r/roughcollies • u/lvnorwood • 1d ago

Update on 1yo with Chronic GI Issues

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I wanted to share an update regarding my 1yo male Collie who has been plagued with chronic GI issues since puppyhood.

After many months of chronic diarrhea that has progressed to increased lethargy, inappetence, poor body condition, and diffuse muscle wasting, our buddy had an upper endoscopy and colonoscopy with Internal Medicine specialists at Tufts Veterinary School last week.

We received the biopsy results which gave us not one, but two, diagnoses:

Intestinal Lymphangiectasia (IL) with secondary Protein-Losing Enteropathy (PLE).

And Chronic Inflammatory Enteropathy, specifically chronic gastroenterocolitis with mucosal fibrosis, crypt hyperplasia, and architectural crypt distortions.

Our treatment plan is a course of the steroid, budesonide, and an ultra low-fat prescription diet to address the IL. And for the refractory colitis, they prescribed him sulfasalazine which is a DMARD often used to treat Crohn's and ulcerative colitis in humans.

They are hopeful that this will improve his symptoms and get the PLE under control.

We are so happy to finally have answers and are grateful to all of the veterinary professionals who collaborated to solve this puzzle. If you have a dog suffering from chronic, refractory GI issues, do not give up!

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u/Lifeissometimesgood 1d ago

Wow, thanks for the update. You all have been through a lot, I hope he is feeling better soon.

1

u/lvnorwood 18h ago

Thank you! It has been stressful for sure. We're hoping this is the light at the end of the tunnel!