|
Poco
|
 |
« Reply #30 on: July 06, 2008, 10:14:18 PM » |
|
Klondike, hope Poco is still doing better.
No, we didn't try meds with the Cushings. He had so many medical issues around the time he was confirmed with Cushings we didn't want to overload him with meds. He had occasional gastric issues even as a pup, but he was a dog that stressed easily. He did well on a food and all of a sudden for some unknown reason, it would disagree with him. And, it didn't help that he consumed 30 lbs of alfatoxin contaminated Nature's Receipe! His stomach upsets were really random until he reached about 10 years of age. Than it became more constant. When he was diagnosed with Cushings at 11; it seemed like a weekly event. One time he ended up spending two days at the hospital on IV's because he got so dehydrated in 24hrs. He had xrays all the time! We never saw any growths on his intestine but the xrays always showed an inflammed intestine. One time they gave him a barium xray and that really soothed his tummy! Originally the vet had me giving him Pepcid(she originally thought acid problems) - but that did nothing. Than we tried a couse of Baytril and Flagyl - took the Baytril away and went with Flagyl for three weeks. No gastric/intestinal issues and he gained weight (at the time he was eating Calif Nat Lamb and Rice, we tried to give him food with the least amount of ingredients ). We decided not to put him through any biopsies or further testing; he seemed to fit the criteria of IBD (symptoms, food problems, what the stool looked like, etc.) and went from there. If he had a bad night, we started the Flagyl, went back to three days of Chicken and Rice and would wean him back to his commercial food. The Flagyl worked great for him and it seemed with its use, we had longer times between episodes. I guess there are some dogs who take Flagyl continuously. He was my "heart dog"; he lived to be 14;it was hemangiosarcoma that took his life.
Another thing I have heard people using is Tylan. For my dog it didn't do anything but you might ask your vet about it. I've had friends who used it with great success.
Pork liver - I never dreamed a vitamin could cause such problems! One day I decided maybe I should give my geriatric dogs a vitamin to keep them healthy - they spit them out and he snarfed them all up! Within hours - bad reaction.
You said about the capsule - maybe the coating is something that Poco is reacting to. I've learned what maybe hypoallergenic for some is not for all. Calcium - does he react to all forms of calcium?
I don't know if you have looked at the Yahoo groups for Cushings and IBD? both are owned by knowledgable people and many doctors are also on the lists. I found them really helpful in knowing how the diseases were being treated across the country and the world. And, gave me some information to discuss with my own vet.
If Poco does well on the commercial raw - seems like a good thing to stick with.
Katie Sounds like you went through a lot of challenges, too, with your dog's digestion. There seems to be a lot of similarities in the way these cases progress. I'm sure the aflatoxin exposure could have contributed to the hemangiosarcoma. I lost my Sheltie to that disease at only 11. The article I posted about canine cancer in the Misc section said that even non-toxic levels of aflatoxin and acrylamides in grains may be contributing to cancer rates in dogs. It does seem like every form of calcium I tried, (never got to try bone meal), was making the situation worse. And I think you are right that something about the multi-vit itself was a problem for him. I'm just giving up on those. He is still doing good, though yesterday he had a little too much fruit, (mango and cherries), and was a bit off today. (Shame on us, but he loves those two fruits and it is hard not to overdo it with such a small dog. At least he wasn't actually sick.) His eye are still nice and clear from his homefeeding stint, so the experience did clear up some sort of allergy. What I may do is try couple of days of home cooking, (and it may just be meat if that is what works for him), every now and then if his allergies kick up. Tomorrow we see his veterinarian, so we'll see what she thinks. (She didn't start meds for the same reason you didn't with your dog - age and the tradeoffs.) |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"Our country is now geared to an arms economy bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and an incessant propaganda of fear." ----General Douglas MacArthur
"American GIs are not toy soldiers to be moved around on some global game board." ----General Colin Powell
|
|
|
|
Katie
|
|
« Reply #31 on: July 07, 2008, 12:18:20 PM » |
|
Klondike,
I'm glad Poco is doing better; I know what you mean about the fruit - I've learned with mine, careful how much banana or how much apple skin. Home cooking can be a challenge! I have also noticed with home cooking, less eye goop. Hopefully your vet will have some ideas, geriatric dogs can be a challenge but they are the best!
Land of Pure Gold is a really good site - glad you posted it. Here is another one with lots of information:http://www.smilingblueskies.com/ Again goldens, but unfortunately they have the highest cancer rates. Suzi provides a wealth of info. on cancers, diets, cancer studies etc.
