Sassy says HI and Thank You!!!

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.
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RichardB
Member
Posts: 55
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Country: United States
State: California
Pet name: Sassy
My name: Richard

Sassy says HI and Thank You!!!

Post by RichardB » 27 Mar 2019, 20:33

Hi! My name's Sassy, and I'm a 15 month old GSD. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my brother Buddy, my Mommy and Daddy.

Thank You for all the info this site has given my Daddy Richard!!! Not only did we get the confirmation of EPI today, but in anticipation of it we also received our enzymes from Diane!!! He's been feeding me the B12 (WonderLabs Pet Factor) 2 pills emptied on my food twice a day for 2 days now and started the salmon oil this morning to get me about 3 tablespoons per day. Waiting on the Slippery Elm to arrive in maybe a couple more days. He changed my diet today from Kirkland Chicken, Rice and Vegetable to Nature's Domain Salmon and Sweet Potato to go "Grain Free" and lower the fiber from 4.0 to 3.0. He changed me cold turkey, the bum; while my brother gets to wean off on a 50/50 blend!

My numbers as of today were:

TLI = .6
B12 = 257
Folate = 19.3

I weighed 61 lbs on my Daddy's scale about a month ago and 58.3 lbs on it today. Yet on the Vet scale I weighed 55 lbs 10 days ago and 53 lbs yesterday. I hate when scales lie!!! So I'll be going by two different scales for now. It looks like I lost a lot of weight since my hip bones stick out and you can feel my ribs don't have any meat on them. My poop is best described as cow pies that looks more like pure canned pumpkin than anything else. Hope this improves as quickly as possible. I only had one mess in the house in the beginning before I knew I had a problem and none afterward. I still love everybody, even my brother, although he makes it tough sometimes!

I asked my Vet about SID and she said "you mean SIBO" and I said "yes". She said the folate number should come down with the enzymes and by adding weight.

I told her about EPI4DOGS and all the good info we found here, but she downplayed it and referred me to veterinarypartner.com instead. I haven't looked at that site yet, didn't have to, but will when I have time.

I had my first enzyme meal about an hour ago at 4:30 PM and so far no problems; knock on wood or my Daddy's head, same thing.

Thank You again for all you taught my Daddy and I hope to get to know you all better in the future!!!

Yours Truly,
Sassy

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jilbert57
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Posts: 2092
Country: United States
State: Washington

Re: Sassy says HI and Thank You!!!

Post by jilbert57 » 27 Mar 2019, 21:14

Dear Sassy, what a great story to tell and you should give your Daddy a big lick! You have some great hoomans to be prepared for you to help as quickly as possible. Glad you had your first enzymed meal. You are a good girl to eat all your medicine and food up. Maybe have him keep a diary of food, meds and that way you can see what works to get your poop to a good number on the poop chart. Go ahead and ask questions. Hope to see you in the chunky monkey club.
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.

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Riley's Mom
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Posts: 203
Country: United States
State: Virginia

Re: Sassy says HI and Thank You!!!

Post by Riley's Mom » 27 Mar 2019, 22:21

Welcome!
Glad you found us. Also glad you are supplementing B12, your numbers are a bit low, that will have you feeling more energy before too long.
Ask questions as you have them !
Elisabeth

Riley is a 10 year old Labradoodle. She was diagnosed with EPI in 2014.
She currently eats Taste of the Wild, I cup in the morning, 2 cups in the evening, each meal with 1 Wonderlabs B12 sprinkled over her dinner. Enzymes are EnzymeDiane, 1 tsp per cup of food, mixed in home made bone broth. No other supplements or meds at this time.
Riley currently weighs about 44 pounds, which is pretty heavy for her.

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Jean
Forum Director
Posts: 1707
Location: South Liverpool
Country: United Kingdom - England
Pet name: Kara, lost 10th May 2019
My name: Jean

Re: Sassy says HI and Thank You!!!

Post by Jean » 28 Mar 2019, 04:29

Hello from the UK Sassy and Richard

Sassy, you have a wondefull handle on the English language !

ask your Daddy for some pictures

you are certainly on the homeward stretch, so all you need now, is some good walks, and toys, and a big love

keep a diary Richard on what you do, and what you change, invaluable to the vets, and yes the b12 is very low, but will sort itself out

keep in touch, we love stories

my vet took the oposite stance

he said "i only see Kara for maybe 20 minutes, you have her 24/7, and a group like EPI4DOGS is invaluable for support"

Jean
My name is Jean we live in Liverpool in Uk

I am the Forum Director which I am very proud of

My Kara born 21 July 2009 diagnosed with EPI by cTLI test August 2010 TLI = <1...folate 14 Cobalamin 408, shot down to 94, b12 injections every other day

Lowest weight 39 pounds

We used Panzym enzymes, Tylan and Chemeyes b12 capsules

Sadly, on 10th May 2019, we lost her to DM


Jeanx

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Patsy
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Posts: 266
Country: United Kingdom - England

Re: Sassy says HI and Thank You!!!

Post by Patsy » 28 Mar 2019, 07:46

That’s a brilliant start. I just wondered whether three tablespoon of salmon oil was rather a lot? Perhaps a GSD owner can put me right on that, as my dog was smaller, and couldn’t manage a lot. Obviously the enzymes can digest it, as long as the dose matches it. It’s all trial and error.
Good luck!
Springer spaniel Marti had Epi, PLE , MMM just to confuse me. She lived till 12yrs, chubby and happy despite eight years of epi.
Capsule enzymes suited her best. B12 supplements made her into a new dog!
After a cocker with PLN kidney disease, I now have two healthy rescues, a lively, suicidal , small ginger terrier, adopted with pneumonia, and gum disease needing nearly all his teeth out, and a fluffy grey toy poodle/terrier from Greece.

