Getting TLI, Folate and B12 tests run tomorrow

[lzver]

Jake is our 7 month old male GSD. After having chronic diarrhea since we brought him home at 2 months old and exhausting all suggestions from people online and our vet (even got a 2nd opinion from a holistic vet) and two more rounds with bad diarrhea this week ... Jake is going in tomorrow morning to have the TLI, Folate and B12 tests run.

Wish us luck ... part of me doesn't want it to be EPI, but another part of me hopes it finally gives us some answers and we can start treating him for something as opposed to running test after test and getting no answers.

Does anyone have experience getting these tests run in Canada? Do you know where they get sent to? I'll ask the vet tech tomorrow, but I'm kind of hoping they send them to the Ontario Veterinary College here in Guelph, since that is where I live.

[GatorBytes]

Originally Posted by lzver

Jake is our 7 month old male GSD. After having chronic diarrhea since we brought him home at 2 months old and exhausting all suggestions from people online and our vet (even got a 2nd opinion from a holistic vet) and two more rounds with bad diarrhea this week ... Jake is going in tomorrow morning to have the TLI, Folate and B12 tests run.

Wish us luck ... part of me doesn't want it to be EPI, but another part of me hopes it finally gives us some answers and we can start treating him for something as opposed to running test after test and getting no answers.

Does anyone have experience getting these tests run in Canada? Do you know where they get sent to? I'll ask the vet tech tomorrow, but I'm kind of hoping they send them to the Ontario Veterinary College here in Guelph, since that is where I live.

PM me your holistic Vet please. Curious.

[GatorBytes]

have you been to the epi4dogs site...recommended schilling test done - more conclusive.

[lzver]

Originally Posted by GatorBytes

have you been to the epi4dogs site...recommended schilling test done - more conclusive.

Yes, I have been to epi4dogs. Went there a few weeks ago and got some wonderful suggestions from many members. I've posted on there again now that we're officially testing for EPI.

I'll mention the schilling test to the vet tech tomorrow.

[lzver]

So we had the blood drawn this morning for the TBF tests. Samples will be picked up by Idexx this afternoon and we should have the results within 2 - 3 business days. Of course I had to wait for a Friday! Now the waiting game begins.

[GatorBytes]

Hey,

Did you get the results yet?

[lzver]

Originally Posted by GatorBytes

Hey,

Did you get the results yet?

I thought I came back and updated this thread. My apologies. For others that may be experiencing the same issue, I want to close the loop and explain how Jake's digestive issues were resolved.

We did get the results back and here are his results:

TLi - 23.8
B12 - 654
Folate - 38

So it was determined that Jake did not have EPI. But thanks to the assistance of the forum on Overview - EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency they flagged the fact that his Folate level was on the high side. So that prompted a discussion with the vet and we suspected SIBO. Jake was placed on the antibiotic Tylan late in August and spent almost 8 weeks on it ... we were being cautious and slowly weaning him off.

It has been a month since he's been off the Tylan now and Jake's digestive issues are gone. He is 80% transitioned onto to FirstMate food from the Medi-Cal Gastrointestinal puppy food he was on from the vet without any adverse reaction at all.

Jake is now almost 70 pounds and in ideal body condition according to our vet. We are aware that SIBO can recur, but at least we know what to look for now.

[fuzzybunny]

Originally Posted by lzver

I thought I came back and updated this thread. My apologies. For others that may be experiencing the same issue, I want to close the loop and explain how Jake's digestive issues were resolved.

We did get the results back and here are his results:

TLi - 23.8
B12 - 654
Folate - 38

So it was determined that Jake did not have EPI. But thanks to the assistance of the forum on Overview - EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency they flagged the fact that his Folate level was on the high side. So that prompted a discussion with the vet and we suspected SIBO. Jake was placed on the antibiotic Tylan late in August and spent almost 8 weeks on it ... we were being cautious and slowly weaning him off.

It has been a month since he's been off the Tylan now and Jake's digestive issues are gone. He is 80% transitioned onto to FirstMate food from the Medi-Cal Gastrointestinal puppy food he was on from the vet without any adverse reaction at all.

Jake is now almost 70 pounds and in ideal body condition according to our vet. We are aware that SIBO can recur, but at least we know what to look for now.

Thanks for updating. Your story is exactly everything I went through with my dog Jazz. Chronic diarrhea since day 1 of having him. I went to a holistic vet for a second opinion as well. I retested for EPI when he was 15 months old and made sure they tested for B12/Folate and also came to the conclusion of SIBO. We also treated him with Tylan (for 1 month) and he's now 3 and hasn't had any issues since. I'm so glad to hear your guy is finally doing well!

[arycrest]

So glad things turned out okay for you and Jake. Your story is similar to mine ... I'd never heard of SIBO but started reading about it here on the HEALTH forum. Later, when Kelly started having digestive issues I asked the vet to test him for SIBO when she did the EPI test and BINGO ... he had SIBO. After antibiotic treatment and being placed on a low residue diet for about 18 months, he was completely cured and never had another issue until the day he died.

[lzver]

Originally Posted by fuzzybunny

Thanks for updating. Your story is exactly everything I went through with my dog Jazz. Chronic diarrhea since day 1 of having him. I went to a holistic vet for a second opinion as well. I retested for EPI when he was 15 months old and made sure they tested for B12/Folate and also came to the conclusion of SIBO. We also treated him with Tylan (for 1 month) and he's now 3 and hasn't had any issues since. I'm so glad to hear your guy is finally doing well!

Originally Posted by arycrest

So glad things turned out okay for you and Jake. Your story is similar to mine ... I'd never heard of SIBO but started reading about it here on the HEALTH forum. Later, when Kelly started having digestive issues I asked the vet to test him for SIBO when she did the EPI test and BINGO ... he had SIBO. After antibiotic treatment and being placed on a low residue diet for about 18 months, he was completely cured and never had another issue until the day he died.

There are so many stories like ours. I really credit the likes of forums like this in helping get our Jake well again. If it wasn't for the experience of others, I'm not sure we would have found the problem. Fuzzybunny and arycrest, I'm happy to hear that your GSD's are doing well too! When you've struggled for so long, it's nice not to have to do the 'please be a good poop' prayer every time they go.