EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

Upon embarking on this EPI journey, some of us are confronted with "Special Needs" EPI dogs..... such as EPI dogs with Diabetes or extra small pups with EPI who may need slightly different ratio's of  treatments, etc. ...... For these reasons.... I would like to thank the following very special EPI FORUM members who have agreed to be "EPI SPECIAL NEEDS AMBASSADORS".

What this means is that when another FORUM member  seeks a little extra help because they have an extra small EPI dog or because they are battling two conditions such as EPI & Diabetes..... this FILE will contain 3 Ambassadors for each condition.. These Ambassadors have personal experience dealing with these unique situations and have agreed to be available to those seeking help with their personal experience.

ONCE CONTACTED, THESE  AMBASSADORS WILL COMMUNICATE THROUGH AND ON THE FORUM... NOT THROUGH PRIVATE EMAIL..

This is set up so that Special Needs situations can be readily addressed,  but also needs to be addressed on the FORUM (not privately) to help everyone.... many times there are people with these same problems that do not post but still seek advice, guidance, etc.

I would like to extend a very grateful thank you to the following :

EPI SPECIAL NEEDS AMBASSADORS

SMALL DOG AMBASSADORS

   lyndamusick@verizon.net  (Linda and Boo)

 violetmdow@yahoo.com  (Pamela and Rosina)

   buttermom1@yahoo.com  (Susan and ButterBean)

EPI + DIABETES AMBASSADORS

 ray-frankie@comcast.net  (Frankie and Zip)

raging.sam@hotmail.com    (Samantha and Honey)

wichsu2000@yahoo.com     (Sue and Claire)

EPI CAT AMBASSADOR

melissa_farber@hotmail.com (Melissa and BusterBoy)

This FILE "EPI Special Needs Ambassadors" will be kept in the FILES section.

Great idea Olesia!   Thanks for stepping up guys and giving of yourself...much appreciated!       Just felt like I wanted to give you guys a special pat on the back!    Took me a moment to find the "Files" so here are the directions...

To access our FILES section you must be at the EPI FORUM homepage

http://www.epi4dogs.com/apps/forums/

Scroll down to the "Search" box on the left side of the page.

Directly across on the right side, you'll notice "View: Normal / Recent"

Select "Normal"

At the "Welcome" section you'll see "General Discussion" and "FILES"

Select "FILES"

Select any FILE that interests you.

I know I'm going to be in the minority here, but an EPI dog IS an EPI dog...They may have other concurrent conditions and they may be small, but I think that the forum is here to support all... At least that's the thought when I joined...I think that the knowledge here is immense and I don't think we need Ambassors for the ones that don't fit whatever mold society has placed upon us...

We are one for all and all for one...At least that's what I thought we were here for...Someone correct me if I'm wrong...

This is cool!  I have not seen it before. Just wondering if there are any EPI & Lymes doggies/people out there?

Sharon and Hans

Olesia:

Sue and the other people named as ambassadors have been a blessing for many and there have been times when I don't know what we would do without them.  We've learned from each of them as they've learned to live the conditions themselves.  If we now address some of these things privately or in a separate manner, we don't have a chance to learn and new people won't be able to see that something more could be going on with their dogs.  As far as small breed ambassadors, these people named are wonderful caregivers and have a great deal of knowledge on their breeds but once again, how are those of us who have large breed dogs, to learn without hearing their problems and experiences?  One of the best things about this forum, is that we've been able to hear about each dog and their family and to understand the total dog whether it's a dog who has diabetes, or perhaps lyme disease or even issues with incontinence.  Dealing with each of these issues, along with dealing with EPI can be interesting and a challenge when giving meds or even maybe learning to feed them a little differently.  I for one, want to continue to be able to learn about every dog and every issue they may be facing because through that knowledge, I might be able to help another person whether here at the forum or someplace else.  If I don't know about something, how can I tell someone medically which direction to look in or what to talk to their vet about?  Does any of this make sense?  I love having people who know and understand certain conditions that I don't personally have experience with, jump in to help someone...and educate the rest of us. 

