New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

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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Sadie'sMom
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Posts: 172
Location: Wisconsin
Country: United States
State: Wisconsin
Pet name: Sadie
My name: Lisa

Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Sadie'sMom » 23 Jul 2020, 13:34

Good Morning Olesia:

First, as always, thank you for responding to my post. The coconut oil that our daughter gave us is white and thick (like lard) and is meant to be applied to her coat. Sadie wouldn't be able to reach the areas where I would be applying it as the majority of the problem is right where her collar is. This issue is so "weird". The last 2 days - she hasn't had any flaky skin and the majority of the areas she had issues are gone. All that is left are some areas on her skin where it is red. The areas are the size of an eraser on a pencil or a smidge smaller. I never thought about it - but could this have anything to do with her collar rubbing her skin? She has other areas on her back where she has some spots - but 90% of "spots" are right there. Her collar gets soaked often as she likes to get wet. We try to remember to take it off at night to let it dry.

I am most definitely going to try your baking soda bath idea! That might just be the answer to what is going on. I will give that a whirl and report back to you and let you know if it worked or not. Would be wonderful to have this issue fixed by something so easy. Thank you for this suggestion!

Take care. Be safe.

Lisa & Sadie
Sadie is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever ("Toller" for short). She eats Authority Grain Free Chicken & Pea kibble. To make sure she ingests the enzymes, we mix some No Sodium Chicken Broth and a small handful of meat - chicken, hamburger, pork - and stir it up with her dog food (she eats like a champ now!). With each meal she gets 5 scoops (1 1/4 tsp's) of Diane's Enzymes and a WonderLabs B-12 with Intrinsic factor. She gets 1 Proviable-DC probiotic per day. Diagnosed in September 2019 with EPI. She has some issues with dry skin we are dealing with now.

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Jean
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Location: South Liverpool
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Pet name: Kara, lost 10th May 2019
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Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Jean » 24 Jul 2020, 08:37

Baking powder is amaziing stuff

I use it in the toilet basin with white vinegar, close the lid as it froths

brilliant for smell and bathing dogs

https://www.petmd.com/dog/slideshows/9- ... view_all=1

white vinegar is my house mate
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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Madelon
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Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Madelon » 24 Jul 2020, 18:32

Glad the flaking seems to be gone. If most of the redness is near the collar area and it gets wet often that could be the issue. My boy LOVES the swimming pool - if I don't get him good and dry - which isn't easy with a German Shepherd - he will get skin issues from staying wet. Hope the coconut oil helps.
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.

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Sadie'sMom
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Posts: 172
Location: Wisconsin
Country: United States
State: Wisconsin
Pet name: Sadie
My name: Lisa

Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Sadie'sMom » 27 Jul 2020, 12:22

Good Morning Jean & Madelon:

Jean - you continue to crack me up with "white vinegar is my house mate". :-) My husband loves it too. We actually just learned a trick with it. You mix it with salt - spray your weeds and BOOM within hours everything is dying. We couldn't believe it. Husband hates Roundup - scary stuff - and you have to wear a Haz-Mat suit to use it. So when I found this "recipe" for weeds and he tried it - well, I've never seen him this happy in a long time. lol. We also use it to clean toilets - along with bleach.

Madelon - you are correct. The majority (but not all) of her flaky skin is under her color and she wants to constantly be wet in the summer time (she goes and sits by the hose and waits for us to drench her so she cools down) and she goes in the pool with me as well. I will continue to keep her collar off until she is 100% dry and hope that helps things. It's always something with dogs.

I have noticed that her appetite is excellent now that summer is here. So, all in all, she is doing great and we couldn't be happier as she is truly the light of our lives.

Both of you take care and thank you for taking the time to respond. Stay safe & healthy.

Lisa & Sadie
Sadie is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever ("Toller" for short). She eats Authority Grain Free Chicken & Pea kibble. To make sure she ingests the enzymes, we mix some No Sodium Chicken Broth and a small handful of meat - chicken, hamburger, pork - and stir it up with her dog food (she eats like a champ now!). With each meal she gets 5 scoops (1 1/4 tsp's) of Diane's Enzymes and a WonderLabs B-12 with Intrinsic factor. She gets 1 Proviable-DC probiotic per day. Diagnosed in September 2019 with EPI. She has some issues with dry skin we are dealing with now.

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

Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Jean » 27 Jul 2020, 13:00

i am going to try the salt and white vinegar on our Mares Tails, I hate the damned things, the white vinegar alone is good for weeds but...hey ho
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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Madelon
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Location: Nashville, TN
Country: United States
State: Tennessee
Pet name: Doc

Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Madelon » 29 Jul 2020, 23:36

Thanks for the tip about the vinegar with weeds - I hate round up too so will definitely give that a try! Keep us posted on how things are going.
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.

