Our dog had similar symptoms, then got very ill very quickly. We spent around $3500 on his exploratory surgery. It turns out that he had bad IBD which caused serious gall bladder problems. He had his gall bladder removed. The surgical vet recommended the ID food you're talking about. It's crap. It's just pure crap.
Our vet, though, said that since his IBD could be exacerbated by allergy problems that we should eliminate the most common allergens for dogs (chicken and grains.) In order to do that, he needed a grain free food with a novel protean that he'd never eaten before. We switched him to California Naturals Limited Ingredient Salmon and Sweet Potato. It's low-fat, which, with no gall bladder, is important.
One thing to keep in mind is that the better foods often cost more per bag, but the recommended serving size is smaller than for the crappy foods because there are fewer fillers. So, bowl for bowl, it's either or wash or you may actually save a bit of money by buying higher quality food.
It's hard to say, since he's still on the anti-nausea meds. I found a little bile/vomit in the corner this afternoon, but I don't know when he did it. I didn't call the vet today because I wanted to get a day or two of the rice/chicken diet in, but I think I will call her tomorrow and discuss taking him off the anti-nausea meds to see if he can keep anything down. I'm super nervous about that.
I wouldn't spend another dime before trying straight chicken and rice. Prescription food is (usually) crap.
I looked at the ingredients in that. Its full of crap, most notably has corn in the first ingredient. its not at ALL the same thing as chicken and rice.
I second this....
The mutt had some horrible gut issues and the vet suggested a canned prescription brand (I think it was about $7/can). It still caused him problems. I pulled him off of this and just made up a batch of chicken and rice and it helped considerably. I think he was on this for about 6 months before we started moving him back onto his normal dog chow.
That being said, I also had a cat that the vet had absolutely NO idea what was wrong with him. He was losing weight, but still eating. All metabolic blood work (up to and including looking to see if he was capable of metabolizing protein) came back normal and the next step was exploratory surgery. Trying to find a diagnosis probably cost me over $1000 and they (I went to several vets) could not come up with anything other than a possible dessimated lymphoma of the gut or IBS.
In addition to this, my cat was a rescue that I got as a young adult. When I took him to the vet, she estimated his age at around 1 year old due to the status of his teeth. I had him 10 years, and during those years, his teeth still looked like they belonged in a 1 year old cat. So thinking back, while he may have been 11 years old, he could have been as old as 15 or 16 and it would have been hard to put an elderly cat through the sort of surgery the vet wanted to do.
It's a hard decision, but I think each person's has their own comfort zone and none of them are wrong. You need to do what you can afford and YOU feel what is right for YOU. Not me, or anyone else.
It's hard to say, since he's still on the anti-nausea meds. I found a little bile/vomit in the corner this afternoon, but I don't know when he did it. I didn't call the vet today because I wanted to get a day or two of the rice/chicken diet in, but I think I will call her tomorrow and discuss taking him off the anti-nausea meds to see if he can keep anything down. I'm super nervous about that.
Thanks for thinking about us!
Is it only after he eats? How long does the vomiting last after a meal?
Post by purpleminion on Mar 3, 2015 14:42:59 GMT -5
It's not after he eats. When he's off his anti-nausea meds he feels sick, so he stops eating. Then the nervous shaking starts (my kids refer to this as "vibrating", and soon after he starts vomiting uncontrollably. It's almost like it just falls out of his mouth, we don't even hear it. Just all of the sudden, there's a little pile of bile on the floor.
It's not after he eats. When he's off his anti-nausea meds he feels sick, so he stops eating. Then the nervous shaking starts (my kids refer to this as "vibrating", and soon after he starts vomiting uncontrollably. It's almost like it just falls out of his mouth, we don't even hear it. Just all of the sudden, there's a little pile of bile on the floor.
I don't have any suggestions beyond what was already stated, but I wanted to offer hugs because this sounds hard on your pup and on you. I hope you get it figured out ASAP.
Is there a reason he can't stay on the anti-nausea meds long-term?
I guess I don't know. I haven't asked. But they are $5/pill and that adds up fast, along with everything else, so I never thought about giving them to him long-term.
I don't suppose you have a holistic vet around, since there's no specialist? They have a different view of things and may have some insight.
Are any of the numbers from the blood work high or low but still in the normal range? Wyatt's kidneys are like that, and we know he has kidney disease based on other symptoms, but you wouldn't know from his blood work alone.
I don't suppose you have a holistic vet around, since there's no specialist? They have a different view of things and may have some insight.
Are any of the numbers from the blood work high or low but still in the normal range? Wyatt's kidneys are like that, and we know he has kidney disease based on other symptoms, but you wouldn't know from his blood work alone.
