5 Month Old Puppy with low TLI - questions!

[patty_on]

Thank you Jill!! Fingers crossed!

[patty_on]

After a 20 hour wait, Bonnie finally had a normal poop at 9:30pm, then another at 6:30am. Unfortunately she then had bad diarrhea with lots of mucus at 9:30am. So she's not quite right still. I called the vet and asked for more Tylosin, and he agreed to a 3-week course until she has her TIL retested at the end of the month.

Thank you all for the advice!

[patty_on]

Update on Bonnie. We repeated the TLI test yesterday (30 days after her first test) and her results are now:

TLI 10.3
B12 601
Folate 29

So her TLI has gone up from 3.5 to 10.3.

Sooo...what now?? Obviously very happy that her TLI has gone up, but my questions are:

- Should I continue giving her EnzymeDiane on her meals for now?
- Should I continue supplementing with B12 and, when she finishes her Tylosin this week, back to Slippery Elm?
- Since she is still a growing puppy (she'll be six months old in three days), should we repeat the TLI test in another 30 days?

Her poops have been fine for the past couple of weeks since she's been on Tylosin, so it's hard to know what's going on.

Our vet has put in a referral to an internal medicine specialist so they can help figure out what might be wrong if the diarrhea continues.

Thank you so much for any advice!!

[Eddiespaghetti]

10.1 - 50 is normal range. Is seems Bonnie grew out of EPI. The only question now is, did Bonnie fast for at least 12 hours prior to the test? If not, it can inflate the numbers.
You have two options in regards to the enzymes. Slowly drop down the amount. You can also just stop completely. Either way, you are trying to see what happens. If you start to see the symptoms of EPI or SIDs you will have to adjust quickly.
As for the slippery elm and B12, IF you aren't seeing any signs of GI issues or weight loss, there is no reason to give either. Obviously, if you see GI issues then you will have to give something.
I would see how everything goes for the next 30 days and base the retest on that. If you don't see any symptoms. I would retest around the 1 year mark. That would be right around the age when everything is more set in stone. If you start seeing symptoms as you ween or stop, then test sooner
Hopefully, as you stop the enzymes, everything goes well and Bonnie grew out of EPI. EPI is 100 percent treatable, but it is still a stupid disease.

[patty_on]

Thanks so much, Jeremy. Bonnie fasted for 15 hours before the test so it should be accurate. Our vet wants us to keep her on the enzymes until we see the specialist—hopefully that will be soon! We've also delayed her spay which was supposed to be next week, just until we have a better handle on all these changes.

I am going to change her food slowly to see what happens.

Never a dull moment with our Bonnie wee lass!

Appreciate your thoughts.

[Eddiespaghetti]

I realized I forgot to explain the Tylosin. It is best to ween them off of it. Start giving half doses for a week then half that for a week. After the third week is probably okay to take them off of it completely.

[patty_on]

Ah, yes. Okay. We only have a small amount of Tylosin left, but I've reduced her dose by half today to start weaning rather than a full stop which was scheduled to happen on Saturday. Thank you!!

[Eddiespaghetti]

You don't necessarily have to ween. It is better to do it so it's a little less of a shock on their system. If you do run out then you run out.
Also, since Bonnie hopefully doesn't have EPI it may not be an issue either.

[patty_on]

Hi all! I wanted to share an update that I weaned Bonnie off Tylosin first, then EnzymeDiane, and her poops finally stabilized. We have had a couple of bouts of tummy upset since but I don't think they were EPI related, and more just lab puppy stuff (e.g., eating goose poop...).

Keeping all fingers and toes crossed that her TLI level stays up in the normal range. I think I will have her retested when she is about a year old just to see. I will update again then in case there are any others out there in similar situations who would like to know.

Many, many thanks to everyone who provided advice and support during a very challenging time. This forum was a huge lifesaver. I wish all the EPI pet parents here all the very best.

[jilbert57]

What a great update! Keep in touch.

Jill