Recent diagnosis, struggling with making progress

Epi4Dogs Foundation Inc.’s mission is the advancement of science and education relating to EPI (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency), yielding useful insights and positive outcomes in better managing EPI in dogs and cats. Our goals are to support and/or collaborate with veterinary EPI research and researchers, and to promote EPI awareness by educating the general public, pet owners, pet organizations, rescue and shelter organizations, veterinary schools and veterinarians.
Tuckaboo Pam
Member
Posts: 1346
Country: United States
State: Florida
Pet name: Tucker
My name: Pam H.

Re: Recent diagnosis, struggling with making progress

Post by Tuckaboo Pam » 22 Mar 2021, 15:54

Jennie, I know you've heard this before, but EPI is a manageable condition that sometimes takes some tweaking. You will figure it out, and Inga will stabilize. Keep asking all of your questions, and don't ever feel like you are asking too much. It can be very confusing at first. I've been here a year and a half, and I still need help. Take care---Pam
Tucker was a shepherd/lab mix--- TLI 1.3, Folate 9.7, Cobalamin 666, Lipase 38. Took Diane's Enzymes 4 teaspoons/day, Wonderlabs B12 one capsule per day, and Tylan 1/16 teaspoon/ morning (to hold SID at bay). Taste of the Wild High Prairie, 1 1/2 cups/day, with a total of 4 cups of Fresh Pet. Stopped eating everything in sight, and went from 60 to 85 pounds! Tucker was my boyfriend, and my husband was OK with that. Tucker succumbed to hemangiosarcoma, but we cherished every day we had with that wonderful, beautiful boy. I will always, always miss my sweet big boy.

Ingathedog
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Posts: 13
Country: Canada
Pet name: Inga
My name: Jennie

Re: Recent diagnosis, struggling with making progress

Post by Ingathedog » 22 Mar 2021, 16:39

Thank you!
This has been so hard over the last few months, she turns 1 next month and we really don't have a lot of energy left, and I'm sure she doesn't either. But we're not giving up on her!

Barb
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Posts: 918
Country: United States
State: New Jersey

Re: Recent diagnosis, struggling with making progress

Post by Barb » 22 Mar 2021, 20:26

Jennie, you have had to deal with so much this year. Please ask all the questions you want. It's very hard when your dog won't stabilize. Some dogs are easier than others. I remember when we could not find a food for Kolby that agreed with him. Everything we tried seemed to make it worse. Then we reluctantly decided to try the Royal Canin Prescription food. We didn't really want to, but we felt like we had to try it......and that was the one that worked. So hang in there. Once all the pieces of the puzzle start to fit into place, things will improve. I know it can't happen fast enough for you, but it will happen.

I hope you and your partner are feeling better each day.

Barb

Ingathedog
Member
Posts: 13
Country: Canada
Pet name: Inga
My name: Jennie

Re: Recent diagnosis, struggling with making progress

Post by Ingathedog » 26 Mar 2021, 16:47

I have been wary to post an update - because things were going better over the last 6 days and I didn't want to jinx it and then today things went down hill.

So since last weekend we'd got the slippery elm and the Royal Canin Anallergic dog food, her poops got so much better 24 hours after that. WE went from soft/soft loose to formed brown. We finished off the few days left we had of the antibiotics - Tylan. We did not try to reintroduce probiotics again because we had liquid diarrhea experiences twice over the last 2 months with that and are trying to change less at once. Last Saturday she had a B12 shot - we can't get that wonderlabs here easily right now so we've just been doing B12 shots.

However - today, this afternoon her stomach has been rumbling again - and she's had 2 liquid yellow poops.
What do we do next? My partner is so exhausted with seeming to make a little progress and then failing or having diarrhea and weight loss again. Since January she has gained 2 pounds only twice and lost 1 or both with the continued loose to loosish poops.

Do we ask our vet for more antibiotics? Should we ask for Erythromycin? Or more Tylan? And for how many days?

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jilbert57
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Posts: 2092
Country: United States
State: Washington

Re: Recent diagnosis, struggling with making progress

Post by jilbert57 » 26 Mar 2021, 18:35

If everything was looking up on the Tylan, then went south after you stopped, I would ask for more Tylan. Some dogs are on a maintenance dose for life. The normal course is 45 days dosed at 2 times a day.

