Irritable bowel syndrome and cancer of the gut experiences please

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SILVERTRINITY24

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Hi,

our vet has suggested that my TB could have either IBS or cancer of colon. His symptoms include excessive drinking, lack of appetite, lethargic , extreme weight and muscle atrophy. Bloods have been taken which highlight nothing but all his vitals are slightly higher than the should be...

Does anyone have any experience with either? Was the outcome positive?

He is 14 years old and an exracer

just to add im not looking for other diagnoses almost all other options have been explored and investigated by my vet!!!
 
ycbm

ycbm

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Are these symptoms new? If you haven't had him long and don't know, it could be worth testing for allergies. One horse with life threatening IBS I knew of was actually allergic to ryegrass.

I hope you find an answer for him.
.
 
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SILVERTRINITY24

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ycbm said:
Are these symptoms new? If you haven't had him long and don't know, it could be worth testing for allergies. One horse with life threatening IBS I knew of was actually allergic to ryegrass.

I hope you find an answer for him.
.
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Hi, I have had him 4 years and this is completely out of character. He has been at his current yard for 2 years and his feed hasnt really changed at all in this time. The hay he has also comes from the same yard and same fields so I cant imagine it would be anything like that. There has also been no change in routine... We have had two different vets out; the first one had no clue at all and he second suggested IBS or cancer. He is being scoped on wednesday so we will hopefully have a little bit more of an idea!
 
TheMule

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What treatments have you tried so far? Does he respond to steroids? Painkillers?
I would probably be pushing for a referral. I lost a yearling to bowel cancel but her symptoms came on very quickly and presented as colic, loss of appetite coupled with a high temperature that didn’t respond to any treatment. They scanned her abdomen but had to open her up for a definitive diagnosis and sadly she was PTS on the table when the cancer was found.
 
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TheMule said:
What treatments have you tried so far? Does he respond to steroids? Painkillers?
I would probably be pushing for a referral. I lost a yearling to bowel cancel but her symptoms came on very quickly and presented as colic, loss of appetite coupled with a high temperature that didn’t respond to any treatment. They scanned her abdomen but had to open her up for a definitive diagnosis and sadly she was PTS on the table when the cancer was found.
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Hello, I noticed last week that he seemed to be slightly off but I wasnt overly concerned about him and thought I would see how he goes. He gradually got worse so I called the vet out last friday.

Vet initially suspected an infection, so went on antibiotics for 5 days (he had a slightly high white blood cell count but nothing concerning i think it was just under 100) There was no change in temperature or general symptoms so a different vet came out on Friday and took more bloods and gave him a steroid injection. This lowered his temperature but his symptoms didnt really improve. He is being scoped on wednesday for IBS or other issues.

This morning his temperature is back up to 38.6.

It is unlikely to be ulcers as he has had these in the past, he is showing no symptoms that you would expect from ulcers.


Out of interest how quickly did your yearlings symptoms come on? And sorry for your loss

Thanks

S
 
TheMule

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I'm not really sure how scoping will help you? Has he had a rectal? Have they scanned trans-abdnominally?
Mine developed symptoms overnight and I took her straight to vet school. She deteriorated over the course of a week until we had no option but to open her up or PTS. Steroids did provide her with some temporary relief
 
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Sadly, yes. Exactly the same symptoms - in fact he dropped from 750 kg to 580 kg in the space of 2 weeks and for a cob who loved his food, he went from scoffing everything in sight to picking at his hay/haylage, the only thing he would eat was fast fibre and a bit of mix.

The vet was shocked by the weight loss when he went in for a transabdominal scan. It is difficult to tell whether it is IBS or cancer, the scan cannot make a definitive diagnosis and both conditions look the same, however, they can do a biopsy to get a better diagnosis as long as the horse is feeling well enough. Unfortunately, my boy wasn't well enough for the anaesthetic.

