Scooby my Foster with EPI & Lymphangiectasia

[chattykathy31]

Hello,
I'm new to this forum and here for any advice that will help my foster Scooby. Scooby has been recently diagnosed with EPI, Lymphangiectasia and possibly atypical Addison's disease. I pulled Scooby from our kill shelter and he was Lymes +. He's been treated for lymes and has been started on PancrePlus tablets from chewy. He is eating 4 cups 3 x daily and still acting starved. I just recently found out about the incubation of the enzymes so i started doing that yesterday. Unfortunately he's been on the enzymes for 10 days and had another lb weight loss. On intake he was 101 lbs. When i picked him up from animal control he was 92. He is now 85. I'm very worried we time is not on our side. He is a Dane or Mastiff?? We don't really know but he should be Giant and he's a rack of bones. His poops are large and loose. He has NEVER had a formed poop since I've had him. He's now having accidents in the house at night, it just seems to be getting worse. He drinks a TON of water. His kidneys are good. He is on Purina pro plan EN low fat because of the lymphangiectasia. He's also on oral steroids 20 daily and 40mg of Pepcid daily. He's been getting 3 tablets of the enzymes 3 times daily with meals, which I'm finding out with that amount of food isn't enough. He was also placed on Tylin for the diarrhea. I have been giving him 1/4 tsp daily but its doing nothing. I've also been hearing he needs treated for 30 days with the Tylan. I am at a loss with so many issues going on and I feel like I'm watching him slowly die and its killing me. Any help, advise, prayers etc. would be greatly appreciated.

[Olesia711]

Oh My Goodness.... thank you SOOOOOOoooo much for adopting him and especially from a kill shelter.
Okay.... the first thing is that the pancreatin that they gave you are pills and pills don't usually work well, especially not when given whole as a pill. WHat you need to do is give more pills (if you are giving 4 cups per meal- -then technically this would most likely require 12 pills er meal... CRAZY, eh?!, so....crush them into a powder, mix in food with some moisture (if giving kibble, add a little room temp water, just enough to moisten the food).

In the meantime.... cause this is ridiculous, i will contact you privately for your home address and get you some donated PancreVet enzyme powder.... to start with.....
What you need to do with the powder is start with 1 level tsp of powder per 1 cup of food (if kibble) moistened, mixed the enzymes in and let sit for 20 minutes, then serve.

Next... considering the condition your pup is in... with EPI, over 80% of these dogs have low B12, and no matter how well your treat the EPI condition, without upper mid level of B12, they can't improve.
Order Pet Factor B12 from WOnderlabs (cut and paste the link in your browser)
https://www.wonderlabs.com/itemleft.php?itemnum=K9688

I understand the water drinking, it could be from the enzymes, or the prednisone. BUt make sure he doesn't have Diabetes or a UTI going on... if not, then this should pass.

Regarding the food "He is on Purina pro plan EN low fat because of the lymphangiectasia" this "might" be contributing to the loose stools.
With EPI, once on enzymes, many of these dogs cannot handle dog food with grain or too much fiber content in them because the fiber can interfere with the efficacy of the enzymes from anywhere between 0% to 50%.... so this is why we strongly recommend starting with a no grain-low fiber content food.... in the beginning. ONce dog is stable THEN try foods with grains in them. This food has low fiber content BUT is loaded with grains. HOWEVER....... because of Lymphangiectasia... stay on this food for now, but see if things improve once you start using the right amount of powdered enzymes ..... sometimes when you have to use a food that is not optimal for EPI... then the way to handle this is to give a pinch more enzymes to compensate for the non-optimal diet for the EPI condition.

However, If you need to give a low fat food, that is do-able and with a low fiber food.
look at Annamaet low fat food: (again, cut and paste the link below in your browser)
https://www.chewy.com/annamaet-grain-free-lean-low-fat/dp/178453

i hope this helps a little... to get you started and PLEASE do keep us posted!

[Olesia711]

OH.... and i forgot to mention, the Tylan should be taken for 45 days, twice a day, morning and night around a meal... but make sure the dose is correct... it is given according to weight.

https://epi4dogs.com/antibiotics/

because of his dire condition, he is right on the edge of dose parameter... so i would give him 3/8 of tsp of Tylan twice a day for 45 days..

[Eddiespaghetti]

Olesia covered the enzymes.

Tylan powder should be given twice a day for 45 days. 45 days is the current recommended regimen. 1/4th teaspoon twice a day. When Scooby gets back up to 100 pounds it should be 3/8th teaspoon twice a day

The steroids are the bane of EPI. They dilute urine, so there is more of it, while increasing thirst. This is causing the accidents. They also make dogs super hungry, but we can't just give them food. Steroids can also rob nutrients from muscles causing atrophy. Which EPI dogs have a hard enough time getting the nutrients. Once you get the enzymes figured out, try to feed more or more times a day. Oh steroids can also cause diarrhea, because why not.

[jilbert57]

Hi Kathy,
Thank you for rescuing Scooby! He looks like a love.
Only thing I have to add to Olesia's great advice is that sometimes with a lot going on it helps to keep a diary. Here is a link:

https://epi4dogs.com/epi-log/

Jill

[Michaela]

Hi Kathy,

I'm so glad you decided to post about Scooby here, you're in good hands!

Michaela

[Barb]

Hi Kathy,

I was in tears reading of Scooby's situation and seeing his picture. You are an angel for taking care of him. Olesia has you on the right path. And I heartily endorse the log/journal that Jill suggested. It will help you keep your sanity.

Hugs,

Barb