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.
abareilles
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Country: United States
State: California
Pet name: shady grady
My name: adrianne

Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by abareilles » 24 May 2022, 16:32

I understand you feeling overwhelmed but this is manageable and sometimes we need to just make modifications until you find the right concoction that works for your dog. It took me over 2 yrs until I got something that worked for my dog but he is still here 9 years later. Everything is going to be alright. A couple things, No treats right now, and watch out fopr others that accidentally drop foods on the floor and don't know it or pick it up, don't let people/strangers give your dog treats, I have a tag on my dogs collar I ordered thru this site that says STOP no treats it works. Good Luck we are here for you.

jagurwin

Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by jagurwin » 24 May 2022, 23:00

Hi Everyone,
I am so lost and overwhelmed and not sure what to do about my poor pup. :(

I have an 8 year old Portuguese Water Dog, Willow, who has always had what we considered to be a sensitive stomach but any issues cleared up within a couple of days.
In February, we boarded our dog while on vacation and she came home with vomiting and diarrhea. I gave her a few days to recover and when she didn't I took her to the vet and was given antibiotics (metronidazole) and told it was just a bug from the kennel. We were still battling diarrhea 2 weeks later so I took her back in and they gave her some diagel and put her on Royal Canin Gastrointestinal food. About a week later we had a couple of days of solid poop and thought we were in the clear.
Unfortunately, we had to board her again and when we picked her up a week later she was a mess. She had lost a ton of weight (10 lbs on her 40 lb frame), her eyes were swollen and infected and she wouldn't eat or drink. I took her to the vet the next day and they were horrified. They put her on an IV, gave her metro again, an antiparasitic med, nausea meds, more diagel. She was so dehydrated her eyelids had rolled in and scratched up her eyes. A week later she was a bit better but still having liquid poop. Back to the vet for more tests and it was determined she had pancreatitis. They gave strict instructions on food (absolutely no table food, only the prescription Kibble and rice/turkey) and added Tylan powder. I asked them if more tests needed to be run and they said no, pancreatitis explained it all.

It's been 3 months now and she still has diarrhea. I am trying to get into the see a internal specialist vet in the area but the soonest we can get in is July 5th. I'm not sure she'll still be around then. She's wasting away. I took her to another vet for a second option and asked about EPI. She said it sounded likely (no tests run) and told me to order the Pancreplus to see if it helped. She also said to try a hydrolyzed protein kibble because she seems to have allergies so we are slowly transitioning to that.
Willow's been on the enzymes for just about a week and I was super excited the first day when she had a solid yet soft poop! Yay! Sign of relief.... until the next day when it went back to "Pudding" and now it's progressed back to water. And it smells awful. Like "makes my eyes water" awful. (Frankly, she smells awful too). I added the Tylan powder back in about 2 days ago but I feel like it made it worse. I don't know what else to do. My original vet is great but won't do much more, the 2nd vet just told me to tell her what I want to try and she'll order it. I think I'll call and ask for the TLI test to confirm EPI.

In the meantime, would upping the amount of enzyme I am giving her help? I am currently doing 1 tsp Pancreplus/cup of food and she eats 1/2 a cup about 6 times a day right now. The vet had mentioned smaller more frequent meals were better for pancreatitis. I am adding Tylan powder (1/8 tsp twice a day) and have Fortiflora at home but not sure if I should add that too. She doesn't drink a lot during the day but when she drinks she does drink a lot but it's mostly at bedtime.

I feel like I'm trying to figure this out on my own. My husband thinks we are trying too many things and maybe he's right. He wants to just go back to the brand of food that she ate before we went on our February trip but from what the vet said, that's going to be too much fat. I'm not sure how long to keep going when something doesn't seem to be working so maybe I am changing it up too fast. Any advice???

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jilbert57
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Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by jilbert57 » 24 May 2022, 23:09

Jackie, I started a thread of your own for you titled Welcome Jackie with Willow.

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.

