[Lizzie07]

I took Gracie to an internist, and on the initial visit they did a physical examination, vetscan (ultrasound), CBC, urinalysis, pancreatic lipase (PLI), Trypsinogen (Canine TLI), B12/Folate. This came from her discharge summary and under comments, he wrote, "Her loss of appetite/picky appetite over the last year may be related to gastrointestinal issues (intestinal tract or pancreas) so we are running some specific tests to help determine if this may be the case. Once her tests results return, other tests may be suggested such as an endoscopy procedure should the blood tests suggest that she is having a problem absorbing nutrients from her diet." Gracie's B12 and folate levels were low, so the endoscopy was done. The comments from the endoscopy were: "Gracie has an irregular thickened area of the small intestines about 15cm beyond the outlet of the stomach. We were unable to identify any irregularity in this area on ultrasound prior to endoscopy. We were unable to pass the endoscope past this narrowed region. We did get several biopsies and should have a report early next week regarding the nature of these changes. She was deficient in both vitamin B12 and folate on the previous bloodwork and this indicates an inability to absorb nutrients normal from both the early and late small intestines."

So basically, the bloodwork did indicate a problem, the ultrasound found nothing, but I imagine it was used to rule out a blockage or something in the intestines, and the endoscopy and biopsies were necessary for her diagnosis. And it was IBD. I hope this helps.

Gracie wasn't vomiting and having diarrhea a lot, but more often than any of the other dogs, and she was losing weight and had become an EXTREMELY picky eater. I was having a very hard time getting her to eat and finding something for her to eat. My regular vet had done routine bloodwork, but it was normal and she kept telling me to give Gracie pepcid.