My Mia girl diagnosed with IBD

[Munchki]

Good morning Everyone, I have sad news my little girl Mia as been diagnosed with IBD 😔 she spent a lot of time in the emergency clinic since December 6 when I originally took her in for bloated belly and pain she had.
The specialist did an ultrasound and biopsy which determined she had the disease plus loosing protein really bad. Her protein level was 14g/L when I took her in it did rise to 22 and is now back down to 15.
Mia is on a Kangaroo diet which she won't eat anymore tired of it I think, we then put her on hypoallergenic kibble and she seems to be worse with the kibbles but she seems to don't mind them so muc. My little girl is soooo skinny and is on pregnisone and atopica.
I am really scared for her I want to cook her meals but the vets seems to think we need to wait and try to adjust her with a ready made diet....but my poor baby is not gaining and I think she is actually staving but won't eat......
Does anyone have any suggestions? I have read some threads already with good info.
I hope you all have a good day ☺️

[Scoobstersmom]

I'm sorry Mia has IBD, but at least now you have a diagnosis. I have a little rescue yorkie - Ranger - that was diagnosed about a year and a half ago. Its a road to travel for sure. After a rocky first few months, Ranger is pretty stable with only an occasional flare that I've been able to manage pretty easily.

Prednisone was a nightmare. It did not control his symptoms and the side effects were intolerable. Eventually the vet put him on Budesonide, and that's when he started to improve. He started at 1 mg per day for a month, then dropped to .75 mg for two weeks, then .5 mg for two more weeks. Now that he is stable, he does not require daily medication, but I do keep the .5 mg capsules on hand for his occasional flare ups. Usually .5 mg once daily for five days is all he needs. Budesonide is similar to prednisone but is a locally acting steroid that works in the intestinal tract, so it doesn't usually have the systemic side effects of prednisone. We order Budesonide from Diamondback drugs so it can be compounded to an appropriate dose for him.

Diet is the key to controlling IBD. We tried several that either he wouldn't eat or couldn't tolerate, so finally I decided to try a raw diet. He eats only Primal Lamb frozen patties, which was a novel protein for him. As long as we keep him on a strict diet, he does not have flare ups. He ONLY gets the Primal lamb, twice daily, and I have found that he can tolerate a Tropiclean dental chew before bed. He also gets .25 mg of Pepcid about an hour before his first meal of the day, and a probiotic mid day between breakfast and dinner. The only time he gets a flare up now is if he gets something not on his diet by grabbing something dropped on the floor or the kids sneaking him a bite of table food. And seriously, a bite or two is all it takes.

In the past 15 months since we've had his IBD under control he has done great. He is fat and sassy, his eyes sparkle and his personality is back. He has gained back all the weight he lost and then some and his coat shines.

It really is trial and error to figure out what works for your dog, but don't give up hope. My little guy was so sick. He had constant diarrhea and would throw up blood several times per week, refused his food, lost weight and we were all miserable until we managed to figure out what worked for him. Hang in there.

Diana

[Munchki]

Hello Diane, thank you so much for your words of encouragement. I worry so much for her it beaks our heart feeling so helpless. Mia was on a raw diet before all this took place, they told us to quit feeding her raw because fluids leak in her belly around her organs and it could cause infection. I loved feeding her raw she was on it since she was 6 months old. Today I went and bought sweet potato and fish I made her some food, I have a powder so all the essentials she needs to complete the diet. I actually read a post on someone feeding their little one the same. I really hope it helps her. I really don't think the preg is doing much for her cause I think she would be getting a bit better. I will note the budesonine and ask the vet about it we see him again Wednesday.
Mia is soooo thin I worry if we don't get this under control soon that it could be dangerous for her she as no more weight to lose poor baby girl ��
When u went through the first stages of this and Ranger was very thin did they tell u to over feed him to help him gain weight? I feed Mia seems like all day long but now she is not interested anymore, tonite though she sure liked her home cooked meal lol...I hope she can tolerate it ������ it feels good to talk to someone who as gone through it. Thank you so much Dianne for your reply. ☺️

[Scoobstersmom]

We were told the same thing about feeding raw, but it finally came down to him not eating at all, or feeding him something healthy that he would eat. Our other dogs are raw fed too, and he would not touch kibble and only occasionally the rx diets we tried. He was a pound rescue so we didn't have the benefit of knowing his background or what would be a novel protein for him. Ranger (in my profile picture) is a big, porky yorkie, now weighing over 15 pounds. At his sickest he got down to under 10 pounds. We were told to feed him small meals throughout the day, so I fed him six meals. But since he threw up everything he ate, it didn't do much good and he turned his nose up at almost everything I tried to feed him. He really didn't turn around at all until we ditched the prednisone and put him on budesonide and then his improvement was amazing. We also fed him egg white when his protein levels were low, and it really helped. Write anytime. Like I said, it's a road but hang in there. Once you get going on a program that Mia thrives on, it's not that hard. Good luck.

