New member, needs advice or moral support

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.
Landonmom

New member, needs advice or moral support

Post by Landonmom » 26 Aug 2018, 20:46

Hi, I’m brand new. My 7 Ye old was just diagnosed with EPI. He has been on enzymes for about 10 days now. Sometimes his poop is pretty normal, and other times, it’s cowpies. Is this normal at first? I take him out to potty on a leash to make sure he hadn’t eating anything else , and he doesn’t get anything ( treats) ever now .... Is it normal to have inconsistent poop at first ???? Thank you.

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dana7123
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Location: Boulder
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State: Colorado

Re: New member, needs advice or moral support

Post by dana7123 » 26 Aug 2018, 20:53

Hang in there. It is a challenge to get that poo to stay normal. It does take time and then you may have a set back if they get something that upsets them, but you just stay with it. You will get great advise on this forum. Thank goodness for epi4dogs....I don't know what I would do without it!
My Belle is a rescue. She was 3 mo when I adopted her and at 7 mo we discovered the EPI. Her TLI results were "0.4". We went to 3 Vets before we found the 4th vet who knew exactly what was wrong. What a relief! He put her on B12 and enzymes right away! I was so glad to find enzymediane! Belle gets 2 1/2 cups of food with 1 tsp of 8x enzymes twice a day. She is now (at 116 lbs) but now has SIDS. Started putting Slippery Elm in her breakfast (she would regurgitate breakfast & orange/yellow in poo) & she is doing great now!

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jilbert57
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Re: New member, needs advice or moral support

Post by jilbert57 » 26 Aug 2018, 21:21

Welcome to the forum. The recommended dose of powdered porcine enzymes, 6x strength, is 1 level teaspoon per 1 cup of dry kibble. Are you incubating the food? What kibble are you feeding? It is recommended a grain free kibble with 3.5% fiber or under. Do you know if the B12 was tested when the Tli was tested? There are a number of things that have to come together before the poop is consistently good. Those things are correct enzymes, diet, antibiotic(metronidazole or tylan) is SID is present in the gut and supplemental B12. Sorry for all the questions but if you provide a little more information we can better help you.
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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Olesia711
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Location: North Carolina
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Pet name: Izzy
My name: olesia

Re: New member, needs advice or moral support

Post by Olesia711 » 26 Aug 2018, 21:25

Hi There Landonmom,

What you are describing is most likely SID. Effectively managing EPI is all about finding the right balance of the 4 parts to EPI:
1. Giving the right enzymes prepared properly with the right amount for your pup.
2. treating, if needed, to get under better control, SID, (small intestinal dysbioisis)a secondary condition that all EPI dogs have.
3. treating, if needed, B12, if B12 levels are not upper mid-range. Over 80% of all EPI dogs need B12 supplementation.
4.finding the right diet that best agrees with your pup's special EPI digestive system & gut flora.

From what you are describing..... you are most likely dealing with SID. If your vet has not yet started your pup on it, and since it has been 10 days since treatment... my first recommendation is to ask your vet to prescribe Tylan antibiotic powder (read the SID section... start here: https://epi4dogs.com/sidsibo-in-brief/ and please share with your vet) ... or..... if you are willing, even thou it has been 10 days already.... what you might want to try first is a prebiotic ... or a prebiotic with a probiotic. Many of us try Slippery ELm powder https://epi4dogs.com/slippery-elm/ before we jump to an antibiotic... often times it works so that we don't have to use an antibiotic- -but if it doesn't that jsut means you have to whip out the big guns and use Tylan antibiotic twice a day (important!!!) for 45 days (very important... as 10 to 14 days will not address SID.
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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Riley's Mom
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Re: New member, needs advice or moral support

Post by Riley's Mom » 27 Aug 2018, 08:55

You have been given great advice so far, so I just wanted to welcome you to Epi4Dogs!
The only thing I will add is to keep a log or journal so you can track what is happening. It's easier to pinpoint what is working and what needs to be changed when you can look back and see what each day was like.
Keep us updated!
Elisabeth

Riley is a 10 year old Labradoodle. She was diagnosed with EPI in 2014.
She currently eats Taste of the Wild, I cup in the morning, 2 cups in the evening, each meal with 1 Wonderlabs B12 sprinkled over her dinner. Enzymes are EnzymeDiane, 1 tsp per cup of food, mixed in home made bone broth. No other supplements or meds at this time.
Riley currently weighs about 44 pounds, which is pretty heavy for her.

Barb
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Re: New member, needs advice or moral support

Post by Barb » 27 Aug 2018, 15:59

Hello and welcome! Yes, we have all been where you are.....at the beginning, which is the most difficult stage. It is normal to see poops that are not consistently great at first. Once you start treating for SID and supplementing the B12 if you haven't already, you will start to see improvement. It takes some time to get everything in balance, but you will get there.

