Epi4Dogs

Danielle,

Thanks for writing me privately... so sorry you had issues with replying to the posts.... hopefully what you did fixed it... and ... BTW....i am impressed ... but..... if it happens again, please let me know and we will have Craig, our webmaster work his magic so that it won't happen again

that reminded me of Kara

she can tolerate any protein if its cooked for her, put it in dog food and she cannot, too much fillers like peas and grain , so we go grain and rice free

Ian my vet, says dog food chicken is the dregs left over

there is a dog food outlet over here that advertise that pet foods can be crap, and they determinedly make sure everything they sell is properly labelled

this is an interesting site

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

you will get there, just keep a note of everything you do in a journal

jean

Hi Jean,

Sorry, some technical issues with my laptop!

Do you know if there's a recommended brand for plant enzymes?

I'd definitely be interested to hear from Maddy about tests for allergies, but her vet did say that there weren't any definitive tests available for Mia. Maybe because of her IBD the tests won't work on her?

These are here past 4 blood works. I just copied down the abnormalities, and, unfortunately, since they were done at 3 different hospitals, the scales for some things are a little different.

6/8/2018 & 5/20/2018 Cholesterol (low 48/131), Chloride (high), lipase (low 59/138), ALP (high 240/160), creatinine (low 0.4/0.5)

7/20/2018 Fasting Serum TLI 2.6 mcg/L, cholesterol level (too low to measure)

8/18/2018 Cholesterol (too low to measure), Creatinine (low 0.4/0.5), Amylase (low 119/290), Precision PSL (low, but pancreatitis unlikely), WBC (high 17.4/ 15.5), MCV (high 80/79, Glucose (high in urine analysis --possible prelude to diabetes, but could be result of chlorambucil), chloride (high)

Thank you for the help in advance!
Danielle

Jean wrote: ↑31 Aug 2018, 03:33 for years we have had the odd person who's dog cannot tolerate porcine enzymes

my girl is intolerant of most proteins, but she strangely does tolerate porcine enzymes

have you had tests for intolerances, I am aware that there are tests in USA I will reach out to Maddy for you

there are folk who had no choice but to go towards plant enymes, and if this is what you have to do, then so be it

can you give us the test results you have for the blood tests you have had taken

Creon although enteric coated is porcine, and will react if your dog is intollerant

please ask away

jean

Hello,

Thank you for your reply! Sorry for my own late one--having some technical difficulties.

Unfortunately, I can definitely say that the Viokase-V isn't going to work, or at least not the way it was originally instructed. She was prescribed 1/2 teaspoon twice a day. The first day, I gave her 1/2 a teaspoon, and she had full-blown diarrhea, stomach pain, and loss of appetite. I lowered the dosage to less than 1/16 of a teaspoon. I did that once a day for a couple of days. She continued to have looser stools than usual. I thought maybe she might need enzymes with every piece of food. I gave her less than 1/16th of a teaspoon with every meal. She ended up with diarrhea for 3 days. As soon as I stop giving her the enzymes, she recovers within 12 hours.

I am putting it down to the basics and slowly adding back in the usual. Thanks for that suggestion!

Riley's Mom wrote: ↑31 Aug 2018, 07:23 Good morning
I agree with Jill, maybe there are too many things going on right now and it's become hard to pinpoint what is working and what is not for your pup.
Creon is a good alternative to powered enzymes. Sometimes even if a dog has a pork allergy, they can tolerate it.

If it were me, I would take her routine back to the very basics, then slowly add things in one at a time (waiting 3-5 days between each change) keeping careful notes to help determine what is working and what is causing problems. Sometimes when our pups struggle, our first inclination is to throw everything at them to try to help, but too much all at once can muddy the waters. Keep it simple at first if you can.

I know it is very difficult to manage IBD and EPI at the same time, but the reality is that with EPI, your dog must have some type of enzymes or she can not digest what you feed her. What dose did you start with the Viokase-V initially? Because you have concurrent conditions, it may be hard to figure what is causing the loose stools, but certainly too low a dose of enzymes could be the culprit as well as the IBD.
I know your head must be spinning, remember to run anything we suggest by your vet.

Hi Olesia,

Glad we eventually got it figured out! Thanks again for getting back to me so quickly!

