencer dropped 20 lbs. too, but he gained 10 of them back pretty quickly once treatment was started.). The other things we've used that are supposedly "mild" but made a big difference are tylosin (put in capsules by us because it's bitter) and L-glutamine. ETA: Metronidazole (Flagyl) has also been of tremendous value to Spencer, and we also put that in capsules for a while because our DH says they taste terrible!

 

I assume someone has done a stool culture already. But if not, there could be an underlying infection that will sustain the diarrhea until it's eliminated. (And I shouldn't assume that it was done since I had to finally just order my vet to do one. When you know there's no infection and if the food still isn't suiting him well, you might try a formula with white fish. (Salmon is usually too rich.)

 

Hopefully others will chime in, as well. Did they tell you which kind(s) of inflammatory cells they found with the endoscopy? It can be useful to know that, as it affects which dietary elements are worst for him (e.g., fats).

 

Hugs to you and Harley, both! I know this is a hard road. But take heart, as several of us that I know of have managed our IBD dogs successfully for the last three years. Feel free to PM or email me anytime for further conversation and encouragement.

Mary

 

ETA: tbhounds posted while I was composing. She helped us a lot.

Edited March 26, 2012 by greyhead

[Guest mysymba]

Symba has had IBD since we got him almost 7 years ago now...we tried it all and finally the very best food he has done wonders on is Science Diet/ID...we started with the canned food to put some weight on him and then went into the dry food...but we still give some of the can food every now and again when he gets picky....this is a veterinarian brand..so you will need to see if any vet in your area sells it...it shouldn't be hard to find...almost all our local vets carries this brand now since it has been so very popular among the IBD crowd...best wishes to you!

[Yamaha_gurl]

The norm for soft stools is rice and pumpkin...right?

[Batmom]

Might be worth asking the doc to review his meds and the dosages. Could be he doesn't need both azathioprine AND prednisone, and he might not need the Zeniquin (antibiotic) at this point. Any of those can cause inappetence and diarrhea. Taking all of them together really limits your chances of getting a normal stool unless the doses are very small.

 

Hugs and best luck. I know how worried you must be.

[Remolacha]

The lamb could be part of the problem, if he won't eat the Z/D without it, time to try something else. White fish is very bland. My IBD dog actually does very well on plain old lean ground beef and duck necks. You may also, until his system settles, need something stronger than pepcid for his tummy. Good luck, IBD is such a roller coaster!

[tbhounds]

The combo of pred and azathiprine are usually the first to go meds for IBD-- just been my experience that Ghs response better with less side effects by using Budesonide.

[XTRAWLD]

IBD does not equal Satin Balls. Thank you! Now I know.

[MaryJane]

I'm sorry to hear about the issues Harley is having with IBD - it sounds like a constant battle.

 

 

You might want to try one of the grain free dog foods from this manufacturer

 

http://www.annamaet.com/html/grain_free_petfood.html

 

They have a lamb & venison and a fish that are not "limited ingredient" but, there are not many "strange ingredients in the food. I'm trying the chicken one on my newest dog and it seems to be OK.

 

Natural Balance also has a vegetarian formula in addition to their "limited ingredient" that you might want to consider.

[Guest sansie]

Hi, this is my first posting so I hope all is well. Have you tried Prozyme? You can get a free sample at their site....(you do have to pay $6.00 s&h, but it will be refunded if you don't like the stuff). I know of several people who use it, for different reasons, with IBD being the main reason. If you like it, you can buy it from Walmart online where it isn't all that expensive. http://www.prozymeproducts.com/Default.aspx

 

Sandy

Crissie and Jamie

The stars might shine a little brighter, but darn it, it's a lot darker here on earth without you.

~sansie 02~

[Guest mydenise]

Harley was DX with IBD via endoscopy on February 18 and lost a whopping 20 lbs during his 5 day stay in the CCU. He hasn't gained any weight since then (has actually lost a couple - I am waiting for someone to call the local SPCA, he looks so thin) and still has chronic diarrhea. He is on prednisone, azathioprine, flagyl, zeniquen, pepcid, and sotolol (for tachycardia). We have tried Royal Canin rabbit and bison (he was exposed to venison when Talca was DX with IBD) and he is now on Hills Z/D (hydrolyzed protein) and cooked lamb. He won't eat the Z/D without the lamb "supplement" but wolfs it down when lamb is added. I am not sure what else to try that he will be willing to eat and am starting to panic!

