Yorkie with Lymphangiectasia

[lklong]

Wondering if anyone out there is going through the same thing. My little Squeekers was diagnosed 4 months ago. She is not eating well. She is on a very strict diet. She is on a restricted fat diet. She is acting like her normal goofy self. Saving me from the world with her squeeky little bark. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[ally173]

hi; what food your dog is on. did the vet put him on any medications?

[lklong]

Squeekers is on Royal Canin LF. and Boiled skinless chicken breast. She is on Budesonide, Metronidazole and Cyclosporine. She was doing pretty good untill her vet weined her off Pred. We started her on Budesonide when she went backwards. It is simular to Pred with fewer side effects. Her appetite just didn't pick back up. Her Lab work is good. Her Alb is up in normal range and her Protein levels are normal also. They started to go down when she was taken off the Pred. I just can't figure out the lack of appetite.

[ally173]

my dog has IBD and relapsed too when tapering the prednisone. so the vet increased it back to one dose every other day; or half a dose every day. and she's fine now. she's on special diet; she can't handle any dog food prescription or not.
i fed her homemade boiled ground turkey and oatmeal for 5 months; then switched her to aunt jeni's homemade dog food; i get the turkey and rabbit formula since they are low in fat; i cook it and add some oatmeal. and she loves it.
my dog wasn't eating before the prednisone too; it's the inflammation that kills the apettite. it needs to be controlled and also diet helps a lot. to entice her appetite you can add a teaspoon of solid gold canned green tripe to her food.
by the way my dog relapsed 2 days after being on the royal canin LF; it has pork as an ingredient; maybe you want to ask your vet if it's ok to put her on a bland diet; like chicken and rice or turkey and oatmeal. good luck

[lklong]

Squeekers also has IBD. I was surprised to learn that canned LF has pork and the dry LF does not. Royal canin changed the dry formula and she is a little interested in it. I may check into the ground turkey. Thanks for the info.

[manolos mom]

Originally Posted by lklong

Squeekers is on Royal Canin LF. and Boiled skinless chicken breast. She is on Budesonide, Metronidazole and Cyclosporine. She was doing pretty good untill her vet weined her off Pred. We started her on Budesonide when she went backwards. It is simular to Pred with fewer side effects. Her appetite just didn't pick back up. Her Lab work is good. Her Alb is up in normal range and her Protein levels are normal also. They started to go down when she was taken off the Pred. I just can't figure out the lack of appetite.

Get your vet to write you a prescipt for Mirtazapine. It's a miracle drug that will instantly get her to eat. I went thru this with Lola and she dropped under 3 lbs and she is a 5 to 6 lb Yorkie and was dying. She was diagnosed with Lymphangiectasia. They finally found out my Lola has desended Histoplasmosis. Please try this drug and give her one quarter every day until she is back to normal. Good Luck to you. Lissette

[ally173]

Originally Posted by manolos mom

Get your vet to write you a prescipt for Mirtazapine. It's a miracle drug that will instantly get her to eat. I went thru this with Lola and she dropped under 3 lbs and she is a 5 to 6 lb Yorkie and was dying. She was diagnosed with Lymphangiectasia. They finally found out my Lola has desended Histoplasmosis. Please try this drug and give her one quarter every day until she is back to normal. Good Luck to you. Lissette

that is an anti depressant; one of the side effect is increased appetite. however if the dog has inflammation in the intestine and is pain that has to be treated before the dog can have an appetite. this drug might help but i think the prednisone can help with both the inflammation and the appetite. check with the vet.

[manolos mom]

With Lymphangiectasia, you need to see what her system can tolerate. For instance, We fed Lola pure fat free ground turkey for 2weeks, then I added plain white rice after two weeks of that I added peas then carrots. Her system tolerated this so I added sweet potato.

[manolos mom]

Originally Posted by ally173

that is an anti depressant; one of the side effect is increased appetite. however if the dog has inflammation in the intestine and is pain that has to be treated before the dog can have an appetite. this drug might help but i think the prednisone can help with both the inflammation and the appetite. check with the vet.

There is no cure for Lymphangiectasia. Its all about the diet. Lolas intestines where totally inflamed and infected with fungus, and still are. But we needed her to eat. This is a big part of getting stronger so that everything can heal. Lymphangiectasia can cause her to lose too much weight and starve herself to death. Ladyjane is the one that told me about it and this drug saved my girls life. This is anti depressant in humans but has been found to work wonders on animals. My Lola was on pred and it almost killed her. Steroids are nothing to play around with.