Jill
My name is Jill and we live on the Hood Canal in Washington State. We currently have 2 Jack russells, TJ is 8 and Sadie is 2.

Mickey and his pancreatitis brought me to Epi4dogs.com site in 2012 to help manage it.
He lived from 6/99 - 8/2014

Mickey, Jack Russell. Chronic Pancreatitis. Dianes enzymes, 1/8t 3x/day with meals.

Ingathedog
Member
Posts: 13
Country: Canada
Pet name: Inga
My name: Jennie

Re: Recent diagnosis, struggling with making progress

Post by Ingathedog » 26 Mar 2021, 18:41

If we finished the 45 days and are having this situation do we start over?

Tuckaboo Pam
Member
Posts: 1346
Country: United States
State: Florida
Pet name: Tucker
My name: Pam H.

Re: Recent diagnosis, struggling with making progress

Post by Tuckaboo Pam » 26 Mar 2021, 19:18

There is an important weaning process, so I would think you'd just get her back under control & then start to wean. Someone with more knowledge can confirm or correct, but I know some dogs are on tylan for life. Tucker takes 1/32nd of a teaspoon, twice a day, after weaning almost two years ago. He had the same reaction as your pup, when he came off it completely. He recently had a flare-up, so we did a full 45 day course of his therapeutic dose & weaned down again. So, if you still have some, you should probably start giving her the dose she was taking, until the weaning process is described. Or ask your vet if they can prescribe some more. ---Pam
Tucker was a shepherd/lab mix--- TLI 1.3, Folate 9.7, Cobalamin 666, Lipase 38. Took Diane's Enzymes 4 teaspoons/day, Wonderlabs B12 one capsule per day, and Tylan 1/16 teaspoon/ morning (to hold SID at bay). Taste of the Wild High Prairie, 1 1/2 cups/day, with a total of 4 cups of Fresh Pet. Stopped eating everything in sight, and went from 60 to 85 pounds! Tucker was my boyfriend, and my husband was OK with that. Tucker succumbed to hemangiosarcoma, but we cherished every day we had with that wonderful, beautiful boy. I will always, always miss my sweet big boy.

Ingathedog
Member
Posts: 13
Country: Canada
Pet name: Inga
My name: Jennie

Re: Recent diagnosis, struggling with making progress

Post by Ingathedog » 26 Mar 2021, 19:26

Tylan question: here our vet gave us capsules. But on the EPI4dogs site and the post above it refers to measurements. Do you know it it is possible to order in Canada a form that isn't in capsules?

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Madelon
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Posts: 1317
Location: Nashville, TN
Country: United States
State: Tennessee
Pet name: Doc

Re: Recent diagnosis, struggling with making progress

Post by Madelon » 27 Mar 2021, 11:10

Hi. I'm not sure what's available in Canada. Can you post a picture of the bottle the pills are in? Does it say how much is in each pill? As for the going downhill - reading back it looked like you went downhill after stopping Tylan and possibly almost a week after the B12 shot - is that correct? If so, I would go back on the Tylan - full strength for 45 days and then slowly wean off don't just stop cold turkey. During the weaning off process if you notice things starting to go south then go back to the stronger dose you just reduced (i.e. if you were at 1/8tsp twice a day and reduced to 1/8tsp once a day then go back to twice a day). You might also need to get the B12 shot more frequently then once a week - it might need to be twice a week so it doesn't drop too much before the next shot.
Madelon, owned by DOC. DOC dx EPI 5/2015 = TLI < .4, B12 406; Folate >24. DOC taught me so much and together we battled and overcame EPI, food sensitivies, environmental allergies but we lost the cancer battle. DOC was dx with hemangiosarcoma 5/2022 and crossed the rainbow bridge July 24, 2022. He is and always will be the love of my life, my soulmate, my heart dog.

Barb
Staff
Posts: 918
Country: United States
State: New Jersey

Re: Recent diagnosis, struggling with making progress

Post by Barb » 27 Mar 2021, 20:22

I agree that you should do a full 45 day course of tylan and then wean off gradually. Kolby was on tylan for life, but when I was trying to wean him off a few times, everything would be OK until we hit a certain point , then his poos would go south. So at least we knew where the point was and could dose him from there. If we would have just stopped abruptly, we would not have known how low we could go.

Also Kolby got diarrhea on probiotics, so we could not use them.

Good luck with the next round of tylan. Let us know how it goes.

Barb

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