Greyhound IBD, Hookworm, PLE

[sallymae]

I lost my greyhound recently from what seemed like an intense flare up of IBD. She wasn't responding to medication, the blood transfusion, couldn't stand on her own and developed and edema, was on a feeding tube, and continued to have bloody diarrhea for over a month. She was down almost 15 lbs by the end. I finally made the decision to put her down after the vet was concerned about her new symptom of generalized seizures that were increasing in frequency. They wanted to put her on an anti coagulant because her IBD and seizures but she was anemic and bleeding out from a place they couldn't identify. They told me I was making a kind decision since she could not do anything on her own.

She started having diarrhea again and I took her to the vet where she tested positive for hookworm and PLE. After her endoscopy they confirmed she had IBD. 
Does anyone here have experience with IBD in their greys or know how long it takes to develop? She's always had stomach sensitivities, stomach gurgling, and infrequent and non concurrent diarrhea. I'm wondering if this was something she always had or was caused by the hookworm infection. I've also read that greys from florida are more likely to have hookworm and I was wondering how long can they go on with this infection. She was on Heartgard plus for most of her life and I'm wondering if that controlled the infection but she was never properly cleared of it.

I feel like I made the wrong decision putting her down too soon and that I am responsible for not getting the proper care she needed
 

I'll also add, during our QoL conversations with the vet, they mentioned a possibility of brain tumors but that being towards the end of the treatment an MRI seemed like it wouldn't change the outcome 

[1Moregrey]

                  Condolences on making a very       hard decision for your greyhound.  

I have recently gone through this with an 18yr old cat.  She had ear troubles that lead to eating issues, that lead to wt loss,  she rallied started eating gain weight then the kidneys started to fail she fought hard and in her eyes was not ready to go.  So I chose a day to soon as I know more treatment or procedures would not fix it and that is not how I wanted her last days to be.  Turned out it was an ear tumor.  In a perfect world had I known earlier something might have helped if done earlier.  I did not have that information.  I know the choice that I made was in her best interest every step of the way and done out of love…  

4 hours ago, sallymae said:

I feel like I made the wrong decision putting her down too soon and that I am responsible for not getting the proper care she needed

During this time sometimes we need to give ourselves some grace.    There is a saying on GT rather a day to soon than a day to late.  

4 hours ago, sallymae said:

She wasn't responding to medication, the blood transfusion, couldn't stand on her own and developed and edema, was on a feeding tube, and continued to have bloody diarrhea for over a month. She was down almost 15 lbs by the end.

I am sure you have made the best decision for your hound with the information you had at hand.  She was going through so much sounds like you made a compassionate decision for her.

[macoduck]

No one will criticize your decisions here.  

I post the list of our greyhound angels here on GT. If you would like me to add her to the list I'll just need her name and what month she left you. Your can also start a post just for her in the Remembrance forum. Sometimes it helps to get out a few more tears to talk about the good times you had  with her.  https://forum.greytalk.com/forum/15-remembrance/

[greysmom]

I've had a greyhound with IBD/Food Intolerances, and I've had one with PLE.  Most American greyhounds currently come off every track (not just Florida) with a heavy hookworm load.  This is NOT an  "infection," is it a parasite that can destroy the inner lining of a dog's digestive tract.  If you did not treat her specifically for hooks when she came home, she likely still had them, and that *will* have contributed to her developing every else.  Monthly de-wormers are not enough to clear this drug-resistant variety of hooks we are dealing with now.  It takes specific, targeted treatment for several months, and then three clear rounds of negative fecal testing before being declared clear.  Hookworms can hide from detection in surrounding tissues and emerge sometimes months later to reinvade the digestive tract.  I am *extremely* surprised that your adoption group AND your vet did not even mention this earlier - like, the minute you adopted her - as it is extremely common, and relatively easy to deal with if caught right away.

