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

[PirateGirl]

https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/cancer/c_multi_lymphadenopathy

This is worth a read. The lymph node swelling points to some sort of underlying infection of sorts which makes me question whether or not it's actually an ulcer. Without blood work and a stool sample it's hard to say what the cause is. Hopefully you can get to the bottom of it and get the appropriate treatment. Until then I agree with a bland diet to help keep some nutrition in your pup. Good luck.

 

[lazy gardener]

When my dog had a partial intestinal blockage, she got very sick. She required antibiotics, SC fluids, anti nausea medication, and the vet gave me some probiotic packets to mix with her food. I had her on a rice and chicken diet for at least a week.

 

[llombardo]

She's on Heartgard, has been her whole life.

She was on Frontline Plus until a few months ago when all 3 big dogs got fleas. We switched to Bravecto at that time, but she had already been sick since March.

Has she been tested for lyme and heartworm?

I had heard that Frontline Plus started not working in some areas.

 

[llombardo]

Is she pooping? Lethargy?

Give us the list of symptoms again--pee?(volume/color)--did she have a urine test? Poop? Firm or loose? Did she have a fecal? HW test? Lyme test?

Were her symptoms the same before March or has any new symptoms popped up?

A friend of mine had a dog with similar symptoms and it was the liver. It turned out to be hepatitis.

The thing with food is that some diseases require different diets, so until she is diagnosed you don't want to do more harm. You don't want to feed sugar to dogs with diabetes or Cancer. You don't want to feed foods high in copper for certain liver issues. The list goes on and on.

What state are you in? Any holistic vets near you?

 

[Peaches Lee]

Sorry about your dog, that's rough when you can't seem to figure out an answer. At this point, if you're just concerned about keeping her comfortable, I would keep the foods as simple (bland) as possible with smaller more frequent portions.

 

[QChickieMama]

Did the vet offer a possible cause for the swollen lymph nodes? Was any blood work done to rule out infection or failure of any of the organs?

No, he didn't. We discussed it at length. He wanted to aspirate them for more $, but that's when I called it quits. He couldn't guess at all what he might find. Maybe nothing.

 

[QChickieMama]

Is she pooping? Lethargy?

Give us the list of symptoms again--pee?(volume/color)--did she have a urine test? Poop? Firm or loose? Did she have a fecal? HW test? Lyme test?

Were her symptoms the same before March or has any new symptoms popped up?

A friend of mine had a dog with similar symptoms and it was the liver. It turned out to be hepatitis.

The thing with food is that some diseases require different diets, so until she is diagnosed you don't want to do more harm. You don't want to feed sugar to dogs with diabetes or Cancer. You don't want to feed foods high in copper for certain liver issues. The list goes on and on.

What state are you in? Any holistic vets near you?

In February, she had surgical AI which was a severe stress on her body. It didn't take. During her recovery process, she started the compulsion to eat grass & vomit plus diarrhea.

Going on the ID food helped her diarrhea but not the grass-eating.

We leash her outside now (before this, she had full run of the property), but even on leash it can be impossible to keep her from snitching a piece of grass here & there.

CBC: normal
Chemistry: normal
T4: normal
A complete abdominal ultrasound was performed. The stomach is mildly distended with gas and small amounts of fluid. The G.I. tract is otherwise unremarkable.
The liver, spleen, gallbladder, and kidneys are unremarkable, as is the pancreas. The adrenal glands measure normally at 0.56 cm on the left and 0.63 cm on the right. The viewable uterus and the ovaries are unremarkable.

She did not do any of these things before March.

We're in NC, near Raleigh.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

One of my dogs used to eat grass and throw up when she had tape worms. Have you seen any? They would look like flattened rice.

It is frustrating. I've had plenty of dogs that they couldn't find what was wrong with them. I haven't read the whole thread so excuse me if I'm repeating things. I would do blood work, a fecal, maybe an xray to check for a blockage.

What in the food you are feeding? Corn always irritated a few of mine and there would be frequent grass eating and throwing up. Food with too many peas can cause loose stools.

Have you tried a bland diet, or even stopping food for 24-48 hours to see if it stops?

Some vets are better than others. Sometimes you gotta keep looking until you find one t that is knowledgeable and reasonable.

I've had big Lymph nodes on Lyme positive dogs. So that's something to check out.

 

[BreanneRN]

Well, she could have simple gastric irritation from her compulsive grass eating, which may have started with her issues after the AI (AI usually requires treatment with hormones, which can really cause a lot of mental/physical issues and stress). In response, this may have turned into a vicious cycle of stomach pain-grass eating=more stomach pain and then more grass eating. She could have irritated her stomach to the point where she has eroded areas in her stomach where proteins can enter her blood stream also causing her to react to her food. Your vets have undoubtedly done blood work, checked for worms, ruled out masses/obstruction/impaction, hepatitis, infection, etc., etc., etc. And your dog has a diagnosis of "nothing wrong". But we know something is wrong... Since you have vet burn out (don't blame you) start with the things you can control. Put her on a bland diet of meat and rice, stop all supplements, herbs, and meds, monitor her closely and keep her away from grass. Give her body a chance to heal itself. That's what I would do. Dogs are strong and resilient. They can respond well to conservative treatment. Also, did they check your dog for H. Pylori infection? http://pethealthnetwork.com/dog-hea...ions-a-z/helicobacter-infection-dogs-and-cats