Hi Brittany! Sorry I have not replied sooner. My GSD, Doc, was tested for EPI at 3mos old because he had yellowish cow pie diarrhea that smelled worse than anything I'd ever experienced. His TLI was 16, B12 was 800 range and Folate was greater than 24 - he was diagnosed with SID and treated with 2 rounds of metronidazole (I didn't know any better back then). He did fine after that for a few months - at 9mos old he weighed 95lbs!! At 10mos old he started to slowly lose weight - poops were still good - at 12mos old he started to have the same diarrhea again and despite feeding him 8cups of food a day by the time he was 13mos old he had lost a total of 20lbs. He was re-tested for EPI and his TLI was now 0.4, B12 was 406 and Folate was greater than 24. So while it's good to test early and getting the word out about EPI has helped to get testing done earlier, sometimes the test is done early enough that the pancreas is still functioning enough where the TLI does not indicate EPI. If you continue to see symptoms of EPI, I highly suggest testing again as it takes time for the pancreas to atrophy.
As for the food sensitivities - my boy is sensitive to everything! If you have to end up switching hydrolyzed food - not sure which one you are currently using - the one that seems to work best for EPI and food sensitivities is Royal Canin Ultamino.
Keep us posted on how things are going.
Waiting on Test Results
- Madelon
- Staff
- Posts: 1317
- Location: Nashville, TN
- Country: United States
- State: Tennessee
- Pet name: Doc
Re: Waiting on Test Results
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.
- Olesia711
- Founder & Research Director
- Posts: 3936
- Location: North Carolina
- Country: United States
- State: North Carolina
- Pet name: Izzy
- My name: olesia
Re: Waiting on Test Results
thanks Madelon for sharing Doc's story!
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.........
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