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***IBD..Help!!***

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Amy Avery

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Hi Guys, I need some help, I have a lab that has been to 3 vets and $3000 later diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel disease(IBD). He has never been sick in his life until 5-2-07.

:arrow: Background info.
8 year old Chocolate Lab Male (Rebel)
Heart Worm negative, worm negative, blood work normal, x-rays/ultrasound normal,overall in GREAT health.

:arrow: Medications Daily:
Metronidazole
Prednisone
Ensorb
SOON TO BE PUT ON LOPERAMIDE?
Prescription Food: Eukanuba Low Residue / Fresh Fish

:arrow: Problem: CONSTANT BAD WATERY DIARRHEA (Can not hold it overnight) Its not getting any better! Overall acts normal, but has bad days.
Normal Weight Was 96-100lbs(NOT FAT)
NOW WEIGHS 84 lbs (Still Losing Weight, Really Thin)


:arrow: QUESTION:
Has anyone dealt with this and is there anything that I can try for the diarrhea? Homemade/Holistic remedies, Any help would be GREATLY appreciated to help out my poor guy!!!

Amy
 
#2 ·
wow, poor baby... i assume they've done some abdominal ultrasounds by now? scary that it keeps going on all those meds...

I hope he feels better soon.

-Kristie
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
Kristie Wilder said:
wow, poor baby... i assume they've done some abdominal ultrasounds by now? scary that it keeps going on all those meds...

I hope he feels better soon.

-Kristie
Click to expand...
Thanks, We Love the "Old Man"!!

He has had 2 Ultrasounds.

1 By a Local Vet
1 By a Specialist (Veterinary Speciality Hospital, Cary NC)
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
Re: Sorry

Jay Dufour said:
My Vet gave me a big bottle of some purple,chalky looking stuff that works great for this symptom.I believe its a antispasmotic....but she didnt mark the name on it.Have you tried anything like that?
Click to expand...
No I sure have not...If you or anybody can get the name of it, I will try anything!

Thanks!!
 
#7 ·
Briezy was diagnosed a year ago with IBD but she has never had any diarrhea. Her symptoms were manifested as intense drooling episodes that would last for hours. They scoped her and did biopsies to get her diagnosis. One thing that the specialist did mention to me was that many times this could be triggered by food allergies. I had her allergy tested and have switched her diet as it turns out she is allergic to alot of food including chicken, rice, etc etc - all ingredients in what she had been eating(Pro Plan Performance).

Best of luck with your dog.

Andy
 
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#9 ·
My boy "Guinness" has IBD and has good / bad days. Symptoms sound much like your dog's.

No - whip worm will not show in typical fecal exams so I found it best to treat with Drontal (wormer) every 6 months. Just in case - no icky intestinal parasites can be good but with IBD it can be worse.

Scopes found ulcers throughout intenstines and too much acid could agrivate his G.I lining. (not sure if thats the case with your dog)

We treat with:
2 zantac fed with morning meal (low res as well)
Mylanta with added gas refief to decrease incidents of occasional bloat
Flagyl (occasinally)
and ... TYLAN powder .... I have found this to be most helpful during his "flair - ups"

Good luck - I feel for you!
 
#10 ·
My 11 year old boy was diagnosed a couple of years ago with IBD. He was placed on 2 expensive medications (I'll have to find the prescription bottles and let you know the names of them). They were the "latest, greatest" meds. Didn't help him :(

He has been eating Hill's ID dry ever since. He will have an outbreak every now and then, but is doing better.

Good luck with your boy!,

Vicky
 
#11 ·
Amy Avery said:
Lab-Kid said:
Have you teated for (whip)worms repeatedly?
Click to expand...
He has been checked for every worm there is and was NEGITIVE.

:arrow: Just in case would whip worms show up in a poop/blood sample?
Click to expand...
My dog went through a long period of not wanting to eat and having loose stools and diarrhea too. I left my vet over him not being interested enough to really find out what was wrong and went to another vet that was older and highly recommended. Both vets checked for worms on numerous occasions with all the results being negative. I finally called my uncle who is a vet in the Chicago area and still practicing at the age of 74 and he recommended treating her for worms. He said he has seen dogs that never tested positive for worms until they discovered whipworms in the autopsy. I took his advice and after several treatments my dog was fine.
 
#12 ·
My 10 yo BLM was diagnosed with IBD involving the stomach last Jan. His symptoms were nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
My understanding is that IBD in dogs, as in humans, is a pathologic diagnosis based on endoscopic biopsies. Jake has responded well to Hill's I/D and Prilosec daily. We haven't had to go to steroids yet. But, he has upper GI disease, not lower.

