Intestinal Lymphangiectasia: A Protein-Losing Enteropathy (PLE)

[Nikeann07]

Thank you for an update on JaJa. Sad to know that other health issues may arise at any given time.

I picked up dog insurance for all my 3 pups...Holly's condition is not covered however, because she had it before the insurance.

At this time Holly does not have another test scheduled.
I mentioned to my Vet about JaJa and her treatment...and he said that the treatment is guided by the blood work...and strict watch over pets eating
no fat...each dog is treated as to what worked in the past with other dogs with this condition...and a trial and error is eliminated if bloodwork is watched ... soon a window opens up as to what is best for your pet.

I do worry about not fats in the diet...how this will work in the cold of winter will be another hurdle I guess.


Yes I would like to know how to collect urine from Holly.




Nikeann07

[specialklm]

Hi,
How is Holly? Is she still always hungry and urinates alot? I'm thinking of getting Ja those "belly band" diaper things - she pees about 20x.day and since I live in a Ny apt. I'm ALWAYS cleaning up after her....

So, to get a urine sample (which I have to do again next Fri. before JaJa's vet appt.) this works best for me -- from your vet get a syringe and vial for this purpose. Buy a thick tarp ( the ones used by painters). If Holly "goes" on paper, put the THICK tarp over and around the paper. It may take a few attempts for her to go on the tarp.... but when she does, use the syringe to withdraw some urine from the tarp and put it in the vial. Does this make sense?

What are you feeding Holly now? Ja eats Nat. Balance Duck & Potato which does have a fat content - the vets did not tell me to change it....
Hope all's well,
Karen

[Nikeann07]

I can do the tarp thing..she already goes on one in my backyard
I am going in today to see about the syringe...and buy more W/D dog food for her...I am giving her sprinkled on freeze dried chicken (fat free)on the w/d with
carrots and now some green beans (unsalted) and egg whites..just a tablespoon every other day....She does not pee like an elephant anymore but the hunger is there. Vet says it is okay to brush her teeth with dog toothpaste...she loves the clove flavor one.

I hope JAJA's peeing will ease up too for you. I have Holly on a strict routine...she now knows that her last chance to Pee outside (which she prefers) is at 9 pm. I still put out a pee pad at bedtime...but she gets me up at 6am to go outside...comes back in and we go back to bed until seven...she always beats the alarm...then she and the other two, eat at 8 am...2pm eats again an goes down for a nap...then she and the others eat at 5pm...and snack at bedtime.

No more water after 7pm. This was an ajustment...but it works

Holly has access to a doggie dog during the day....but not at night.

I hope your Vet appt goes well...hang in there
my thoughts and prayers are with you.
Let me know the results of the contest

Nikeann07

[specialklm]

Hi,
How are you & Holly and your other babies?
JaJa's vet visit and her test results were good! She has gained over 1/2 lb. which is good because she's absorbing nutrients & proteins better. From being so skinny - she looks chubby to me . I don't know if it's because she's now on more prednisone ( 1/4 tab every day) or I am feeding her about 20% more-- or the combo.

Her total protein and albumin levels have improved and are now in a good range! Her organs are fine!

I do have to give her 50mg Vit C 2x/day becuase her urine ph is not acicic enough and she's v. suseptible to UTIs. I had to get a liquid Vit. C ( and covert the tsp. dose to a syringe dose) because supposedly Vit. C doesn't come in tablets less than 250 mg. and it would be almost impossible to split that into 5ths.

The plan, in 2 weeks, is to give her 1/4 pill of Prednisone for 2 days, then next day no Pred., -- 2 days on then 1 day off schedule. I'll have to watch her closely ( as I always do) to see if this protocol is working. Then, o course, back to the vet more more testing in 1-2 months.

Please let me know how Holly is doing

[Pixieluv1020]

Hi, I was just wondering how your baby is doing?? My yorkie, Tickles has the same condition. We found out that she has PLE right before her 8th birthday. She is 9 right now. I took her into the vet last week because she has been bloated. The dr. didnt give any good news. The prednisone stopped working for her. For the past 1 1/2 year shes been on prednisone (5mg) every other day and on special food Z/D. We just switched her food to Purina Veterinary Diets HA. At first she liked it and now she would hardly even eat it. The dr. prescribed her new medicine. Shes on Chlorambucil (Leukeran) My dr. had never used this med. before and he says he doesnt know if it'll work. She started that prescription yesterday. Im hoping that this new med will work and her bloating would go down. Im worried that she wont get better. Is the prednisone still working for your baby?

[Nikeann07]

Hi ...so sorry to hear the steroid stopped working!! I did not realize it could do that.

Holly is up to 9 lbs...I am concerned because she has been yelping in pain when I touch certain spots around her rib cage...this just started today...I plan on calling the Vet tomorrow for an appt and refill of her steroid...I also want her checked out.

I have not heard of the new medication your doctor is giving your Yorkie I pray it works !!

I hope someone writes in a post about the medication.

Keep the faith...there are alot of bad moments with this disease I fear..
but I am optimistic

Nikeann

[specialklm]

I am sorry to hear that Prednisone stopped working for Tickles. I have read about Leukeran and asked JaJa's vet about it a couple of weeks ago - he said it's usually given in COMBINATION with Prednisone.

Ja fell down a 20-step flight of stairs last week and hurt her back legs which seem to be almost better now. But, she must've damaged her vocal cords because she can barely bark, it sounds v. weird and seems like she's in pain when tries to bark. The vet says it may heal on its own.

