EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to jot to note to let you all know that my King Shepherd, 1 1/2 yr old puppy is FINALLY eating, gaining weight, playing and acting like a "normal" dog!

We are going to the vet's tomorrow to be weighed but she gained another 3 pounds last week.  Best of all, no more mom agonizing over her refusing any kind of food for days and weeks!  Yaaaaa,  Abbey is eating TOTW mixed with TOTW canned dog food.  For the first time this morning, she ate her bowl clean!    She is now averaging about 4 cups of kibble a day and 1 can of wet food mixed in.

Oh... she is eating all her food WITH both enzymes and Tylan mixed in.  No problem.  I think the difference is finding that she has Addisons.  We gave her meds for boosting up her cortisol levels and that did the trick.  I wanted to share this with everyone so if they have similar eating problems as Abbey, they might consider other issues like Addisons.

I have a quesiton about Enzymes.  How do you all store it?  Do you keep the enzymes in the refrigerator or ?  Do you buy in bulk and store it or just get enought for a month? 

Last but not least, thank YOU, all of you for being the help and support that you are to me.  I am hoping my journey with Abbey will be a bit smoother in the future.

Janice- I am so glad that you didnt forget  to pop in and update us and this is great news what drugs  do you use for the addison ?.

Somebody else will have to tell you about storage

Ann

Janice, I buy in bulk, store most of it in its original packaging from Enzyme Diane, inside of a ziploc bag in the fridge and keep a small container in the cabinet for day-to-day use. So glad your Abbey has really turned a corner! Great, great news! And good tip on keeping an eye out for Addisons.

Hi Janice.... That is such great news that now you have a complete diagnosis (EPI + Addisons) with Abbey and that she is finally responding great... and now gaining weight.... isn't it a relief when things finally start working?!  I went thru something similar with my non-EPI dog, Rico, who FINALLY was diagnosed with A-Typical Cushings... once they got him on the proper medications, the recovery and normalacy was great to see.

SO........... one of the symptoms of Addison's is inappetence... i had no idea and this is good to know... thank you so much for sharing this information with us.

And... at this rate.... sounds like Abbey may be a candidate for the Chunky Monkey CLub in the future .... please do keep us posted!

Hi Janice

weight gain?

YESSS... that is good news and well done you for sorting out the problem. I don't know anything about Addisons so I will file that away for any future reference, the more we learn from each other the better chance we have if problems strike.

Keep us posted and maybe a picture of Abbey?

Val

Glad to hear thing are going in the right direction again......

So happy to hear things are going well!

Thank you everyone!  Ann, the medication for Addision for Abbey is Prednisone.  1 1/2 pills each day as well as injections.  I cannot tell you all how great it is to put her food down and watch her nose down in it immediately!

One more question:  I noticed that her stool, although it has shape, is not very firm like it was before.  Also not dark, dark brown like before.  Does "yellow" stool means more or less enzyme adjustment??

Wanda,

Abbey was tested positive for EPI but have absolutely no appetite.  She got worse and worse to a point where she was not eating at all.  I was feeding her by hand a few bites of duck liver a day!

Then, her vet suggest testing her for Addisons because he says that is the only thing left that he could think of.... Lo and behold, she tested positive.  It was like a miracle.  She started Prednisone and the next day, started eating. 

A miracle - that is so good that you had a diagnosis to get Abbey on the way to better.

  It is on my vets list of things to check with my maezi after we rule out some other things.  DId Abbey lick alot especaily salty skin - lotions just put on etc. Her appetite had been very poor to hand feeding her but right now she is eating better with enticers.  Did her symptoms come and go at first ?

As for the yellow poop ,shaped but not firm .  THats where we are at with Maezi right now as well I have tried more/less enzymes - longer incubation.  She is currently on a 42 day run of Tylon to see if it helps.

Thank you Janice 

wanda

Wanda, Abbey licks herself a lot but the vet thinks it is because she has allergies.  And yes, her symptoms come and go in the beginning... and then progressively got worse.

Wanda, it had been a real difficult journey to find Addisons because Abbey is an EPI dog.  Symptoms affected each other!  Addisions is definitely no appetite but Abbey does not have other Addisons symptoms.  At least not yet. (Typical systems can be lethargy, weakness in the hind legs etc.  Just like her EPI, other than Abbey's weight loss, she had no other symptoms.  It is because she also has Addisons. 

There are several Addisions support groups but I have not had time to truly investigate yet.  Wil do that this weekend.  I hope this helps you.  If it is Addisons, my vet tells me it is much "easier" to control than EPI... but more expensive!

Janice,

I am so glad to be reading the wonderful report on Abbey.  You must be ecstatic.  The correct diagnosis means everything!   So glad she is improving.  

I store my enzymes in the original container from Enzyme Diane in a corner cabinet in my kitchen.   We have a porch there, so it is relatively cool.   Once I open Diane's package, I move all of the enzymes to air tight plastic containers and keep them in teh same cabinet. 

Thank you so much for sharing this with us.   Knowing the symptoms for Addisons helps all of us in case we or someone here encounters them. 

Belly rubs to Abbey!

Barb

Janice, Im new to this board and find it interesting that your dog has Addison's and EPI. So does mine! My guy was diagnosed with addisons back in January 2010 then EPI this summer. He is doing great with the prednisone and percorten injections for the Addisons and now doing well with the enzymes for his EPI. There is a great yahoo group for Addison's that you will learn alot from. Thanks to them my boy feels good and we have gotten the price per injection way down. Glad your girl is doing well.

Cindy

Hi Janice,

Our little Barnum boy might have Addison's Disease. Our new vet gave him that initial diagnosis upon seeing him in the exam room. 

After numerous tests, he is even more siding with Addison's Disease. I know quite a bit about the disease because my mother had it. However one symptom slipped my mind. I forgot about the one symptom though that my mother often complained about, weakness and pain in her legs. For dogs, it would be in their hind legs. Barnum displayed this symptom for the past year and both my husband and I had wondered whether he was developing arthritis at a young age. Barnum started the symptom at age 2 1/2. I never gave Addison's Disease a thought until he had more symptoms.

I asked our former vet if he could have Addison's Disease, and she brushed me off.

About 30 days ago, Barnum exhibited further symptoms of something being wrong. From there, his health declined rapidly and he lost 30 pounds. He has all of the symptoms of Addison's Disease: vomiting, diarrhea, weakness in hind legs, overall weakness, depression, lethargy, increased thirst, increased urine production, weight loss, and lack of appetite.

An allergy to chicken preceded Barnum's symptoms in the last 30 days. After that, everything went down hill fast.

The test for Addison's Disease or hypoadrenocorticism is called an ACTH challenge. It is a stimulation test to see if the adrenal glands make cortisol after the introduction of Cortrosyn into the blood stream. If the cortisol level does not rise this indicates adrenal failure or Addison's Disease. It is not a test where there is a definitive positive or negative test result such as a blood test to determine blood typing. It requires intrepretation. Other drugs besides Cortrosyn can be used as well.