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Sadie'sMom
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Location: Wisconsin
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Pet name: Sadie
My name: Lisa

Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Sadie'sMom » 25 May 2022, 16:21

Hi Pam:

I work full time, so 3 meals a day is impossible. We tried a morning meal 3 times - it didn't work. She ate less than 10 pieces of food each time and walked away. It appears that the only time they are truly interested in eating is at night. Monday night - she ate half of her food and then didn't want any more. Tried offering her another meal 2 hours later - wasn't interested. Last night - she chowed down and ate everything. I'm starting to think she has her own pattern and isn't going to break it. As long as her poops remain normal - we're happy.

Hi Jill:

Oh my gosh....I laughed when I read your post. We have never had a dog that liked lettuce. I believe we tried yams once and they didn't sit well with her (she loved them - but poop got softer). I guess that's why I'm too nervous to try other things. Wish I could be calmer about her EPI (and with not being afraid to try new things).....but it's just not in my nature. However, if you or anyone of the other staff members wants to come to Wisconsin for a week and try out some other foods on her - I'm all in. :D

Sincerely appreciate all of the continued guidance, suggestions and reminders.

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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Sadie'sMom
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My name: Lisa

Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Sadie'sMom » 26 Oct 2022, 14:27

Hi All:

It's been a little while since I have posted. I need some help again please. I haven't had to post because Sadie has been stable for a while now (thanks to all of you). My current issue/concern: Sadie plays very, very hard in the summer with us throwing her ball and her chasing it all over our 3 acres. This past weekend, she tore around for 2 days straight. By late afternoon on day 2 (Sunday), she was really hurting and was very slow going from a laying down to a standing position. She was also limping quite a bit for the first 5-10 seconds after standing and starting to walk. I decided to give her a baby aspirin (81 mg) for pain. I had read that it was okay to give that to a dog. I don't know if it was a fluke....but for the next 2 days straight she was not herself. She laid around a lot, wasn't interested in playing ball outside, and spent quite a bit of time in her kennel. Yesterday (day 3) evening, she seemed a bit better...but still not 100%.

It never, ever occurred to me that maybe because she has EPI that she can't have any type of pain med's. She's been so normal for so long, I've almost forgotten she has EPI. Can anyone please tell me if there is any type of pain med's we can give her? It will not be often, just when she appears to be in a decent amount of pain. Her poop (thank goodness) has remained normal. Any help will be very much appreciated.

I hope you all are doing well. Thank you. Lisa
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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jilbert57
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Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by jilbert57 » 26 Oct 2022, 15:15

Hi Lisa. Kiya was on Galliprant for occassional aches and pains then daily as it turned to arthritis. She was good on it all the time. It is not processed in the body like Rimadyl. There is Carprofen, Rimadyl and lots of other names for NSAIDS.
I have always been told people aspirin or NSAIDS for people were not to be given to pups. But I suspect your vet ok'd it.
Epi pups can have NSAIDS but I have always gotten them from the vet.
Glad to hear Sadie is doing well!

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.

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

Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Sadie'sMom » 26 Oct 2022, 16:09

Hi Jill:

It is so so nice to hear from you. No, the vet didn't approve of the aspirin. I just did what I never should have done - Googled if it was okay or not. Majority of the articles said it was safe. I will definitely check with my vet, but he isn't knowledgeable, at all, about EPI and all of the issues that go with it. So I don't think he would have had an answer on whether Sadie could have it or not. Do you have an opinion on how she was for those 2 days after I gave her one?

Thank you for the information on the meds that Kiya was able to take. While I was Googling, the one thing that I kept seeing was to never give a dog Advil or Aleve - but nothing about aspirin or Tylenol for that matter either. I'm going to ask him to fill one of the meds you listed below for when she has pain like this the next time versus me relying on Dr. Google for advice. Shame on me.

I hope all is well on your end. I miss our chats.

Warm regards. Lisa
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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Olesia711
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Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Olesia711 » 27 Oct 2022, 20:02

I used to give Gabapentin to my 3rd dog (per vet advice)... but quite honestly.... i don't think it did much.