I can say from experience that - given your description - there was nothing else you could have done for her.  Once they begin bleeding internally, it's difficult-to-impossible to turn around.  She couldn't eat, she couldn't walk, she was likely in a great deal of pain.  I will say this again - at that point -there was nothing else you could do except release her from her failing body.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

[sallymae]

5 hours ago, greysmom said:

I've had a greyhound with IBD/Food Intolerances, and I've had one with PLE.  Most American greyhounds currently come off every track (not just Florida) with a heavy hookworm load.  This is NOT an  "infection," is it a parasite that can destroy the inner lining of a dog's digestive tract.  If you did not treat her specifically for hooks when she came home, she likely still had them, and that *will* have contributed to her developing every else.  Monthly de-wormers are not enough to clear this drug-resistant variety of hooks we are dealing with now.  It takes specific, targeted treatment for several months, and then three clear rounds of negative fecal testing before being declared clear.  Hookworms can hide from detection in surrounding tissues and emerge sometimes months later to reinvade the digestive tract.  I am *extremely* surprised that your adoption group AND your vet did not even mention this earlier - like, the minute you adopted her - as it is extremely common, and relatively easy to deal with if caught right away.

When I first took her home 4.5 years ago, I noticed she had worms in her poo and confirmed she has tapeworms but not any mention of hookworm from the adoption group or vet. She always had a very sensitive stomach to foods and I had taken her to ER several times over the course of me having her for diarrhea and stomach gurgling but no vet ever mentioned PLE/IBD/Parasites, etc. She had fecal tests over the years so that she could be prescribed Heartgard Plus but given what you said could she have had negative anitgen tests and still had hookworms regardless so the medication would not have worked? Could she have gone all that time with a hookworm infection?

[Jerilyn]

I'm so sorry for your loss! But you made the right decision, there was nothing more that you could have done.

If she had hookworms they would have shown up on an antigen test. They are sneaky little buggers though. My girl still tests positive for antigen but there are never any eggs present despite being on treatment. Thankfully she is asymptomatic but I watch her closely.

[greysmom]

19 hours ago, sallymae said:

She had fecal tests over the years so that she could be prescribed Heartgard Plus but given what you said could she have had negative anitgen tests and still had hookworms regardless so the medication would not have worked? Could she have gone all that time with a hookworm infection?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes.  When the parasite is hiding in muscle or other tissues they are not shedding anything that can be detected by testing.  Which is why it's recommended to have three negative fecal tests at three weeks post treatment, six weeks post treatment, and 3 months post treatment.  If all three are negative you can be fairly positive the dog is clear of hookworms, due to the timing of the hookworm life cycle.

Monthly hookworm treatments are maintenance level only - the lowest dose of the drug that will keep new hooks from reinfecting.  To kill the parasite and get it completely gone you need to use targeted, high dose drugs in a compressed time limit.  The treatment can be hard on them too, but is less harmful in the long term than a continuous hookworm infestation.  You can search her for threads about the best current treatments that have been developed, if you're interested.

In addition, if she had hooks when she came to you, it's highly likely she kept reinfecting herself from her environment.  Eliminating in a contained area like a backyard will contaminate that area.  Hooks can last in dirt a lot longer than people think.  

I'm really not trying to pile on.  Hookworms are a scourge right now, and even really experienced greyhound people can have problems getting rid of them.  This is mostly for your information if you decide to adopt again.  And I'm not saying that her other issues - like a possible food intolerance/allergy - didn't contribute in any way.  If there's any criticism from me it's directed at your vet.  All of these issues are ones they should have been more proactive in helping you deal with, regardless of the breed of your dog. 

And again, from your description, and getting back to your original question, you did the right thing by her in letting her go.  It's completely normal to second guess yourself and wonder if there wasn't something more that could have been done.  In her case, at that time, in my opinion, there was not.  

[sallymae]

27 minutes ago, greysmom said:

I'm really not trying to pile on.  Hookworms are a scourge right now, and even really experienced greyhound people can have problems getting rid of them.  This is mostly for your information if you decide to adopt again.  And I'm not saying that her other issues - like a possible food intolerance/allergy - didn't contribute in any way.  If there's any criticism from me it's directed at your vet.  All of these issues are ones they should have been more proactive in helping you deal with, regardless of the breed of your dog. 

I didnt get a sense of you piling on and every thing you've said is very helpful both for my education and grieving. I appreciate you taking the time to explain these things to me. She was my first greyhound and I wish I could have done better for her.