EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

Hi - Presently i am giving my dog Viokase powder.  She is developing a distate for her food after a month of normal eating.  Had anyone used the pill form of Viokase or any other Manufacturer instead of the powder?  She takes 1/4 teaspoon of powder per meal.  Thank you.

HI ? (you didn't sing your name) Welcome!

The powder is recommended over the pills as they generally don't work that well...That said, a lot of folks are having sucess with Creon and here in the US, it can be purchased through Canadian Pharmacies.  My Tara developed a strong dislike for enzymes and in fact refused to eat food with them...At the time, Creon was available to us, so we really had to work at it!  Today, many years later, she's grown to live with them...

Hi.. is it Stan??? ~

A very warm welcome to you and your dog, althoguh we are so sorry you have to be here!

My recommendation to you would to NOT try the pills.... more often than not... they don't work... and then your dogf may develop SIBO problems............ have you tried "enticers" to mask the tast of the enzymes?? the stinkier the better. Some folks will top the bowl of food with something like laying a piece of sardine from canned sardines fon top of the food (from Walmart) or i have even used canned Herring (these REALLY stink and dogs 'em).. on the can it will say "kipper". Or some folks sprinkle parmesan cheese, or green tripe, sliced hard boiled egg, or purree raw chicken liver and pour a couple of tablespoons of this on top of the food......., etc. etc. etc.

Many of us personally us EnzymeDiane:

GENERIC PANCREATIN (available in the US but can be shipped to certain countries outside of the US) Many people on the EPI FORUM use these generic enzymes for a savings of anywhere between 30-50%. If you are interested in ordering bulk-priced supplemental pork-based enzymes from the US, they can be directly purchased from http://www.enzymediane.com/

Pancreatin 6x10  (batch from 3/25/10)

Lipase 70,840 USP units, Protease 448,000 USP units, Amylase 512,000 USP Unit.  COST:  8 oz for $42, 1 kilo for $134  (shipping included)

Pancreatin 8x10Lipase 111,720 USP units, Protease 579,600 USP units, Amylase 694,400 USP Unit.  COST:  8 oz for $52, 1 kilo for $154  (shipping included)

For Your Information:   1 kilo = 35.274 ounces

Or yuo can go to the Enzyme & Digestion page... there is a list of various brand name Enzyme companies

http://www.epi4dogs.com/enzymesdigestion.htm

Please let us know how is goes...

I do have a question for you.... i saw in your profile that she is a standard poodle.... by giving her only 1/4 of a teaspoon per meal... is the meal approximately 1 cup of food? If so... are her poops well formed and brown with only 1/4 teaspoon?

I am just wondering because usually EPI dogs start off with 1 level teaspoon powdered enzymes per 1 cup of food... and then once stable...it is suggested to folks to try and reduce the amount of enzymes given to see how little of an amount of enzymes the dog can be managed on. However, that being said... each dog can be very different from one another.

Hi Stan?

Welcome to our EPI forum.  Pleased you have found us.

We don't use the powdered enzymes, as over here in Australia,  the only enzyme available to us are Creon enteric coated capsules.  They have worked well for us (thankfully).   They are a 'human' capsule & we buy them at our local pharmacy. 

I don't have any experience with Viokase tablets, but most who have used them, seem to prefer the powder. 

Olesia has mentioned lots of 'toppers' for the food & most people find that these work well.  Especially the stinkier ones.   Perhaps worth a try, especially the sardines.  I know my dogs go crazy when they see the sardines coming out. 

Must say that I absolutely love Standard Poodles.  What colour is yours & what is her name?  Please feel free to add some photo's of her here as we all love photo's & especially look forward to seeing pics. of our new doggy members.  Instructions of how to add pictures are in our files.  If you have problems, please let us know & we will help you through it.  Can be a bit tricky at first.

Just realised that your 'profile name' is 'stans' & that might be for 'standard poodles', or perhaps your name?  Yep, we are a nosey bunch here.

Again welcome.

Lynn & girls.

One thought on this is if you are interested in using the Creon  and are in the US I belive Renee still has some that she would be willing to sell.  She lost her dog CC and was willing to sell the Creon she had purchased.  It would give you an idea on whether they are easier for your dog.

We can contact Renee if you are interested.

Just a thought.

That is a very nice thought Jan.... BTW... please  give my regards to Renee!

Not sure what you're feeding along with the powder, but maybe your pooch just isn't keen on your cooking :-) We're currenty using Pancrease-V powder and as long as her dry kibble gets mixed in with some stinky wet food (low fat or a homemade), a bit of water (to make a gravy), and allowed to sit, it's a huge hit.

Re the switch to tablets, my vet also said the tablets are not as successful. Our pharmacist researched all available human meds in the hopes that we'd find something comparable and cheaper. No luck, especially on the "cheaper" aspect. None of the tablet forms really compared to what we are using in terms of the amounts digested by the powder enzymes. I believe Pancrease-V is most comparable to the Viokase powder. It's a Canadian product, and the cheapest I've found is at Cross Border Pet Services (available online, with a prescription). I  worked for a vet and got the powder at cost, and can say the pricing at cross border is not much over cost (boy I hope they don't ever see this!).

Hi.  You didn't give a lot of info.  Has the B12/folate been tested?  If B12 is low or SIBO is going on, that can cause malabsorption, which can cause lack of appetite.   Or, as O mentioned, how much food/enzymes?  You need enough enzyme to digest all of the food, so if not enough, tummy could be hurting from that, also, which in turn could make them not want to eat.

If you can, let us know all that you are feeding, how mixing the food/enzyme, what tests were done and the results.

stans107 at June 21, 2010 at 4:40 PM

Hi - Presently i am giving my dog Viokase powder.  She is developing a distate for her food after a month of normal eating.  Had anyone used the pill form of Viokase or any other Manufacturer instead of the powder?  She takes 1/4 teaspoon of powder per meal.  Thank you.

Hi Stan,

I don't sing my name either... LOL...

I've used BioCase V capsules since the beginning. That is after my vet prescribed PancreaPlus which was astronomically expensive and out of the question. BioCase V is generic and needs no prescription.

Barnum does better on four at each meal. Originally, we were told to give two PancreaPlus with each meal (two cup meals fed three times a day). I noticed he didn't fair as well. When we were about to run out of PancreaPlus we ordered the BioCase V.

On June 1, 2010, we switched his diet to raw food and kept him on the two per meal. Then we changed that to three per meal. Finally, we cut his meals down to two times a day with four per meal. So now we actually give more enzymes and the equivalent amount of food from before. And he's doing very well on the increased amount of BioCase V.

We fix the capsules with peanut butter and feed to him ten to fifteen minutes before his meal.

I do believe the increase in his enzymes decreased his owl pellet production. Thank goodness!

In August, we'll add raw beef pancreas and hope that will help his digestion further.

Hello,

My girlfriend's French Bulldog was recently diagnosed with EPI.  He has since responded well to the powder medication on his food.  I don't recall the name of the medication.  

My question is this:  Is there an alternative to the powder?  He has developed an intense, foul odor.  The odor is coming from his face.  I think what is happening is that the powder is getting up his nose.  The shape of his face forces him to kind of stuff his face in the bowl while he eats.  

In any event it is an unbearable smell and no amount of cleaning or wiping helps.  Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks.

HI gar305-

i am going to start this as a new thread for you called    ":enzyme stench"