Stomach problems?

Two weeks ago my Sheltie came down sick. In two days time she wasn't eating or drinking anything, could barely stand, and could't walk. Took her to the vet, they did xrays and blood tests the first day, found infection (high white cells), gave me antibiotics and sent her home with the insturctions to bring her back the next morning if she wasn't better. By the next morning she was worse, couldn't stand, wouldnt drink or eat, so took her back. This time they put her on IV, took more xrays of stomach, colon, more blood tests (normal this time), thought they found a blockage in the colon so did surgery (was nothing there, normal). She stayed at vets for four days, they had her on IV's and stomach medicine,(Cerenia) and I got to bring her home where she is starting to do a little better but still not eating a lot. My question is: Is there a stomach medicine you can give dogs other than the Cerenia? Maybe Zantac, Previcid, Prilosec (?) like people take?

Sorry to hear your Sheltie has been so sick
Not sure why you're seeking an alternative medication from the one prescribed by the vet...but if it were me I'd be checking with him that it was ok.
Its possible you'll find owners that have given their dogs stomach meds designed for humans with no ill effects but whose to say,doing that wouldn't cause your dog more harm than good.
Always best to seek the advice of a professional in such matters in my opinion...better safe than sorry

If it was short term I wouldn't mind, but if its going to be long term to keep her feeling better, will be very expensive. I do know a lot of the time, there are "people" alternatives that also work on dogs.

ONe other thing I might mention is that she had a "enlarged spleen" when they opened her up, but they still have no explanation as to why she got sick, what it was, or why the enlarged spleen... I was sick with the stomach bug for the week before she came down sick... think she might have gotten the bug?

Totally understand that I use human eye drops on my dog,not so much because of the price difference( not hugely noticeable) but because I find they work way better I checked with my vet first though and he give the go ahead,advised that they wouldn't do any harm
All I'm saying is be best to check first....always.
Really wish her well,hope you can get to the bottom of what's going on with her and it can be sorted xx

Sorry to hear your poor little dog has gone through the mill, they were certainly very thorough to say the least weren't they.

In my opinion, I'm sure she will be on a strong dose of ab's and if you are correct in your own assumption that she could well have contracted the same bug as you did, then these should clear it up.

Have they given you this Cerenia to bring home with her to continue it's use then, or are you assuming they will be? You mention Zantac there and I myself had a conversation with my own vet this morning about Zantac and Zitac which he has previously prescribed for my dog with ibs. He explained to me that the Zitac he had given her last week, was a medication to stop the over production of stomach acid, whereas the ZANTAC he would never prescribe to me for her condition because it had a different use, it was prescribed to help push the food through the intestines quickly, which is the opposite of what he wants with my dog. I hope that helps you to understand what those two drugs are for anyway. I had read on the internet last week that Zantac is an anti sickness drug, but he never mentioned that to me, he only explained about the food passage with that drug.

I don't think you ought to be giving anything from over the counter, especially after what she's just been through, I'd be giving her exactly what they have prescribed, and ask them whether once that's finished, will that be it then, or will they want her on it permanently, and if that's the case, then you must question that with them and ask them for something else if it's too expensive for you.

Afterall, they are the ones who should know what they're doing, and they've done their best by the sounds of it, they've prescribed the correct drugs to help her get through, and you could be interrupting her progress couldn't you if you start self medicating her, it could make matters worse.

If I were you, I'd let the anti biotics do their job and if she hasn't been given any, then maybe give them a ring and ask why she's not on them when her white cell count was high, but I'm sure she will be on them.

Good luck with her, these things take a lot of time, and on top of that, she's also gone through a GA which in itself is a huge body shock, so she needs lots of time now to get herself right along with the right medication. I'm sure she will bounce back to her normal self in a few days now, and please let us know when she does.

thank you so much for the great advice. I will contact the vet today just to let them know she is doing better and will visit with them then about continuing any kind of medicine.

love to see some pics when she's all better...Sheltie's are my favourite,I'd love one

I agree with the two posters above. No one here can really advise you what meds to give your dog. Only tell you about their own similar experiences.

I always say if you are not 100% happy with what you vet has told you - go back and ask more questions. If you still feel unhappy - seek out another vet.

Strangers on the internet cannot either diagnose or prescribe for your dog. Vets see sick dogs all the time and some different conditions can present with similar symptoms.

I care for 16 dogs currently. At one point I fed watered, exercised, bathed, over 60 dogs every day, dewormed them and administered meds when neccessry for 5 years and a bit.
The health problems I witnessed got me curious so I did a little research.
Dogs are carnivores. Just like their 99.8% identical mitochondrialDNA relative, canis lupus, Wolf.
Commercial dogfood is very bad for the long term health of canis familiarius. I invite you to search "Myths About Raw Feeding" for a more indepth explanation. I find it only fair to warn you though, the truth can be somewhat mortifying.

I hope all goes well with you and your Sheltie.