Right now we're trying 2 days on 1/4 tab of Predisone, 1 day off-- 2 days on/1 day off to see if this smaller dose still helps her. Every other day dosing didn't work. 1/4 tab every day seemed to keep her stable. Also giving her 50 mg Vit.C 2x/day to try to prevent another urinary tract infection (UTI). Ja exclusively eats Nat. Balance Duck & Potato both canned & dry.

This is a very difficult condition to manage and quite a challenge for us. I have hope because I love her so much. Yorkie's are fighters!
Please let me know how Tickles is doing, if you have any questions or want to share info.
all the best,
Karen & JaJa

[GPONTLITZ]

Jaja And Holly My Thoughts Are With You And Your Wonderful Owners For The Care You Have Received From Them, So From The Heart..

[Pixieluv1020]

I took Tickles into the vet today because her bloating wasnt getting any better. The dr. told me to give an injection of Vit B-12 once week. How scary is that!!! Im already freaking out!! Shes also suppose to take her Prednisone everyday now along with her Chlorambucil. He also gave me Tylan. Im suppose to give her 1/3 of a 1/26 teaspoon everyday. He also gave me Metronidazole for her runny poo. The Dr. ran another albumin test. It was lower than last week. Last week she was at a 1.0. I have to take her in again next Monday to check her albumin level again. Im soooooo worried she wont get any better. Dr said there isnt much we can do.

It also has been difficult for us. I hate to see Tickles like this. I work about 10 hrs a day. (we are sooo busy at work) But now im trying to cut my hours so I can spend more time w/my babies. Tickles pees like every 1/2 hr. and i come home to a huge mess in the bathroom. She would usually have poo smeared across the floor. I would have to wash her bottom everyday (from the runny poo) Does your baby also likes to eat poo?? (YUCK) Tickles has a bad habit of eating poo!!! The pred. makes her want to eat! shell lick everything and anything! My other 2 yorkies goes potty on the pee pads and Tickles will even lick the pad!

[chinateddyleo]

Hi my teedy has the same thing. The vet wants to do an instestional biopsy which he was schedulede to have last Thursday and the vet canceled it due to another yorkie that was in Labor. So now I am doubting why should I do this if this is what he has. His ultra sounds show that his intestines are very inflammed..this was his second one and it is worse than the last. He changed his diet to LD and put him on some vitamin thing and predisone. He is doing just fine but...........he was doing fine when I took him in there. His only problem is his swollen adolemen. I just don't get it. He doesn't have any other symptoms that others are describing. So I am really stuck on the next step. I am sorry you are going through the same thing. I have already spent over $2,000 and can't even afford that.They have you no matter what. Okay llater mikkee.

[specialklm]

Hi everyone,
JaJa's recent check up @ vet was good. She gained 1/2 lb. and what I thought might be a cataract developing ( a possible side effect of prednisone) is a benign lipid deposit that supposedly doesn't & won't affect her vision.
For the past 3 months she has been on .5 mg prednisone - 2 days on, then 1 day off. For the next month we are trying to see if less prednisone will still help her - it's a fairly complicated schedule: 1 week of .5 pred every other day, next week 2 days pred then 1 day no pred. Then back to every other day. She'll go back to vet for check up in a month.
Hope all your pups are are doing more than ok.
Please share any news.
best,
Karen & JaJa

[eroar2]

When Annie was first diagnosed with PLE the vet put her on .5mg Prednisone twice a day. When that wasn't helping raise her protein levels, we changed the routine by adding a cancer drug (can't remember the name) and dropping one round of prednisone a day. When her protein levels starting coming up we switched to every other day between the two drugs. The vet had put her on R/D for food initially, but since I didn't like the quality of the food I kept looking for alternatives. I found Wellness Core Reduced Fat Dry Food which was low in fat and very high in protein and well as the regular chicken Innova. The vet also told me to give her one egg white a day. Last month she was one point away from having albumin levels so the vet had me start weening off the meds. About a week ago she became completely drug free. As happy as I am with her being off the meds I am a little worried as I would think she would need something as this is a chronic problem. We ran another blood test last week and right now her protein levels are the same. So the vet said to continue her food regimin however give her a little less food as she has gained almost a pound and he is worried about her becoming overweight. The vet said to have her bloodwork checked in a few months with her regular vet.

Annie has been such a trooper throughout. When she was put on her meds I could notice a slight change in her behavior, but as we started to ween her off she started to get back to the little snuggle bug that she is

[eroar2]

Annie has been off meds for the past three months. We got her blood checked a couple of days ago and we got back fantastic results! Since her last bloodwork her protein levels have risen significantly and are now in the normal range. So basically we have been doing an excellent job maintaining her needs through her diet which is fantastic!

[Lola'sMom]

I am dealing with this issue with my LolaGrace. She has been such a trooper. She was hospitalized on January 29th for 3 days after noticing a bloated belly. She had two plasma tranfusions and is having a tough time getting her protein level about 1.5. She is on a prescription diet (Royal Canin lowfat) and I've given her boiled chicken, carrots and nonfat cottage cheese. She is getting B12 shots every two weeks and had a low dose aspirin compounded by a special pharmacy which she takes each night. Now, she;s got water in the belly again and they want us to start the steriod and to see a specialist at UC Davis. This site has been very helpful to know that I am not alone with my sweet girl.

[abfree]

My sweet Chance died of this in April this year. We fought this for almost 7 months, trying several different combinations of meds. He was 11 & a half.

Now, my little Noelle, also 11 & half, has been diagnosed with the same thing! They are not related, so I just am struggling with them both having this odd disease.

Sadly, Noelle has a WBC of 36k, low calcium, anemia, congestive heart failure on top of it. So, she is at the vet now receiving IV meds. My vet is taking her home for the weekend. I am just devastated, as she said Noelle must likely won't recover.

Has anyone else gone through this???