Chronic stomach/esophagus inflamation

[Viralmd]

Steroids, such as prednisone, actually CAUSE gastritis and irritation of the GI tract. I would suggest asking the vet about giving your dog ranitidine or omeprazole, which are H2 blockers, and are available over-the-counter in the antacid section. I don't remember the dose/pound (or kilogram) and this is what your vet should be able to find out easily for you.

I know in human patients we ALWAYS give an H2 blocker when giving steroids, as a precaution.

[Blondie621]

Thanx, hope he reads this, it may help somewhat.

[tigafan]

Well, it's hard to know all that WAS done to this poor dog so far. I suggested deworming ANYWAY (don't know if it was already done multiple times) since this IS a 2 yr old adopted dog. Vet advice:

We usually try deworming the patient and using a medication that can kill protozoans. We favor metronidazole since it also seems to have some anti-inflammatory effect, but fenbendazole can kill giardia when given as directed and also kills roundworms, hookworms and whipworms, so we sometimes start with it.

I wonder how many times deworming was tried. Parasites can shed eggs or oocysts intermittantly or they can be very difficult to find if they shed very few. Make sure they have done a direct smear, too. Another thing, some dogs have very sensitive stomachs. It could be the pred would be helpful if it didn't upset the stomach too much. When my dobe had to go on a 7 month course of pred (among other meds) for IMHA, she had to take Sucralfate to prevent the pred from making her vomit. And I'm not trying to be picky at all, just helpful, but raw eggs? Maybe scrambled, not raw. And if the dog might be allergic to foods, they are using chicken broth& eggs, and if dairy is an allergen they are using yogurt. Might be something to question. There are some diets out there like Hills ZD, if it might truly be a food allergy. Next from a vet:

Once we get to this point and we have not had much success we will try to use medications such as sulfasalazine (Azulfidine Rx) or tylosin (Tylan Rx) to try to rule out bacterial imbalances as possible causes of the digestive problems. Gastrointestinal protectants, like famotidine (Pepcid AC tm), cimetidine (Tagamet Rx), sucralfate (Carafate Rx) or the Maalox.



But I would really think that this might be something more like GERD and might truly need meds like prescription strenth twice daily like my hubby. If he doesn't take it twice daily, he'll be back in the hospital like he was before...sick as a dog (pun intended)

Has the dog been to a specialist or a vet school?

[Travel'r]

Please, OP. look at the INGREDIENTS in that "prescription" food. Hope you change to a veterinarian who knows a little something about canine nutrition, which could solve all your doggie's issues.

A Holistic veterinarian could guide you appropriately, and this site www.dogfoodanalysis.com lists each and every food's ingredients and explains them in "Plain English" so that you may see for yourself and draw your own informed conclusions (reading the label right on the bag is another option, but this site also explains the ingredients.)

(Those most popular foods are in the one-star tier for good reason. You may wish to look at the foods rating four stars and up for better health for your pooch. Dogfoodanalysis base their unbiased ratings on the ingredients. -- not on mere speculation/opinion.)

[FlyersFan]

I want to thank you all for your responses......I can't respond to every single suggestion but in reading them all I can tell you that 99% of what everyone has posted was tried over the past year. When I first adopted her from the animal shelter she sick then and was only 43 lbs but I managed to get her system stable for about 6 months and body weight up to 53 lbs (picture in my profile) before she relapsed and when into a downward spiral that my vet from Penn State and other consulting specialists couldn't find a solution for. All of the diagnostic tests everyone mentioned were performed.....some twice. Again......99% of everything mentioned on here was tried from X-rays, blood tests, stool samples, endoscopes and ultra sounds...right down to the scrambled eggs, yogurt, sucralfate, Pepcid, Hills ID special diet and Royal Canan duck, rabbit and venison diets and more but she just couldn't keep anything down.....her weight dropped to 36 lbs and had to be euthanized tonight. Thank you all again for your concern and suggestions......its truly appreciated.

[tigafan]

awwww, I'm so very sorry She's lucky that she had you to give her such a huge chance.

[Blondie621]

I thought maybe there would be that one thing that may have worked that was not posted earlier on.
I am so sorry for the loss of your Abby.

[zoran]

Just noticed your post......I am so very sorry about your loss of Abby.