I believe she said his red blood cell count was on the higher side. That's it though. Everything else came back normal.
I guess I don't know. I haven't asked. But they are $5/pill and that adds up fast, along with everything else, so I never thought about giving them to him long-term.
Yeah, that is really steep. I'm assuming it is something new like Cerenia. Could you ask your vet about any cheaper options? Or if there is a human med that will work? Sometimes you can get human meds for less than the veterinary ones. I know dogs can sometimes take dramamine. Not sure if that will work.
Post by purpleminion on Mar 3, 2015 20:58:04 GMT -5
Also, I just want to say that you guys really are awesome. I had no idea I would get this much good info and so many suggestions by posting this. I feel like I can post anything here and get intelligent opinions and I really appreciate that. So thank you to you all who have offered support and suggestions!
Maybe try posting on dog forums? Any that are breed specific, health focused, etc. Also look at whole dog journal and try posting on their Facebook page.
I usually lurk on MM every now and then but I saw this post about your dog and I wanted to help you. My chihuahua went through the same exact thing two years ago. Sadly, he passed away. The vet did the same tests and couldn't find anything wrong. They did exploratory surgery and he passed away because it was actually an infection in his body. They told me it was cancer, etc. before they did the surgery but when they sent a sample off it was only an infection that didn't show up in the blood test. The vet told me that an antibiotic probably would have saved his life if they had realized what was going on. I just wanted to let you know so maybe you could try some kind of antibiotic before exploratory surgery. I hope your pup gets better!
My number is well below most on the board. I don't think you're doing anything wrong as long as you keep him comfortable and have him put down if you can't do that.
We're doomed to outlive our pets, one way or another. I won't jeopardize my finances to extend that a little. I know I'm cold and practical when it comes to pets, though.
This is me too. I'm a huge animal lover, but I'm also practical about the fact that if it is going to cause me to go in the hole like crazy, it's just not going to work. Maybe if I was single, I would feel differently. I don't know.
Is there a reason he can't stay on the anti-nausea meds long-term?
I guess I don't know. I haven't asked. But they are $5/pill and that adds up fast, along with everything else, so I never thought about giving them to him long-term.
My cats always vomited because they had too much bile in their tummies and no food. So we gave them an antacid (Pepcid) to combat the bile. Their vomiting reduced, and they ate more because they felt better. Not sure if that would help your dog, but it's a cheap option. Ask your vet. Mine agreed that it was worth a try.
And I would definitely try an antibiotic and steroid (prednisone) before doing exploratory surgery. Both helped my cat start recovering from pancreatitis even before we had the specialist appointment set.
Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed. - G. K. Chesterton
I guess I don't know. I haven't asked. But they are $5/pill and that adds up fast, along with everything else, so I never thought about giving them to him long-term.
My cats always vomited because they had too much bile in their tummies and no food. So we gave them an antacid (Pepcid) to combat the bile. Their vomiting reduced, and they ate more because they felt better. Not sure if that would help your dog, but it's a cheap option. Ask your vet. Mine agreed that it was worth a try.
And I would definitely try an antibiotic and steroid (prednisone) before doing exploratory surgery. Both helped my cat start recovering from pancreatitis even before we had the specialist appointment set.
Thanks for the tips! We actually do have him on 5mg of Pepcid AC twice a day.
Post by purpleminion on Mar 4, 2015 19:04:02 GMT -5
UPDATE:
Okay, I spoke to the vet and she seemed to agree with my decision to give him the chicken and rice. Now that he's been eating that for a few days, we're going to take him off of the anti-nausea meds. She also said we should be good to take him off the stomach protectant because the lining of the intestines replaces itself every 3 days (or something like that, I don't remember exactly how she explained that). I told her I bought some higher quality limited ingredient dog food, and she said to wait until Friday to start incorporating it into his diet. I did get some more anti-nausea meds in case he starts getting sick again over the weekend. He's still on the Pepcid.
Lurker chiming in. This is what we feed our dog (black lab mix), who has a myriad of allergies and a VERY sensitive stomach. She's done FANTASTIC on it. So I think that's a great choice!
Post by jennistarr1 on Mar 4, 2015 21:41:58 GMT -5
You are honestly not even in the ballpark of how much I would pay. Perhaps just a 2nd opinion may prove to give useful in this case to give you guidance on next step
Post by purpleminion on Mar 5, 2015 19:37:39 GMT -5
Well, so far so good. But I'm still holding my breath because last time we took him off his anti-nausea meds he was good for about two and a half days and then started getting very sick again. As of right now, it's been a day and a half since his last pill. Thank goodness DH has the day off tomorrow. He'll be able to keep an eye on him.
I'll update tomorrow and let you all know how he's doing.