So we got his bloodwork back and he has a very high “EOSINOPHIL” count.
And his condition (or loss of condition) seems to be ‘nutritional’ either he’s not getting the nutrition*, not digesting the nutrition, or he’s not absorbing it.
*(we know he IS getting good nutrition)
The super-high eosinophil count means there’s inflammation (and lots of it) somewhere in his body.
Significant: His other clinical sign – un-thrifty appearance and body condition that appears to be nutritional.
Combine signs of High eosinophilia + clinical nutritional deficiency = Bowel is inflamed / and he’s not getting the full benefit of nutrition he’s eating.
- The bowel can be inflamed for genetic reasons. (Tendency to inflammatory bowel disease)
- The bowel can be inflamed for nutritional / bacterial reasons..(Bacterial overgrowth or undergrowth)
- Or parasitic reasons (But we checked SEVERAL stools for bugs and found nothing)
- Or hyperacidity reasons (The stomach overproduces acid which accesses and burns the small intestine – I doubt this in his case)
- Or digestive reasons: If he incompletely digests food, then undigested food is traversing the bowel and that can aggravate it.
So we should:
Suppress inflammation in the bowel (without suppressing his whole-body immune system or immediately resorting to steroids.) [Sulfasalazine]
Be 100% sure he’s not wormy [Empirical deworming]
Consider feeding “raw diet” because it’s more “physiological” and it’s VERY calorie dense. And this is a bowel issue and as such, may be MOST impacted by feeding that bowel OPTIMALLY.
Full disclosure on feeding raw diet. Exhaustive approach. [Raw Diet]
Supply things which have become deficient during the last ‘while” of poor bowel absorption. (Vitamins for example, Omega 3,6,9 Fatty Acids, too)
Grow beneficial bacteria with a cheap prebiotic called FOS – Giving 1-2 tablespoons 1-2x daily. (I’d put 1 tablespoon per feeding)
Be 100% sure he’s not wormy [Empirical deworming]
Consider feeding “raw diet” because it’s more “physiological” and it’s VERY calorie dense. And this is a bowel issue and as such, may be MOST impacted by feeding that bowel OPTIMALLY.
Full disclosure on feeding raw diet. Exhaustive approach. [Raw Diet]
Supply things which have become deficient during the last ‘while” of poor bowel absorption. (Vitamins for example, Omega 3,6,9 Fatty Acids, too)
Grow beneficial bacteria with a cheap prebiotic called FOS – Giving 1-2 tablespoons 1-2x daily. (I’d put 1 tablespoon per feeding)
All my IBD’s are put on FOS
Add digestive enzymes so that an “inability to digest food” isn’t the ‘thing’ here. Again, we can diagnose that for $250 or we can try a little Digestive Enzymes and see. It NEVER hurts. Even normal dogs benefit from additional digestion.
In summary
- Sulfasalazine for IBD,
- Empirical Deworming,
- FOS prebiotic,
- Multivitamin,
- Omega 3,6,9 Fatty Acids,
- Raw Diet,
- Digestive Enzyme supplement.
Wow! That’s a lot to mess with.
Digestive processes are multi-stage and complex. You miss a single step, and the whole train fails to move forward.
Is there a way to confirm that his bowel is ‘the thing’ ? YES – Dr Boozer is an internist – she can do: Endoscopy and Biopsies of the intestines. Probably $1000 or more.
-or response to treatment.
Is there a way to confirm maldigestion, that he needs that Prozyme? YES – A “trypsin-like Immunoreactivity” reaction test.
-or response to treatment.