• i have a six year old basenji can anyone help ? steriods have a real bad effect on her she suffers from an inflamed throat sometimes ulcers i have been told it probably goes into her intestines at the moment we are trying to manage her with zantac medicine antibiotics and canikur for her stomach we have tried homeopathy but the last lot had no effect on her at all thats why we went back to the convential vet we know she will never be cured but just so she can have a good life however long she is a beautiful dog a joy to live with we just hate to see her in pain


  • Why is she on steriods? And maybe something stronger for the ulcers, maybe something like Prilosec that is used for humans to heal ulcers?


  • A lot of research has gone into gastric ulcers in humans. They have been found often to be cause by bacteria and then exacerbated by the acid produced by the stomach. Often, they can be cured with specific antibiotics in conjunction with a strong acid reducer. Prilosec works by inhibiting the cells that produce HCl (Hydrochloric acid) which we really don't need any more. The production of acid in the stomach is said to have been an evolutionary response to people eating stuff with bacteria, viruses and various parasites in it. (Enough of my rambling…)

    I can't speak to ulcers in dogs, but perhaps a course of the antibiotic used in humans might help, along with Ms. Tanza's suggestion of an acid reducer like Prilosec. Please keep us posted and hope your girl feels better...


  • Sorry i can't suggest anything but i hope you manage to find something to help her condition.


  • thanks i will ask my vet at the weekend when we go back about prilosec she isnt on steriods now but she was when she was younger she was on and off them for about 3years everytime we stopped them the bad throat came backthen 2years ago i met this wonderful homeopathic vet who said he couldnt cure her but at least make her life comfortable . each time she has had a bad throat a blast with homeopathy pills and it puts her right except for this last time and the pills didnt work even though he changed them twicethats when i made a mistake and let the vet put her back on steriods within a week she was so ill passing blood etc so quickly stopped steriods and onto what she is having now she got better -lasted just a week and here we are again back to square one


  • But what does she have that requires the steriods? I don't think I remember seeing that


  • Jules - be very wary of using steroids - there are other alternatives. I only use them in extreme cases and never allow a vet to continue prescribing them for several courses.
    As AJs Human says research has shown that certain ulcers are caused by baccteria. I see that your vet has tried antibiotics but I would say that this might be a route to try again?
    Will she eat stewed apples? - I know this sounds strange but my husband was troubled by ulcers and I read a medical article advising stewed apple - he has eaten them ever since on a daily basis and has had no further ulcer trouble!

    Worth a try. The poor girl has had so many troubles and I think you've done very well by her.


  • Hi she is not on steroids now but was put on them for her bad throat at the time that was the only thing that seemed to work i must admit i didnt know so much myself then, its been a learning curve since, im now all in favour of barf diet and every thing natural including nosodes in case that was what started this off but early dec she was so bad nothing seemed to work so the vet put her back on steroids she was hoping she could have a short blast then come off them but it didnt quite work out like that we almost lost her she was so ill passing blood etc she had healing and reiki turned the corner and i thought we were over it but it came back a week later and here we are again the story of her poor life its been like this alway.


  • When you say throat problem, is it an esophagus swallowing problem? My rescue boy has this but it is not quite Megaesophagus. He is on Prolisac 1/4 pill every day, Reglan 5 mg. every other day, intestinal prescription dog food both dry and canned though he eats mostly dry with a few tablespoons of canned added with quite a bit of water. He eats standing up-level as he eats from a bowl that is put on a coffee table. This is so the food will go down easier instead of bending over to eat.

    He was originally given steroids because the vets were not sure what he had, thought perhaps it was allergies, IPSID, etc. His symptoms were belching and spitting up both water and food. Sometimes he would also have extremely soft stools. The steroids and other things were not working so I took him to an Internist who had a test done that took pictures while he was eating/swallowing. This test showed the esophagus problem. He developed this problem when he was under a year old and he turned 3 in December. So far his symptoms are under control.

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