GI Issues? Addison's Disease?

[Laura and Angus]

Hi all,

Over the past few months, our now 19 month old goldendoodle has gone through frequent bouts of stomach upset - nausea, vomiting, and in some cases diarrhea. He tested positive for Giardia maybe two months ago and was treated with Panacur for the full 10 days and then tested negative afterwards. He has since had several bouts of stomach upset - either with loose stools, vomiting, or nausea and fatigue. Then about 4 weeks ago we ended up in the vet with a listless dog who had loss of appetite and seemed to be uncomfortable (getting up repeatedly to lay down in different locations) and panting. Last week we ended up in the pet ER for the same symptoms - he was clingy, had no appetite, and ended up throwing up (dry heaving) twice. The vet at the ER did a blood panel to look at Addison's Disease and said that this is common in poodles. Since his cortisol levels were off and his platelets were low, she recommended we get a more in-depth test with our regular vet for Addison's Disease. This was last week.

So today on our way to daycare he threw up in the car - all of his undigested breakfast. This was maybe an hour after he ate and he NEVER gets carsick. I let the daycare know and they called me about an hour later to tell me he threw up again at daycare. They ended up isolating him for the remainder of the day and when I picked him up he came home and is still not hungry. We have been in contact with our vet to schedule the screening for Addison's. Has anyone experienced anything like this? It's just not normal that we're in the vet's office more than once a month for stomach or digestive issues.  

If the Addison's comes back negative, then I'm thinking we're going to need to look at a GI specialist of some sort. Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

MaryAnn Roo and Tigger may be able to give you information on Addison's as one of her doodles has it.

http://www.doodlekisses.com/profile/MaryannGibson?xg_source=profile...

[Laura and Angus]

Thank you! I'm going to send her a message!

[Laura and Angus]

Thank you for sharing your experience. We're definitely going to rule out other issues and my bet is that we'll end up working with a specialist to figure out what the upset is...wondering if we'll end up with a LID food eventually. It just doesn't seem right to me that we'd have to be giving him anti-nausea meds every few weeks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

IBD is incurable, as is Addison's. In both cases, the diseases can be managed, but they are for life.

With IBD, 20% of dogs can eventually be managed with diet alone. Another 20% can't be managed long term at all, no matter what you do, and the remaining 60% will need special diet, medications, and supplements for the rest of their lives. All need meds initially, and all will need a restricted diet. In many ways, Addison's is easier to manage and live with. 

[Laura and Angus]

That is pretty much what the vet at the ER said last week - that we Addison's is very manageable because all we would have to do is give cortisol supplements regularly. At this point, it's just clear that something is wrong, so we're hoping to get some answers over the next couple weeks and a tentative treatment plan.

[Andrea, Belle and Honey]

While you are waiting for a firm diagnosis, you might talk to your vet/IMS about trying to feed Angus boiled, low fat ground beef with the sweet potatoes, instead of chicken.  Honey, my non-doodle IBD dog, thrived on chicken in any form for more than 10 years, then her body began to reject it, whether fresh cooked, canned, in kibble or in treats. During the months when we were trying to identify the cause of her symptoms, including an alarming weight loss and very loud borborygmus, her IMS recommended the beef/sweet potato combination in small portions 4 or 5 times throughout the day. This eliminated the vomiting and diarrhea, and it was such a relief to find something she would actually eat. After the IMS ruled out Addisons and EPI, and eventually concluded that Honey had IBD, she was transitioned to a chicken-free, prescription, hydrolyzed protein kibble, but I think the beef/sweet potato meals kept her from completely fading away while the diagnosis was pending.  Anyway, I hope Angus's problem is diagnosed and treated quickly and he returns to his usual delightful self asap.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

They're all different in this regard. It depends on which proteins they've become "sensitized" to. My Jack can eat chicken, which is very rare for an IBD dog, but he can't tolerate beef. :)

[Laura and Angus]

These are good thoughts. Angus actually doesn't normally have chicken - only when he has tummy issues. His typical proteins per his food are bison, lamb, and fish (I think it's actually a combination of fish).Definitely good thoughts! I'm going to wait on adjusting food until we determine it's not Addison's, so I definitely appreciate your thoughts!

[Amy and Annabelle]

No advice but I am sorry you and Angus are going through this. I remember you got Angus about the same time I got Annabelle. I hope he starts to feel better soon.

[Laura and Angus]

Aww thank you. I got a text from the dog walker saying he had not vomited his food and was acting like his "normal" self lol So yay! Even though his normal self is goofy and crazy, I'm relieved to hear he kept his breakfast (chicken and sweet potatoes) down. I did give him an anti-nausea pill with breakfast, so I'm guessing that helped. Thank youf or your kind words!

[Amy and Annabelle]

Good to hear he kept down his breakfast and was acting more like Angus.

[Laura and Angus]

Okay so UPDATE: 

We went to the vet and did an ACH screening, which basically stimulates a certain cortisol response and they do a blood test to see the impact. Based on the results, it does not support the idea of Addison's. Hmm.

Next step she said would be an abdominal ultrasound to look at the lining of the digestive organs. It seems they look for the thickness which give clues about what is going on...has anyone had this done? Sounds like they do this before they decide to do a biopsy. Thoughts?