Chronic cystitis

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RodrigoFC
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Chronic cystitis

Post by RodrigoFC »

I would appreciate if I have some feedback from owners who had their chows medicated for chronic cystitis (proteus sp).
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Juniper
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Re: Chronic cystitis

Post by Juniper »

Hi!
My Sheena had chronic cystitis. I saw her loose in the streets for 1.25 years when I finally rescued her. She was on so many different antibiotics for 3 years and nothing worked permanently, I even tried Chinese herbs. The UTI always returned. Vet told me it would be chronic since she probably had the UTI since she was 2 and w/no medical attention folds of skin, scar tissue developed with each UTI episode which would make it easy for the bacteria to get caught in the folds of scar tissue. I don’t know if she had proteus bacteria. Had x-rays done to check for any abnormalities/lumps. The vet stated Sheena also had the worst case of struvite crystals he had ever seen in his 30 years of practice and was concerned about Sheena getting struvite stones. From what I’ve read proteus can lead to struvite stones. Sheena bled almost daily from her private area and was also not interested in drinking water.

Sheena, who likes dirt, used to rub her tushie into the dirt, probably to reduce the pain of the UTI, but this caused more bacteria to enter so I shaved her private parts and would clean the area with a wet paper towel each time, both before and after she urinated. I added extra water into her canned organic wet food to make sure she increased her water intake to remove bacteria from her system.

I decided to take a chowchow.org’s member’s advice and try cranberry capsules since that’s what us female humans use to eliminate UTI’s w/o antibiotics. I administered Nature’s Way 400 mg v-capsules (not tablets) 2x daily w/meals along with Sheena’s antibiotics. (I placed a capsule at the back of her throat after she ate and made sure she swallowed it.) Continued with the addition of water into her food and the cleaning of her private parts and in 2 weeks she was better. Had the urinalysis redone and the struvite crystals had reduced to normal levels. Sheena has not had a UTI since and her urinalysis over the years has been fine. Over time I reduced the amount of cranberry capsules administered from 1x/day to 3x/week and now it’s more like 2x/month. Sheena does not have chronic UTI’s anymore.

I’ve attached a link to a website that may give you some info on this:
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articl ... 53083.html

Much success on eliminating this UTI permanently. Oh, I still keep her privates shaved, still clean them with a wet towel (but not as often) and still add water to her wet food. I am happy to say she enjoys drinking water now as well!
Jennifer & Sheena
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christina chow mum
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Re: Chronic cystitis

Post by christina chow mum »

Good heavens, I have only just seen this topic. You really deserve a gold medal for going through this agonising marathon with Sheena, good for you! I am pleased to see a kind of happy ending for you both =D= =D= As a human, I myself suffered with chronic non-specific cystitis , a distressing exceptionally painful drudge over years and years. Also personally, I can't add anything to what you have posted because Ming is male and was "eunuched" when very young. Interestingly though on the subject of "urine" my Vet told me, and I have confirmed it over the years, that contrary to cat urine, which has a very strong odour throughout the neighbourhood especially when they are mating :roll: dog urine (including chows) is entirely neutral and odourless. I found this to be true up until last year in the winter when Ming was 6. At night, he began to pee on a little mat in the yard instead of outside in the street with a very strong odour which got worse if I didn't know he had pee'd on the mat, ergo didn't clean it up! That went on throughout the winter. Tests all negative and he was fine. He is 7 now and was back to normal again all year with no odour nor peeing in the yard but last week I noticed his "winter activity" on the mat and the odour had started again. Again all tests negative so all I can think of is that this is a prelude to his feeling colder, getting older, muscles slacking a bit and time to think of what to buy him for Christmas \:D/ \:D/ Best wishes and BRAVO again to you both :!:
Loving a Chow means never having to say your'e sorry.
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maikinda
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Re: Chronic cystitis

Post by maikinda »

I think cranberry is an excellent idea. If you don't want to deal with another pill you can get it in a powder. I think the most important thing to do is take them off tap water. Give them only filtered water.

Laura
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Rory's Dad
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Re: Chronic cystitis

Post by Rory's Dad »

My male chow is going to be very upset to learn that he has been marking all those spots to no effect with his odorless urine. Who'd have figured that he was just wasting his time.
RodrigoFC
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Re: Chronic cystitis

Post by RodrigoFC »

This is his medical history, maybe it can be useful:

Living a normal life until June, when I noticed gross hematuria with no other symptom. Went for blood tests, urinalysis, urine culture and pelvic/abdominal ultrasound. His bladder had a patchy swelling and there was an intravesical mass - probably a huge clot. I got very worried, cos I thought that was a bladder cancer (transitional cell carcinoma), as in fact it could be. Started norfloxacin 400 mg each 12 h for 3 weeks. Hematuria resolved by the third day. We had a proteus mirabilis positive culture, but the bacteria was susceptible to many antibiotics. His urine density was high, urine pH was high (alcaline), the urine tested positive for nitrite, leucocytes and red cells, and there were calcium oxalate and struvite crystals... After Tx, he had a control ultrasound, which did not show bladder abnormalities anymore.

After some days there was a "laboratory relapse" (no hematuria, just altered urinalysis) and we started amoxicillin + clavulanate each 12 h for 4 weeks. After a short free atb period, the infection relapsed again, so we restarted amoxicillin + clavulanate for additional 2 weeks, until he tested positive for babesia sp (PCR), and there was a change to doxycycline 100 mg each 12 h for 4 weeks (puls two Imizol shots separated by a 2 weeks interval).