I heartily support the use of a log/journal to record everything you give your pup and the resulting poos. This will help you to see what is happening on a daily basis and to decide what is working and what needs to be tweaked.

As someone else mentioned, let us know the B12 levels if you have them.

Glad you found us. Ask any questions you have.

Barb

Landonmom

Re: New member, needs advice or moral support

Post by Landonmom » 27 Aug 2018, 18:29

Thank you everyone !
I have been keeping a detailed journal of his food, meds, poops, the number of times he blinks ..😁. Ok, not that, but, a detailed journal. The enzymes he is on has Cobalamine in it. We are rechecking his B-12 levels next week to see if they are going up on what is in the enzymes ( 500ug) . The enzymes are Panzquin. I had him tested for allergies years ago , and he did test positive for pork , but now my vet says protocol says the blood allergy tests are inaccurate... so, maybe he isn’t allergic to pork? He also is getting Proviable Forte probiotics, and we just started him back on Flagyl. There was a reason the vet didn’t want to put him on antibiotics, but, I can’t remember what is was ( head spinning from the entire conversation...) He is on a commercial dry food, his healthy weight is about 97 lbs. He tested allergic to everything, including potatoes, sweet potato, pea, barley, .. you know, all the stuff that grain free food has in it. Of course now, I’m not sure if he IS allergic to all those things if the test is inaccurate. He is on a limited ingredient diet of fish and rice. I know the fiber content is a bit high for EPI ( 5%), but there are virtually no diets out there he can have that I can afford. I just can’t afford $80 for a 3/4 day Supply ... Anyway, there is some more info for you..... go!! And, THANK YOU ALL !!!

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Sparkle Tangerine
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Country: Canada
Pet name: Montgomery

Re: New member, needs advice or moral support

Post by Sparkle Tangerine » 27 Aug 2018, 18:33

It can take time, and lots of trial and error, so hang in there. This site is awesome and everyone here is so helpful. I was so glad to find it and I hope you are, too!
Montgomery was born 21 March 2012. He is a DSH orange tabby and white. Montgomery eats RCFHN Spayed/Neutered Kitten dry food and Royal Canin Ultra Light wet food. He is a catnip junkie who loves paper bags and his stuffed mouse, Ignatz. His Pank-Aid is put into capsules each day as he gets mouth ulcers if it is mixed into his food. He gets two size zero capsules with each meal and eats six times each day. He gets .5ml Ovol twice a day for his gas. He is an enormous 3.08kg and strong enough to give his veterinarian a hard time. He is smart as a whip, has the loudest purr in the universe, and is so, so loved.

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Judy
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Re: New member, needs advice or moral support

Post by Judy » 28 Aug 2018, 07:58

Welcome to the EPI family. We have all been where you are. The beginning can be so scary and confusing. Definitely sounds like there's SID going on there. You've gotten excellent advice up above so I'm just popping in to say Hi and welcome
Piper was 13 months old when she began having symptoms and diagnosed at 16 months of age. She had lost 21 lbs from Oct 2013 to Jan 2014 but gained it back very quickly once she began enzymes, B12 and Tylan. She would go on to develop Hypothyroidism, Cushings Disease, SLO, SARDS as well as chronic infections. Through it all, she was just the happiest dog and never met a stranger, everyone was her friend.

Piper crossed the Rainbow Bridge on April 20th, 2018 at just 5 years of age from other auto immune diseases. She will be forever missed, forever loved and her spirit will live on in our hearts and our home.

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Bpcooper14
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Location: Lynchburg, VA
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State: Virginia

Re: New member, needs advice or moral support

Post by Bpcooper14 » 28 Aug 2018, 09:20

Welcome to the club! :D I'm relatively new here myself and my head was spinning trying to gather as much information as I could to figure out how (or if) I would be able to give Ace the care he needed to live a healthy and happy life. No two cases are the same and what works best for your fur baby is what works best for you. It's just a bit of trial and error getting to that point. And once you get to that point, be prepared for something else to change along the way......And that's ok too!
Hi all, I'm Bill. Ace was diagnosed with EPI on 5/31/18. In January, 2018 he was at the vet for routine check-up and weighed in at 34 lbs. In May after fighting with weeks of poor poo, he weighed 24.6 lbs. On Saturday July 28th, Ace was diagnosed as diabetic.
2 meals per day. He receives 6 units Vetsulin injections twice daily with each meal.
1 cup Victor Multi pro with 1/2 cup ground chicken breast, 1/4 cup sweet potato, 1/4 fat free cottage cheese. 1/2 tsp Pantenex enzymes, incubated 20-30 minutes.

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