My baby has to have a stomach and intestine biopsy
 

Hi, I'm new to the site and would really appreciate some advice. Our baby doll, Diesel, who the whole family adore and love to bits, is 14 months old and since October he has been having problems with his digestive system. He has regular runny or soft stools which are bright yellow in colour as well as bouts of sickness which is just bile. I took him to the vet back in October, told him the symptoms and he sent me away with antibiotics and worming tablets. At the time I told him how worried I was about diesel and worried about his really skinny frame. He sent me away told me to starve him for 24 hours and then feed him only boiled chicken and rice, and basically accused me of being a bit neurotic! I followed his instructions to the letter, but Diesel is no better. I've been backwards and forwards to the vet and was asked to bring in a stool sample. When I was collecting the sample I noticed quite a few grains of rice among the bright yellow stuff? The vet then phoned me a week later to tell me everything came back negative, when I asked about the grains of rice they said it was most likely tapeworm. However, after a dose of more worming tablets I went through his stools again (I've become a bit obssessed with them, sorry) and noticed that it was full of undigested rice. I took baby back to the vets as I was trawling the Internet I saw he had the same symptoms as if he had a problem with his pancreas. He had blood tests which discovered his pancreas was fine but it also confirmed that hardly any of his food was being digested. He now has to have a biopsy of his stomach and small intestines as well as an ultrasound. The vet said that they are looking to see if he has either Ibd (a form similar to chron's dieseas in humans?) a blockage, or something worse. I'm so worried about him as I don't know how painful it is. He's extremly thin and I'm scared about him being knocked out. If anyone has experience with this problem your advice would be so appreciated.

Please so to the forum index page and choose the sick/emergency section to post you question. You will definitely get some responses there. I am so sorry your baby is not feeling well. It is such a worry.:( ~Joanne~

My Cali had a liver and intestinal biopsies during her spay surgery and did well. I will keep your baby in my prayers.

Hello Emmar.
I'm so sorry your little one, Diesel, is so ill.

When you mentioned the rice grains, I too first thought of tapeworm. But if he's been wormed, & the vet has ruled this out, what you say about undigested going straight through him speaks to me of some form of malabsorbtion problem.
I assume the vet has ruled out it being a diet related problem? Though that isn't always gospel. One of mine was back & forth to the vets for two years( similar symptoms to Diesel's) with umpty courses of antibiotics till, talking to some old hands at the dog shows I attend with my other breed, & following their guidance, we finally pinned it down to being a food allergy.
Changed her diet & presto! No more problem.

Do try asking on the other forum though as suggested.
Good luck, I hope it's soon sorted.

xx
Meggie

Hi Emmar

I am so sorry to hear about Diesel. It is very upsetting for you and your family to see him ill. If he is in pain, he will arch his back a little and/or whimper. My little one had an awful time with vomiting and runny stools. She had various food allergies, which I found out from chatting to people here. We took her to two vets and finally, after many doses of antibiotics, I consulted Susan Davis, a homeopathic vet in California, by phone. She does phone consultations and has had a lot of success with treating this type of problem. She was recommended by one of our members, who told me she had saved her dog's life. Susan put Tootsy onto a diet of non allergic foods. She recommended digestive enzymes, probiotics and she has homeopathic medications for this problem. She has saved many dogs lives, I have been told. If I were you, I would try consulting Susan. Tootsy improved straight away and seldom has an upset tummy now, unless she has eaten something nasty she has found outside!! Her ribs ribs stuck out before this, so she was very underweight. She constantly had vomiting and diarrhoea just like Diesel, and also had tummy pain. It was so upsetting for us and I was not happy with her being given all the doses of antibiotics. It seems sad to put Diesel through biopsies if he has food allergies, which can be treated by elimination. You need guidance, as you want to make sure he gets all the right nutrition while you follow the elimination diet. If you like you could go ahead with the scan first and see if anything shows up. But I would, personally, try Susan before going ahead with the biopsy.

Susan Davis is at 'Ask Ariel' - just Google that and you will find her. All her prices are listed and she does her best not to cost you a fortune. She works with another qualified vet and you can consult him if required. She would tell you if she felt it was necessary to speak to him, I'm sure. I hope I have been of some help and, at least, given you something else to consider, from someone who has been through the same thing with their dog.

Please keep us updated on Diesel's progress and good luck.

luv Yvonne xxx

Thank you for your replies. At the moment we're playing a game of trial and error to see what food works best in his tummy.

Hi there - just thought I would pop in and see if there is any progress with Diesel's tummy problems?
hugs
Yvonne xx

Could Diesel have EPI? Someone posted this link the other day when my puppy was having issues: EPI in Dogs

Also, if it turns out to be IBD, he'll probably be fine. It's just a matter of figuring out what food his tummy will tolerate. IBD is similar to Crohn's Disease in humans. I actually have Crohn's, and did a lot of research on IBD in dogs when Violet was sick.

I hope he feels better soon!

Just want to send Diesel good wishes and hope the vet can get to the bottom
of his problem so he can get well.


Hugs,

Hi there,

Diesel had his biopsy and it showed he had quite a lot of damage in his small intestines, there was quite a lot of scaring and fiberous tissues. His results came back from his biopsy and it showed that he had a high level of heliobacter in his stomach. He is now on a diet of boiled white fish and potatoe together with b12 supplements, antibiotics, and zanprol for his stomach. He has stopped being sick, but his stools are still a concern. Treatment has only just started so fingers crossed x

I'm hoping to see an improvment soon? Although he's gone through so much he's still jumping around and being mischevious, and shows no signs of being that poorly, only that he sleeps a little more often.

I'm feeling a lot more positive about his recovery.

Thanks for all your kind support.

Emma and Diesel x x