Epi4Dogs

I’ve been giving Walter 1 package of Fortiflora (Purina pro plan) per day.
Is this ok or is slippery elm better and is it a powder as well ?

Is the Fortiflora working for you? If it is keep it up.
The SE will coat the intestinal tract and soothe it.
Jill

I’m not sure how I’d know if the Forta flora was working or not, I just give it daily.

I give Proviable and slippery elm.

I usually give Fortiflora for diarhhea or vomiting(or Probiable is another I have on hand) and if those clear up I believe the probiotic to have worked. Is Walter having those two issues? Is he on a antiobiotic to address SID when he was diagnosed with Epi? SID is an overgrowth of bad gut bacteria which can cause gas, acid reflux, and the 2 aforementioned.
Is Walter on oral B12?

Jill

Denise---The fortiflora is a probiotic, and slippery elm is a prebiotic, which to my understanding, makes the probiotic more useful.

Like Jill, said, though, to paraphrase---if it's not broke, don't fix it.

How is Walter doing? --- Pam

Walters test results came back showing TLI of 20.8 and B12 575 and folate HIGH at 52 which the lab said showed SIBO
He takes Forta flora which the vet prescribed and she said it’s a pre and probiotic … ugh
He’s on a course of Metronidazole again which works for him and she couldn’t get Tylesin quickly apparently she has to get it compounded and it costs 169 plus tax for 42days
She told me the internal medical dr she spoke to didn’t think Tylesin was indicated but I’m unsure of some of her responses and this is our second vet in 4 months and about 1500.00 in tests/medicine (Walter is 6 months)

mollyseven wrote: ↑29 Apr 2022, 08:47 I’ve been giving Walter 1 package of Fortiflora (Purina pro plan) per day.
Is this ok or is slippery elm better and is it a powder as well ?

I often use my dog to take Probiotics and eat porridge when he has diarrhea.

I will say that I have not tried Forta Flora, so I can't really say much as to its effectiveness. But I will say the main ingredient is filler. Some dogs do okay with this filler/flavor, while others do not. It has ONE *weak* probiotic strain. ONE. Zero prebiotic. Healthy digestive tract of every species on the planet does have more than one good bacteria strain. So for me, I find it very expensive for what it is.

Slippery elm is different, in that it's more of a prebiotic than probiotic. Slippery elm with probiotics is also common. (So you can do both).

My vets had told me to look for probiotics with multiple different strains, preferably one with prebiotics as well. I did have to try a few different probiotics (all multi strain w/ prebiotic) before I found one that actually seems to help. Proviable (a very common one in the EPI world) was one of them. Proviable, I do believe has merit, but it was just not strong enough for my dog. (One of its 7 strains is the one in forti flora. And it's cheaper. So more bang for your buck, IMHO).

My dog has had repeated SIBO setbacks, all white on probiotics. When I found that infections were coming on, and not helped at all even when doubling the dose, it was a sign to me that perhaps it was time to move on. The probiotic he's on now is a human one, Garden of Life, with 100 CFU per capsule - so much, much stronger than most. (Because it's so strong, I did have to start this one very slowly, starting with 1/4 capsule per day, and slowly working up to a full capsule per day. He did start showing signs of a possible setback again last week. Then I gave an extra capsule earlier in the day for 2 days. That with a dose of Bentonite clay stopped it very quickly).

Thanks Andrea! good suggestion with the Garden of Life.... i forgot all about that.... great company that many old timer EPI caregiver's used products from years ago.

And your vet is spot on about the multi-strains... EXCELLENT advice.