HOWEVER..... a few years ago, my vet put my dog on Rimadyl... it worked but i didn't like the fact that i then had to have my dog's liver checked all the time... so i started doing a lot of research on line and happened upon. Traumeel.... for people but also used on dogs.... i wasn't sure it was going to work cause it was holistic... BUT.... OMG.... it worked better than Rimadyl, was safe and my dog was on it for (if i remember correctly..._ about 5 years) before it was no longer potent enough to take care of his pain.

This is what you want The TRAUMEEL TABLETS:= https://www.amazon.com/MediNatura-Traum ... pons&psc=1

They will suggest to get T-Relief for the dogs... but i personally do not think it is as effective as the Traumeel (the original product).

The ingredients are: Ingredients
Active ingredients: Each 300mg tablet contains: *Arnica montana, radix 2X 15mg; *Calendula officinalis 2X 15mg; *Hamamelis virginiana 2X 15mg; *Bellis perennis 2X 6mg; *Echinacea 2X 6mg; *Echinacea purpurea 2X 6mg; *Hypericum perforatum 2X 3mg ; *Aconitum napellus 3X 30mg; *Chamomilla 3X 24mg; *Millefolium 3X 15mg; *Belladonna 4X 75mg; Hepar sulphuris calcareum 8X 30mg; Mercurius solubilis 8X 30mg; *Symphytum officinale 8X 24mg. *Natural Ingredients Inactive ingredients: Lactose, Magnesium stearate


Or go ahead and try the T-Relief for dogs: https://www.amazon.com/MediNatura-T-Rel ... B08BJCBJGD
Olesia, was owned by Izzy, a 35lb Spanish Water Dog (SWD), Diagnosed at 1.5 years old - TLI results 1.. Izzy passed away on February 13, 2020 at 15 years old. She lived with EPI for 13+1/2 years. It was because of Izzy that Epi4Dogs was started... she was the inspiration. May her legacy of helping others with EPI continue for as long as needed.........

Tuckaboo Pam
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Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Tuckaboo Pam » 27 Oct 2022, 20:30

Hi Lisa!!!

Two things---when Tucker hurt his ankle jumping off the bed he wasn't supposed to be on, my vet said to give him an aspirin. Never had an issue.

---When Sawyer, 25 pound sheltie/Jack Russell) played super hard, chasing Tucker chasing the ball, he had an attack of heat exhaustion, which is dangerous. He wasn't himself for a few days, so we have learned to pace his play. Could she have just played too hard? Our maltipoo would chase a ball until she collapsed, if we let her---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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Jean
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Re: New EPI Diagnosis - Feeling Overwhelmed...

Post by Jean » 28 Oct 2022, 10:26

Good afternoon from Liverpool

this is from my favourite animal website

https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/can-i-give-my-dog-aspirin#1


as it says you should NEVER give Ibuprophen ior Naproxen

I am totally allergic to Naproxen personally, severe Anaphylaxis, and hospital stay

I changed vets a long time ago and my old vet had given Ibuprophen, the new vet nearly had a fit

I remeber having Naproxen in my hand bag when Kara decided to rifle the bag, she ate some of the Naproxen and it was an emergency visit to the vet, an injection to make her vomit and she sure did, the vet said we would know in a few days whether her liver had been damaged, blood tests etc she was ok. I became intollerant soon after

Aspirin was never brought up

this is useful

https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/dog-pain-medications#

And also mentions Paracaetomol as a no no

personally I would rest her

My dogs took Metacam for pain if it was necessary

As for food they have their own pattern, and as long as she is still stable I wouldnt worry, has she lost any weight ?

My Kara wouldnt settle at night until she had scrambled eggs and mashed potato, and loved eating it from my hand maybe try that,

any pain a dog has will make them go off food

which leg is she limping on

A warm hot water bottle helps enormously, and gentle massage

its nothing to do with EPI I dont think
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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