Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment

Question by Terri H: Does anyone have experience with thyroid medication to help their dog who has an under-active thyroid?
My 12 year old female Sheltie was diagnosed through a blood test to have under-active thyroid. Blood work determined Logan’s thyroid number to be 0.5. Normal range is 1.1 to 4.0. She will start the med when it arrives in the mail. I forgot to ask what the med’s name is. Anyway……for those of you who have experience with thyroid med in a dog what improvements did you notice in your dog, and how fast did you notice improvements?

Symptoms Logan has been experiencing are weight gain, lethargic, deafness, confusion, sleeping so soundly that it is difficult to awaken her, lack of physical activity she used to enjoy, short-tempered, and perhaps chronic infections of the bowel. She is being treated for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and takes an antibiotic daily for this condition since late fall. The vet did not mention IBS as a symptom of thyroid problems. I read about it on-line.

Any advice or positive comments will be greatly appreciated.
I did not self-treat. She was diagnosed with the IBS by the same vet in the fall. He prescribed the antibiotic to treat that. I was surprised to read that one side-effect to under-active thyroid is gastrointestinal=vomiting and diarrhea which Logan had been experiencing on and off since July.

Yes, I agree with old age. That is what I thought until she went to the vet this past Sat. I thought she had a mini-stroke Christmas time. I was surprised when he suspected thyroid.

Thanks for your help.

Best answer:

Answer by Dog Section Regular
I would not believe everything you read online. You should not self treat without the knowledge and support of your Vet.

The symptoms you mention sound more like old age. Of course, you obviously had the dog tested, so a thyroid issue is obviously an issue going on here.

The IBS could just be old age, not necessarily related to the Hypothyroidism.

Good luck, I hope your dog gets better!

** I have had the same issue with my elderly cat. Vomiting, constant, bloody diarrhea, bloated belly, coat color change. Vet suspected IBS, but nothing helped. It’s not a pretty thing to deal with, I know. I may not have experienced your exact situation, but I know how you feel. I misunderstood about the “self treating,” I read your question wrong, sorry.

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Question by tomleah_06: Does anyone experience this condition.?
I have (I guess) IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) but the strange thing about it is that it exhibits its symptoms mostly on workdays (I get diahrreah and heatburn regularly on workdays). The condition is much less of a problem on weekends, holidays and vacation. Anyone else out there have this strange problem and if so, do you have a solution?

Best answer:

Answer by Michael
IBS is aggrivated by stress. You are probably under a lot more stress on the weekdays and thus have more symptoms on those days. Some people even have more IBS symptoms in the early part of the day and then are fine in the evening, usually because they are home and relaxed.
Take some Imodium if you need to for the diarrhea. It’s very safe and works great.

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Question by Airforce ones: Had a bad experience at the exxon. Please Help me.. this is getting out of control.. I don’t know what to do
Another situation similar to last night.. but here goes… So I went to the Hob Nob with some friends to get a burger and chilli cheese tots. It was so good but then we decided to go bowling. On the way down the road.. I had these really bad sh!t pains and had to go. I asked the driver to pull me over at the exxon. I was in there forever cause I had to do #2. I have Pole Position downloaded on my phone.. I prolly played 5 games while I waited for nature to take it’s course. It was an awful mess when I was thru. I had to wipe I bet ya 30 times. The clan I was with was worried about me thinking I died in there. This is getting out of control. Seems like these days.. I can’t even go out in public without spending most of my time in the bathroom. Could this be irritable bowel syndrome or something? I don’t want to be tied to a medication. What am I going to do????????

Best answer:

Answer by smashly
You need to go to the doctor. Yes, you might have IBS and you might HAVE to take medication or change your diet drastically.

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Question by Amy: Diet and disease: How many of the diseases we experience in America are caused by the food we eat?
How much are we spending on healthcare to treat diet-caused illnesses?

From the book Eat To Live by Joel Furhmen, MD:

..”People are completely unaware that most illnesses are self-induced and can be reversed with aggressive nutritional methods. …The medical-pharmaceutical business has encouraged people to believe that health problems are hereditary and that we need to swallow poisons to defeat our genes. This is almost always untrue.

“…My clinical experience over the past ten years has shown me that almost all the major illnesses that plaque Americans are reversible with aggressive nutritional changes designed to undo the damage caused by years of eating a disease-causing diet. ….These conditions…can be effectively prevented or treated through superior nutrition. As their medical problems gradually melt away, patients can be slowly weaned off the medications they have been prescribed.”

“Dietary-Caused Illnesses with High Prevalence”:

–acne
–appendicitis
–atherosclerosis
–diabetes (adult)
–fibromyalgia
–gout
–high blood pressure
–irritable bowel syndrome
–macular degeneration
–sexual dysfunction
–allergies
–asthma
–constipation
–diverticulosis
–gallstones
–headaches
–hypoglemic symptoms
–kidney stones
–musculoskelatal pain
–stroke
–angina
–arthritis
–colonic polyps
–esophagitis
–gastritis
–indigestion
–lumbar spine syndromes
–osteoperosis
–uterine fibroids

“Not only are common disorders such as asthma associated with increased body weight and our disease-causing diet, but in my experience these diseases are also curable with superior nutrition in the majority of cases. Asthma is an exampleof a disease considered irreversable that I watch resolve regularly. My patients routinely make complete and *predictable* recovery from these illnesses, predominantly through aggressive dietary changes. …Diseases that are considered irreversible I see reversed on a daily basis.”

Best answer:

Answer by Christian M
I’m not sure of the statistics but I imagine that about a pennies worth of time and attention for every hundred dollars spent on modern medicine would repair the damage if wisdom were applied instead of technology.

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Question by mewjet18: Stomach Supplements / Probiotics — Anyone have experience?
My vet suggested I worm my horses, then put them on Pro-Bi for a week. Has anyone ever used this?

Has anyone tried a probiotic supplement with good results? Any brand you can suggest?

Their stomachs have been upset for awhile and we are “resetting” their systems. My local tack shop doesn’t carry Pro-Bi and I’d have to wait at least a week to get it online, and I want to take care of them NOW.

http://www.kvsupply.com/browse/Home/Equine/Health-Care/Nutritional-Supplements/Digestive-Support/Pro-Bi-Microbial-16-ounces/D/30100/P/1:1:100:40000:410:41900:41909/I/40221
Thanks everyone, especially Gallop, that makes so much sense.

I was reading the ingredients on Pro-Bi and it has aloe vera in it, could that possibly be what seems to make the product work?
Should I just give them aloe juice instead?

Has anyone tried aloe juice with your horse(s) before? I think I’ve read before that it “might” help with ulcers.

Best answer:

Answer by spartaworld.combat
Pro-biotics are supplements that have friendly microbes that supply aid to digestive systems by giving a body flora sources needed to balance the intestines. You may want to visit a health store and talk with the nutritionist there about a larger quantity of Pro-biotics. Taking these in liquid or capsule form does work as I can attest.
Spartawo…

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