[Dailydrool] Inflammatory Bowel Disease - Charlie Brown

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Lynne, my Leo (ATB) had a terrible bout of pancreatitis (he tested positive for this) in July of 2015, but he recovered in around 4-5 days with meds. After that he would have periods on and off of not wanting to eat and he became very lethargic, so much so I had to shake the bed to get a response from him. Leo was always a champion sleeper, so I thought it was just a case of him being his usual drowsy self. Over the next six months I noticed his face became drawn and his eyes began to seem sunken. He motored along as usual until the week before Valentine's day when he refused his breakfast and he acted like his tummy hurt, so we took him to the vet, she gave him some meds and he rested all night. The next morning, however, he went outside and pooped bloody diarrhea so we rushed him to the vet where she said his gums were pale and that he needed to go the ER stat. That was on Tuesday and I was told by the ER specialist that it could be lymphoma or irritable bowel disease. Then they told us that Leo had Addison's Disease . We had no idea...He went to the Bridge on Friday of that week at only nine years old. I have not stopped blaming myself since:( 

I have since read about Addison's and learned that it is often completely misdiagnosed as irritable bowel disease, or pancreatitis, or a host of other maladies that mimic the symptoms. If caught early Addison's is treatable, but people find out about the disease when their dog is in crisis mode, as we did. I attach a couple of articles on the subject in the hope that it may help those whose houndies suffer from what seem to be intestinal troubles: 

http://www.addisondogs.com/addisons/ 

http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/14_10/features/Detecting-Addisons-Disease-in-Your-Dog_20365-1.html 

I have dear Charlie Brown in my prayers to St. Francis, and an ocean of mega drool is flowing his way. 

Mary, Harley, Biggs and Leo (ATB) 
/..\ 

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