Diarrhea....for nearly a month! PLEASE HELP!

[sharman 2004]

Hello there....
I posted a couple weeks ago regarding some issues our 18 month old female is having. Anyway, nearly a month ago she started having really loose stool on and off. Well when the "on and off" became consistently for a couple days and then explosive diarrhea with vomiting we took her to the vet. We took a fecal sample to the vet which came back negative. At that time the vet gave us Centrine (I believe that was the name of it...it's an anti-diarrheal) and also Flagyl. We had her on a bland diet, etc.... Well, we finished both meds and here we are, still having issues. So, we took her to the vet again on Monday. I asked about Giardia because I know that this parasite often times does not show up on fecal tests. Our vet assured us that she does not have Giardia because he said that indeed this "sophisticated" fecal test they have checks for the parasite AND for the antigen. He has chalked it all up to Irritable Bowel Syndrome. He put her on a high fiber diet (Prescription Hill's W/D mixed with her dry food...Canidae chicken and rice), 4 mg of imodium twice a day and acidophillus. Anyway, came home from work today and the dog run looked like a bomb went off....PILES among PILES of loose stool. What in the world is going on??? Any insight???
She has no fever, her behavior is exactly the same with the exception of being SOOOOO Thirsty that she actually wakes us up in the middle of the night to go guzzle water and graze on grass...and then poop.
We are at a loss and although she doesn't appear to be miserable, I can't imagine her being comfortable.
HELP!

[moondog]

She's thirsty because she's pooping out the water that would normally be absorbed into her system.

I would keep her on the bland diet (remove any fat) and if the vet has not done a complete blood panel, I'd ask them to. There can be many clues in blood panels to help find the cause. If the vet has done a blood panel, what were the results?

What bland diet are you feeding her?

[alessadry]

Hmmm, I am wondering if perhaps coccidia may be an issue. This protozoans is pretty difficult to detect with normal stool sample and may cause persistent diarrhea. You can read more about it below:
COCCIDIOSIS: DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT, AND PREVENTION
Treatment consists of antibiotics.
I think it is pretty odd that the diarrhea persists with all the tests and treaments, maybe you can get a second opinion? IBS may be possible but i think you would have seen some improvemnt. Just my 2 cents!

[Terri Lambert]

I would definitly have the stool sent out for giarrdia as I had a dog that was sick on/off for about a year we were treating him for giarrdia but he keep acting sick every three to four weeks. He never had diarrhea but I sent out a stool and it came back positive, so we actually ended up treating him for 5 days on panaur off two week and repeated the dose for another five days. He is a miniature dachshund but I ended up treating everyone including my rotties and it has been three months now with normal stools. Also what do the stools look like you may want her tested for pancreatic definicity, which causes cow plops light colored stool and weight loss.

[sharman 2004]

Moondog...she is no longer on the bland diet...the vet put her on the high fiber diet which is a little confusing to me? I know that in humans, if we are constipated, we are told to eat more fiber.....so....why is she on a high fiber diet if she is pooping like crazy?? When she was on the bland diet she had either boiled chicken and rice or cottage cheese and rice.
No...no blood work has been done yet. The vet said that would be the next step and possibly an abdominal ultrasound too. I am getting nervous...where is all this leading to?

[spidey]

Fiber does both, it binds things to give stool more bulk, which is also how it helps with constipation.

Did they do a rectal cytology and fecal culture? If not, after this long, that's sure as heck what I'd be asking for (in addition to bloodwork).

[sharman 2004]

what is rectal cytology? They did a stool sample...is that the same as a fecal culture?

[Weily4Life]

an analysis of cell structure to diagnose disease

[moondog]

Originally Posted by sharman 2004

Moondog...she is no longer on the bland diet...the vet put her on the high fiber diet which is a little confusing to me? I know that in humans, if we are constipated, we are told to eat more fiber.....so....why is she on a high fiber diet if she is pooping like crazy?? When she was on the bland diet she had either boiled chicken and rice or cottage cheese and rice.
No...no blood work has been done yet. The vet said that would be the next step and possibly an abdominal ultrasound too. I am getting nervous...where is all this leading to?

There are two types of fiber.....soluble and non-soluble.

• Soluble fiber slows digestion and helps your body absorb vital nutrients from foods.
• Insoluble fiber adds bulk to the stool, helping foods pass more quickly through the stomach and intestines.

I would put her back on the home-prepared bland diet (rice is an excellent source of soluble fiber) and add bone meal powder, which will provide the calcium she needs and also help bind the stool. That's all I'd add at this point until there is some resolution with the diarrhea.

