Not eating and vomiting.

Dr. Marie replied:

Oh, I am sorry to hear that Harper is having all of these problems. I have had a few cases like this where I have done every test that is relevant and still can't find an answer.

Any time a dog is not eating and vomiting yet tests are normal, one thing that I worry about is the possibility of a foreign object in the intestines. Often xrays and even ultrasound can miss this depending on the size and density of the object. You may want to ask your vet if a barium series of xrays would be helpful. This is where a special dye is given to Harper and then xrays are taken as it travels through her intestinal tract.

I don't think that the question here is "what can we give her to eat", but rather "why is she sick?" Dogs can go for quite some time without food without it affecting them adversely so this is not my biggest concern. But, we do need to find out why she doesn't want to eat.

If this were my case, even if the blood tests were normal I would want to be running a PLI which is a test for pancreatitis. If this is not done it's worthwhile asking your vet about. The treatment for pancreatitis is more of the same of what she is getting now - IV fluids and possibly also medication for pain.

I wish I could add more. It does sound like the vets are doing the same things that I would. I really hope she is better soon!

Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

This may sound silly but sometimes a barium series can actually cure an unknown ailment like this. The barium acts like a bandaid on the intestines and can make sick dogs feel better. But, if there is a foreign object there then it really should detect it.

Hope things improve soon!

Dr. Marie.

Dr. Marie replied:

Oh dear. Being extremely low on protein is not a good sign at all. There are several possible causes. Inflammatory bowel disease can cause low protein. But, it should not happen all of a sudden like this. You mentioned it was normal a couple of days ago.

Extremely low protein can happen with liver failure but you would expect to see liver enzymes that are elevated. I have had some cases of liver failure though where the liver was too diseased to produce enzymes and therefore bloodwork looked normal. But, if this were the case then the ultrasound should have showed something abnormal with the liver.

Blood loss into the abdomen could do this but there should be obvious changes on the CBC portion of the blood work. A stomach ulcer can cause low protein, but really we should see evidence of bleeding. And again, the ultrasound should have shown something.

Low protein can happen with kidney disease but there would be other changes in the blood and urine tests.

It may be worthwhile to ask your vet about something called Atypical Addision's disease. Addison's is a serious, but treatable condition where the adrenal glands don't produce enough steroid. In most cases of Addison's there are obvious electrolyte changes on bloodwork but in atypical cases it might not be that obvious. If the vet thinks that Addison's is possible they may run a test called an ACTH stim test or a less expensive (but not as conclusive) test where they measure the cortisol level.

Please keep me updated on how she makes out.

Dr. Marie.