my grey has (i am assuming)IBS. she is also on the hills z/d and at this time will eat it if i mix the canned partner with it.but even on this food she still has episodes or attacks of gastric termoil. my vet has not given it a name or diagnosis so i am still as confused as ever with what she may have. all i know is that at any given time she may have an attack that her intestines roll around and cause terrible pain. she has had two surgeries to put everything back in place. did a food allergy test and yes she is allergetic to some foods,we now avoid them but anyway what i have been doing per vet instructiion is giving her benedryl with her food. it doesn't cure but it stops it from going full bore. what about slippery elm bark? do you know anything about it? i am at a loss also with what is going on with my grey, does anyone haave any suggestions? thanks in advance

[RedHead]

How long have you been on the Hills? If he's eating it with the lamb with no problems, he should start gaining soon and you may have a solution. If this doesn't work, I would personally start with a very simple diet of maybe one or two ingredients (e.g. a boiled meat with a novelty veggie or grain). You can create very simple balanced diets that have only a few ingredients. Each dog is so different with IBD, so it is hard to suggest one thing that will work. It is hard to put on weight when you can't feed a lot of fat, I feel for you! My friend's dog was skin and bones because of this, but they found a food that worked and now he is back to his chubby, happy self. Hoping the same for you!

[rschultz]

Can he tolerate a probiotic chew? That may help the bad bacteria in his gut. Have u ever tried Nature's Balance sweet potato and venison? (((hugs)) to you. I know how frustrating it is too find the right combo of food and meds.

[GeorgeofNE]

My folks had a dog with IBD, and I thought he was on Hill's I/D?

 

As long as he ate NOTHING else, he did really well, but he did take Flagyl daily. Not a Greyhound, FYI.

[Guest Fasave]

Hey Joslin! You know I've been through the mill with IBD. What stabilized things for me for a little while was cooking for Safari. I work with the nutrionist at Angell to develop a diet that fit his needs. If I had to re-live IBD in a pup again I would go to a nutritionist first thing. If you still have my number, feel free to give me a call or PM me. I'd be happy to discuss.

 

Hang in there. I know how trying this disease can be.

[Burpdog]

Pred for IBD for a greyhound is a no no. The above suggestion is a good one.

[3DogNite]

I would give Slippery Elm 3 x day --- powder form, mix with warm water into a soft pudding texture and syringe down throat.

coats the gut, calms the gut and will stop diarrhea

[Time4ANap]

We know of some IBD and Allergy greyhounds who have had success with Precise Sensicare. If the current food doesn't work out, it may be worth trying. If you cant find it locally, most stores can order it, and it is also available online.

[NeylasMom]

I wondered about Tylan powder myself. I don't know if it's used for IBD specifically but I've seen it work wonders in some dogs with those types of stomach issues. I also think a good quality probiotic supplement might help, can't hurt. I usually suggest Vetriscience Probiotic BD but it has some other gut calming supplements. They seem to work wonders, but it may overcomplicated things so a plain probiotic might be a better choice, maybe a capsule rather than a chew or powder so there are no other flavor-enhancing additives.

 

I'm sorry you're dealing with this.

[Walliered]

My 6 year old Grey has IBD. Vet did a biopsy. He is on Pred. 30mg, Azathiorine 75 mg, Metronidazole 500 mg, and a probiotic. He is also on Z/D Hills food. This has been going on for over a year. Nothing helps. He is now refusing to eat for 2-3 days at a time. He just lays around and looks at me. He used to eat the Z/D, but no more. I know these medicines are killing him and I feel he is also starving to death, but the vet and I absolutely do not know what to do. He is going back to her tomorrow, but I know she is just going to give me more prescriptions for the same old meds. I am so tired of all of this.

[JenniferS]

Ducky was on z/d & d/d venison with some success, along with a lot of the same meds Harley is on. He also lost a lot of weight when he was in ICU at Tufts, and gained some back, but never went back to his "normal" weight. Hugs to all of you, it is such a horrible disease. If you are on Facebook, you may also want to check out this page: Canine Intestinal Lymphangiectasia

[tbhounds]

Please ask for Budesonide. It's a corticosteroid that would substitute the pred. The medication stays within the GI tract thereby reducing the side effect noted with pred.

[Guest 2dogs4cats]

Try medical grade Manuka honey several times a day and a bland homecooked diet with a protein that he hasn't had before. Poor baby! 20 pounds is so much! Hope you figure it all out and sending whte light.