chronic inflammatory enteropathy

Hi, long story short, my young dog has been struggling with vomiting and poor general health since she became acutely ill at the beginning of January. Yesterday, she was diagnosed with a change in her small intestine and, as a result, mild chronic inflammatory enteropathy. I switched her food to Ari's Sensitive Stomach four weeks ago, and I saw an improvement in her condition, especially her stools, but she has continued to vomit. The vet believes that this improvement is not sufficient to be considered ideal and wants to switch her to hydrolysed proteins. This must be tested before we can assess whether medication is also necessary to reduce the inflammation, or whether the food alone is sufficient. I therefore feel that I have to give her the recommended food and follow the system so that she can receive medication if she needs it. So my question is really, what experience do you have with such incidents and hydrolysed food? Is it likely that she will be able to transition to pure food later when she is in a more stable/neutral condition than she is now? I feel that there is little knowledge or interest in this among veterinarians; they are happy as long as they find something that solves the problem. But in my opinion, it is not ideal for her to have to live the rest of her life on broken down proteins, with tapioca and rice flour as the main ingredients...

• Hello! I understand very well that you are feeling this way. I think the most important thing right now is to stabilise her and reduce the inflammation, and that the advice from the vet will always carry the most weight. It's perfectly fine to switch to fresh food once she is more stable 💛 Just because you are trying a hydrolysed food now does not mean she has to have it for the rest of her life. At the same time, I would say that if you feel you are not being fully heard, it is perfectly acceptable to seek a second opinion from another vet with an interest in gastro/nutrition. Keep going, it will all work out in the end! 🌸
• Hello again! It took a long time, discussions, back and forth, a course of cortisone and then a switch to hydrolysed proteins, which she has been on (exclusively) ever since. Chaotic, yes, so it’s hard to say whether it was the food that was wrong or right, or the cortisone that got her over the hump, so that things started moving in the right direction. I’ve learned a lot about myself and taking responsibility for my own choices (for better or worse), but most importantly, she now seems stable in her fourth week! She’s finally been herself again and got her spark back <3 Admittedly, we’ve had her in heat during those weeks, which has played its part, but things are settling down now. All in all now, I’d say she’s just as she should be! The only thing I can see is that her stools are quit…
• It’s so wonderful to read that she now seems stable and has got her spark back ❤️ It’s completely understandable that you’re afraid of ruining things now that you’ve finally got to this point. My advice here would be: don’t rush things. Four stable weeks is brilliant, but with chronic enteropathy or IBD-like issues, calm and predictability are often what give the gut the best chance to settle. I wouldn’t therefore start with elk or other new proteins just yet. First, I would give her a little more time with what’s working, and support the gut with Saccharomyces boulardii before you try anything new. S. boulardii can be a good choice in such cases because it is not a standard bacterial probiotic, but a beneficial type of yeast often used for loose stools, an imbalance in gut flora, and fol…
• Thank you so much for your reply! We'll give it a go then <3