STILL SICK LANCE

[OwnedByChaucer]

Okay folks, looking for the medical experts. At this point, my vet thinks that Lance's problem is Irritable Bowel Disorder. Ugh.

Right now, we are trying to control it with prescription food. If that doesn't work, she says we will have to do an intestinal biopsy. Anybody know anything about this?

Dot

[Mark]

Not a clue, Dot. http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/frown.gif

But lot's of RAYZ to Lance http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/rayz.gif http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/rayz.gif http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/rayz.gif :rays:

Mark

[Meemoo]

poor guy....hope he feels better soon..

Loren

[Augie Dog]

Is the food called hill's I/D?

Aug was on that for his pooper problem. Is it just loose or.... uh..... the runny stuff?<IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm25.gif" border=0>

[OwnedByChaucer]

They've put Lance on something called "select care sensitive" which is what my vet feeds her sensitive tummy dog too.

Yesterday, we had runny, liquid poop. Today, we had the first totally normal poop that this dog has had while in my care (30 days)....so, let's hope this works. The vet thinks he will likely have to have prescription sensitive tummy food for the rest of his life.

Please, keep sending those RAYZ!

[Jmom]

Poor Lance. My Himalayan cat has IBD. I'm no expert but I can tell you what it's like with him.

As I understand it, if the IBD is high up in the digestive tract, they vomit only. If it is lower down, they can vomit and diarrhea both, or just diarrhea. With Simon, it is just the vomiting. But it's quite extreme. He would vomit at least 6 times a day, twice each time he did it. He feels really sick when this is going on too, he mainly just hides under the bed which isn't like him at all, and will gingerly settle down into a stiff little ball.

I have had to put him on a prescription diet, (foreign protein...duck and rice). It's Waltham's...I don't let him have even a taste of anything except this food, with the exception of pumpkin which I give him to keep him "regular" and also to hide his glucosamine in (he's 13 and has arthritis).

He will vomit like this for several weeks. This last time, I was almost ready to say he's had enough, it's time to let him go...but like before, he has now seemed to gotten over it and has been GREAT for at least a couple of months. Like a different boy, playful again, back to silly Simon. I do have pred to go to if I get desperate enough but am afraid of what that will do to him so I always keep waiting just one more day, hoping he'll take care of it on his own. So far he has.

The vet said the only way to tell for sure if IBD is what is the culprit (this is important to know before putting them on the pred as if it's not IBD, but a tumor or some other reason, the pred could make things worse instead of better)is to take a biopsy of the intestinal wall. This sounds awfully invasive to me (and expensive too...not that that would make me even hesitate, but to put him thru something that bad, I want to be sure it's needed first). So I have opted to not do this yet as he always gets better and this has gone on for so long, it's pretty clear to me that it is IBD and not a tumor since he isn't worse over all. I was told though that if it's a chronic IBD problem, their chance of getting cancer is a little higher so it's important to keep the symptoms in check.

I'm sorry you are going thru this with your baby too. I hope the prescription food will do the trick and Lance will "firm up". Simon has had this on and off for a few years now and as I said, right now, he's doing great. Good luck!

[OwnedByChaucer]

Well, we seem to be doing better. As quickly as this tummy problem took off (his stuff was a little soft when he got here, and then it went all bad after a few days).....it seems to be better. Friday, we were throwing up with liquid poop, and yesterday and today we are solid. Will it last, I don't know, but I sure hope so.

Very strange, but the new food seems to be working, so far. If this will be a chronic recurring thing, or if we can manage it with the food, I don't know...the doc tells me the only way to be CERTAIN of the IBD is the biopsy, but she doesn't recommend it if the food seems to help as it is invasive and expensive....he's had an Xray, and there isn't anything in there that shows up. She said she's pretty sure, and she's a good doc, so I'm pretty trusting of her.

But, it sure does lend some insight into why he wound up in a shelter...

[Roxane]

That sounds really encouraging, Dot. I guess only time is going to tell if the diet will do the job.
Really, really hope so.
Roxane and crew

[Oscar's Mom]

Poor Lance, I hope continues to feel better. Maybe that food will be the answer.
Lots of rays to Lance.

[Mrs.F]

I'm so glad to hear that Lance is doing a little bit better. Please keep us posted!
Heidi