Loki Bear Update
What we seem to be looking at is chronic pancreatitis or IBD. I'm taking him in for an ultrasound next week (he'll love that - Lots of attention and it doesn't hurt) to see if there's any thickening of the stomach or intestinal walls. They're going to check his kidneys too. Then, back for another round of bloodwork. My poor Loki Bear. He has improved on the antibiotic he's on now (Flagyl). He's even played for the first time in the two months we've had him and his energy level is up. He's just too sweet to have to deal with all this and heaven knows he's been through enough tough times - He needs a break. We've got him on the bland diet: boiled lean hamburger or chicken and rice. He tolerates dry Purina One chicken and rice the best, so he gets that twice a day. He eats like a HORSE and he is maintaining weight (At 97 pounds the vet says he's just right - He's a BIG SHEEPDOG  ). So we wait and pray he'll turn the corner and beat this.
How best to deal with IBD if that's what it turns out to be? |
|
|
| Oh Bless I hope he gets sorted soon. Not sure about IBD in dogs, know about it in humans, sure someone will be able to help. He sounds adorable.. |
| Oh well, you are proding through all the test results so you are getting somewhere...no answer yet, but eleminating some. I was wondering how Loki was doing. Please give her a hug from us before her ultra sound and let us know her progress. |
| I have a strong hope that once the Flagyl has done it's job, the inflammation numbers will go down! |
| I am sorry to hear that Loki might have IBD. Oscar has it, but Oscar has Lymphocytic/Plasmacytic IBD, as opposed to Eosinophilic IBD, but I believe that the treatments are the same. (The testing was different, as Oscar needed an endoscopy/biopsy to find the cells, as his type doesn't show in bloodwork.) FYI, Oscar weighs a lean 102 lbs., so any med/dose info is based upon that weight.
If Loki does have IBD, there is a great website http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?articleid=305 that explains it in plain English. I found it to be helpful to tie everything together after many, many, many visits to my vet over a long period of time. Here is what we did. We got Oscar's IBD under control with a multi-pronged approach, and in the beginning, we hit him with a number of things all at once in order to effect immediate change. First, he was on a therapeutic dose of Metronidazole (Flagyl), which it sounds like Loki is taking. Since we had changed his food a number of times already, we knew alot about what worked and what didn't, so Oscar eats Venison and Brown Rice. No treats, no people food, nothing but kibble. In order to get the inflammation under control, as much as I hated to do it, Oscar went on prednisone (20 mg per day). We really saw a difference and, over the course of a few months, we were eventually able to wean him down to 5 mg, 2 times per week and still have solid stool. Unfortunately, every time I would try to decrease it further, we would be back to runny poop, tummy grumbles, and a general digestive upset. My vet referred me to a holistic vet, and she has been very helpful in the next phase of treatment, getting Oscar off the pred. She prescribed probiotics, good bacterial flora, to put in Oscar's food. He gets one capsule of PermClear broken open on his food 2 times per day. She also started him on colostrum, as it helps his system handle proteins better. After a few months of these new supplements, we were successful in getting Oscar off the pred completely. The other thing we had to do was decrease the amount of exercise Oscar was getting at any one time. The more exercise dogs get, the more their bowels are stimulated. With a dog that has inflammation in the gut, it's even worse. I used to walk Oscar 2 miles at a time, and I noticed the first stool would come out solid, and, after the first mile mark, the second would be very loose. I reduced our walks to one mile, to precipitate that second poop, and it really helped. (My vet explained to me, that in Oscar's case, the extra exercise was causing the second poop, so not to worry that I was causing him to hold it when he really needed to go again.) Oscar was off the pred for 3 months, and doing well, until we took an extended vacation. The 2 day driving trip, coupled with a new environment (Chicago to Florida) put him into a tailspin again, and we had to go back on the pred to get things under control. He's now down to 5 mg, 2 times per week, and hopefully we can get that reduced again soon. So in a nutshell, here is Oscar's regimen: 1. Maintenance dose of Flagyl (500 mg, 2 times per day) 2. 1 mile walk 3. Venison and Brown Rice 4. No treats, no people food (incl. veggies, very hard to digest) 5. Pepcid AC, 40 mg per day 6. Colostrum and PermaClear  I think that about covers it. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me. Please let us know how Loki is doing.
Laurie and Oscar |
| Holy cow - Thanks for all the best wishes and guidance, all of you! I spoke with the woman who coordinates upstate NY rescue and who found my Loki Bear for me -- She's a breeder so she had great insight as well. I'm more optimistic now than terrified - Still scared, but it feels much better to have a plan of attack. It also feels great to have concrete facts instead of just worry - I feel like I can manage this now.
We went to PetSmart today to get his new food (Loki LOVES the car) and he was very sweet and charming, as usual. We're now on Pro Plan Lamb and rice (my rescue coordinator told me that's all she'll feed her sheepies so we'll give that a whirl). I was afraid he'd stick his nose up at it but no, he likes it  Chrissie stuck HER dainty little nose up at it, but she's in no danger of starvation so we'll wait her out.
I'll update after the ultrasound - Hopefully the news will be good. Thanks again! |
| Thanks for the update. I'm not familiar with IBD in dogs, either, so I'm appreciative of the education I'm getting in this thread. I hope the ProPlan Lamb & Rice works for you. That's what my wigglebums eat, too. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|