IBD - inflammatory bowel disease

[bkdice]

Anyone out there have cush pups suffering from IBD or Colitis? Niko has issues and I've been using L-Glutamine and a probiotic and it's worked wonders - up until recently. He's had diarrhea for almost 2 weeks with very little relief. He was on metronidazole for 5 days - and it improved some - but now back to diarrhea.

He won't eat pumpkin anymore - so I can't go that route. I've tried the bland chicken & rice and / or dry food only. No difference. The vet said to use Malox, and it's helping with the gurgling tummy, but not the diarrhea.

Obviously he can't have any steroids, so wondering if anyone in cush-land is dealing with this problem and whats working. I've got a call into the vet for their suggestions as well.

Thanks!

[acushdogsmom]

Hi,

I'm not saying that what worked for my dog will work for yours, but my vet preferred Tylosin (also called tylan) over metronidazole in many cases and Tylosin really worked well for us. We'd do a 1-week or 10-day or 2-week course of Tylosin and then stop it, and do another course whenever needed. We never saw any adverse side effects from the Tylosin and it cleared up the loose stools within a couple of days. (we'd continue and finish the full 7, 10 or 14-day course, even after the stools were normal)

Tylosin has both antibiotic and anti-inflammatory properties.

http://marvistavet.com/html/body_tylosin.html

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Rx_Info_Sheets/rx_tylosin.pdf

Tylosin tastes awful apparently, so my Vet used to have the tylosin powder made up into capsules of exactly the dose we needed. That way, my dog didn't have to deal with the taste and we were always sure that he got exactly the dose he was supposed to get.

Since this was an on-again off-agin problem for us, we used to keep a 7-day supply on hand so that we could start it immediately if/when the Vet told us to.

Ask your Vet if he/she ever uses tylosin and if maybe it's worth a try.

[judymaggie]

Diarrhea was an on-going problem for my Maggie for at least the the last two years of her life. I gave her Endosorb tablets (prescription from vet). Fortunately, Maggie was a great pill taker as they are large -- they are easily split in two but she was getting two twice a day. When the Endosorb wasn't enough, we added Diarsanyl (also from vet). Diarsanyl is a paste -- the closest description is that, ironically, it looks like poop. For a while, Maggie would just lick it off a spoon. At some point she refused it and my vet suggested putting the dose on the end of a popsicle stick and sticking it behind her front teeth, scraping off the goop off the popsicle stick. She actually would then lick the stick clean. The hardest part was finding non-colored popsicle sticks! You might ask your vet about both of these options.

Judy (always Maggie's Mom)
Riverview, FL

[Barney's Mom]

With Barney I would let his belly calm for a few hours, then would give him boiled chicken and rice in very small amounts. Fed him only that for a day or two. If that didn't clear things up I would take him in for Metronidazole. That always seemed to do the trick.
Barney's colitis will flare if I change his diet. He's never been tested, I strongly suspect it is wheat allergies in his case.
I do know that the more I tried to change his food to make him better, the worse it was. As long as I leave his diet alone and feed him what I know agrees with him, we are fine. He hasn't had an flare up in ages.

[Wylie's Mom]

I don't know if a change in diet would help, but there is a section on this site regarding IBD & colitis & diarrhea:

http://www.dogaware.com/specific.html#ibd

This woman writes for The Whole Dog Journal.

-Susy
I remembered reading your cc.net thread - I was at SouthPaws last week and was trying to remember the Dr's name that Debbie had referred you to (Jankowski) and was going to try to contact you through her to tell you of our tempory location - but then I saw you had already found it:p. (I live in Fairfax)

[bkdice]

Thank you all for your suggestions and information. We are seeing the vet tomorrow. I will bring up what you all have mentioned - Tylosin, Endosorb, and Diarsanyl. Niko is NOT a good pill taker (he's sure I'm trying to kill him!). We're starting the metronidazole tonight to get a jump start. It usually does work.

I think since his cortisol is controlled, we are seeing more tummy issues than before. Also since he's a lymphoma case and has been through chemo, he's even more sensitive.

I will keep his diet very strict. No scaps of cheese or a bite of beans or anything.

Susy - thanks for the link - I will check it out now. Also thank you so much for thinking of me when you went to southpaws! The oncology department there does have my email - as they've been wonderful when I emailed them throughout Niko's chemo.

[forscooter]

I'm a bit blurry eyed so excuse me if I overlooked something here...Scooter had IBD and Cushing's. We were one a very strict hypoallergenic diet. Absolutely nothing but the hypoallergenic food. We used both venison and potato and duck and potato. Have you used a strict hypoallergenic food to try and get better control over the IBD?

