The best practice for patients with suspected Inflammatory Bowel Disease is to obtain confirmation through intestinal biopsies. This allows for confidence in the diagnosis and treatment options. If this doesn't work, then we would recommend you have a conversation with your veterinarian about the pros and cons of trial therapies. It is not unusual to proceed without biopsy confirmation but knowing potential risks or issues is important and specific to each individual case. This is a conversation that is best had with your regular veterinarian. A specialist second opinion (Internal Medicine) to discuss trial therapies is also an option if not pursued already.

Dear Deborah, thank you for your response. We are sorry to hear that your dog has not responded well to therapy. Unfortunately, there are a small number of dogs that may not respond to any therapy which can be frustrating and lead to the disease affecting their lifespan. The good news is that there are a number of dietary and medical options and in some cases finding the right balance is all that is needed however it can take time, expertise, and trial and error to get there. We would recommend talking to your regular veterinarian about a referral to an Internal Medicine specialist for a second opinion if this has not been done already. Sometimes having a second set of eyes as part of the team can make a difference.

Hi John. Our recommendation would be to consider how affected your dog is to you. If you feel your dog is painful for the lifestyle you want your dog to lead, despite conservative management (including pain management) then you should consider surgical intervention. Radiographs on dogs with hip dysplasia very dramatically and they do not necessarily correlate with pain. So we always have to look at the patient. If you are considering having a hip replacement performed I would strongly recommend finding a board certified surgeon with experience and training in total hip arthroplasty. Ideally with at least a few years of experience in hip replacement surgery. You may want to ask how many they are performing per year. An average of 1 per month is enough to keep skills up. Lastly, make sure you ask about complication rate and what complications they have experienced. If they have never experienced a complication then I would worry they have not done enough hip replacements. Best of luck with your dog.

​@@veterinaryreferralcenter6048thank y'all SO MUCH for the reply! Im driving myself crazy trying to find all the information I can. You're reply is greatly appreciated!

good you figured that one out. I think vets are additionally motivated to prescribe those foods by the companies. My cat had IBD, tried it all, then got her on raw freeze dried food, and since then---No Issues whatsoever!!!!

Try a good quality BARF

My dog has been experiencing the same. He is on antiacid for the GERD but his symptoms persist. He is bloated, nauseous, lip licking, diarrhea with a lot of mucus and fatigue. At this point I guess IBD is either co-occuring with GERD or the reflux symptoms are being caused by the intestine’s inflammation.

Thank you for your interest and I apologize for the delayed response. We will look at covering that in a future video. If there is something you need answered timely we recommend you contact your veterinarian.

I give my cat oral Cerenia for nausea and occasional Zophran as needed if he has break through vomiting. Just trying to stay out of the ER.

I don’t know why these people publish these videos and then don’t bother to respond and help you with your questions

​@@dcwatashiI was thinking the same.

I switched from Visbiome probiotic to “RESTORE” by Healthline. I’ve had great success in the past with that probiotic for my horse and my mother, and now it seems to be helping my cat.

@@mistyrious1111starseed especially when they even said in the video to ask questions.

If I have time, I will try to find out how to contact them and give them a piece of my mind totally unprofessional

How is she doing?

try Canigest or Pro-Kolin

@@nishabijoy7987yeah, Visbiome is not helping my cat

That is like asking your doctor if you should go to a chiropractor. Sadly the two philosophies of medicine don't mix. You are on your own to research that.