Some days after the Tx for babesiosis ended, there was a new relapse of gross hematuria... Went for new ultrasound, which disclosed a localized bladder wall swelling plus intravesical clot... This time the vet (and me) were seriously concerned about the possibility of facing a urinary tract cancer. We started one Bactrim tablet each 12 hours for additional 3 weeks, and the vet told me that, if there was no sonographic resolution of the bladder swelling, my chow should undergo a laparotomy plus cistectomy procedure, for excisional biopsy... I was shocked, cos in humans we usually undergo a videoendoscopy with a needle biopsy...

Meantime, my dog was losing weight, was losing a lot of fur (alopecia around the neck) and had a dark discolouration of his tail... His coat was also very dry... We tested TSH (was a bit high) and free T4 (was low) and assumed he had also hypothyroidism. So, we started concomitant hormonal replacement therapy (levothyroxin). Proteus sp growed again in his urine culture.

Whith this possibility of a cancer diagnosis, I went for a uro-vet second opinion, then a third, fourth... I searched for a vet who could do a transurethral endoscopy in my dog, but unfortunately I found no one who had the right equipment for use in male dogs (in females it can be done, cos of anatomical simplicity of the external urinary tract).

We eventually completed a 4-week Bactrim Tx course by this time, and his last ultrasound showed a normalization of the badder and regression of the clot, but with persistent crystals and sediment. We have done a cytological study of his urine, and found no neoplastic cells. Finally, we had some good news. New culture was negative, and although his urinalysys was not clean, the vet now thinks that maybe that was just asseptic colonization of the urinary tract, not infection anymore.

So I stoped ATB yesterday. The main issue, according to him, is urine concentration. He says my dog does not drink the daily recommended warter volume... Along his Tx, I made dietary modifications (changed to Royal Canin's Urinary) and made even more easy water access (he has now 5 water bowls).

I am trying cranberry extract just now; give him one capsule two times a day, 300 mg per capsule, plus drops of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) 250 mg total, two times a day, for urine acidification. Cranberry dosing for dogs is said to be 400 mg per each 10 pounds per day, and vitamin C dosing is 30-50 mg/kg/day, according to the vet.

Sorry for grammar, cos I am not an English-native speaker.
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Juniper
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Re: Chronic cystitis

Post by Juniper »

So sorry your chow is going through such medical problems. Sheena also had hypothyroidism. Just some warnings: the thyroxin drug will permanently disable the thyroid from producing its own thyroxin from the thyroid. However, it is good to jumpstart the thyroid. I gave synthroid drug to Sheena for about three weeks, discontinued the drug and then went on an herbal product called “Thyroid Support Silver” by Pet WellBeing, website is petwellbeing.com and her thyroid producing levels came back to normal, her fur became fuller, by following directions on bottle. Now I only give one dropperful of it maybe every other day as a precautionary until her next yearly complete blood panel. 2 years now and her thyroid is still normal.

I’m not a proponent of dry food since it is noted for producing high alkaline urine with its high protein and ash content so I make sure I only give Sheena organic canned food (10% or less protein since high protein=higher cancer risk) and add about a half cup of water to it and sometimes less. Dry food w/its salt content has a dog drink water excessively. The Royal Canine Urinary is loaded with corn which creates skin problems in most chows and its first ingredient is rice, which I will cook and use only as a drug if my chow has diarrhea, which is very rare. There isn’t much nutrient in white rice. Excessive water drinking, excessive protein intake and excessive vitamin intake overburdens the kidneys and bladder, especially in males, both human and dog. If you can I would switch to “By Nature” Organic Turkey, Sweet Potato, Peas or Blue Buffalo’s Wilderness Salmon and Chicken canned food only or some other higher quality canned food. You can buy online at PetFoodDirect.com. However, some chows are also allergic to chicken, fortunately not my Sheena. Sheena eats about 2 cans/day whether she is 54 lbs or 62 lbs. Luckily, she limits her own food intake and I monitor how much water she intakes as well: 0-1 cup in fall/winter, and 2-3 cups in Spring/Summer depending on activity. Also, as someone else posted…give filtered water not tap.

Watch out for the ascorbic acid which has a tendency to upset stomachs even in us humans. Sheena got diarrhea from it and would sometimes vomit when I gave her 250mg. So I just gave her the cranberry capsules, 400mg, 2x/day, one with each meal after she ate. I have not heard about the recommended 400 mg/10 lb. of weight…seems like a lot of cranberry to be giving. I worked with a vet once who told me that it was best to give the smallest amount possible that shows a change for the best so that is what I adhere to.

Much success with your chow and keep us posted.
Jennifer & Sheena
RodrigoFC
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Re: Chronic cystitis

Post by RodrigoFC »

Thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately, last saturday the hematuria relapsed, exactly 7 days after we have stopped Bactrim. He is now on Enrofloxacin. This is his last US, where you can see the irregularities of the inner side of the bladder. This can be either polypoid cystitis or clots that stick to the bladder.
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RodrigoFC
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Re: Chronic cystitis

Post by RodrigoFC »

Addendum to Juniper's post.

Concerning cranberry dose: you are right, 400 mg of cranberry extract per 10 pounds is too much, in fact it is 400 mg per 20 pounds. I was thinking in Kilograms (1 pound = 0,45kg), as here we use the metric system.

Concerning the ascorbic acid: again you are right, any med can cause more harm than good. The rationale for lowering the urine pH is to dissolve struvite crystals, but a too acidic pH can predispose to calcium oxalate stones formation. One has to do regular urine tests to control for overshooting. I give ascorbic acid in 2 divided doses after meals to mitigate the gastric upset.

Concerning hypothyroidism: as it is a chronic disease (thyroid failure), I havent heard of a "cure" for it. Most probably you had a false positive / borderline test, as both TSH and free T4 level results may be influenced by many other factors, from a lipemic plasma to the co-occurence of another chronic disease. The essay methods also give different results, and microdyalisis is the most reliable.

Best wishes.
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