Ollie and the Internist

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

At the end of May I took Ollie to the internist to get him checked out for vomiting.  In January he started vomiting off and on but didn’t have any changes to his weight, energy, or appetite.  It didn’t seem like any big deal at first but then I started coming home to bile on the floor at least twice a week.  Then it went away for a little bit and then it returned but would often occur in the late night/early morning hours.  He would throw up 2-3 nights a week for a week or 2 and then he would be fine for a week or 2.  The blood tests run by the regular vet didn’t show anything so we went to the specialist.

 

When we met with the specialist, they felt his stomach and did a basic exam.  I was told not to feed him after 10pm the night before so they could do any necessary testing; this meant that Ollie was hungry and gave the vet the opportunity to hear how loud his stomach is when it grumbles.  You can sit across the room from him and hear his stomach making noise.  They recommended doing an ultrasound to make sure that there were no blockages and he would also look at the size of his adrenal glands.  If the glands looked small, he would recommend a blood test for Addison’s disease.  They did the ultrasound – no blockage and the glands looked normal.  The next step was to do a scope and look around and take a biopsy.  I agreed, since I wanted to find some answers.  They did the scope and saw some inflammation and corrugation in his intestine (it is supposed to be smooth).  They took a biopsy and sent it out to the lab.

 

The biopsy results came back and there were no signs of cancer.  The vet said he didn’t really think it was cancer, but having the confirmation made me feel a lot better.  He said that it was inflammation likely related to IBD or a food allergy type of response.  He said that he would like to do a diet change and start Ollie on Prednisone and that he was going to send his recommendations over to my regular vet to handle the treatment plan.  I went and saw my regular vet last Monday and spoke with him about the results of the biopsy.  I was ready for a fight about Rx food but he suggested that we start Ollie on a low dose of Prednisone (I can’t remember the dosage, the pills are at home) and that we would see if that helps him and then potentially see if we can get him off the drugs.  Well, when I went in on Monday, Ollie hadn’t thrown up for a week and a half.  I told the vet that I wanted to hold off on giving him the pills and he was fine with that.  But now it is over a week later and still no vomiting so I still don’t want to start the Prednisone.  We have a follow-up next Tuesday.  Do you agree that I’m making the right decision by holding off on the steroids until the vomiting returns.  He hasn’t been sick since May 22. 

 

I’m completely at a loss for what could’ve been causing this that would suddenly just go away.  I stopped giving him his Zyrtec before his visit to his new allergist, but I stopped those at the end of April and the vomiting still continued for the next month.  What do you think?

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

that is kind of what I was thinking too.  he is starting to get itchy again but i'm afraid to give him the Zyrtec just in case that is what did it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The prednisone works on the immune system and has a much longer "half-life" than Zyrtec; it stays in the system much longer. I really doubt that the vomiting had anything to do with the Zyrtec, but could you put in a call to the allergist and ask?

If you start the Zyrtec again and the vomiting resumes, at least you would have an answer. 

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I just gave him one about 15 minutes ago so we'll see what happens.  It took him awhile to get used to his last round of immunotherapy shots and for them to have any effect (or is it affect) and for the itching to decrease.  He is in the build up phase (2 more shots before maintenance) with the new allergist now (who added more allergens to the shots) so hopefully he will start seeing some relief by the end of the month or so. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I hope so.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

I wasn't sure if I would need to call the allergist, the internist, the regular vet, or the ghost busters  :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL! 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I think it is highly unlikely that your dog was allergic to Prednisone but he may have been allergic to some component of the injection/pill or he may have had a reaction of some sort. Steroids are produced normally in the adrenal glands and are essential to life. Also, they are used to treat severe allergies. But I do think they should not be used unless necessary.

[Amy, Cubbie & Ollie]

"vomiting remission" LOVE it  :)