The treatment for both is high dose steroids. If you go down this route, please please monitor your horse very very closely, looking particularly for laminitis. My boy went very lame and unfortunately it was misdiagnosed as a bruised sole, even though both the YO and I asked the vet twice whether he was sure it wasn't laminitis.

There was a 10-day delay to get the correct diagnosis of laminitis but it was too late. He foundered and was pts.
My biggest regrets were not getting a second opinion straight away on the lameness, I trusted the vet knew what he was seeing (very experienced vet and had known the horse for at least 8 years) and also not getting the vet out weekly to check on him and seeing if he could be weaned off the steroids.

I wish you luck, but be prepared to make some uncomfortable decisions. If you want to pm me, please do.
 
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SILVERTRINITY24

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TheMule said:
I'm not really sure how scoping will help you? Has he had a rectal? Have they scanned trans-abdnominally?
Mine developed symptoms overnight and I took her straight to vet school. She deteriorated over the course of a week until we had no option but to open her up or PTS. Steroids did provide her with some temporary relief
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Hi,

To be honest I think he said scope but did mention something about rectal exam as well. Richard Hepburn is visiting the practice and he is one of the top specialists in the country.... so I have every faith in his and my vets ability. I’m closely monitoring him at the moment, hoping he doesn’t go down hill too quickly. Thank you for your comment though steroids have offered a mild improvement to mine!
 
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Hexx said:
Sadly, yes. Exactly the same symptoms - in fact he dropped from 750 kg to 580 kg in the space of 2 weeks and for a cob who loved his food, he went from scoffing everything in sight to picking at his hay/haylage, the only thing he would eat was fast fibre and a bit of mix.

The vet was shocked by the weight loss when he went in for a transabdominal scan. It is difficult to tell whether it is IBS or cancer, the scan cannot make a definitive diagnosis and both conditions look the same, however, they can do a biopsy to get a better diagnosis as long as the horse is feeling well enough. Unfortunately, my boy wasn't well enough for the anaesthetic.

The treatment for both is high dose steroids. If you go down this route, please please monitor your horse very very closely, looking particularly for laminitis. My boy went very lame and unfortunately it was misdiagnosed as a bruised sole, even though both the YO and I asked the vet twice whether he was sure it wasn't laminitis.

There was a 10-day delay to get the correct diagnosis of laminitis but it was too late. He foundered and was pts.
My biggest regrets were not getting a second opinion straight away on the lameness, I trusted the vet knew what he was seeing (very experienced vet and had known the horse for at least 8 years) and also not getting the vet out weekly to check on him and seeing if he could be weaned off the steroids.

I wish you luck, but be prepared to make some uncomfortable decisions. If you want to pm me, please do.
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So sorry to hear about your boy. My vet had mentioned biopsy but he didn’t want to go down that route as it’s quite invasive.

He has only had one jab of steroids so far but thank you very much for that I will certainly keep it in the back of my mind!!
 
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I have a horse who was diagnosed with IBD several years ago. He lost a lot of weight, was lame behind, eating wood, lethargic and had low grade liminitis. We initially scoped, which was clear, then scanned the hind gut area and found it thick and inflamed.

Steriods didn't hugely help, he was better but not as much as the vet hoped. We treated with Equishure, to help the hind gut, and then ranitidine.

Believe issues were caused due to grazing. He got very poorly in one particular field which was thick in ryegrass and clover. He also got worse on speedibeet, alfalfa and Copra.

Seven years on his gut is great. Took a long time but he's basically fixed and a normal horse, we're just careful what he eats. He's also now a very good doer!

Edit: just realised you said IBS not IBD, sorry!
 
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On the Hoof

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I am so sorry to hear this. I lost my horse to colon cancer, she went downhill very quickly and Richie Hepburn saw her and advised pts . She went from a solid good looking horse to a hat rack in the space of about 10 days. I still cry thinking about it and my heart goes out to you.
 
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