Katie
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
kb
|
|
« Reply #32 on: July 09, 2008, 01:36:49 AM » |
|
Just back in town, sorry to hear Poco's tummy has been giving him trouble again. Hope you can figure out a best of both worlds answer.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Poco
|
|
« Reply #33 on: July 09, 2008, 11:57:18 AM » |
|
We saw his buddy, Dr. Nancy, on Monday and she was certain the symptoms indicated colitis. She advised us to stick with raw if that is working better, though she wishes we could use raw lamb rather than buffalo. We might try the raw Primal lamb again and see if the dark eye discharge comes back. His eyes still look good. I could also try making homemade raw lamb. We'll see. I have to get more details, but she left a message that his bloodwork has improved. Wonder if she will think it was the homemade food he was on? (Even with the colitis side effect.  ) She did say that the calcium citrate could have been a culprit in irritating the stomach and maybe the eggshells are not for him, either. I did just realize that his Vetri-disc has 25mg of calcium carbonate and he has taken that for years with no problem. So I think I could find a calcium that works if I homecook again. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"Our country is now geared to an arms economy bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and an incessant propaganda of fear." ----General Douglas MacArthur
"American GIs are not toy soldiers to be moved around on some global game board." ----General Colin Powell
|
|
|
|
catwoods
|
|
« Reply #34 on: July 09, 2008, 01:34:10 PM » |
|
So glad that Poco's bloodwork is good. Sending warmest wishes that the diets work out well for him.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
catbird
|
|
« Reply #35 on: July 09, 2008, 02:08:05 PM » |
|
Happy to hear that Poco's blood work has improved! Amazing what food can do!
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"When Mother Nature saw fit to remove the tail of the Manx, she left, in place of the tail, more cat." --Mary Stewart
|
|
|
|
lesliek
|
|
« Reply #36 on: July 09, 2008, 04:14:42 PM » |
|
Glad to hear Poco's #'s are better ! Have you checked where the lamb comes from in the old raw ? NZ & Australian is almost all free range ,grass fed with no steroids,hormones & antibiotics. I've had trouble finding that in US lamb.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"the world's most inept extortionist"
|
|
|
|
Katie
|
|
« Reply #37 on: July 09, 2008, 07:20:03 PM » |
|
Klondike, I'm glad to hear Poco's day at the vet was a good one! Looks like good food is giving you positive numbers, same thing I found after a year of home cooking. Glad it's just colitis - we had a problem with that yesterday; Reddie decided to make a meal of mesquite beans..... so today it was a meal of white rice and chicken only!!! Colitis is a lot easier to deal with than IBD.
I could be wrong.. but I believe egg shells are pure calcium carbonate. Problem with egg shells, you need to grind them to a really fine powder. The shells are very hard and can irritate or even scratch the intestinal wall. I found that out! Some people swear by the brand NOW calcium - which can be purchased in various forms.
Curious why she is in favor of lamb over buffalo?
Again, glad Poco is doing well.
Katie
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
mainecoonpeg
|
|
« Reply #38 on: July 09, 2008, 09:38:35 PM » |
|
Relieved and very happy to hear that Poco is feeling better  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
If cats could talk......They wouldn't
Tortie cats are like Almond Joys........Very sweet and a little nuts
|
|
|
|
Bridgett
|
|
« Reply #39 on: July 10, 2008, 12:11:07 PM » |
|
Good to hear that our little candidate is doing better. Whether it is home cooked or raw, you are giving him the best diet he could have. He is blessed with a staff who are aware of even slight changes (although issues with both ends isn't slight) in his health. I wonder if the lamb would have less fat than buffalo?
What a good boy our Poco is!!
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Bridgett and Co
Why do cats always jump on your lap with their claws out? Especially when you are wearing shorts?