Ok,   I am confused here.   I have a small breed dog, as you all know.   Does this mean that people like me will be directed away from our open forum and talking to the ambassadors privately?   I dont get it.   Then, I cant participate in helping them out at all, is this right?   I have over 4 years of experience with an EPI small breed.  Not that I am an expert, or better than anyone else here, but I do like trying to help.  Also, to be honest, I have recieved just about ALL of my help and valuable advice over the years from the wonderful GSD people.   Seems that this way, the people with "special needs" dogs will be getting advice from great and helpful "special Needs ambassadors" but missing out on the support and knowledge from the rest.  You never know, some LARGE BREED person might have the answer that could save their dog.  I know that was true with Suzie.  I think the "special needs" dogs NEED all the help and advice they can get, from anyone who wants to help.   I commend the wonderful giving people who volunteered,  but I just dont see how this idea will actually be helpful.

I just think there will be something lost here for the newbies and the rest of us alike.  

Just my unprofessional opinion, or maybe I just dont understand the concept here.   Like I said in the beginning, Im confused.

Oh dear

This has opened a small can of worms

I agree that no matter what size or breed your dog is it has the same illness and the same needs and the advice here is awesome and everyone treats every breed and problem the same with no sizeist issues that some folk have when they have a big dog 

Historically it as Shepherds that had it, My vet said in the 80's the practice had at least 1 dog each week now he is down to two in the practice and very relieved

Even the Lypex capsules Kara takes has a picture of a GSD on the bottle and of course a cat 

I have to agree that dividing the forum is not in my humble opinion the way forward but I am not sure that is what Olesia had in mind maybe it was perhaps a meeting of minds with different breeds and specific illnesses and as she said if there was a problem which another member had then they would go to them, the only problem there is that other folk miss out on very interesting information my friends dog has Furunculosis and found all sorts of info on here when sent in our direction and managed to get her friends yorkie diagnosed with EPI which would never have happened if she had not found us

I agree that we would miss out on the information from everyone on the forum to say nothing of the funny stories that the smaller breeds folk have told to us they are such characters

I could even put myself forward as a cat person as I had one with epi in the 80's when it was unknown at the vets I had then only for the vets son coming out of uni and recognising it she would not have lived till 20 yrs old she was diagnosed at 8 but I wouldnt as those people need all our support too

Also from what people have said if vets know anything about EPI they are more likely to take more notice in a big dog and the smaller breed folk need our support to spread the word and encourage them to not give up and fight, fight

Jean 

Well.... let's just put that lid back on the can of worms..... my fault, I should have explained it better.

This was NOT  to promote private conversation.... but rather to let folks immediately know that we have people here on the FORUM who are dealing or have dealt with  the same special special situation ...and that they can help them. They can contact these Ambassadors and these Ambassadors  will then pop in on the FORUM and help them out.

What has been happening is that  when someone with a Diabetic dog + EPI, or a person with a very, very small dog is having issues.... i personally have been contacting these other people who specifically have the same experience ....to please, if they can, pop in on the FORUM and help..... but sometimes... i am not around 24/7.  So I just thought it would helpful to have these people listed somewhere.

This was in no ways an effort to promote private conversation, but rather to provide assistance more readily.

So, in retrospect,  thank you for bringing this to my attention..... i will now clarify in this FILE that the "Ambassadors": role is to help by communicating and addressing the special needs questons directly on the FORUM not via private email . Because, as stated above, we are ALL here to learn and benefit from their experience.

Hi

I want to thank Olesia for her invaluable help to me and Kara

I have e-mailed her personally and as she says she is not there 24/7 but there generally is someone somewhere out there in cyberspace, again where would we be without WWW 

So lets all pull together and make this forum even better than it was

We have some wonderful people, dogs and cats, if there any other species which I have not seen them too

JXXXX

epi4dogs at February 1, 2011 at 3:35 PM

Upon embarking on this EPI journey, some of us are confronted with "Special Needs" EPI dogs..... such as EPI dogs with Diabetes or extra small pups with EPI who may need slightly different ratio's of  treatments, etc. ...... For these reasons.... I would like to thank the following very special EPI FORUM members who have agreed to be "EPI SPECIAL NEEDS AMBASSADORS".

What this means is that when another FORUM member  seeks a little extra help because they have an extra small EPI dog or because they are battling two conditions such as EPI & Diabetes..... this FILE will contain 3 Ambassadors for each condition.. These Ambassadors have personal experience dealing with these unique situations and have agreed to be available to those seeking help with their personal experience.

ONCE CONTACTED, THESE  AMBASSADORS WILL COMMUNICATE THROUGH AND ON THE FORUM... NOT THROUGH PRIVATE EMAIL..