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Sadie'sMom
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Posts: 172
Location: Wisconsin
Country: United States
State: Wisconsin
Pet name: Sadie
My name: Lisa

Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Sadie'sMom » 30 Jul 2020, 07:58

Good Morning Jean & Madelon:

In case you need the recipe, here it is: mix 1 gallon of white vinegar, 1 cup of table salt, and 1 tablespoon of dish soap (we use Dawn). Stir/shake it up really good. We then pour the mixture in our spray jug (using the old Roundup on we have) and spray away. I could rave all day long about how great this works and how much safer it is for the person applying it. And with all the lawsuits against Roundup stating it causes cancer ---- well, we will never use that product again. Plus this mixture actually kills the weeds twice as fast as the Roundup did!! Just be careful to not spray anything you don't want to kill --- but it will kill it. Wayne accidentally sprayed some on a small bit of grass that was near the weeds....well, the grass is brown and dead now too. :lol: Hope it works for you as well as it does for us.

I hope you both have a great weekend. Please continue to stay safe & healthy.

Hugs -

Lisa & Sadie
Sadie is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever ("Toller" for short). She eats Authority Grain Free Chicken & Pea kibble. To make sure she ingests the enzymes, we mix some No Sodium Chicken Broth and a small handful of meat - chicken, hamburger, pork - and stir it up with her dog food (she eats like a champ now!). With each meal she gets 5 scoops (1 1/4 tsp's) of Diane's Enzymes and a WonderLabs B-12 with Intrinsic factor. She gets 1 Proviable-DC probiotic per day. Diagnosed in September 2019 with EPI. She has some issues with dry skin we are dealing with now.

Tuckaboo Pam
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Posts: 1345
Country: United States
State: Florida
Pet name: Tucker
My name: Pam H.

Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Tuckaboo Pam » 30 Jul 2020, 19:24

Hi Lisa---It's Pam in Florida. The red spots and flaky skin sound like impetigo to me. Look up pyoderma. Will Sadie let you dry her with a hair dryer after she bathes, because whether it's fungal, bacterial, or allergies, keeping the sores dry would seem important. What does your vet say? Coconut oil is such good stuff. It's antimicrobial, antifungal, and antibacterial. I use it all the time. Where I live, the good stuff sometimes comes in a clear container; I always prefer the glass jar, I think Tree of Life is a good brand. About Sadie's fur---that is very interesting. Could the porcine enzymes change the texture over time? Tucker is over a year into the EPI diet, and his fur seems the same, but you never know. Hope things work out---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.

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Sadie'sMom
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Posts: 172
Location: Wisconsin
Country: United States
State: Wisconsin
Pet name: Sadie
My name: Lisa

Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Sadie'sMom » 04 Aug 2020, 08:26

Good Morning Pam:

First, thank you for taking the time to respond to my plea for help. I really appreciate everyone's help, guidance and suggestions. Such a wonderful group to be a part of. Sadie's skin issue is so bizarre. On Sunday - it looked awful - a very red area on the back of her neck (closer up by her head - not near her collar) - it looked awful. In a pinch, we put Betadyne on it. The next morning - it looked sooo much better! I have noticed that if I am looking at her neck and using my fingers to move her hair around - and carefully picking some of the flaking skin off, that the area gets a light red very fast. (I'm not scratching it or using my nails or anything). I have recently noticed her scratching that area with her hind leg - because she can reach it. But she doesn't scratch it very often - maybe 1 or 2 times a day. Her coat has most definitely changed - very coarse, lighter color, tons of white hair, and an area on the back that is so course it stands up. She used to have the softest coat of hair --- sure do miss that. Don't want to miss something - like it being a vitamin deficiency or something, so that's why I reached out to my EPI family. I was also wondering if the enzymes could be causing all of these changes.

I looked up impetigo and she doesn't fit the description. You are right about keeping things dry. We had her in our pool on Saturday and Sunday is when her skin looked the worse. Wondering if the chlorine bothered her and that's what caused that breakout. I purchased Veterinary Formula Clinical Care Antiseptic and Antifungal Spray to try. I also purchased Sulfodene cream from Petco. I will let you all know if either one of these works. Sadie is at the 1 year mark on her EPI diet.

Thank you again for responding - I sincerely appreciate it. You & Tucker take care.

Lisa & Sadie
Sadie is a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever ("Toller" for short). She eats Authority Grain Free Chicken & Pea kibble. To make sure she ingests the enzymes, we mix some No Sodium Chicken Broth and a small handful of meat - chicken, hamburger, pork - and stir it up with her dog food (she eats like a champ now!). With each meal she gets 5 scoops (1 1/4 tsp's) of Diane's Enzymes and a WonderLabs B-12 with Intrinsic factor. She gets 1 Proviable-DC probiotic per day. Diagnosed in September 2019 with EPI. She has some issues with dry skin we are dealing with now.

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

Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Madelon » 15 Aug 2020, 16:58

Hi Lisa! Yes keeping them as dry as possible can help but I also recommend rinsing them off thoroughly after swimming in a pool - the chemicals can cause irritation.
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.

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