LB back n the hospital

[Wonka & Nilla]

So sorry to read this! I am sending tons of positive vibes and best wishes for LB. I hope the vets find a cause quickly and are able to treat it so she is back home and recovering soon.

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

Make sure to ask them for copies of all of the tests and the ultrasound report.

I'm assuming when they do the scope and lower GI they will do biopsies, but the procedure can be really dangerous if her protein levels are low (below 1.7). I elected not to let them do it with P-Nut. Another issue I had with it is that all too often the results still come back inconclusive and that is a lot of money and risk to go through for nothing.

You REALLY need to do homework now. This is extremely difficult to diagnose and treat, even my top rated, board certified internal medicine specialist is often stumped at what to do/try next. This is not the time to just sit back and trust that your vet will fix it. You may need a team and more and great instincts and observations on your part. You need to understand all of the possibilities, how each is treated/managed and what the prognosis is. You need to understand what all of the tests mean and what all of the meds do. Because she can't speak for herself, you have to be her advocate and decide what you feel is worth the risks and what is not.

My little P-Nut is about 8 months ahead of where you guys are right now. I so understand where you are coming from and how overwhelming and scarey it is.

Start doing some searches:

Protein Losing Enteropathy (PLE)
Protein Losing Nephropathy (PLN)
Addison's Disease (AD)
Canine Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI)
Canine Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
Lymphangiectasia
Intestinal Lymphoma

My vets tell me some dogs respond well and go into long remissions....others do not respond well despite all efforts.

There are a few things you can do while tests are being run:

Give her 3-4 small meals a day instead of 1-2 larger meals.
Put her on a low-fat, novel protein diet for now. Whitefish and white potato are good while you are working on things.
You will need to feed her more than you did before and make sure it is good quality, human grade food.
Give her ginger root powder. You can get it at any vitamin/health food store. Get the 550 mg. capsules and give her one twice a day. It will keep her blood thin and prevent clots and strokes that can happen when the protein levels are very low. BUT check and make sure she is not on any blood thinners from the vet first, so give them a call or look up the drugs she is on or was given in the vet's office, to be sure none are blood thinners.

Once you have a better diagnosis, I can share with you what we have learned.

This cluster of protein wasting disorders strikes dogs between 6-8 years old usually and females a little more often than males.

I am so sorry you and LB are going through this. It is frustrating and difficult, even for the vets. I so hope LB is one that responds well to treatment and I know you got her in early, which is good. When P-Nut came to me, her first albumin test was 0.9 - so she was already near death. She had gone from weighing 16 lbs. when they last had her to a vet 2/14 to 11 lbs. when I got her....in August, I think. They just thought her food wasn't agreeing with her and changed up her food a few times.

I have a plethora of websites that I can send you to to read up on these things. PM me and I will send you links if you want.

Sending my love to you and LB.

Take care,
Lisa

[babyroni]

Sending LB and you healing prayers and positive thoughts for a good outcome. So many good people here wishing her well. She looks so sad, give her kisses from all of us here.

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

Oh, even though she has only lost a little weight, she may have actually lost a lot of fat and muscle. The low protein levels cause them to retain water in their abdomen, or more ominously their organs (heart/lung linings). This can be a lot of weight in fluid so make it seem she has lost less. This is why you can feel her spine, and likely her ribs, but she may have a big belly or a wet cough.

Take care,
Lisa

[Tygermoth]

Sending all the love I can... its heading your way. Right Now. Poor LB and poor you, with the worry.

Also a sincere thank you to Lisa.

[Rossy]

Such an adorable little chap! I hope he is on the mend soon! Samoo send 'Pug Hugs'

[Nina_W]

oh no!
I am only reading this now :(

I am so sorry. Poor LB!

I hope they find a clear cut cause, and that there is a way to either treat or manage it.

[tall grass pugs]

Worried for both of you. Please keep us in the loop.

[freak]

Thank you lisa for all the info, wife and i really appreciate it :)

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

Google is your friend. The cluster is very common in Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers, so you can find a lot of info on SCWT sites.

SCWTCA - Wheaten Health

There is a great website for EPI with tons of info and it also goes over some of the other issues too, especially lymphangiectasia.

Overview -

You might have your vet get in contact with Dr. Littman, who is the leading researcher on these protein-wasting diseases in the country (PLE, PLN, AD), she will consult with your vet(s) and look at her test results. Her info is:

Meryl P. Littman, VMD, DACVIM
Associate Professor of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine
3900 Delancey Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6010
phone: 215-898-9288
FAX: 215-573-6050
email: [email protected]

You might want to print all of this stuff out so you can ask questions and get info from your vet(s) and so they can contact Dr. Littman with results if it looks like PLE/PLN.

Take care,
Lisa