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This is very difficult for me as I am still in shock. My sheltie/spitz mix Brandy is 11 years old and I just got the diagnosis yesterday. It started Sunday morning when she had my husband let her out to potty, she never does this and always waits until I get up in the morning to go out. She had diarrhea and it continued Sunday evening. I had noticed that she wasn't eating all of her food so I just figured she got into something that was causing the diarrhea. It continued through Monday morning at which time I called my vet and made an appointment. I kept her by my bedside Monday night and woke up when she vomited early in the morning and then she started to refuse to drink. She didn't have any other symptoms like the swelling. I took her in and was told that her protein levels were "scary" low and so I had to leave my girl with the vet for testing which included an x-ray and ultrasound. No biopsy was done. I have been researching what I can over the last day and am still in shock that my girl who appears to be her normal self, except for the diarrhea, can be so sick so suddenly. The vet has her on fluids and she has eaten but she will not come home until tomorrow. I have been told that she will be on the low fat, high protein diet food and will most likely need medications for life. I have already told my vet I want to get her on the budenisol as soon as we can but she insists that we will have to treat it with the prednisone first and see how she does. I am ready to make the commitment to do whatever it takes to get her better. This has already been quite costly and from what I have read, the medications will be costly too. I am not a wealthy person but I will do what I can to make sure she gets what she needs. I don't have any children of my own and she is truly my best friend. We all love her dearly and just being without her last night broke my heart. In 11 years she's only been away from home one night after a dental cleaning that was done late in the day. I never keep her in a kennel as she is just a great dog. She would never make a mess in the house but I am worried about the medication causing her to lose control so my husband and I are going to get a large kennel tonight so when we are not at home I don't have to worry about accidents. I am hoping that she will react well to treatment and could really use any support and advice to get me through this.
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Dear Andrea:
I am so sorry to hear about your Brandy. But it sounds like you are doing all the right things. My dog Diva's onset of the disease was rapid as well, which can be quite shocking. But I am closely monitoring her protein and being careful not to feed her any fat. She is on Prednisone, a steroid, at a low dose, and we are in the process of tapering her slowly. My vet is tracking her albumin and Vitamin B levels. You have come to the right place. There are many caring dog owners on this forum who can offer you help and advice.
DivasMom
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(02-10-2016, 11:23 AM)AndreaHarris1971 Wrote: This is very difficult for me as I am still in shock. My sheltie/spitz mix Brandy is 11 years old and I just got the diagnosis yesterday. It started Sunday morning when she had my husband let her out to potty, she never does this and always waits until I get up in the morning to go out. She had diarrhea and it continued Sunday evening. I had noticed that she wasn't eating all of her food so I just figured she got into something that was causing the diarrhea. It continued through Monday morning at which time I called my vet and made an appointment. I kept her by my bedside Monday night and woke up when she vomited early in the morning and then she started to refuse to drink. She didn't have any other symptoms like the swelling. I took her in and was told that her protein levels were "scary" low and so I had to leave my girl with the vet for testing which included an x-ray and ultrasound. No biopsy was done. I have been researching what I can over the last day and am still in shock that my girl who appears to be her normal self, except for the diarrhea, can be so sick so suddenly. The vet has her on fluids and she has eaten but she will not come home until tomorrow. I have been told that she will be on the low fat, high protein diet food and will most likely need medications for life. I have already told my vet I want to get her on the budenisol as soon as we can but she insists that we will have to treat it with the prednisone first and see how she does. I am ready to make the commitment to do whatever it takes to get her better. This has already been quite costly and from what I have read, the medications will be costly too. I am not a wealthy person but I will do what I can to make sure she gets what she needs. I don't have any children of my own and she is truly my best friend. We all love her dearly and just being without her last night broke my heart. In 11 years she's only been away from home one night after a dental cleaning that was done late in the day. I never keep her in a kennel as she is just a great dog. She would never make a mess in the house but I am worried about the medication causing her to lose control so my husband and I are going to get a large kennel tonight so when we are not at home I don't have to worry about accidents. I am hoping that she will react well to treatment and could really use any support and advice to get me through this.
Hi Andrea
I'm sorry Brandy and you will have to travel down this road. Have patience and strength. Niki and I have been dealing with this for about a year now. She is doing great right now, gained 2 llbs and blood work came back better.
