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 babydoll: Does anyone feed their cat a raw food diet? My girl has digestive problems(frequent diarrhea)?
She’s been to the vet a lot & she (the vet) doesn’t think the cat is seriously ill. She thinks it may be irritable bowel syndrome. Right now kitty is on Hills ID prescription food. She seems better on this food, but they say it should only be fed short term & she’s been on it 3 mos. Also, it contains a lot of bad ingredient including corn gluten & chicken bi-products YUK My vet doesn’t seem at all knowledgeable about food. I’m planning on going to a holistic vet, but wanted to get input from members who feed the raw food diet. Thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by klute2006
Always boil/cook it a bit to kill any bacteria.

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Question by Moth: How do people cope with putting their pet down?
My kitty is 15 and has irritable bowel syndrome and won’t use her litter box. I’ve spent thousands of dollars on this problem and can’t afford the diet or the problems with the mess. She is a happy cat and I can cry for hours at the thought of her going.

Best answer:

Answer by lol!
During your cat’s life you want your cat to be happy as long as it lives. It’s best to let go of your cat when she’s happy and remember her as a happy cat rather than letting go of her when she’s miserable and sickly. This is the best time and though you maybe sad, you’re lucky to be letting go of her now. To make the uthenization less painful for you and your kitty have a specialist come to your home to put her/him down. This is where your cat is the most happy (after all cats are home based animals) and from experience we all know that cats hate leaving the house to go to the kennel or the vet.
My sympathies are with you, I’ve already had to put down one of my cats. I hope this experience is not too hard on you, and you have to remember that this is the best route for your kitty.

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Nah, you’re right – they’ll just die and become ineffective. From what I remember, depending on how old they are when you bought them, it’s about 6 months fridge life.

I have not used the one you mentioned but the supplement I use has a patented encapsulation system that guarantees live microflora reaches the intestines.
This two-product system uses new technology to protect beneficial microflora during the rigors of shipping, storage, and the acidic journey through your stomach. Other products claim live microflora at the time of manufacture. Optiflora guarantees the delivery of live microflora to your intestines.
This two-product system includes Probiotic (Bifidus & Acidophilus…microflora) + Prebiotic (FOS…food source for microflora). Patented guaranteed delivery of 500 million microflora to intestines.
Hope this is useful and should you wish to have the website, feel free to contact me.
Best Wishes