Liquid Diets, Any Suggestions?
 

Ellie still has diarrhea (1-3 times a day). It is soft and off-colored but NOT bloody. I thought she was getting better but it evidently isn't.

My best guess with her lipase up is that this is a flare-up of pancreatitis.
When she had it before I just pulled her food and gave her PediaLyte.
Now I am reading that this may be the wrong thing to do because giving glucose as the sole source of nonprotein energy can lead to hyperglycemia.
Ellie has been on mashed potato and chicken but it is obviously not working anymore. She probably needs an IV (to rest her pancreas...not because she is showing that many symptoms) but that really isn't practical to do everytime she has diarrhea... I am wondering if just giving liquids would help but like I said, PediaLyte's nonprotein energy source is all glucose (I think?). I'm not sure that is good for her issues. Any idea what to give her?

Her vet knows she is having problems right now, so yes, I have talked to her.:) She is out of town right now and I can call her if I need anything but don't really want to do that. Ellie has an appt. in two days to do more blood work. If she gets sicker, she will see another vet tonight...

Any suggestions?

I know Pediasure is better but it has a corn derivative in it, so that won't work for her.

Aww Crystal, I'm so sorry Ellie is still not feeling well. I've been watching your threads :( Sending prayers that she feels better soon, and hugs to both of you.

I'm not sure about this one at all...but what about some homemade chicken soup? You could puree small pieces of chicken, rice and vegetables and mix them into broth... not sure if that would be ok for her, but it's an idea :-/ I would definitely ask your vet.

Thanks, Suzy.:)
I think I just made up my mind to pull everything except pure water today and hope she doesn't go hypo. That is a good idea to puree things though and just create my own liquid diet. I bet any food ingredients would irritate her though.:(

Awww, poor baby:( I'm sorry she's sick.

Have you tried giving her pumpkin yet? It really works when my furkids get the runs.

You can fast her for the day just give her nutrical. I did it with Chachi before when he had the runs. The vet advised me to

What about using a protein shake? You can find different sources (one is egg protein) for the protein. You do need to check for artificial sweeteners. GNC has a lot to choose from. Poor Ellie :(.

Goodness, I should've been an animal nutritionist.:rolleyes:
This is a full time job.
She can't have high protein shakes because of her liver.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::(

It may be worth a try though but the amino acids from protein can aggravate the pancreas. LOL, thanks for trying everyone. All of you are the best.:)

Since glucose shouldn't be the only source of nonprotein energy, do any vitamins or minerals provide energy? I wonder if PediaLyte contains any vit/min that do provide some energy. I just soooo don't want to do any harm.

What about sticking to the "BRAT" diet that they give kids when they have diarrhea...

Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast...if you stick to whole grains and just a little fruit, it might help? Definitely puree it all up with water.

Can she have Bio Pectin ????

The LS group recommends this (from Dr. Center) as a very good source of bulk fiber - I wonder if it would firm up her poop :confused:

I have a few pills and last night I gave Roxy 1/4 of one.


....some of them also give Pediasure when they have to give them extra supplements, etc (so they don't pick at their food)

When she's feeling a bit better, would taking pancreatic/digestive enzymes help her?
Biopectin may help bulk up her stool, like Nicole said.

That is something the internist and vet never said anything about. I wanted the vet to bring it up so that I am not talking her into telling me that I need to give them to Ellie if that makes any sense. In other words, I want to make sure they are necessary before I use them. If the vet thinks it will help, I would be more than willing to go this way though.

I don't know anything about Biopectin but that might work.

She hasn't eaten since yesterday afternoon and I am so concerned about hypoglycemia but this is really my only choice right now.

We will probably try rice or maybe banana later.

Poor little thing. My vet suggests fasting (just water) for diarrhea for 24 hours to help settle the system.

Have you tried giving her pumpkin? That might work. I would also suggest going to a health food store and looking at the Garden of Life products. They have a product that is a shake, but is a raw food source containing mostly fruits and vegetables with lots of live enzymes. Extremely healthy for humans (though a bit pricey). With her history it might be a good thing to keep on hand. If you have a Better Health near you, they carry it.

How is little Ellie today?

Update on Ellie:

Soft stool didn't go away after switching to a bla diet and then fasting her for over 24 hours. Fecal and giardia test normal. Vet put her on Metronidazole.:( Ellie had a couple soft stools throughout but the Metro did seem to really help. Came off of it Sunday and by Monday it was soft again. Tried canned pumplin...she went a few hours later and it was worse than before I gave it.:rolleyes: She was definately better than before taking the Metro but stools were a bit wet and just weren't quite right. Vet said 30 days of Metro.:(:(:( It did help and she is hoping Ellie just needs a bit more time on it. If that doesn't work she said try the fish diet (from Ann's nutritionist) but don't do at the same time so we know what is working. If nothing works she will strongly push me to do a biopsy because prednizone (or in Ellie's case there is another one that I won't attempt to spell that is better for the liver) may need to be given in some cases of IBD and if there is an underlying disease like cancer:eek:, this would be the wrong thing to do.

Then she said maybe I should try probiotics because it isn't going to hurt anything. So we will.:)

So, now we have a month's worth of Metro (59 more doses to go) and I really don't like this drug long-term.

I should probably also try milk thistle because it would be good for her liver, pancreas and intestines but I think we need to do it when she comes off the Metro to see what is working.