Thanks man. What makes this so difficult is I've no idea what's happening to her. IBD is such a fall back diagnosis that it could be something else that we do not know. Makes you want to keep going "well, what if it's this? am i giving up too early?" the other part is, she is still mentally all together. even though she is wasting away, she is still responsive to commands and perks up when I ask her if she is hungry or wants to eat something. there's also the financial component. At what point is it financially irresponsible? Where do you draw the line? I am already 10K+ between the vet visits, admission, biopsy etc..
Did the vet mention at all that it may be a chronic condition that will require medication from here on out? If she does have IBD how long can she live a happy and normal life? You have to try and not let guilt get in the way of anything, you wouldn't be posting on this forum about this situation if you didn't truly love her. You wouldn't have invested the time and money for her wellness if you didn't want the absolute best for her and for her to get better so things can go back to normal. If you have to make the very difficult call its not because you gave up. Its because unfortunately sometimes the health of our loved ones and loved pets give up. Try and take care of yourself first, make sure you are financially able to move forward with treatment before anything. You have to be okay because if you aren't your pet can not only sense it but you can't do much for her either. If you can afford the treatment again then I'd say go for it. At least to give her some peace if a decision has to be made. If the treatment allows her to eat and enjoy some time with you then I think she deserves that shot. If she gets better then that's incredible and if she doesn't well atleast you know that you tried everything til the end. Keep us posted man. Rooting for her!
IBD (chronic enteropathy) is manageable if the dog responds to treatment (steroids, antibiotics, diet) etc. But there's a percentage that just won't respond. She is on steroids, she's got new hydrolyzed protein food, she's on 3rd attempt at antibiotics.. They have done all the studies they can do short of doing exploratory surgery. I really thought she was getting better but she straight up relapsed after the 1st course of antibiotics were done. Spoiler What's made it more difficult now is she just leaking some kind blackish mucousy substance from her butt...soo it's gonna be a long night. Cost wise Visit 1 - 350 Visit 2 - 350 Visit 3 -> admission - 8500 Visit 4 - 300 Visit 5 - 200 Plus some meds/supplies I've picked up.
I went through a similar situation once. It sucked and is still hard to think about. About all I can say is, let your girl get the rest she needs, make sure she's as comfortable as possible, be kind and patient with her, and show her as much love as possible in this difficult time.
So sorry to hear man, I think you've done more than enough for her already brother. That's alot of money and heart for her. Stay strong, ultimately we can't change these things sometimes but know that this situation will pass. I do think that if she can't recover its time to start considering the best option for her to not suffer any more than she has to. She's been brave and so have you.
