E-Coli Urine Infection

yannerzane

My beagle who has IMHA  and had her spleen removed  is battleing an e-coli urine infection, have read and been told to use along with the antibiotic that she is on D-Mannose it will help wash out the E-coli from her baldder wall,  Has anyone used this on their dog for e-coli infections and if so what sort of dosage and for how long?   Scooter is 30lbs she is finally off her prednisone and azotioprine because her PCV are now up to 36 and have been holding there. Its just this UTI we can't seem to get rid of.  If anyone can help greatly appreciate it.

Yep -- been there done that!  My Billy had IMHA as well and he had really heinous UTIs a a side effect of the cyclosporine he was on. 

Similar to cranberry -- D-Mannose is a form of glucose.  In fact D-Mannose is magnesium made into a sugar/glucose form.  The body doesn't absorb the D-Mannose -- but the d-mannose bonds with the infection cells and makes them too slippery to "stick" to the urinary tract walls.

Now honestly -- is your dog on antibiotics?  D-Mannose isn't going to cure or 'treat' a UTI.  But it **will** help get rid of some of the infection, but honestly it's best help is as a preventive.

e-coli is a **nasty** one to get rid of -- if you have her on antibiotics **DO NOT** run out of them.  After running the full course have the urine tested again no more than 2 or 3 days after you finish them, and honestly I'd have the vet do a sterile draw and have a culture and sensitivity done.  That will not only identify if there are more e-coli (or other bacteria) but it will also tell you what antibiotic you need to use to finish killing it.  Don't just finish the antibiotics and assume the infection is gone -- particularly *not* with an immune suppressed dog.   You particularly don't want an IMHA dog battling infection when it's just gotten off immune-suppressors -- it could easily trigger a relapse.

As far as the d-mannose is concerned -- it looks and tastes just like confectioner's sugar (but it's not).  I gave Billy a generous half teaspoon twice a day IN FOOD.  Trust me -- it's sweet -- they like it! *smile*

You can get it online several places -- I typically liked NOW Brand Foods D-Mannose and just get the powder.  You don't need to waste money on capsules

And btw ... we have a HUGE thread on AIHA IMHA on here -- please feel free to jump in.  It's a nice bunch of folks and some really good support.

Last Page of IMHA Thread

Thanks for the info I did purchase the D-Mannose Now Brand just in case and Ithe company told me 1/8- 1/4 tsp which I see now may not be enough.  This is the 2nd antibiotic she has been on the fist one Nitrofuranton didn ot compeltely take care of it and at the time she still was on prednisone and azothioprine which the vet who is an internal specialist felt it did not completely work because the meds were suppressing her immune system so they retested her and she still had the e-coli  after being off the meds and this time she is on doxy because the bug is sensitive to it she will be a on 5 week course and then we will wait 10 ten days and take her back for a recheck.  When she is tested they do a cysto with a needle directly from her bladder to as to not get a false reading and I also work in a lab at a hospital and I have had them do a culture on a free catch sample just to see if we got the same thing which we did.  She is very closely watched by the vet and to look at her now you would never know that she was that sick at one time.  I sometime get paronoid as to foods to give and supplements ut I am learning to get over that we do keep a close eye on her though. She not only had the IMHA but she has no spleen either they had to remove it they felt it as the cause of her counts going down and when they did that her coutns started going back up.  Her PCV remains at 35-36 when she was first diagnosed it was 14 and then dropped to 7,  The vet and the surgeon were great.  I was a devout raw feeder and did homeopathy for her after she was supposedly diagnosed with lymes by my conventional vet adn was given antibiotics, then steriods shots then rabies the homeopathic vet felt allof that was to much for her immune system and this was caused all of this.

The other thing that we have found that has helped her tremendously with her immune is Reiki therapy we have someone come and do a treatment on her about every 5-6 weeks which not only ahs helped her system but is a great help with any joint issues.  I highly recommend it to anyone to try it.

I have also found a wonderful product that I put in her food that also helps with organ support and kidney etc it called Cranimal they make 3 different varieties and I have read nothing but positives from people that have used it on their pets.

 Since my dog only weight 30 lbs woild the 1/2 tsp be to much?

Again thanks for the feedback it nice to have others to get information from expecially if they have been thru the same thing.

Susan

.

Wow -- the dog is *off* drugs and the PCV is ONLY 35??  That's usually a sign that the body is still destroying the blood (a dog's pcv is usually in the 40's).  IMHA relapses *extremely* easily.

My Billy didn't respond at first -- he had six transfusions in a month at the beginning.  All the way thru he was also treated with TCVM (traditional Chinese veterinary medicine) as well as homeopathy and homotoxicology. (I use homeopathy extensively at home.)  In the hands of a gifted practitioner, Reiki can really be incredibly helpful.

You might be able to drop back to the lesser dose as maintenance afterward, but I know 1/4. tsp just never helped Billy enough.  But one of the side effects of the drugs with him was really awful UTI's.

Be cautious of doxycycline -- it can also be used to **boost** the immune system.  Billy reacted to it badly (it actually caused the first relapse which made him crash to many times at first). However, doxy is **often** used in IMHA -- so I"m not telling you your vet is crazy .. just **watch** very very carefully for a relapse.