My old girl has been suffering on & off with diarrhoea for 6 months.  Originally I would do the starvation diet etc. but then as it went on I started to get concerned so obviously off we trotted to the vet.  We were given the usual binding gunk etc. & she would perk up for a few days & then back down again.  As no one else has had any diarrhoea during this time (except a silly pup who decided smelly felt tips were tastey but that's another story!)

Two months ago she started poo'ing blood.  Her stools were black & there was bright red blood in her poo as well.  Vet thinks it's an ulcerated stomach, she's now on zantac (an antacid that I used to give my kids for reflux) & antepsin.  Today she vomited bile so we've been back to the vet.  She's had an anitbiotic injection & we're continuing on the same medication.  Obviously there's no point in starving her (although she's now on rice) as the stomach will produce acid if she's starving & make things worse.

Has anyone experienced this in a dog?  Is there a long term prognosis?  She's 12 next weekend bless her but I hate to think she's in pain.  She hasn't lost a substantial amount of weight & the vet couldn't feel any lumps that shouldn't be there.  Any input gratefully received.

Hi,

My girl had an infection that went unnoticed for a while and had an ulcer in her stomach when they did an endoscopy.
She too was on antibiotics, nexium(antiacid medicine I would imagine does the same job as zantac) and antepsin.

Her only symptom was bringing up water ever now and again, when vomited food she was taken to the vets and they found the problem.
She had been drinking more than normally for a while but we thought it was the hot weather and her general love for splashing in the water (she was only a pup).

It took her good few months to stop bringing up bile ever now and again (she was kept on Nexium and antepsin) but we have now had nearly 3 months since the last time so she has obviously healed.
We also put her on homepathic medicine to help her heal.

Thanks for that at least there's a glimmer of hope then.  My girl has literally been poo'ing blood all day even after our trip to the vet.  I'm sure I will be seeing the vet before the weekend is out too.

Hi Maddog

I had this problem with a dog of mine. She was treated for the usual upset but when it returned again within a short time I was referred to a specialist.  Literally one morning my hall (where she slept) looked like a war had taken place overnight - blood everywhere.  She had an endescope and it was discovered she had inflamatory bowel disease.  After the initial treatment with drugs I was able to control it with food.  I had to take her off everything she had had in the past (which in my case was chicken) and find another protein source.

Dark blood is not a good sign and if she was mine I would want to take it further - although this may well prove very expensive.

Gentle hugs to your girl and I hope she is better soon

Sue

Yes my JRT had a stomach ulcer which bled and made him anemic (sp)  he was given Zantac liquid (sure thats what its called without looking) and I started feeding him 4 times a day as the acid build up made him vomit bile too while also irritating and making the ulcer worse.
I have kept him on 4 meals and have been able to dispense with the medicene now and as long as I am not late with a meal he is ok.
His ulcer was caused by food allergy.

Hi Maddog

I'd advise your girl gets a firm diagnosis sooner rather than later - ulcers can be a secondary response to other problems and treating with ant-acids may well only disguise symptoms which would otherwise have led to further investigation.  Black stools result from digested blood rather than obviously red blood which is fresh and may be the result of straining alone.  Digested blood is generally a more serious symtom.

If she is of a size to have an endoscopy done (some breeds are too big and require open surgery) I'd go with that and have biopsies taken at regular intervals along the digestive system - if it is IBD or something more sinister, the current regime will not make the problem go away

Unfortunately delay could mean a much poorer prognosis even if only a couple of weeks.  Fortunately many problems, including IBD, while incurable, can be managed initially with high doses of steroid treatment, equally high ant-acid treatment and dietary changes.

I wish her well and you too.
regards, Teri

Thank you everyone.  I have insisted that she was kept in the vets over the weekend.  Sadly my wonderful vet is on maternity leave & there's a younger vet in her stead, but at least this morning the boss will be in & hopefully they will do an endoscopy.  I agree with you Teri, all this medication is masking something.  In fact I will be calling them in half an hour to insist on further treatment.  Did see the boss on Saturday am before she got worse & he said he wanted to see her Monday anyway, so I think he'll be proactive.  To be fair to the young vet, she doesn't know me or my dogs, I'll find the money somehow as they come first.  I just hate seeing my old girl in pain, I also dissolved into tears when she gave me that look to say "what, you're not leaving me here mum are you".  God only knows what I'll be like if I have to make that final decision.

Sorry, but it helps to talk.

Hi Maddog, we've been at the vets this weekend with almost exactly the same thing with our old girl.  The vet has put her on Antepsin, Marbocyl and Omeprazole.  One of them (the Marbocyl I think) acts like a bandage over any area of ulceration, one is an antacid and the other is an antibiotic.  She's been put on a prescription diet as well, just for a week or so.  They didn't do the camera down the throat job, they were so sure it was ulcerated.

