Epi4Dogs

Lucy, our 4 year old female pug was diagnosed with EPI a month and a half ago. Her TLI levels at the time of diagnosis was 0.80. She had dropped from her normal weight of 25-26 pounds to 20-21 pounds and had all of the classic signs of EPI (lethargy, epi poo, voracious appetite, trying to eat poo)

We started her immediately on the porcine enzymes, and she responded great to them. Her poops almost immediately went to normal and she started putting on the pounds. The only unusual things we noticed was that she became EXTREMELY hyper just before meal time, and she became EXTREMELY lethargic just after eating. But other than that, her weight got back to 24 pounds, she had lots of energy, was on a very regular pooping cycle and seemed to be back to herself.

Until today,

Suddenly, out of the blue, she became very lethargic, almost catatonic. She yelps when we pick her up like she is in pain, especially in her back right underbelly/leg area). She is not pooping or peeing, and when she goes outside she goes to a far corner and sits down and doesn't want to move. When she's in the house, she wants to go away from us and just sit there (normally she is very cuddly and wants to be by us).

She is still excited to eat, and gobbles down her food. She's less interested in drinking water. And about 5-10 min. after drinking, she sometimes spits up a very tiny amount of liquid (about 1-2 tablespoons). Her last poo (this morning) was well-formed and normal.

The only thing that changed recently is that we gave her one 1000mcg PetFactor B12 capsule with her dinner the last two nights.

Unfortunately our vet is a solo practitioner and he is on vacation through next week. We live in a remote area and the nearest emergency vet is in another town and had a 4-6 hour wait time. We're also worried that a new vet might not be familiar with her and her condition and it would be liked starting from scratch.

Any suggestions of what this could be or what to do for her?

Brian
Lucy's Dad

Hi Brian,

I am sorry you are going through this with Lucy. My first suggestion of course would be to get her to a vet.

But I do have a question. Was she given metronidazole by any chance? It is an antibiotic that is oft en prescribed for bacterial issues and some dogs experience serious side effects including neurological effects. Do you know if she may have been given this? It is also called Flagyl.

Barb

Thanks, Barb!

No, she has not been on any antibiotics (or any other medication other than the enzymes and B12).

hi and welcome

I am thinking all over the place and Barb asked a very important question

which enzymes are you giving ?

the thing I am thinking about is a reaction to b12

anaphylaxis is the one thing

is there any of this ?

Vitamin B-12 can cause very rare but serious allergic reactions (anaphylaxis). This includes swelling of the face, tongue, and throat, and difficulty swallowing and breathing. If this occurs after you take vitamin B-12, call 911 or your local emergency services immediately.

I imagine in a dog it would be similar

this pain in that region is weird but its a pain your vet is not around, and that they havent organised emergency cover, but here we are

if she is not peeing, that is a vet emergency, Brian I am afraid you need to seek the vets advice now, ring whoever it is and explain the symptoms

is there any chance she is pregnant


Good Luck


Jeanx

How are things today, Brian?

I'm not as knowledgeable as the staff members are, but for starters I think I'd cut the B12 for now.

Has she pooped & peed since your post last night?

Does she scarf down her food voraciously, maybe leading to a belly ache after a meal? The hyper behavior pre-meal could almost be her excitement because she knows she will be satisfied when she eats. With EPI my dog was never sated after he ate. He was always looking for more. He tends to go lie down after he eats, but you say she's in pain. So that is different.

Well, I'm just taking wild guesses. Aside from cutting the B12, and possibly feeding her in a maze bowl, I'm not sure I have much else.

I feel your pain about having to start over with a new vet. They want to run every test again, usually, and it's so draining. Maybe check this list & see if any of these vets are near you. https://epi4dogs.com/?s=vets

Please be in touch---Pam

It seems to me that this would qualify as a situation that would put you at the head of that 4-6 hour wait if you forcefully describe Lucy’s symptoms to the substitute vet and ask for advice

How is Lucy now?

Barb

We went to the emergency hospital first thing this morning and she got us right in! She’s now getting all the tests and ultrasound done and we should hopefully know more later today.

Thanks for all of the helpful advice and support, everyone.

I think we can rule out any anaphylactic reaction to B12 because she doesn’t have any problem breathing and no swelling. Although the symptoms starting soon after that being the only thing that changed justifies cutting it for now.

She is definitely not pregnant. Before we adopted her we think she was a puppy mill mother and she had lots of litters. But she was spayed when we adopted her.

She is on the enzymes we got the the vet and that has worked well for her for the last month and a half. (We just ordered a new batch from Diane but haven’t started her on it yet).

She’s getting all the test done now and we hopefully will know something soon.

I am so glad Lucy is being seen. Please let us know what you find out. I’m sure this is nerve wracking for you. Fingers crossed it is something simple.

Barb

Thanks for keeping us posted.