Diana

[Munchki]

Awww how sweet is Ranger �� thank you so much for the information Dianne. I have noted all the meds you mentioned and will talk to my vet on Wednesday. I will definitely keep u posted. Thank you ☺️

[Munchki]

Hello Diane, I wanted to give an update on Mia
She actually as been doing really well I think it is her diet that is agreeing with her.
Of course the vet did not want me to change her diet they wanted to keep her on the can food and kibble but she was doing terrible. I took her back to get her blood work done a week ago and her protein went from 1.5 the week before to 2.1 I was so excited..
She is getting back to her old happy cranky self lol....
My vet wants to get her off the prednisone ASAP so I talked to him on Thursday and he thought I should cut her back to 1/4 tablet morning and evening, yesterday day was her first full day on the lower dosage she seemed fine but she had a really soft poop in the night so I am worried again....maybe I should have left her a bit longer....I will give her today to see how it goes and if she still as soft poop I will contact him again...he said her dose is so high it really worries him he wants her off....he did say something about maybe trying dexametasone instead of pred...Mia use to be on a really low dose of dex for skin issues. She was really itchy all the time since she was 6 months old.
I just wanted to give you an update as to how she was doing, I hope she keeps improving ����
I hope you are having a great weekend ☺️☀️

[Scoobstersmom]

Awwww....that is great to hear that she is doing so well. Are you still feeding her sweet potato and fish? She soft poops are always a worry but maybe try adding just a teaspoon of canned pumpkin to her diet to firm things up. We always have to be on the alert, but maybe she just happened to have a soft poop and the pumpkin will clear it right up!

Thanks so much for the update.

Diana

[Munchki]

I thought about pumpkin but I was worries about introducing something new...and throw her off. But pumpkin is pretty close to sweet potato in a sense lol...so scared to try anything lol. Ranger did well with pumpkin? It did not cause a flare up?

[ladyjane]

So sorry I had not seen this before. I do hope Mia is doing well now.....

Protein losing enteropathy is a scary thing. Diet is definitely key, but prednisone is often needed to stabilize them.

I have a pup, Cookie, who has lymphangectasia and IBD. She was first diagnosed in December 2011. I originally was advised to start her on RC Gastro or do a vet nutrition consult...I opted for home cooking through the vet nutritionist. Cookie has been on the same diet since, sweet potatoes and tilapia / low fat diet.

Cookie is on pred daily at this time...she had three relapses this past year and was hospitalized with a pretty wicked pancreatitis and her protein was very low. Her blood work is improving again and we are starting to wean her back down off the pred and hopefully will get her on every other day dosing in the near future. She has been on 2.5 mg BID for some time and it was really starting to affect her....we almost had to start her on Chlorambucil as a substitute for the pred.... but thankfully her protein is now rising a bit so we are able to lower the pred. ... I really don't want her on the chlorambucil unless we have to.

Here is a link all about Cookie:

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sic...s-prayers.html


And here are some links I like about PLE and dietary management:

Intestinal Lymphangiectasia - Mar Vista Animal Medical Center

http://www.dvm360storage.com/cvc/pro...ein_losing.pdf

[ladyjane]

Oh and trust me, I get it about the soft poops. When Cookie is having issues, that is often the first sign...soft poop and a decreased appetite. I have gotten better about not freaking out about every single soft poop.

After all these years, I am finally not quite as reactive, but I do watch her like a hawk.