This is set up so that Special Needs situations can be readily addressed,  but also needs to be addressed on the FORUM (not privately) to help everyone.... many times there are people with these same problems that do not post but still seek advice, guidance, etc.

I would like to extend a very grateful thank you to the following :

EPI SPECIAL NEEDS AMBASSADORS

SMALL DOG AMBASSADORS

lyndamusick@verizon.net   (Linda and Boo)

violetmdow@yahoo.com   (Pamela and Rosina)

buttermom1@yahoo.com    (Susan and ButterBean)

EPI + DIABETES AMBASSADORS

ray-frankie@comcast.net    (Frankie and Zip)

raging.sam@hotmail.com    (Samantha and Honey)

wichsu2000@yahoo.com    (Sue and Claire)

This FILE "EPI Special Needs Ambassadors" will be kept in the FILES section.

since i was one of the 3 people asked to participate in this group regarding smaller dogs, i want it understood COMPLETELY THAT NEVER did olesia ever ask or want any one of use to be doing this outside of the epi forum....it was ALWAYS meant to be done where all members could click onto the discussion and join in....(just as i have clicked onto many of your post and asked questions even though the largest majority of dogs on this site would be considerd "larger dogs"....) i remember mentioning in several of my post the concerns i had over boo doing the ctli test as well as the b12/folate... she was not then(at 2.3 lbs) and still is not at a safe size for her to fast 12-15 hours that those test would require.... her new vet was adamant that until she stabilized AT 3.5 LBS., WE WOULD HAVE TO WAIT AS OTHERWISE, SHE COULD BECOME HYPOGLYCEMIC AND AND OTHER NUMBER OF THINGS...many new members do ask about dosages and that sort of thing in these dogs and on the viokase and bio case v containers, the recommended dosage is clearly geared towards some of the larger breed dogs...only after seeing her new vet did i get what would most likely work for her and that still has to be tweaked every now and then....i even mentioned special measuring spoons in some of my post that can be purchased at bed, bath and beyond..... those measure a smidgeon, a dash and a pinch)... boo's dosage is in pinches.....to tell you how small she was when diagnosed, susan's dog(butterbean) was almost 3 times boo's size, so clearly, these smaller dogs definitely have a few more little problems to contend with than some of the larger babies...we are all on a learning curve here and that is what makes this forum so special...were i to get another big dog that came down with epi, i could come to this site and learn so much about what would be the best course of action to take and visa versa... i can only tell you from having a squirt for a dog that she taught me that "bigger" truly might have been a little safer, but she teaches me something new and different each and every day.....i met susan thru a mutual friend and in the beginning, had i not had her, i am not sure i would still have boo. we all need help and we can all learn from one another....just know that i take this very seriously.... if i can help but one person help get their little dog or cat thru some of this, then i joined this site for all the right reasons and thank god, olesia had the vision to help make this possible.. lynda

Hi all,

I think I understand the intent with this and have no strong feelings either way.  It's about everyone helping everyone.  Cedar's pretty "ordinary" as far as an EPI dog goes, but I am forever grateful for all the help and support and encouragement we have received and continue to receive from the Forum members.  There are so many unique combos of things I wonder about the two that have been chosen.  There has been so much Forum traffic about IBD, I wonder why that one wasn't chosen.  Or Lympwhateveritis that Whimsey has.  And Cat is certainly the dermodedic mange expert on the Forum.  Maybe, if Forum members feel that they have particular experiential expertise in EPI + something else, we could keep a running list of that somewhere on the Forum.  My experience however is that these experts invariably find the threads that they are needed for, or other Forum members contact them and ask them to chime into the thread. 

My thoughts, for what they're worth

HI Barb~

I can answer your question, but first would like to make it also clear that this was not intened to single out one person over another.....

We do not need ambassadors for dogs with EPI + IBD or EPI +PLE......these combo's, especially IBD, is actually fairly common.  EPI + Mange or EPI + _ _  (you can fill in the blank  :)) do not put the dog in IMMEDIATE danger, where as dealing with EPI + Diabetes, can  put the dog in immediate danger, as does one wrong itty bitty move with a tiny 2 lb dog--  also puts the dog in immediate danger.  This was my premise for doing this- -to have a resource available, especially since i cannot be around 24/7

And yes, many of these "experts" invariably find the thread..... (i.e diabetes) but it is usually after i contact them privately to ask if they can help out.... something that not everyone is aware of that i do.