I have to say I'm unimpressed with your vet. He's made some assumptions without even doing any bloodwork. Apparently his recommended diet was an uneducated guess (aka an experiment on your dog) that backfired. You may have better luck with a DVM who also practices alternative medicine (a holistic vet - but only if the vet is open to both conventional AND alternative treatments). The other suggestion is to take her to an internal medicine specialist.

[spidey]

Originally Posted by sharman 2004

what is rectal cytology? They did a stool sample...is that the same as a fecal culture?

Rectal cytology looks at the cells of the rectal wall to see if there is anything unusual or abnormal.

A fecal culture sees if there is a particular organism, it is not the same as a stool sample, which is used to check for intestinal parasites. I would also do a few different stool samples, since it can sometimes be tricky to diagnose some parasites, since you have to have an actual piece of the parasite or egg in the sample you test in order to diagnose it.

[Nishasmom]

Giardia Foster & Smith Reprint

Giardiasis is very difficult to diagnose because the protozoa are so small and are not passed with every stool. Tests on serial stool samples (one stool sample every day for three days) are often required to find the organism. Special diagnostic procedures, beyond a routine fecal examination, are necessary to identify Giardia. The procedures we use to identify roundworms and hookworms kill the active form of Giardia and concentrate the cyst form.

I would go to a different vet and ask for a Giardia test. When Nisha was diagnosed, she had already had 2 fecals done. We switched vets, and she suggested a Giardia test...which came up positive.

I too would put her back on the bland diet; the Hills stuff is crap, I was upset with my vet for even suggesting it! If you get tired of cooking (like I did), Wellness makes a formula that is very bland. It is called Simple Solutions, Nisha did great on it.

[cheekydelight]

I'm no expert but ive heard a raw diet is best for any dog... chicken wings, beef mince and fruits and veg.. my dog had this diorehea thing for about 2 months when she was 4-6 months.. vets just gave her 'friendly bacteria' stuff which didn't work. Wen I got her from the breeder she was on tripe and Beta puppy complete dried food which I think was the pb she was getting far too much protein with both. Anyhow the diorhea just cleared up on its own and I never found out the cause. Once I switched to raw she was just fine. Also gave her boiled rice, 1 raw egg per week, garlic, kelp and cod liver oil supplements which arent necessary but it kept her coat great!

[moondog]

Originally Posted by cheekydelight

I'm no expert but ive heard a raw diet is best for any dog...

You heard wrong. A raw diet is great for dogs that can tolerate it, but detrimental for dogs that can't process it and/or can't handle the bacteria load that comes with it. Many dogs with intestinal disease/inflammation/distress fall into the "can't do raw" category. Some dogs do much, much better on a home-prepared cooked diet, because the process of getting a start on breaking down the food and the killing of a majority of the toxin producing bacteria has been accomplished by cooking. I had one of those dogs, and know many more that can't eat raw.

[sharman 2004]

Okay....I am calling another vet. Even after 2 Imodium, which I apologize for being so blunt, but if I were to have 2 imodium I probably would be backed up for a week, she still has extremely loose stool...and a LOT of it. She went out this AM and pooped in 4 different place, a lot in each spot and now she just had an accident in the house which she hasn't done since puppyhood. It's just so bizarre to me because there is no weight loss, no change in behavior, no change in eating, no fever, vet said no dehydration (probably due to the fact that she is drinking a TON of water...and now we have a heat wave here in So. California so she is going to be even more thirsty.)
I think this vet is giving me the run around......
What all does the blood panel look for?
My poor baby.

[Weily4Life]

Here is a site with an extensive list for causes of diarrhea. I don't know if it is all inclusive, but quite a lengthy list. Maybe it will help shed some light.

An excerpt:
A Primary or Secondary Problem:
I then have to decide whether the problem is intestinal or the result of problems in some other organ. I do a physical examination and perhaps laboratory blood analysis to see if the dog has signs of other illnesses. Generally, there are very few abnormal blood work results when the problems is in the intestine itself. In primary intestinal disease, abnormal physical exam findings are limited to an inflamed, thicken, painful intestine. With primary intestinal problems I can often detect enlarged lymph nodes that collect lymph from the intestines.
Diarrhea also occurs secondary to non-enteric or non-intestinal diseases of the organs of the body. When I am fortunate, blood work panels and a careful physical examination identify these diseases. Kidney failure causing uremia is a common cause of diarrhea in dogs, cats and ferrets. So is liver disease or hepatitis. Addison’s disease or an under active adrenal gland as well as an over-active thyroid or hyperthyroidism also cause diarrhea in dogs and cats. An acute inflammation of the pancreas or pancreatitis also will cause diarrhea in dogs and cats.

Why Does My Dog Or Cat Have Diarrhea?