Buck
 
Discussion starter · #13 ·
Dan&Guinness said:
My boy "Guinness" has IBD and has good / bad days. Symptoms sound much like your dog's.

No - whip worm will not show in typical fecal exams so I found it best to treat with Drontal (wormer) every 6 months. Just in case - no icky intestinal parasites can be good but with IBD it can be worse.

Scopes found ulcers throughout intenstines and too much acid could agrivate his G.I lining. (not sure if thats the case with your dog)

We treat with:
2 zantac fed with morning meal (low res as well)
Mylanta with added gas refief to decrease incidents of occasional bloat
Flagyl (occasinally)
and ... TYLAN powder .... I have found this to be most helpful during his "flair - ups"

Good luck - I feel for you!
Click to expand...
I done some research on the Tylan powder, it says its for cattle, swine, chickens etc; I also pulled up some info on people using it for IBD, what would be the doseage and has anyone else used it??
I will go ahead and get some Drontal just in case it might be whip worms??

Thanks for all the info and any other info would be greatly appreciated!!
 
#14 ·
Look up Tylosin 200mg tablets, they used to be available from vet. If I remember right dosage was 20 mg/lb. They were cleared for use in dogs,and cats. I would guess people are using the same drug in OTC form to save money. Your vet can square you away on product and correct doseage.
 
#15 ·
Even with negative fecal exams it is worth giving a good "complete" worming. I use Panacur for 5 days and a good tapeworm med. That should take care of whips and a few other misc parasites. By the way the heartworm medication Interceptor is effective angainst whips and that is the main reason I use it for my dogs.

Food trials are very important and they have to be VERY STRICTLY adhered to for 3-4 months. No unapproved treat!!!, even rawhide bones. Cannot try one diet for 2 weks then another, etc,etc. It takes months. A good friend of mines dog had a wheat allergy. Once she stole some donuts off his truck dash and was squirting for 3 days. If she does not eat wheat, she was fine. There is a very good hypoallergenic food made by Royal Canin, it is made with duck meat and green peas for teh veg. No wheat, chicken, fish, corn, etc.
And a retriever BETTER like it<VBG>.
Pancreatic insufficienty should already have been tested for, in addition to B12/cobaltin deficiency via blood tests. Liver function and on and on.
If all this fails then and it has not been done then biopsies should be considered.

It does not sound like colon type diarrhea so drugs like Tylan would NOT be indicated. Be sure to check everything with you vet before trying anything different. Nothing like getting incorrect advise and blowing up a treatment plan. Tough stufff but it should be able to be worked out.
That's all I got!
 
#17 ·
If that dog never had these symptoms till now- sudenly after 8 years-something is Causing the IBD symptoms. Nate is right on. Panacur 5days and repeated twice more 30 days apart-Plus simultaneously must give antibiotics as secondary infection in the lining is very possible and the cause of the IBD. At the same time go to a "sensitive" type dog formulation like Purina one Sensitive stomach and skin formula. Bet ya a bag of that dog food that if you do the panacur/antibiotic/purina one sensitive formula all at once by day 3 he will be pooping proud again. Actually will probably be fine in less time.
 
#19 ·
Amy Avery said:
Kristie Wilder said:
wow, poor baby... i assume they've done some abdominal ultrasounds by now? scary that it keeps going on all those meds...

I hope he feels better soon.

-Kristie
Click to expand...
Thanks, We Love the "Old Man"!!

He has had 2 Ultrasounds.

1 By a Local Vet
1 By a Specialist (Veterinary Speciality Hospital, Cary NC)
Click to expand...
Which of the above diagnosed IBD?

I would be discussing the worming options with my vet prior to administering it.

Jeff
 
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#20 ·
like stated whip worms can be difficult to find on a normal fecal floatation---whip worms are not heavy egg producers like hookworms.

I would also recommend a course of panacur--even though your worm checks were normal.

I have had my best luck with Hills Prescription Diet Z/D Ultra--it is expensive but a very good diet.

I just did an endoscope with biopsy on a 3 year old boxer that came back IBD. I put the dog on a 3 day course of panacur, decreasing dose of prednisone, and the Z/D diet. This dog now has normal stools for the first time in months--and is now putting on weight. He's a completely different dog since the treatment. It has been a month now since the diagnosis and the owners couldn't be happier.

On a side note---I did a necropsy (autopsy) on a dog that died today at home. This dog had had bouts of diarrhea for the last 3 months. We had done at least 5 fecal floats on this dog and they were all normal. On the necropsy we found quite a few whip worms in the cecum. This was not the cause of death but just reminds me how difficult whipworms can be to diagnose. Any dog with chronic reocurring diarrhea should be treated with whipworms.
 
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Kristie Wilder
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