Olesia711 wrote: ↑03 Sep 2018, 17:52 Danielle,

Thanks for writing me privately... so sorry you had issues with replying to the posts.... hopefully what you did fixed it... and ... BTW....i am impressed ... but..... if it happens again, please let me know and we will have Craig, our webmaster work his magic so that it won't happen again

Hi Jean,

Thanks for the link! The specialist also recommended trying home-cooked meals so she gave me a couple of samples of this fish and sweet potato from a company called Just Food for Dogs (they specialized in food for dogs with things like IBD and EPI), but Mia got sick on it almost right away even though I only gave her like a 1/4 of the juices of the frozen meal. The problem is that Mia's had a lot of different kinds of foods during the time that all the vets were trying to figure out what was wrong, including tuna and bone broth soup from chicken that I used to make her when she got really sick and wouldn't eat anything.

I'll definitely check out the site,
Danielle

Jean wrote: ↑04 Sep 2018, 03:15 that reminded me of Kara

she can tolerate any protein if its cooked for her, put it in dog food and she cannot, too much fillers like peas and grain , so we go grain and rice free

Ian my vet, says dog food chicken is the dregs left over

there is a dog food outlet over here that advertise that pet foods can be crap, and they determinedly make sure everything they sell is properly labelled

this is an interesting site

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

you will get there, just keep a note of everything you do in a journal

jean

Hi Danielle

Have you ruled out atypical Addison's disease?

Hi Danielle,

Just read thru the test results... and her reactions..... *sigh*..... at the very least, it sounds like she is really the most trouble with her IBD condition which makes it very difficult for you to find "stuff" that works............. and i feel for you..........

Has your vet checked for possible kidney issues? And yes.. just looking at the test values and how she is reacting... i too was wondering about possible diabetes

I agree with the others and what you are discovering that no matter what/how you try the porcine enzymes.... poor baby gets loose stools.... so if it is almost well managed with the plant enzymes.... then stick with it.... maybe even try upping the plant enzyme dose to see if that helps......
You also asked (i think) regarding a good plant enzymes. There are a lot of good products out there, but one that comes to my mind is:
https://www.k9medicinals.com/pet-produc ... tal-zymes/
I am sure others might chime in if they have a suggestions also.....

Regarding the Vivonex T.E.N ..just reading the ingredients, i am a fan... I am a big proponent of amino acids having more of an influence in the gastro-tract than what was previously known... and more and more research is actually supporting this...... However.... considering Mia's reaction... i brought up the ingredients in this and am now wondering if it is a minor ingredient that is setting her off in this and other things....




For example, Fiona with Dexter, she had a lot of trouble (over 2 years!!!) trying to find the right food for Dexter ..... she started scrutinizing the ingredients and discovered (i think i have the right ingredient-Fiona, plz correct me if i am wrong!) that it appears that Sunflower Oil seemed to be an ingredient in things that did not agree with Dexter. Well... just a coincidence... this product, that sounds excellent with a lot of beneficial amino acids that research is now supporting, just happens to have Sunflower oil in it as an ingredient.... and this is what reminded me of Fiona's and Dexter's situation....... so........................i am jsut wondering, even if not Sunflower oil.... but it might be some other "minor" ingredient above and beyond the major proteins that are setting little Mia off???? Might be something to look into:

I have heard of the plant enzymes Olesia mentioned. Totalzymes worked for Mickey(until he needed stronger) and the owner was more than willing to help. Just call him. Even the plant enzymes can be helped by incubation before feeding.

Hi there. Sorry it has taken me so long to respond. My boy was plagued with skin infections and bad poos after being diagnosed and switching his foods. I suspected a food allergy after comparing the ingredients of his old food to the food I switched to. I went to a dermatologist - yikes talk about expensive - she suggested a food trial which I honestly just couldn't afford with a GSD that was eating almost 8cups of food a day and I also didn't want him to continue to suffer as I tried things.

I researched and did the NutriScan Food Sensitivity test by Dr. Jean Dodds - there is much research behind it and I for one can vouch for it. It's a saliva test you do at home and send in - I got the results on New Year's Eve - less than two weeks - once I switched his food based on the test his issues resolved. He began a slight itch the following Spring which I knew was environmental but because I'm a crazy dog owner I had blood allergy testing for food and environment - the blood food allergy test confirmed the NutriScan test. I know several dog owners that have used the NutriScan test and swear by the results. So something to consider.