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

Re: Sassy says HI and Thank You!!!

Post by Barb » 28 Mar 2019, 09:11

Welcome Sassy and Richard! You are doing a wonderful job of managing EPI already. Keep up the good work and ask any questions you have. I love your sense of humor.

Barb

RichardB
Member
Posts: 55
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Country: United States
State: California
Pet name: Sassy
My name: Richard

Re: Sassy says HI and Thank You!!!

Post by RichardB » 28 Mar 2019, 11:36

Thanks All for your support and guidance. I did start a progress log yesterday with the last stool done before starting the enzyme. I also have notes in my calendar for what I thought were important enough to put there from about the last month. I had to do that after the fact since I didn't know at the time what I was getting into. Sorry about pictures, will need my wife's help in doing that I think.

Good News!!! This morning the Poop changed to a darker color and had a little more consistency to it. That was after 3 feedings. The first 2 feedings were a cup at a time and 2 cups on the last one at 9 last night. Previous stools where canned pure pumpkin in color and consistency, today's was brown!!! Yeah!!!

Takes her all of about 4 minutes to devour her 2 cups of food.

I do put in about a heaping tablespoon of canned pure pumpkin per cup of dog food. I think this is OK, but would like clarification. The reason I'm doing this is because I was doing that before to try to overcome the diarrhea and ..... I do it for both her and her brother so he doesn't feel left out. Like what's she getting? I feed them both at the same time apart from each other, I just give him less as I try to give her at least 150%. I even give him some of the salmon oil. I also have the suggested coconut oil, just haven't used it yet, I plan on alternating eventually.

The Slippery Elm should arrive today and I'll start her on that when it does.

Somewhere I saw where it was recommended to give her about 3 tablespoons of salmon/coconut oil per day, so yesterday I gave her 1 tablespoon per feeding 3 times. I'm probably giving her a little too much B12 right now in the hopes of getting her numbers up. That's not supposed to hurt her either I believe. Will have to double check on the dose for the slippery elm.

That's all for now,
Thanks again for all your help!!!
Richard

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Miss Maddie Moo
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Posts: 120
Country: United Kingdom - England

Re: Sassy says HI and Thank You!!!

Post by Miss Maddie Moo » 28 Mar 2019, 11:57

Hi Sassy

Glad your Dad us taking care of you, just a couple of things that may help with the extra food i used to give it in 3 three meals we had two dogs then so i would give my 2nd dog his daily allowance spread over three meals as i didn't want him to feel left out.
With the oils be careful we need to keep things simple to start with so if something goes wrong we can identify the cause...for instance Maddie couldn't do Salmon oil but could do coconut if you add to many things its difficult to find the culprit we say make one change at time ....i kept it basic enzymes food b12 then i added oils in once she was stable.
Good luck
Ann
Maddie DX April 2011 along with low B12 she was feed with a low fibre food below 3% , fat was not restricted ( she wasnt good on pea based foods ) She initially had a course of B12 shots weekly over a period of 6 months and then we used the B12 pills from Chemeyes in the UK . We used Panzym and slowly had to increase the dose as she aged when she was first DX she was 23kg but she gained weight quickly and got back to 33 kg .
Maddie gained her angel wings in Jan 2018 at the age of 10 to a condition unrelated to EPI.
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RichardB
Member
Posts: 55
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Country: United States
State: California
Pet name: Sassy
My name: Richard

Re: Sassy says HI and Thank You!!!

Post by RichardB » 28 Mar 2019, 21:17

A lot has changed in the past couple days, but it looks like there's some progress. She went from 8:30am to 5:20pm without a bowel movement. Both were brown as opposed to canned pumpkin color, but the last two were a little grainy, if that makes sense? The last two were also smaller than the ones in the recent past which makes me believe her body is absorbing a lot now, because I've already fed her 6 cups plus today!

The Slippery Elm Powder arrived this afternoon and 1/2 tsp was added to the 4:50pm feeding; another half tsp will be added to her last feeding around 9pm; will give it only twice tomorrow in the morning and evening as recommended.

How long should it take for the poops to look like they should? I am taking pics of the poops and even took one of her brothers this evening to remind myself of what they're supposed to look like. Hope I don't run into this with him down the road, but if I do I'll be more prepared.

I had a male GSD I had adopted about 8 years ago who had anal fistulas that was very hard to handle and very expensive. Had him in good shape when he developed paralysis for some unknown reason and I had to put him down. The female I adopted with him lived to 12 and finally succumbed to breast cancer a little over a year ago. So I've been through the mill several times and it's always something different. A new test.

Thanks,
Richard

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Riley's Mom
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Posts: 203
Country: United States
State: Virginia

Re: Sassy says HI and Thank You!!!

Post by Riley's Mom » 28 Mar 2019, 21:28

Richard, I'm so sorry to hear about you losses :(
It is never easy.....
I want to reassure you that EPI is totally manageable once you get things balanced. Most EPI dogs do not die from EPI, but rather from other things. I was so worried when my girl was first diagnosed that it would shorten her life, but I have since learned that is not the case. So hang in there and know that you can get this effectively managed!
Elisabeth

Riley is a 10 year old Labradoodle. She was diagnosed with EPI in 2014.
She currently eats Taste of the Wild, I cup in the morning, 2 cups in the evening, each meal with 1 Wonderlabs B12 sprinkled over her dinner. Enzymes are EnzymeDiane, 1 tsp per cup of food, mixed in home made bone broth. No other supplements or meds at this time.
Riley currently weighs about 44 pounds, which is pretty heavy for her.

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