Food or help for IBD/throwing up long after eating

[Andrew Altman]

Our two-year-old Rosie has for about the last year had a stint of throwing up occur every 3 months or so. She will devour her breakfast, and then vomit 6, 8, 10 hours later. We really have come up with no rhyme or reason why this happens. No new food or treats and the same environment and surroundings as always. We feed Rosie and her sister doodle Maggie both Wellness Core original dry, and we have tried the hydrolyzed protein diet, which seemed pretty unnecessary. After several times of throwing up in a row, the vet will give us some Cerenia which does seem to help, but then again she will throw up a week later. After digging around on some old threads here, I have seen some conversations about inflammatory bowel disease and or bilious vomiting syndrome. I guess this seems like the most likely explanation to date. Has anyone found any type of help or solution to this type of issue? I know some suggest shortening the intervals between feedings as well as giving a pepcid. Any suggestions or help would be most appreciated. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Andrew, my Jack was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease back in 2011. We have several threads about the disease in the Health and Medical Group.

IBD (not to be confused with IBS, or Irritable Bowel Disease) is an immune-mediated disease of the lining of the digestive tract which cannot be cured, only managed. It is a very serious disease with a 20% fatality rate. It can only be diagnosed via endoscopy performed by a veterinary internal medicine specialist under general anesthetic. There are some other less costly and invasive tests that can point in that direction, including ultrasound and a GI blood panel, which most GP vets don;t run, and must be sent out to TAMU for results. However, a definite diagnosis is required for successful treatment, since the severity and location of the the inflammation as well as the type of inflammatory cells will determine the best course of treatment. 

IBD is managed with diet, (almost always a limited ingredient diet featuring a novel protein, one the dog hasn;t eaten before) supplements including probiotics and B12, and drugs (antacids, antibiotics, and/or immunosuppressants) in 80% of cases, and different drugs are more helpful for different forms of the disease than others. It's a frustrating disease and it takes time to find the right combination of treatments that work best for your dog. Thre goal is to get the dog into remission, and those of us here who have successfully done that have all done so through the help of an IMS. Here is a tool on the ACVIM website to help you find one: http://find.vetspecialists.com/

There is no point in discussing diet options, because as long as there is active inflammation, no diet will help, including hydrolyzed diets. I hope you can get a consultation with an IMS soon. Good luck.

[Andrew Altman]

Karen, thank you for your quick reply. I could most certainly be confusing IBD with IBS OR Irritable bowel disease. We are just kind of stumped as to what is going on with her. If the problem persists we will likely have to have some of the tests that you suggested. Hopefully, it is not something too serious. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Unfortunately, vomiting several hours after eating is indicative of IBD; that doesn't usually happen with IBS, which mostly just causes stool issues. If what she is bringing up is mostly undigested, that's a pretty good sign that she does have IBD. The danger in waiting too long is that she is not absorbing any nutrients, and can develop a vitamin deficiency as well as loss of lean body mass. My Jack lost 15% of his lean weight and developed a severe B12 deficiency in less than one month. So it's important not to wait too long to get some real answers and a treatment plan, because the further the disease progresses, the longer it takes to get it under control. I will always regret not seeing an IMS sooner. And Jack's only real symptom was regurgitating undigested food every evening, hours after eating it. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here are some links to a couple of discussions about other members' experiences with IBD.
http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/an-upda...
http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Not to interfere with this possibly being a serious issue, I don't think vomiting every once or twice every several months is a huge deal - but then I might not be interpreting the post correctly.  Does she gobble her food?  If so, using a slo-bowl might help considerably.  At least it is something to try while you are deciding upon the more serious possibilities.  This is the bowl that we use.  Slo-bowl by Kyjen Slo-bowl by Outward Hound.  You can get them on Amazon. This and similar one help slow down the gobbling.