Our girls was caused by a reaction to Previcox.  She seems a lot better now, but it looks like the anti-inflammatories are out of the question now, and we'll just have to hope that Tramadol will work for her arthritis.  We're back to see the vet tomorrow.

Hope this helps

Hi Paula,

Hope the drugs work for your old girl.  Know the antepsin binds everything together & the Zantac is the antacid.  They've talked of another drug (which may well be Marbocyl) if the tests prove the best case scenario (ulcerated stomach).  She's having blood tests & the endoscopy at lunchtime today.  I visited her this morning & she's so perky but her eyes are pleading with me not to leave her there, made me start crying again.

Will just wait for the call this afternoon.

Hi again Maddog,

thanks for the update and be assured prayers are being said that your girl's endoscopy delivers a firm diagnosis and good prognosis :) 

I know how worrying a time this must be for you but your vet practice sounds wonderful - very well equipped and with vets quick to think 'outside the box' and so not wasting time on taking things to the next level :)

Please God she will be back in your arms this evening and you'll have all the info and meds you need to assist her speedy recovery.

Take care of yourself meantime.  This type of situation is very stressful.

God bless, Teri x

Hi Paula,

sincere best wishes your girl's new regime ensures a quick recovery.  She's on the prayer list too!

blessing, Teri x

Thanks for the good wishes.  She too seems a bit perkier today (just tried to scrounge some pate and toast from me!), stools look back to normal, yay!  Hope her temperature has gone down by the time we go back to the vets tomorrow.

Maddog, hope your girl has a swift recovery. I know how you feel - Every time I'm at the vets lately I seem to get weepy, it's hard having an older dog.  We can only do our best, as I'm finding out.  She was my first dog, I'd waited all my life for her, now I need to do as much as I can for her.

Hi Maddog,

any news on todays endoscopy results?  Hope you're too busy at home fussing over your girl and that it's not been bad news.

Wishing you both well,
Teri x

Well she's home for now & of course being fussed over!  The endoscopy showed up nothing but they couldn't get as far as the duodenum so it may be a problem there.  Her bloods showed liver & kidneys normal but the pancreatic figures were worrying the vet so they've been sent off.  whilst Pancreatitis is common in dogs her age her symptoms are inconsistent with it & they don't explain the amount of blood loss.  She's still happy to be picked up, she's eating & hasn't really gone off her food except the day she was sick but that was only briefly, she tucked in later. Certainly no weight loss & as for lethargy, well she's always been a basket girl except when cheese is being grated!

We're going to leave it a week, see what the speicalist blood test comes back with (takes a week :-( ) then it may be an exploratory on her duodenum.  My worry is that she's not a spring chicken & that we're taking a sledge hammer to crack a nut.  But what else can you do?

Paula, hope your girl is doing well & that the medication is doing the trick.

Teri thanks for the posts

Hi Maddog,

hopefully when the test results come back there will be sufficient info to help speed up your girl's recovery.  It must be worrying not yet knowing what you're dealing with here but great that your girl sounds to be in good spirits and her over all health not seriously compromised - a good sign :)

The downside of endoscope exams is that they are limited by the size of the dog as has clearly happened for your girl.  The duodenum is the most likely area for severe ulcers although there could be helicobacter present in the stomach lining which hopefully has been tested for during the procedure as this is a cause in itself of ulceration all of which could explain the digested blood.

> My worry is that she's not a spring chicken & that we're taking a sledge hammer to crack a nut. But what else can you do?

I fully understand why you don't want to put her through invasive procedures.  Some dogs are spring chickens at this age, others slowing down and others still obviously in their dotage.  Everything is crossed here that your vet is able to establish the cause from the tests already taken and that medication with maybe some diet alterations will have her fully recovered soon :)  You're girl is very lucky to have such a caring owner - and I'll bet she knows that too!

Very best wishes and thank you for the update - please post again as and when you have any further news.
kind regards, Teri

Hi Maddog,

Ellie's doing really well, the meds seem to be doing the trick, thank goodness. 

Hope your girl is enjoying being fussed over and hope the blood test results come back with something to work on.

Blood tests revealed that she does in fact have pancreatitis.  She's been on a low fat diet all week & her poo's are normal today.  Great news that we have something to work on, hope I can find an alternative to the RC food though!

That's good news - at least you can now start getting her better :)

Fingers crossed that she carries on improving.

What alternative to the RC have you looked at? I have just paid £61 for a 14 kg sack of Royal Canin Low Fat.

my husky bitch has been disagnosed with stomach ulcers, was in vets on a drip as not eating , refused to eat for 6 days. Had an endoscope put inside her throat & down into stomach, vet took a biopsy of ulcers & shes on zantac liquid , antepsin & 2 other pills. eating fine now .