Advice-please help with Colitis!!

[kstie]

Hi
Im new to this site and hoping that some one can help. upto about a month ago my rotti was doing great, full of life, happy and full of mischief, then she started to become ill, ok so shes 10 , 11 in december. It all started by her just laying around totaly out of charater didnt want to eat then she stated to have problems with her bowls (loose stools) which had blood and mucus in it well you can imagine I was beside myself , took her to the vets and he said that she had COLITIS but didnt say which , she is now on long term antibiotics (metronidazole) one twice a day. She stiil has good days and bad days - how long does this last for ???? very worried about her at my wits ends trying to encourage to find the right kind of food that she will enjoy and that is good for her as well as her condition. at the moment I have just managed to get her to have boiled rice and chicken only small amounts because i think she cannot stomach any more compared to what she used to eat simply because of her condition. ive been on the web and read all there is to read on this condition and just wondered if anyone else have or is in thissme postion as me and my rotti.

Thanks

[rottiesnumberone]

My boy, who is now seven has had two bouts of colitis, one a few years ago which seems to have happened after enjoying a marrow bone in which he was treated with antibiotics and did well. And about six months ago I noticed some mucous and minor bloody stools but this could have been due to a recent change in dry food, so I watched him and his bowl habits and it did disappear in a few months. Honestly, I don't know what else is recommened besides a bland diet, maybe have to try some different foods that are simple in the ingredients like Wellness Vension & Rice or Cal Natural Chicken & Rice. Very plain dry foods with minimal ingredients. Hope this helps. More then sure others will pitch in.

[kstie]

Many thanks for your advice i will see how i go, at the moment she having boiled rice and chicken dont know how long that will last though, she seems to be happy with chew sticks at the moment rather than her food all i want is for her to eat as she should, shes just not the same dog any more! will she ever be i ask my self? x

[Ayoka]

A friend of mine had an older dog who was diagnosed with colitis and put on antibiotics...she ended up changing foods to one with a different protien source and strangely enough, the dog is off antibiotics and is OK so long as her owner monitor what treats she gets.

[Misty2008]

I am a recent survivor of C Diff
Clostridium difficile - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clostridum Difficile General Information - FAQ | CDC Infection Control in Healthcare
C diff is a type of Gastrointestinal Infections super bug, that is killing people in hospitals & communities across Canada and the US). Colitis can be a result of C Diff. I was on antibiotics (metronidazole) aka Flagyl and Vanco (vancomycin) for over 4-months. I was unable to eat for over 12 weeks and then was only able to gradually start to eat very selective foods.
One very important thing to know is when anyone (human or canine) is taking antibiotics that the antibiotics kill bacteria. Good bacteria and bad bacteria.
In our gastrointestinal tracts are both good and bad bacteria (which is referred to as good and bad flora)
When I first became ill, it was due to the fact the antibiotics stripped all the good bacteria from my gastrointestinal tract, allowing the bad bacteria to flourish and take over my system.
Upon advice from my doctor and I had a friend contacted a nature-pathic who sent instructions for me to massively take probiotics. Probiotics are loaded with LIVE GOOD bacteria that will FLUSH the bad flora bacteria from the digestive track. I was told you cannot over-dose on GOOD (flora) Live bacteria but you can die from over-load of bad flora bacteria.
As Colitis is similar to C diff (same type symptoms) - I'd recommend going to your health food store and purchasing Bio-K+ which contains over 50 million live bacteria in each 98 gram bottle.
It is a Probiotics that does need to be kept in the fridge. (It's fermented milk) ORyou could purchase Ultra MAX 36 Billion Plus powder which also has to be kept in the fridge. Giving your dog a bottle of Bio-K daily or a 1- tsp of the powder a day will help restore the GOOD flora in your dogs intestines, with will help in recovering from the Colitis.
These two products that I took are easily digested and I believe as it was safe for me AND these two products saved my life - I'd recommend this for any dog as with my research into the disease I also found that canines are also susceptible to C Diff or Colitis.
Our digestion tracks work the same, and antibiotics do kill the good flora which allows the bad flora to overtake the body. Which can result in other organ failure; (in humans) if the diarrhea is not controlled.
I was lucky to have recovered from my severe symptoms and my doctor does believe it was only from the massive amounts of probiotics I took daily.
Since it worked for me – I wouldn’t hesitate to offer natural probiotics to my 4-legged friends! If you do question whether to believe this – please do some research for yourself. I truly owe my life to probiotics.

[Weily4Life]

I am curious did the vet test a fecal sample?

[Weily4Life]

I read treatment also includes no feeding solid food for the first 24 to 48 hours (a liquid fast) to give the intestines a chance to rest. Make sure that plenty of pure water is available at all times and encourage drinking. There is danger of dehydration from loss of water, sodium and potassium if diarrhea is excessive. Provide these in the form of a broth made from vegetables, rice, and some meat or a bone. You also add a small amount of naturally brewed soy sauce to enhance flavor and provide easily absorbed amino acids and sodium. Offer only the liquid part of the soup and serve it several times a day during the fasting period.