that is strange, what do you feed him on? I take it the sick did not even resemble the colour of his normal food...

When Boabs was sick, it looked like pooh, I thought the cats had did it till he was bringing up blood later in the evening, took him straight to the emergency vet in stirling and then his own vet the next morning, the put him on stuff for his intestines, dunno if that helps at all, but the point was the sick just didn't look right !

No advice but lots of sympathy. Give him a hug from me.

hes fed on chappy dry complete(only food he even remotely gets on with!) no, usually his vomit is brown/food consistency-it had a horrible smell to it and first i thought it had come out the other end-but looking at it, i dont see how that would be possible!!
hes been fine since and is ok in himself-its just not very nice at the min as he is crated at night due to my bitch being due in season and id rather not take the chance.

my thoughts and prayers for you xxxx

The steroid would not cause a liver problem in the short term ie under 4mths unless there was already a problem with the liver. Neither would it cause anemia, long term use can cause Liver damage but 3-6mthly blood tests can be used to monitor, Cushings disease as the body stops producing its own adrenaline, diabetes in a borderline dog.
Complications and illness can be caused by suddenly stoppping steroids.
I have a friend in Denmark whos dog as been on steroids daily since the age of 3 he is now over 10yrs, my own dog as been on them daily since May this year, in both dogs cases it as been about quality of life not length.
Side effects:
Side effects - of anti-inflammatory steroids can be numerous. In dogs and less often in cats, the most commonly seen side effects include an increase in thirst and appetite, followed by an increase in urine production, and possible weight gain. In dogs, panting can be a common side effect, and sometimes mood alterations can occur.
Long Term Side effects:
Latent Urinary Tract Infections in up to 30% of patients
Development of Thin Skin, Blackheads, and Poor Ability to Heal Wounds or Grow Hair
Development of Obesity and Muscle Weakness
Hard Plaques of Diseased Skin called Calcinosis cutis
Development of Diabetes Mellitus
Development of Opportunistic Infections; Fungal infections of the nasal cavity and development of adult onset demodectic mange
The animal on long-term high doses of glucocorticoids may well develop Cushing's syndrome

Prednisolone is broken down in the liver into the active component prednisone, which is the component that decreases the inflammatory response. Prednisone should then be used in place of Prednisolone in patients in which liver function may be impaired.

Specific treatment recommendations for dogs with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are as follows. Corticosteroids are the initial treatment of choice for lymphocytic-plasmacytic and eosinophilic enteritis in most cases.
Mild to moderate cases dose of 0.25 to 0.75 mg/lb divided twice daily for two to four weeks followed by a gradual decrease in 50% increments at two-week intervals. Alternate day or every third day treatment can often be reached by two to three months. Occasionally treatment can be discontinued altogether by three to six months.
Moderate to severe cases initial prednisone dose of 1 mg/lb per day for two to four weeks before an attempt is made to decrease the dose. Dogs in this category often require long-term therapy (months to years) on an every other day or every third day basis to maintain remission. Normaly used in conjunction with metronidazole.
Metronidazole has both an antibacterial and antiinflammatory effect. It is useful in treatment of IBD in dogs. When prednisone and metronidazole are used in combination the dosage level of each drug is generally gradually decreased as the animal's condition improves and laboratory parameters (especially protein levels and white blood cell count) return to normal. Corticosteroids are decreased gradually for several months before any reduction is made on the metronidazole dose. Occasionally in dogs with moderate to severe IBD or in a case where both IBD and chronic bacterial overgrowth are present it is necessary to continue metronidazole on a long-term (months to years) basis.
Hopefully this time it isnt the IBD but something else, but you should never stop steroids suddenly the dog should be weaned off them gradualy.

Milk thistle may help protect the liver, so it might be worth thinking about giving it as a supplement?

with all due respect wildmoor-everything i didi was agreed by the vet- he had CLEAR blood results with regards to the liver damage-until he started taking the steroids...the vet has told me that in her opinion it is from the steroids...since stopping takin the steroids there has been a marked improvement in his liver function(blood test result) and his anaemia was caused by his bodys inability to extract the required vitamins from his food--due to the stress his body was under from his illness and also the medication.
i have seen nothing but improvment since stopping him on the steroids..he was continually losing weight despite eating lots-now he has put on over 6kg in six weeks. my vet didint seem to think there would be a problem with stopping steroids quickly.
so, thankyou for your imput but i was not asking about medication or what he would of been on-as i have first hand experience on that respect-i just wondered if anybody had any non veterinary advice for this situation. i do not need a lesson from someone who has an answer for everything and comes across like they know it all-sorry if that is not the case but that is how it seems.

OH AND BY THE WAY EVERYONE WHO IS INTERESTED..HE HAD HIS FIRST AGILITY COMP TODAY AND HE CAME 5TH!! SO PROUD OF HIM

Is your vet sure it was the steroids and not the ABs, Cephalexin especialy the brand Rilexine causes bleeding of the stomache in shepherds, not always the first time used but if the dog reacts then the dog will actualy defeacate fresh blood. The GSD does not do well with this AB, it can also cause the liver enzymes to become elevated.
There was no need in sarcism I was trying to help.

well hi treatment was 3 tablets of corticosteroids and one tablet of Metronidazole twice daily-all i know is that when he was recieving that treatment he seemed a lot worse off than he is now.thats why i am so reluctant to put him back on the treatment-he was also unable to be clean through the night (i think that was due to the increased thirst he had from the steroids.)
he has had no further bouts of sickness or diarroeah since last week so hopefully it wasnt ibd as this usually lasts longer.
do you know if there is any benefit in using the steroid short term-such as a couple of days to see him through if he suffers a bad bout??
sorry if the last message was a bit narky...call it stress lol.