Again, I am sorry if I missed it and you did!!! Beth

[Barney's Mom]

How's Niko doing today? Hoping that the Metronidazole has kicked in and that the diarrhea is better.


Cheryl, Barney and the other Beth.

[Miko's Mom]

Hello, Yes, I went through a lot with IBD with Miko. What I found worked is Sulfasalazine alone or with the Metronidazole. In addition, the Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Venison did wonders. Good luck, I know how frustrating it can be. Christine

[bkdice]

Just back from the vet. Niko looks great and is seems to be feeling great - other than the diarrhea. We are going to try a longer dose of metronidazole. The 5 days is not enough. We'll do 14. If it doesn't clear, we will switch to Tylosin.

She also gave us the Diarsanyl paste.

I'm not going to change his diet right now, but will keep it bland and simple. I will do some more homework on the hypo allergenic foods as a possible option for the future.

The vet feels that this bad flare up is still his body healing from the stress he endured 2 weeks ago. (I had left him with my folks overnight. Even though he grew up there, it was very stressful for him since I was not there, he was not here, and his routine was messed up.) Prior to this 'incident', his bowels had been doing so well! Hopefully once we get control back, he'll be back to normal. I know now though, I cannot leave him overnight again as long as I have him.

Anyway - thanks for your feedback. I had notes with me from you all and all points were well received. I'll pop in later to let you know what the outcome is. Hopefully good - hahaha - and SOLID! :eek:

[gpgscott]

A couple of weeks ago I heard a broadcast of 'The People's Pharmacy', it airs on NPR on Saturday mornings. This is a husband and wife team both Drs. of some sort and they discuss homeopathic remedies as well as conventional medical treatments.

On this segment they discussed the issue of uclerative colitis and treatment with coconut. There is a study that shows raw unprocessed coconut can control a number of lower digestive tract issues. During the segment they had a listener call in who advised that he had suffered severe colitis for over 20 years and for the past six years has been free of all symtoms after beginning and maintaining daily intake of raw coconut twice daily.

I bet you can find an archive of the show if you search peoples pharmacy.

Scott

[Wylie's Mom]

I was wondering if coconut was ok for dogs - this is a couple years old & this vet wasn't sure:
http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/pets/blogpost/1536568/

But there are several sites that encourage coconut or coconut oil for dogs:

http://www.seefido.com/natural-dog-cat-care/html/giving_coconut_to_your_dog.htm

http://www.coconutdiet.com/pet_nutrition.htm

They sound promising!

-Susy

Oh - and that link, previously posted:
http://www.dogaware.com/specific.html
states the following (Mary Straus is not a vet, but has been dedicated to researching doggie nutrition for quite a while):
"Many dogs with IBD, chronic pancreatitis, or other gastrointestinal problems have difficulty digesting fat and may need a low fat diet. In those cases, you may be able to supply additional fat and calories with coconut oil, which contains a form of fat called medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) that are easier to digest. Use virgin (unrefined) coconut oil stored in glass jars and give up to 1 teaspoon per 10 lbs of body weight daily, but start with much less and increase only gradually as you see your dog can tolerate it. Dairy fat also contains MCTs. See the following for more information on MCTs: "

[bkdice]

OK... so the metronidazole helped some, but after 2 weeks we were still getting inconsistant poops.

We've started tylosin and I've been giving him coconut oil 2 x a day, as well as pumpkin 2 x a day. We have had 2 days (in a row!!!) of normal poops... so fingers crossed. :)

I have an unrelated question... Niko is on lysodren (1250 wk for 44lb). Can I give him oral melatonin to help relax him? He's had it before, but not while on Lysodren. I'm asking because we are trying to do a family dinner out, and since the evening is his active time, he gets stressed if we break routine. I do not want him to stress again and undo the GI healing we are making progress on finally. I thought 3 mg melatonin might help him just relax and sleep during the 3 hours we are out.

Any thoughts - or should I just call the vet and consider valium? My hubby offered to stay home with him, but I really would like him to come to dinner. It would be nice to actually go out!! :)

Thanks!!

[Roxee's Dad]

I think Debbie (stardeb55) along with many others use Melatonin along with flaxseed oil while her Harley is on Lyso as part of the overall treatment. You can get Melatonin without a prescription at the health food store, and I've also read here that you should NOT use the rapid release formula. (Maybe that's for the treatment of the Atypical part of it, don't know for sure)

I would check with my vet just to be sure.

John (Roxee's Dad)

PS: I do hope you get to enjoy your family dinner tonight. We go thru the same thing with Roxee. It's so hard to leave them home alone so my wife and I are starting to do so a little at a time, as we need to have some kind of life but sometimes is difficult.

