Re: B12 Dosage
Posted: 06 Jan 2022, 23:32
yes... you really need to try to remember to do only one change at a time... but... it is hard... i know i messed up few times over the course of the years that my gal had EPI and i know others have... sometimes its easy to say, but not always easy to do................
I honestly don't know if stopping the omeprazole could change the chemical imbalance.... but... without really knowing ... it may be a possibility since i do know that the secondary bile functionality in the EPI dog does not work as effectively as it should... so maybe that can alter the gut flora to the degree that it can trigger SID to be out of control... or.... maybe the opposite happens... i just don't know. What i do know is that SID (dysbiosis) is present in ALL dogs with EPI to one degree or another.... no matter what the Folate score is... but 24 is high and even thou they no longer use the Folate score to determine if there is SID in an EPI dog (since we now know they all have it ) 24 is on the high side, so yes it does indicate out of control SID.
If you can incorporate it as "one change" at the moment..... yes i would increase the enzymes to 1 level tsp per cup.... and since you are no longer giving the omeprazole, but the stools are rather large.... see if this little amount of extra enzymes appear to help improve the volume of the stools.
Sometimes when the volume of the stools appears to be a little too much... but the color is good.... sometimes that appears to indicate that the carbohydrate level is a little too high for that particular dog's gut flora. HOWEVER, that being said, your dog is on a hydrolyzed diet so you are kind of stuck not having the liberty of trying a bunch of different foods to find one that maybe better suits your dog's EPI condition.... i was in a similar position with my Izzy when she developed Diabetes i was able to play around a with her food until i found one that agreed with both the diabetic and the EPI condition.... BUT..... when she poo'd larger than necessary volumes of poo.... i discovered that by adding a pinch more enzymes, it compensated for the "too many carbs" and kept her EPI and SID in better control. So...........since you can't really change foods..... by increasing the enzymes to 1 tsp now that you are not giving Omeprazole might also help with a possible too much carbohydrate overload... and i suspect the poos will be better.
After you try upping the enzymes... give it a week (and take notes) record if the increased enzymes are helping. Once this is done.... THEN YES!!!!! please do consider adding Visbiome (or Proviable) as a probiotic to your dog's regimen. Just know that it would be best when adding a probiotic to their regimen to start out with less than 1/2 the recommended dose and work your way up to the full recommended dose of the probiotic over the course of a week or two.... this little trick helps alleviate possible diarrhea that many dogs experience when first placed on a probiotic.... and loose stools are the last thing an EPI parent wants to deal with ............
It sounds like you have a great vet and is giving you some really good recommendations!
Keep up the great work and please keep us posted.
I honestly don't know if stopping the omeprazole could change the chemical imbalance.... but... without really knowing ... it may be a possibility since i do know that the secondary bile functionality in the EPI dog does not work as effectively as it should... so maybe that can alter the gut flora to the degree that it can trigger SID to be out of control... or.... maybe the opposite happens... i just don't know. What i do know is that SID (dysbiosis) is present in ALL dogs with EPI to one degree or another.... no matter what the Folate score is... but 24 is high and even thou they no longer use the Folate score to determine if there is SID in an EPI dog (since we now know they all have it ) 24 is on the high side, so yes it does indicate out of control SID.
If you can incorporate it as "one change" at the moment..... yes i would increase the enzymes to 1 level tsp per cup.... and since you are no longer giving the omeprazole, but the stools are rather large.... see if this little amount of extra enzymes appear to help improve the volume of the stools.
Sometimes when the volume of the stools appears to be a little too much... but the color is good.... sometimes that appears to indicate that the carbohydrate level is a little too high for that particular dog's gut flora. HOWEVER, that being said, your dog is on a hydrolyzed diet so you are kind of stuck not having the liberty of trying a bunch of different foods to find one that maybe better suits your dog's EPI condition.... i was in a similar position with my Izzy when she developed Diabetes i was able to play around a with her food until i found one that agreed with both the diabetic and the EPI condition.... BUT..... when she poo'd larger than necessary volumes of poo.... i discovered that by adding a pinch more enzymes, it compensated for the "too many carbs" and kept her EPI and SID in better control. So...........since you can't really change foods..... by increasing the enzymes to 1 tsp now that you are not giving Omeprazole might also help with a possible too much carbohydrate overload... and i suspect the poos will be better.
After you try upping the enzymes... give it a week (and take notes) record if the increased enzymes are helping. Once this is done.... THEN YES!!!!! please do consider adding Visbiome (or Proviable) as a probiotic to your dog's regimen. Just know that it would be best when adding a probiotic to their regimen to start out with less than 1/2 the recommended dose and work your way up to the full recommended dose of the probiotic over the course of a week or two.... this little trick helps alleviate possible diarrhea that many dogs experience when first placed on a probiotic.... and loose stools are the last thing an EPI parent wants to deal with ............
It sounds like you have a great vet and is giving you some really good recommendations!
Keep up the great work and please keep us posted.