Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly  Ah, thank you so much for that information - that's all I wanted to know was whether it had been proven to be a thoroughly useless but expensive test for most dogs or the jury was still out from the scientific community in this discipline. I'll admit it sounds like a bit of a yearly money-game at this point but my dog's not in desperate shape with all types of vet care failing him so I'll wait to hear what happens with any further study.
Apparently Dr. Remillard and the Skeptvet are highly reputable, non-biased resources that most on the forum trust? I've only heard of Dr. Remillard via posts but not the Skeptvet before this thread. I've started to learn more but have limited time online - just am on in spurts, not long enough to properly research. I think Dr. Remillard usually treats dogs like Tibbe with diet changes and until recently, he's been unable to eat anything different without a very bad result so I've been scared to sign on with that regimen so far. He gets so sick so quickly and it's weeks until he's well.
My Tibbe's had some itching, some hair loss, very bad odor despite frequent bathing, some paw chewing, pus-y eyes at times and a hot spot at two different times so I need to learn more about food sensitivity diagnostics and treatments in case it returns. He's got IBS and MVD. I need to find a way to treat any return of the bad itching, etc., without having him vomiting and running diarrhea or ticking off his IBS and /or MVD.
For the first time, after taking antibiotics and prescription shampoo for his bad odor earlier this year and starting him on a combination of OTC products with more than a little trepidation, Dogzymes Max Probiotics and coconut oil(both sent to me by lisaly(Lisa) on his food, he's not itching badly(scratches 2-3 x daily), not losing hair, not paw-chewing and is finally able to accept more of his hepatic kibble food per meal - which prior to the probiotics and coconut oil additives, was virtually impossible. He could tolerate only a limited amount of the Hill's canned hepatic and then would itch up to 10+ times a day afterward, was rubbing his head to scratch his face and developed the hot spots. Less of the Hill's canned hepatic, he'd stop itching, paw-licking but get lethargic, refuse food, spit up bile.
I thought I'd try the Hill's Hepatic kibble to see if that would work better for any reason but I'd add one or two kibbles of the Hill's I/D hepatic kibble food to his meal and he was soon vomiting and having pus-y stools or diarrhea - all 3 times I tried it. It didn't seem coincidental.
Now, after being on the probiotics and coconut oil for a few months, he's eating half and half of the hepatic kibble and Hill's I/D GI and friskier and happier than I've seen him in the longest time. I'm hesitant to say for sure it's the OTC food additives but the vet agreed with me trying them might be worth it if they helped him and for the longest time now since he's had MVD, he's been nausea/vomiting- and lethargy-free. I'm beginning to think the only thing I changed has been to add the food additives and they could be making the difference.
So, though I never thought I'd say it, I'm beginning to be open to learning more about other treatment methods for the time being, at least. For the first time in a long time, Tibbe's doing really well. He'll go in next in June for a check-up to evaluate whether he should remain on the probiotics and coconut oil. I hope he has no systemic damage since they seem to be making a difference where nothing else that he can tolerate has. |