|
|
|
|
Poco
|
|
« Reply #40 on: July 10, 2008, 01:44:26 PM » |
|
although issues with both ends isn't slight  So true! I think the Primal lamb is NZ sourced, but could be wrong. It looks as good as what I can get fresh. http://www.primalpetfoods.com/ingredient/meats_poultry.htmBut there are quite a few ingredients in the lamb cubes, so there could be an allergy issue with those. But the thing is, the dark eye discharge continued even on another raw brand with buffalo as a base, so it is a mystery, really. We'll see what happens. The improved bloodwork is a mystery, too, since he was on the homecooked for only about 3 weeks prior to the testing. (Though had been back on commercial raw for about 5 days prior to the test.) They have to draw blood from his neck, so I don't want to do that soon again, but I'll just watch the eyes and if the discharge gets heavy again, I'll resign myself to pretty much all homecooking or raw of some sort. As for why the vet prefers lamb, I'm guessing that she must think it is more hypoallergenic. Also Poco digested the cooked lamb better than cooked buffalo, so maybe she just thinks it is a better match for him in general. We go for acupuncture next week, so I can get more information then if I don't catch before then. (I bet I didn't have the eggshells ground finely enough for Poco, Katie. I can't see why they wouldn't work otherwise.) |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"Our country is now geared to an arms economy bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and an incessant propaganda of fear." ----General Douglas MacArthur
"American GIs are not toy soldiers to be moved around on some global game board." ----General Colin Powell
|
|
|
|
Poco
|
|
« Reply #41 on: July 22, 2008, 10:20:39 PM » |
|
Turns out that Poco's bloodwork improved so much that Dr. N consulted with a couple of internal medicine specialists about it. His ALKP liver value dropped from 1400 last September down to 173. High ALKP is common in Cushings.
The vets think that Poco is in a group of dogs that have a Cushings syndrome response to a toxin. Could even be the body's own toxins backing up from the digestive tract. But since Poco was very itchy last summer and is not at all troubled this year, we think it might have been an outside toxin.
We don't know if it was environmental such as an herbicide or a food toxin. There is no way to figure it out now. I'm just trying to avoid exposing him to anything again.
He is eating mostly commercial raw now and was for about 10 days prior to his bloodwork, so I don't think my short stint of homecooking did the trick. However, it did clear up that eye drainage and interestingly, it has stayed cleared up even though we are back on the commercial raw.
It's so strange and I can't explain it. That started last summer, too, during the itchy time. If it ever comes back, I'll do a stint of homecooking again. I did try an homecooked lamb and pumpkin meal again and he had no problems. I used the Optagest but no additional vitamins other than the usual he gets.
|
|
|
|
« Last Edit: July 23, 2008, 12:50:57 AM by Klondike »
|
Logged
|
"Our country is now geared to an arms economy bred in an artificially induced psychosis of war hysteria and an incessant propaganda of fear." ----General Douglas MacArthur
"American GIs are not toy soldiers to be moved around on some global game board." ----General Colin Powell
|
|
|
|
kaffe
|
|
« Reply #42 on: July 22, 2008, 10:41:46 PM » |
|
Fantastic!!!  Way to go, Poco! Klondike: you can drive yourself nuts looking for the external toxin that caused a spike in the ALKP; but worth the while if you find it and religiuosly avoid exposing Poco to the same ever again. I drove myself nuts looking for the culprit in what caused Kaffe's T4 spike last March - but I think I found it. The endocrine system is such a finely tuned system that an imbalance in one causes a cascade that affects so many other organs and functions. The world we live in is now so full of toxins, it is harder and harder to keep healthy. I'm sure Poco is glad to back on raw food. |
|
|
|
« Last Edit: July 23, 2008, 01:51:27 AM by kaffe »
|
Logged
|
"A righteous man respects the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel." (Prov. 12: 10)
"The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it" (Old Chinese Proverb)
|
|
|
|
carolo
|
|
« Reply #43 on: July 23, 2008, 12:42:12 AM » |
|
Klondike, that is such fantastic news. Adorable Poco is feeling much better and eating well, and his blood work indicates he is somewhat out of the woods!!! As for toxins, I can totally empathize w/ Poco and w/ you as far as trying to track them down. I'm allergic to pesticides, insecticides, herbicides. All those are sprayed around here liberally. I'm even allergic to most commercial fertilizers. We don't use any of those things at home but that doesn't mean I do not encounter them on a somewhat regular basis during certain seasons of the year. At least I know immediately w/ most things. Poco might know but not communicate the situation, or he might not know at all. Food, environment, even things as innocent looking as one of his coats or blankets could even bother him somewhat. I know you'll keep thinking but pls don't drive yourself nuts, because the answer may be impossible to ever know. I hope there is no recurrence, and then we can just put it away like past history.
Meanwhile, time to celebrate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Many (((((HUGS))))) and XXXXX for Poco.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
catmom5
|
|
« Reply #44 on: July 23, 2008, 05:14:44 AM » |
|
I'm so glad you got such good numbers and that Poco is doing soooo well. Keep doing what you're doing!!
cm5
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