One thing I learned is do not keep buying Brandy meds and food from the vet, overpriced! Shop around. I get one from diamondback drugs, one from Amazon and one front walmart. Also look into petplus. It's a discount plan for food, meds that you have to buy, I went through groupon for a lower price.
Hugs to you and Brandy. We are all here for you.
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I just wanted to post an update after my last visit Saturday. Brandy was losing quite a bit of weight in the few weeks since her diagnosis. She was down to 26.6 lbs from 30. I have switched her to the Royal Canin GI Low Fat kibble and I moisten it about 15 minutes before I feed her. I increased her portion size because the poor thing was crying from being hungry and it was breaking my heart. She is back up to 28 lbs now and I just want to maintain that weight because she was just a bit overweight before. She is currently getting B12 injections every week and we just had her blood test redone Saturday. Her proteins are already back to normal at 6.0. They are all in normal range but now I am told it's affecting her liver enzymes and they are now high. Now I have to give her a pill an hour before she eats called Nutramax (I think). Has anybody else come across this before? I need to switch vets because I have been there three times and every time I am getting a different vet. I feel I need some consistency because I am getting different problems every time. Just looking for a bit of insight because I was not prepared for her liver to have problems. I am in the process of seeking out a vet where I can have some consistency and have someone just sit down and explain to me what's going on. A part of me still thinks she just got into something outside that caused all these problems but I have to trust in my vet to give me correct information. After all I've read I am just a bit surprised (but extremely happy) that her protein levels came back to normal so soon. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
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So glad to hear your Brandy is gaining weight again. I have not gotten any test back with high liver enzymes, so I can't help you there. I do agree with you that finding a vet clinic that will devote one vet to helping your dog is a very good idea. I've had that experience in the past, which usually happens at a 24-hour emergency care clinic. I finally switched to a small animal clinic with just one vet. In the beginning of Diva's illness, I was convinced it was caused by her eating a Greenie, since it all started within a week afterward. Now I believe she was developing CIL all along. Best wishes.
Diva and Diva'sMom
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Some of our dogs do develop liver problems, for whatever reason. Louie did, and I thought for a while I might lose him to that. I ended up giving him Denamarin, which you can buy over the counter, and it worked remarkably well to help his liver heal. If you decide to try it, there are two things to keep in mind: 1) it's expensive (but worth it, IMO) and 2) the pills are probably better for our dogs than the chewables, since I have no idea what the chewables are flavored with but it's bound to be based in some sort of protein which could cause a flare.
Hope this helps!
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I think the Denamarin is the same as Nutramax. I will have to look on my package when I get home. I believe the vet accidentally gave me the tabs instead of the chewables so I have to get her to swallow it and then follow with a drink of water to make sure it goes down. I will stick with the tabs for now since you are probably right that they are better for her than the chewables. Thank you so much for the advice and information.
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Oh, I see that Denamarin is made by Nutramax, and there is also a product called Nutramax, which is confusing to us old people
. Make sure you're giving the one with silybin and sam-E, which is the one meant for the liver.
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I hope to get your input on the Denamarin tablets. Brandy and I are at definite odds trying to get her to swallow this pill--I'm pushing it in and she's pushing it out. I don't want to stress her so I am wondering about any ideas to make this easier. Since she has to take it on an empty stomach I am thinking of getting non-fat yogurt or cottage cheese and just coating the pill in the yogurt so she will take it that way much easier with less stress. My vet doesn't think it will lower the effectiveness of the pill being absorbed but I am looking for any more ideas or input with this.
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(03-30-2016, 10:50 AM)AndreaHarris1971 Wrote: I hope to get your input on the Denamarin tablets. Brandy and I are at definite odds trying to get her to swallow this pill--I'm pushing it in and she's pushing it out. I don't want to stress her so I am wondering about any ideas to make this easier. Since she has to take it on an empty stomach I am thinking of getting non-fat yogurt or cottage cheese and just coating the pill in the yogurt so she will take it that way much easier with less stress. My vet doesn't think it will lower the effectiveness of the pill being absorbed but I am looking for any more ideas or input with this.
Dear Andrea:
There is a device, it's a long thin plastic tube about 10 inches long. You place the pill in the tube and put it right down the dog's throat, push a button and it releases the pill. You can usually order it from a vet or pet supply store.
Diva's Mom