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Bettina,

Glad to hear that Niko's innards are settling down some! Normal poops are always exciting! :p

Melatonin and Lyso are often used together in treating pups with elevated cortisol plus intermediate/sex hormones. So as long as your vet agrees with this approach, I would think it would be ok. But I'm no vet and I'm not sure how it would affect the IBS so be sure to check with them first. There may be something else that would work better. Too bad there isn't a pet-friendly outdoor cafe or some such where he could go, too. Of course, mom and dad could use the break, I'm sure! Is there someone who could sit with him (other than hubby) while ya'll are out? Or would that upset him?

I hope things continue to improve for Niko and that ya'll get to go out and have a fun, relaxed evening!

Hugs,
Leslie and the girls

[Wylie's Mom]

I know every dog is different, but when I started to give Wylie Melatonin for his Atypical Cushing's, it didn't seem to have any calming affect on him (but then again, he's pretty mellow anyway). I would think that giving a little prednisone would be more affective.

If Wylie were like that, I would consider trying a pet sitter in the short term; but for long term (in preparation for future events like this), I would try the separation anxiety exercises that I've seen on the TV show "It's Me or the Dog" on Animal Planet channel. I don't recall exactly, but generally, you would slowly get your dog used to you leaving. You act like you are leaving, but you only leave for a short period of time - you keep doing this till they don't think it's a big deal...they know you'll be back soon...and then you would gradually leave for longer periods of time. I would do this exercise in the evenings (the time when you have the issue). If you have a video camera, that would be better for monitoring how he's doing while you're away. This would take some time & dedication (we know you have the dedication;)) to do this, but I think it would be better in the long run. I think he can handle a break in the routine if he can deal with it a little at a time.

-Susy

[bkdice]

Thanks you guys. :) I'll check with the vet.

Niko has never had any seperation anxiety. He's never had issues being left for short periods. However, at his mature age with all his ailments, he's become so dependant on me. He grew up at my parent's house, but if I leave him there too late in the evening now, he gets stressed.

I've already committed to not spending another night away from him as long as he lives. I can live with that as I know his time left is likely not long. It's just hard to not be able to go out for a few hours. My life is consumed by him - but it's a labor of love. He is my heart dog.

I do have a friend that can watch him for a few hours, though I'm not sure I want to do that either. With his cancer, cushings, GI issues, and other old age related challenges, he's a LOT of work and I'm not sure how relaxed I'll be entrusting his care to anyone else. (control freak, i know!!!)

If I can get him safely calm, he'd be OK at my parent's w/ other animals while we are all out for 2-3 hours. The melatonin made him real sleepy when he took it before. I take it sometimes to help me sleep and it's pretty effective!

I'll check with the doc today and decide.

Thanks again!!! :)

[Wylie's Mom]

...I know his time left is likely not long... My life is consumed by him - but it's a labor of love...he's a LOT of work and I'm not sure how relaxed I'll be entrusting his care to anyone else. (control freak, i know!!!)

I feel the same way with Wylie!!!!!;):D But, since I'm a single puppy mom; Wylie is used me being gone for a couple hours in the evening every once in a while.

-Susy

Just last week, I was in the car with my parents on the way to my sister’s house, and my father said, “We were going to ask you to go to Ohio with us for your cousin’s wedding…” and then my mom said, “But we knew you wouldn’t go because of Wylie”. I have turned down so many trips with the folks in the past…Canadian Rockies, Alaskan cruise…and this was before Wylie was diagnosed with Cushing’s. I’ve turned down several other invitations and if I do got out with my friends, I don’t stay out for too long – I’m sure he’s fine, but, I think he might bored or lonely and I just simply miss the heck out of him!!

[YukiesMom]

Anyone out there have cush pups suffering from IBD or Colitis? Niko has issues and I've been using L-Glutamine and a probiotic and it's worked wonders - up until recently. He's had diarrhea for almost 2 weeks with very little relief. He was on metronidazole for 5 days - and it improved some - but now back to diarrhea.

He won't eat pumpkin anymore - so I can't go that route. I've tried the bland chicken & rice and / or dry food only. No difference. The vet said to use Malox, and it's helping with the gurgling tummy, but not the diarrhea.

Obviously he can't have any steroids, so wondering if anyone in cush-land is dealing with this problem and whats working. I've got a call into the vet for their suggestions as well.

Thanks!

Hi my American Eskimo has had bowel problems on and off for his entire life. About 1 1/2 years ago they thought he had IBD so my vet put him on Tylan Powder. I sprinkle 1/8 of a teaspoon every morning on his food. Problem is gone. I get the Tylan Powder from my vet though - I do not buy online.