Christie-
I’m very sorry to hear that your dog is going through this as well. My mom’s boxer passed away in her sleep back in May. The steroid injection seemed to help her, but unfortunately she was massively underweight and her organs were failing her, and the the steroid was just too strong for her to handle (she had bad joint pain and difficulty walking while on it, but she did start eating again slowly). But she didn’t get better fast enough, any kind of stress or visitors caused her to relapse, and eventually she just couldn’t fight anymore.
Unfortunately they never positively diagnosed her, but the vet hospital did say they believe it was either a really bad case of IBD that was misdiagnosed, or it was undetected cancer – likely of her GI system. The steroids combined with an IBD friendly food seemed to help, but it was not enough for her at that late stage. IF the first vet had done an endoscopy rather than major surgery, they think they might have been able to positively diagnose her. I read a lot about IBD in dogs and the complications and frustrations that occur due to it, and it sounds eerily similar to the issues of our boxer… but we won’t ever know for sure.
I’m sorry I can’t be of more help. I wish the best for your dog, I know it is really hard to see them suffer so badly. And I don’t want to say it, but I will because we felt so guilty after our dog died, but don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t find a solution to this. You sound like you’re trying very hard to help your dog fight this, and it’s rough. Hang in there and I will keep your dog in my thoughts.