[ladyjane]

It certainly cannot hurt to ASK the vet about Mirtazapine. It might be that is is contraindicated with what she is on already, but it is an excellent suggestion. I have seen dogs that would not eat do VERY well on this medication. One was mine who was in renal failure...it settled his tummy and increased his appetite. Another was Lola as Manalos Mom said, and the other was a pup with severe hemolytic anemia. She was not eating and being force fed...and was getting transfusions. She needed to eat and they could not find anything to feed her....they started her on Mirtazapine and she was eating everything! Her mom joked that she was eating fuzz off carpets.
Here is a link about the use of Mirtazapine in dogs...it has been used for years in cats:

Mirtazapine

[ally173]

Originally Posted by manolos mom

There is no cure for Lymphangiectasia. Its all about the diet. Lolas intestines where totally inflamed and infected with fungus, and still are. But we needed her to eat. This is a big part of getting stronger so that everything can heal. Lymphangiectasia can cause her to lose too much weight and starve herself to death. Ladyjane is the one that told me about it and this drug saved my girls life. This is anti depressant in humans but has been found to work wonders on animals. My Lola was on pred and it almost killed her. Steroids are nothing to play around with.

yes i agree with you; and prednisone doesnt work for everyone and is most def a serious and dangerous drug. that's why it has to be monitored closely. and yes any form of IBD isn't curable but treatable and can be controlled by a good diet.

[lklong]

I think Squeekers developed an ulcer when she started to go backwards. Her Vet found 2 small ulcers when she had her scope done 4 months ago. I have started her on Pepcid 10 mg 1/4 tablet twice a day. I am hoping this will settle her tummy down. I really don't want to add any more meds. She also is a 5-6 pound baby. Thanks for the bland diet ideas. I am thinking when I get her stomach to settle down she will eat better. I do know that unfortunately Lymphangiectasia can't be cured. I wish it could. Its hard seeing our babies not feeling well and not being able to tell you whats wrong. I am crossing my fingers she will eat good tonight.

[ally173]

Originally Posted by lklong

I think Squeekers developed an ulcer when she started to go backwards. Her Vet found 2 small ulcers when she had her scope done 4 months ago. I have started her on Pepcid 10 mg 1/4 tablet twice a day. I am hoping this will settle her tummy down. I really don't want to add any more meds. She also is a 5-6 pound baby. Thanks for the bland diet ideas. I am thinking when I get her stomach to settle down she will eat better. I do know that unfortunately Lymphangiectasia can't be cured. I wish it could. Its hard seeing our babies not feeling well and not being able to tell you whats wrong. I am crossing my fingers she will eat good tonight.

oh i am sorry to hear about the ulcer; then prednisone won't be good in this case; as it can cause ulcers as a side effect.

[LuvMySissy]

I'm going to give you a completely different perspective. My Sissy was diagnosed with Protein Losing Enteropathy (the worst of the digestive disorders - Lymphagiestacia is a form of this) two years ago ~ she is doing just fine.

She has never been on prednisone or any other steriod. They do nothing to heal the intestinal system - only act as a bandaid for the inflammation. We consulted with Susan Davis (pet nutrionist) and Dr. Gordon for diet and supplementation. She has some really great holistic supplements that actually do help heal the intestinal system. B12 injections should be a regular part of the treatment plan as well. Sissy is on a daily probiotic, a liver support formula, digestive enzymes, vitamineral green, and a few intestinal support formulas. Her diet is very specific as well, but not a prescription formula.

The harsh reality is that "standard" treatment is steriods, steroids and more steriods and "managing" symptoms until they die. But this is totally not necessary. Please look at other alternatives.......feel free to PM me if you'd like more details.

[manolos mom]

Originally Posted by LuvMySissy

I'm going to give you a completely different perspective. My Sissy was diagnosed with Protein Losing Enteropathy (the worst of the digestive disorders - Lymphagiestacia is a form of this) two years ago ~ she is doing just fine.

She has never been on prednisone or any other steriod. They do nothing to heal the intestinal system - only act as a bandaid for the inflammation. We consulted with Susan Davis (pet nutrionist) and Dr. Gordon for diet and supplementation. She has some really great holistic supplements that actually do help heal the intestinal system. B12 injections should be a regular part of the treatment plan as well. Sissy is on a daily probiotic, a liver support formula, digestive enzymes, vitamineral green, and a few intestinal support formulas. Her diet is very specific as well, but not a prescription formula.

The harsh reality is that "standard" treatment is steriods, steroids and more steriods and "managing" symptoms until they die. But this is totally not necessary. Please look at other alternatives.......feel free to PM me if you'd like more details.

Thank you for calling me when Lola was sick. It really meant a lot.