[Munchki]

Hello Jane, thank you so much for all the information.
I really hope Cookie is going ok, I did read you store and thank you for all the links. It does not sound like a very nice disease I feel so bad for these little babies having to deal with this....wish they could tell us when they are not well instead of things progressing out of control....
I am also sooooo worried for Mia she started on pred at 5mg tablet cut in half twice a day, then we cut back to 1/2 tab in morning and a 1/4 tab in evening on Dec 29. She is also on Atopica immunosuppressive one tab morning and night.
We tried different foods a Kangaroo canned food diet she got tired of that really quick and would not eat then we put on on a hypoallergenic kibble and she seemed to relapse on that her belly got really big again. Plus she did not really like it.
I decided to cook for her as well after reading your post, I am doing the Hillary's diet for her I got the cookbook and the powdered supplement to put in her food along with all the oils. She is loving that for her treats I cook extra fish and give her tidbits through the day, she gets so excited it's like treats to her lol...I am also giving her fish and sweet potato she is doing really good on it but I can see her getting tired of that too she is soooo fussy and always as been...
Mia was back to her old self last week first time I seen her run in months I was so excited, I talked to her vet about dropping the pred a bit he agreed so now she is on 1/4 tab twice a day and I am watching her like a hawk...looking for signs I am so scared that she will relapse...actually her Poops are back to nice and hard she is eating ok and drinks tons of water.
Her albumin was 1.5 jan 25 and retested on February 1 and it was up to 2.1 so something was working I am so sure it is her diet, even though certain vet don't agree thinking home cooked diet is not as good as kibbles...
I am really hing we found something that will work for Mia..I feel such a rush to get her off the meds they really scare me as to what it's doing to her internally.
So obviously all cookie egrets is her home cooked diet and nothing else? Does she seem to get bored of it? It's been 5 years for her..
What made her relapse? Did it just happend?
Thank you for taking the time to respond Jane I really appreciate it
I hope you and Cookie are having a great day.

[ladyjane]

It is a scary disease, but if it can be controlled they can do very well. Cookie has had five great years! She was off of prednisone for a long time. I doubt she will ever be off of it again....I am ok with that and thankful that she is controlled for now. I follow my vet's advice and don't play with the prednisone...I don't love it, but it has saved her life. I was upset about it at first, but quickly saw that, once controlled, we can back it down to every other day so her adrenals still work. Sometimes a heavier dose is a necessary evil. She is happy and that is really what matters most to me!

Be careful with oils....you really need a very low fat diet. If you want to home cook I strongly urge you to do a consult with a vet nutritionist. The one who originally formulated Cookie's diet now works for Royal Canin so I use another through the specialist that I use. You can find a vet nutritionist at: American College of Veterinary Nutrition | ACVN Usually they work with your vet. Cookie has never tired of her diet, thankfully. The only time I had a problem with her was when she was not feeling well....and that is always a sign with her that something is amiss.

A vet nutritionist with awesome credentials has a website you might be interested in: www.petdiets.com You could also do a consult with her if you wanted to....of course it would be through your vet. The problem is that they are often in another state and cannot speak with you directly because of veterinary licensure.

[ladyjane]

As to prednisone dosage: Cookie has been on 2.5 mg BID for some time as I had said. Her albumin is now 2.7 which is what made them drop it to 2.5 mg OD. We will repeat her blood work in one month and see if we can drop it lower. It is super important to not drop the dosage until the albumin is showing a rise. These pups can go bad quickly!

[Munchki]

Thank you so much for all the information and sharing your experience with me.
I am in Canada so I will chat with Mia's vet when we see him in a week from now about possibly seeing a nutritionist. The diet I am using was recommended by the specialist as last resource if Mia would not eat her kangaroo diet. I follow the recipe to a T. The reason they shy away from the homemade diets if because of the commitment it is to cook for your pet not convinient. But I really don't mind I will do anything for my little girl to help her.
So far so good with reducing her pred. She is perky and happy.
Again thank you so much for all the information Jane

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Munchki

Thank you so much for all the information and sharing your experience with me.
I am in Canada so I will chat with Mia's vet when we see him in a week from now about possibly seeing a nutritionist. The diet I am using was recommended by the specialist as last resource if Mia would not eat her kangaroo diet. I follow the recipe to a T. The reason they shy away from the homemade diets if because of the commitment it is to cook for your pet not convinient. But I really don't mind I will do anything for my little girl to help her.
So far so good with reducing her pred. She is perky and happy.
Again thank you so much for all the information Jane

I just got a bit concerned when you mentioned "the oils" because there really isn't much oil in Cookie's diet. There is way less now since she had the pancreatitis but in the beginning she only got 3/4 teas of oil each day. But, if your specialist recommended it, it probably is low fat.

I am with you...if cooking is what they like and it is saving them, it is worth every minute!!

I am so glad Mia is happy and doing well!!