Self-treating 7yo dog with stomach ulcer is getting worse

[QChickieMama]

Our 7yo English Springer Spaniel seems to have a stomach ulcer.

Reasons we think she has an ulcer: she is desperate to eat grass and then vomits, her appetite and weight are down. She's mostly healthy otherwise.

Treatment: we've put her on Hill's ID dry food which we moisten and add alfalfa tablets, licorice, and slippery elm. And 2 Pepcid twice daily. She's been on this for 1.5 weeks. She showed initial improvement--after two days, she didn't seem as compelled to eat grass and she had more energy.

Yesterday she barely ate. Today only a few bites. She threw up just now, bile and two blades of grass.

What to do now? Besides take her to a vet. (We have taken her in maybe 5x since March, and all they've done is waste our $.)

 

[lazy gardener]

Without a diagnosis, you are treating in vain. Her symptoms could be due to any number of things including: worms, intestinal blockage, a tumor. an infection. You've been treating her for 10 days and she's not better. I would suggest that if you don't have any confidence in the current vet that you go to an other clinic. Was she treated by the vet for the same symptoms? What did the treatment consist of? Was there any improvement with the treatment?

 

[Peaches Lee]

I agree with lazy gardener...Find a new vet and get some bloodwork done.

 

[Folly's place]

x3! She's sick and needs to see a veterinarian, and be worked up for whatever's wrong, ASAP.
Find another clinic if you aren't happy where you've been going; consider a specialty practice if possible.
Mary

 

[Taliasun]

I agree with everyone so far. Change vets if you're unhappy with the care so far and make sure to bring your records so that they don't repeat anything. It could be lots of different issues. I'd also stop the supplements you're using until you know what the issue is and just stick to the pepcid and bland dog food.
An internal medicine specialist might be initially more expensive but might be able to help with the most expediency.

 

[cassie]

My suggestion is not a medical treatment but it might be helpful and might make her feel a little better. I once cared for a dog who had some serious digestive issues. The vet had me feed him cooked hamburger mixed with Minute Rice. This is a soothing and easily digested food. Pepto Bismol can also help with an upset tummy. Your dog needs to see a doctor. Whatever is wrong, you can't fix it yourself.

 

[QChickieMama]

Without a diagnosis, you are treating in vain. Her symptoms could be due to any number of things including: worms, intestinal blockage, a tumor. an infection. You've been treating her for 10 days and she's not better. I would suggest that if you don't have any confidence in the current vet that you go to an other clinic. Was she treated by the vet for the same symptoms? What did the treatment consist of? Was there any improvement with the treatment?

The two vets we've seen have done lots of testing. All they've discovered are two swollen lymph nodes near her stomach. They recommend more $$$ testing which may or may not shed light on whatever issue she has. Everything else they've looked at was normal.

 

[QChickieMama]

I simply don't want to give these vets more of my $. They propose thousands of dollars of procedures. This is a dog. We love our dog, but it's not a child.

We know our dog best. I can't believe we can't figure what's wrong with her ourselves. By trial and error. I can't imagine too many people who would spend $5K on investigative medicine for a dog--and then perhaps come up with "we don't know."

 

[llombardo]

I simply don't want to give these vets more of my $. They propose thousands of dollars of procedures. This is a dog. We love our dog, but it's not a child.

We know our dog best. I can't believe we can't figure what's wrong with her ourselves. By trial and error. I can't imagine too many people who would spend $5K on investigative medicine for a dog--and then perhaps come up with "we don't know."

I spent $3000 on a cat I had for a month and she didn't make it.

Is she vomiting when she does eat or just the grass to make herself vomit. Generally when they eat grass, they are missing something nutritionally. First thing I would do is get her off that food. I would go with boiled chicken breast and rice or baby food(meat) to calm the stomach down. Small frequent meals at first.

What are they noticing with blood work?

 

[QChickieMama]

I spent $3000 on a cat I had for a month and she didn't make it.

Is she vomiting when she does eat or just the grass to make herself vomit. Generally when they eat grass, they are missing something nutritionally. First thing I would do is get her off that food. I would go with boiled chicken breast and rice or baby food(meat) to calm the stomach down. Small frequent meals at first.

What are they noticing with blood work?

Wow. Sorry about your cat. That's tough.

She only vomits when she has gotten into grass.

I actually gave her white rice and pheasant cooked yesterday for lunch & dinner. She loved it and seemed to perk up. This ID food is "guaranteed" to settle her stomach, per the vet.

They say her bloods are completely normal.