Colitis

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LisaMcC

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Hi, On monday afternoon, my daughters 5yr old Welsh D x was showing tummy discomfort in the field. We bought him straight in and he had explosive watery diarrhea and gas. We called the vet out and whilst waiting he became lethargic and was obviously in great discomfort. The vet took his temp (39) and noted his heart beat was raised. After a rectal examination she suggested that there was a distension in his colon and if he was insured get him to a veterinary hospital as a matter of urgency which we have. On arrival he was given a full examination, scan, bloods etc. His GTT was raised 155 and his temp had dropped slightly (Had been given bute prior to travel) His scan showed that surgery was not needed but the colon was inflamed.Since then he is on IV fluids and antibiotics. He is in isolation. His c dif has come back as negative and we await selmonella as it takes longer. His white blood cells were 8 on arrival 2 the next day and are now back within normal range. His GTT is now 85 and all of his perameters have been normal since Tuesday. His poo did start to slightly firm but was wormed yesterday and has become very watery again but this may be due to the wormer. He is eating hard feed and hay and drinking well. It's really the diarrhea that is the main worry now. We are devastated and worried sick. Vet is pleased with his progress but I just cannot function. He means the world to us. Just wondered if anyone has been through something similar and can give us some hope x:(
 
Good that his GGT is coming down - if it's raised, it indicates liver damage. The liver deals with lots of toxins, so it's probably not surprising it was raised if he had an infection.

Good that white cells are within range again. If they are high or low, they can indicate infection, so to be back in range again is great.

Do make sure you ask for copies of the full blood reports, and make sure you know what he's been wormed with, so that you can use that to help you decide what to worm him with in future. Did they do a worm egg count before worming? Might be useful to know that, in case they found any significant worm burden which might have contributed to the colitis.

One of my boys had colitis a couple of years back now. It came on a month after I started him on a high fat diet for suspected muscle disease. In hindsight, I think the high fat caused problems for him because it turns out his diet had been deficient in selenium for many years, and he just couldn't cope with that level of fat.

I only mention that because it is definitely worth reviewing what he was receiving dietwise, and any other treatments, before the colitis struck, on the offchance you can find any potential trigger to avoid in future.

When my boy had colitis, the vet said that most times the cause is never pinpointed.

I had two nights with my boy thinking he was going to die any second, and then the third morning I went down to the yard having made my mind up to put him to sleep if he was still so uncomfy. He greeted me at the gate to his yard, bright-eyed and bushytailed (well, he is a hairy Dales!) and looking like nothing had been wrong. Apparently this is common too. Some are very ill and don't make it; others are very ill, but then within a matter of a couple of days look as though there was nothing wrong with them.

Anyway, hope your boy is soon home and on the mend.

Sarah
 
Thank you Dianchi......
flintfootfilly: Thank-you very much for your informative reply. Harley, our boy is on a six weekly worming plan at our livery yard. I think that the wormer he has been given is Panacur Guard to eradicate any red worm larvae, but I will check. He had a worm egg count and it was nil. He has been on beet, grass nuts, pony nuts and Alfalfa. His diet had not altered and he had received no treatments etc. I noticed on the Friday that he was a little runny after normal stools and mentioned it to another livery who said her horse was the same and put it down to the very wet grass. I did wonder whether because of this he had ingested some soil with a high sand content. The vet confirmed that there was some soil in his feces. He had been fine otherwise and when we brought him in on Monday the symptoms progressed quite quickly. He has been in hospital since Monday night now so I am hoping that the antibiotics will kick in and the bio sponge will help firm him up. Did your boy make a full recovery? this is such a nighmare. I await the vets call in the morning and hope and pray that it is good news. x
 
Update:
Harley is said to be extremely bright and much happier in himself this morning. All of his parameters are in range and his white blood cells are back to normal. He is continuing with the steroids but coming off the antibiotics. He still has diarrhea but some this may be due to the drugs irritating his gut. For this reason he is staying on the drip to ensure he is hydrated. The second set of tests have come back negative and just one more to go. So we are just hoping that as he comes off the drugs his diarrhea will settle and he will make a good and full recovery. We will not stop worrying until he is home but then we will just be so scared as we do not know what has caused this..............
 
Glad he's continuing to do well, and that the tests so far have come back negative.

Hope he's soon home and getting on with life as normal. Horses are much better at doing that than we are, after they've been ill! :)

You asked if my boy made a full recovery. Yes, he did. From day 3 onwards, he looked as well as he ever had looked. He did (and still does) have other problems, totally unrelated to the colitis..... but in terms of his colitis, it was just that one bout.

Hope Harley is soon home and enjoying his usual routine.

Sarah
 
This morning's update from the vet was very positive. He remains stable and is back to his cheeky self....he even managed to get tangled in his IV and pull it out! this is the boy that we know and love so much. His poo has firmed up a little and remains well with the withdrawal of the antibiotics. He allowed the nurses to wash his bum today (He is weary of strangers) We had Harley in May as a 5 year old. He had been literally turned away since a foal and we have worked with him every day and he is backed, broken and is our pride and joy.We have come so far with this incredible horse and want to keep him with us and love him forever x
The medics will be reassessing his care plan tomorrow all being well with tonight's observations.
 
Fabulous News!!!!!
Harley is now passing normal droppings!!! He is coming off the drip and drugs! Providing that all his observations remain stable for the next couple of days he will be coming home, mid to late week. I cannot began to explain how happy we are to receive this news. xxx
 
Harley has had the, "All Clear" today. We are absolutely over the moon. We will be bringing him home tomorrow. The vet cannot confirm cause but there was sand in his poo sample. We will ensure hay is put out in nets and avoid turning him out when the ground is boggy. We can not wait to cuddle our boy. Just goes to show, there are "Happy Endings" X
 
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