Waiting for test results

[Lsbrega]

Hi Everone,
It was very comforting to find this forum and see that you are not alone with this disease that has so many twists and turns. Our Neko is a Siberian husky and is now 18 months old, when she turned one she started being fussy about eating and had bad stools and now we have done the test and are waiting for results. I have ordered enzymes from Diane and the wonderland B12 so I can be ready. She is already taking one proviable a day. my question right now is the test was done this past Monday and they said if could take up to 14 days for the results.
Is it okay to start giving her the enzymes now and should I pressure my vet for b-12 shots? She seems depressed a lot of the time, big change in her personality. Any advice would be welcome. my best, Linda

[Tuckaboo Pam]

Hi, and welcome to our family. I am so sorry Neko is not a happy puppy, but if she does have EPI, you'll see an improvement after some treatment. How are her poops on the proviable? They say on this forum, to start at half the dose & work your way up to a full dose, to help her adjust to the probiotics. I think this is the first level of treatment for SID, which EPI dogs have. As for the B12 shots, I am not qualified to answer that, but someone with more knowledge will pop up & help. I just wanted to welcome you, and say ask away! Oh, you will be advised to keep a journal of everything you do, in case you need to look for patterns later on. Take care----Pam & Tucker

[Olesia711]

Hi Linda,
Welcome to you and Neko, but so sorry that you might need to be here. Glad he has already started the Proviable probiotic with prebiotics... that is a great start whether this is or is not EPI.... as lots of gastrointestinal conditions have an imbalance in their microflora.... so this will be helpful no matter what gastro issue is going on.

Regarding the enzymes... YES.... you can start them without any worries.... and if this is not EPI ... no harm will have been done by giving the enzymes. You just don't want to keep a dog on enzymes long term if not needed.

Regarding the B12.... has your dog been tested for B12? it is a blood test called Cobalamin B12 blood test.... if yes, ask you vet what the B12 level was. if low 500 or less, then yes i would start giving the B12 capsules now. If not, then i would suggest you not give any B12 because if your dog does have EPI you will also want to run the B12 blood test- -but if you give B12 prior to running the test, you not not get accurate B12 test results.

If you do not plan to run the B12 test, then it is fine to give the B12 capsules now... as B12 is a water soluble vitamin and the dog will just pee out whatever excess is doesn't need. However, if possible, my thought would to to have the B12 test run so that you have a bench mark of what your dog's B12 level really is and then you will know how to proceed.

Regarding it taking 14 days.... they should be running the sample pretty much as soon as they get it..... some labs will get an answer to you right away, others, depending on whatever have been known to take a week before you hear from them.... two weeks is kind of long.... but maybe because of COVID, and the upcoming holiday, they are backed up... i honestly don't know..... BUT.... i would stay on top of them for the results.

[Lsbrega]

Thank you for the warm welcome. The b12 test was being done, I will call the vet office tomorrow and see what's what. They put the delay on covid. Her stools for the last 3 days have been between a 2 and 3. She is now eating merrick grain free bison, beef,sweet potato 3.5 fiber and solid gold green cow canned food. We had tried a lot of foods and right now this combo is working. I stopped all treats a week ago, once I read some of the posts here.

[Tuckaboo Pam]

WOW, good job, Mom! Please keep us posted.---Pam

[Madelon]

Hi Linda. A big welcome to you and Neko. So glad you are getting the test done and have started the Proviable. I was taken back a bit by them telling you it would take 14days to get the test results - even with COVID I don't think I've heard of anyone waiting that long for the test results. In any event it sounds like you already have a good grasp of EPI and great job on improving the poop so quickly.

The one thing I will stress is to keep a detailed journal of everything you give and the resulting poops so you will know what works and what doesn't. EPI is a lot of trial and error and it sounds like you are already a pro at that figuring out what combo of food works best for your dog.

Keep us posted on the test results and don't worrry - we're here to help guide you through this journey.

[Tuckaboo Pam]

The lab that gives us our weekly covid test has suspended its malaria research, and is running covid tests instead. Is it possible that Texas A&M has had to convert some of its testing capabilities from dogs to covid?

[Barb]

Hello, Linda. A very warm welcome to you and Neko. Congratulations on your thoughtful research and on Neko's improved poos. You are on your way to helping your pup to good health. Many dogs have personality changes before they are diagnosed. These tend to disappear once you get their food, enzymes, B12, and probiotics/antibiotics balanced. You are doing a great job already. Let us know the results of her B12 test.

Barb

[Willow&Jen]

Hi! I can speak to test turn around time if you used the Texas A&M lab. It’s about a week. I wanted my Willow’s B12 retested and the vet suggested we go ahead and redo the full GI panel. so last Tuesday we had our vet draw a sample and they called me with the results today. Pretty sure they were available earlier but that’s when my vet got around to calling me.

I recommend having your vet email the results to you. I like having them for my records and if you post questions here people will certainly ask about them.

[Willow&Jen]

I just realized you said you did the test last Monday! I would definitely raise a fuss....

I looked more closely at the dates on my results... blood drawn Tues morning, fedex’d and received in TX Wednesday. Lipase assayed on Wednesday and the other parts assayed Friday.