.i have no intention of creating any other special needs categories,.....as these are the only two categories that i felt  might need immediate access to for help....

My apologies to all for ruffling feathers......This was just an attempt to do things better, have information more readily accessible for anyone who may find themselves in a serious life and death situation........

Well I say congrats to those who have the knowledge to spread to others who have dogs with diabetes plus EPI and those who have small dogs with EPI.  Lynda, your post was touching and I can't imagine having a little pup that small and how scary that must be for them to be so close to literally nothing.  I can only relate cause my girls when born were only 3 lbs. and 3.3 lbs. then dropped to 2.11 and 2.13. I felt helpless with them being so tiny but if a dr told me they had to fast and that might have caused them to lose more weight I don't know what I would have done.  I know I am comparing 2 totally different things but it just made me remember how helplesss the girls were at that weight. 

And kudos to those dealing with this and diabetes. My cat Jess that passed was diabetic and it was so hard to manage.  I can only hope that Kain will never have to go down that path but if he does I am glad to know that there are others here that will help.

I am new here so I don't want to step on toes but seems like some may have thought things were going to be done in private, since they are not going to be in private, lets just say congrats to those who will be lending their expertise in those more "specified" area.

Hello Olesia,

Many people, especially new members, have a hard time finding the 'FILES" section.  So you may want to consider listing these resources someplace more accessible... maybe up under "Concurrent Conditions"?

Thanks Becky..... i was thinking about doing that.. but then that would forever leave their emails out there on the web... But if i keep this in the FORUM FILES...... you have  to be a member in order to access it.

As a matter of fact..... i am going to remove their emails for now, until this thread gets buried on the FORUM and then go in and re-insert their emails in the FILE so that they will be there..... 

I know new members might not find readily find the  FILES....but the instructions to do so is always at the top of the FORUM homepage.

Also.... existing members do know where the FILES are and can easily access it themselves to send a shout out for help..... or at least this was my way of thinking.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS THAT THEY THINK WOULD WORK BETTER??????

Thanks for the explanation Olesia; your thinking makes more sense to me now.  I didn't understand that you were trying to make resources available for immediately life threatening conditions.  And no feathers were ruffled here.  It just didn't make a lot of sense until you explained it.

Hey Barb i am glad you questioned why those two particular conditions..... that is it exactly...." to make resources available for immediate life threatening conditions" .... of course, it was crystal clear in my mind why i did this and I jjust assumed it would be crystal clear to everyone else..... but it wasn't until I started reading yours and other messages, that i realized that i it was not cleary... so I really do appreciate everyone's input.

Hi all,

I think a solution to the hackles being raised is change the name ambassador to TRAILBLAZER. 

trailblazer [ˈtreɪlˌbleɪzə] n

     1. a leader or pioneer in a particular field

     2. a person who blazes a trailtrailblazing 

          adj & n 

Thesaurus Legend:  

trailblazer - someone who marks a trail by leaving blazes on trees pathfinder, scout, guide -

                       someone who can find paths through unexplored territory

All of us are experts in EPI, but some of the trailblazers in a couple of the sub catagories would be:

SIBO -Hondo's Karen

CREON - Lynn from Oz

Organization & Research - Olesia

I hope no one is slighted for my not naming the other sub categories and place holders because

there are many these were just some samples.

Frank

Thanks Frank..... Trailblazers, eh? :D... More like DesperationBlazers..........

Anyway, in all seriousness.... i just wanted a readily available resource of folks that can be contacted (if I am not around) in a life-threatening situation.... and that encompasses a Diabetic +EPi dog and/or the extremely tiny EPI dog....so these are the only two categories I am doing this for................besides, i took enough heat on this.... not looking for more 

No fethers ruffled here!! I see what your doing now and a Lymes dog just adds extra meds for a month,  its not a life long thing.

By the way just incase I have not said it recently

Thank you

Thank you for being here

Thank you for doing what you do

Thank you for putting up with me and us

Thank you for spending your time and changing you life to help all of us.

Thats the best way I know how to say it

Sorry i'm not better with words

Sharon and Hans

PS Hans says Ruff Ruff, Arf Art   ........Thats thank you doggie style ;-)