Low B12 Problems

[Sally]

Hello,

I'm new here, but not new to EPI. My Callie will be 15 in July, diagnosed with EPI when she was 2. She has been on Pancreatin 6x all these years, plus monthly B12 shots.

For the past week, she has been terribly anxious, panting and shaking. I thought it might be because I brought home some baby chicks, upsetting her applecart. I have had to medicate her to get her to calm down at all. But yesterday, I realized I had forgotten to give her the monthly B12 shot - we may have missed 2 months - which I promptly gave her last night. She still needed calming meds through the night, but seems to be doing better overall today.

Vet is suggesting we have "the talk" tomorrow, citing her lack of quality of life. But maybe her suffering will stop for now with the B12. She wanted a long walk yesterday after the shot and ate as usual.

Any insight? Am I on the right path with thinking this is low B12?

Sally

[Jean]

ok, well considering she has maybe not had b12 for 8 weeks ish, that could be the issue

so are there any other symptoms ?

like vomitting bowel problems,

personally, I wouldnt want to have that talk right now, but maybe blood tests to see if there is anything else going on and temperature taking etc. did the vet say why they needed the "talk" other than what you have mentioned

I had to make the decision last year to let my Kara go, and my heart goes out to you, but see how things go for maybe a little while later so long as she is comfortable

it might be as well to supplement the b12 with

https://www.wonderlabs.com/itemleft.php?itemnum=K9688

maybe, she is struggling with b12 My Kara couldn't hold hers

the most amazing thing is that you have managed her EPI for 13 years that is so brilliant

let us know

hugs


Jeanx

[Olesia711]

My gal Izzy just passed away at 15 ... and she too was diagnosed early (at 1+1/2 yrs old) and was on EnzymeDiane's pancreatin 6x for the entire time except the first month when we started out on Pancrezyme.'

ANYWAY..... every person has to ultimately decide for themselves and their individual situation what is the right time.... but IMHO... unless there is a disease ravaging the body which cannot be controlled in any way.... i have always felt that the dog will let you know when it's time....

sometimes by the look in their eyes, or, as with some who fight until the end, by signs of the body shutting down.... for example, if they start going off their food, and after you try all the tricks and nothing is really working... then start looking for other signs, indications of them no longer doing things that they enjoyed/liked/were capable of doing just a few weeks ago. Dramatic changes with the body, excessive drinking, greatly reduced drinking, more pronounced difficulty walking/upright, all of a sudden having multiple accidents/losing control of bodily fluids .... when you start seeing multiple signs of this or they develop that sad/given up "look".... to me that was always when the dog told me it was time..... and for me ... i have always felt that this was between a dog and their human companion.... not someone else telling me when it was my dog's time.

Now that you have increased the B12.... maybe not make any decision jsut yet, and give you and your dog a little more time... to see what your dog "tells" you over the next few days/weeks............

Sending you many, MANY comforting vibes during this time.... it is so very hard to not only make that decision, but then to say good bye............

[Barb]

Hello Sally. I wrote you a long post last night and when I posted it, it disappeared. So I will try again.

I am so sorry that Callie is not feeling well. You are to be congratulated for taking such wonderful care of her for all these years.But no matter how long our sweet pups are with us, it never seems long enough when we think we might have to face the possibility that it may be time to let them go.

I, too, have been where you are.....twice. We just recently said goodbye to our German Shepherd, Kolby, who was with us for almost 11 years. He would have been 11 on April 14. He was diagnosed with EPI when he was just 1, so like you and Olesia and Jean, we had lots of EPI experience. Over the years, Kolby 's EPI was pretty well managed with periodic setbacks. In fact, we thought we were dealing with a setback right before the Christmas holidays when he started going off his food.....which we had switched to in July and which he had loved. What we didn't realize was this symptom turned out to be a sign of an aggressive form of cancer which proceeded very fast, so that by January it had shocked us with its direction and speed.
Kolby was such a trooper that he hardly complained, which was another reason we didn't see the signs correctly right away.

The only one who can "tell" you when it is time is your pup. As Olesia said, when you start to see several signs that there is more discomfort, or pain, or lack of quality of life than you want her to experience, then you may want look at how you want to proceed. Kolby's physical decline happened very fast and he became very uncomfortable so we were able to see that we did not want to prolong his suffering. But not all dogs present in such a clear cut way.

In Callie's case, she seems to be responding favorably to the B12 injection , so you might want to wait and see if she continues to improve before you make any decisions. We all know that low B12 can cause all kinds of problems. The fact that she wanted to go on a long walk after her injection seems like a good sign.

Please let us know how she is doing. If you need to vent, don't hesitate to write us. This is a very difficult time and we know how hard it is. Callie is very lucky to have you.

Lots of hugs (cyber, of course)

Barb

[Sally]

Thank you, Jean, Olesia and Barb. Just being able to vent and know that others understand the challenges of an EPI dog helps tremendously.

Callie is doing better. I gave her a second shot on Friday and put her back on trazodone. She is eating, taking walks, sleeping and is generally much calmer so I think her B12 must have been extremely low. She is definitely going downhill: I can feel her spine, she has lost a little weight and her back legs are a bit wobbly at times due to arthritis. But she still goes out to potty, wags her tail and seems interested in life. She's always been an anxious dog, probably due to the EPI. We have done about everything natural we could and finally had to resort to meds.

The vet tech recommended I talk with our vet about euthanasia because they know how hard we have worked to keep her going over these years. They've seen her anxiety and know there is really nothing more to try. She had canine vestibular disease last summer and at that time, vet said it could be due to a brain tumor or some other disease process that we don't know about. I did not do any further tests because of her age and she recovered fairly well. Wow, was that ever scary!! She could not eat or drink because of the head tilt and nausea. But I got her through it and she was able to go on vacation with us and several long trips to visit my children - but I don't think she really enjoyed the trips.

I guess at this point, we are taking it one day at a time as long as she can rest at night and allow us to rest. This is no time for us to be sleep deprived and more vulnerable to illness.

Sally

[Olesia711]

Hi Sally,

Please know that we are here for you...please feel free to post whenever you need someone to lean on and simply just share.
The last chapter of these wonderful companions always tugs at our hearts.... treasure all the good moments and may Callie lots of them to share with you.........

[Jean]

having taken day by day with Kara when she developed DM, I am with you 100 %

huge hugs, we are here


Jeanxxxxxxxx

[Madelon]

Hi. I am SO sorry you are going through this. It could definitely low B12 but it could also be something else. It's so hard to see them decline and know when it's their time. Only you and your pup can make that decision but please know we are here for you!!