[Dailydrool] Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) vs. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

[Valerie]

Hi Jackie,
  We are glad Pierre Jr. Is doing a little better. Your posting said Pierre had been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but had some of the bacteria that lead to ulceration (and inflammatory Bowel disease/IBD). I am glad at this point Pierre is not dealing with IBD (otherwise kwon as ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease).
  But should he develop IBD, I wanted to let you know about the miracle drug that has kept our Bo ticking for the past six years. It is called Budesonide (Entocort) and is a steroid that dissolves only in the intestines, not the stomach, so it does not have most of the evil side effects of standard steroids. Budesonide was developed for humans with these conditions  and does not come in dog sized doses, so we have to have the medicine specially compounded, which we do at Wedgewood Pharmacy in New Jersey and have mailed to us. Bo takes 1 mg./day. (When he has had actively bleeding ulcers, he took 2 mg./day.) He is a 50 pound hound. The smallest human dose is 3 mg. Not all vets know about this drug, so I wanted to share the information with you. Bo also takes Metronidazole. As to diet, he eats a mixture of Hill's I/D kibble (available from vets) mixes with pureed, boiled, skinless chicken breasts. His IBD has been very well controlled for at least four years after a horrendous first year. We are sending Drool to the Chazey household. Val, Bo, Harley, and Mila