What to do if EPI dog refuses to eat?

[jilbert57]

Has Levi had his thyroid checked recently?

Jill

[LisaDorn2024]

Doesn’t he show interest in drops of your food on the floor? My old epi dog at first would not anything with enzymes. I put tiny morsels of fishy smelling food in her mouth,, smuggling hidden enzymes in it. Hours of tears. She drank heavily, wet herself but gradually accepted a Uk brand of coated tasteless capsules. Toppings of tuna or cat food.
They can get sore throats and mouths from the enzymes, maybe have a peep. Maybe colitis
At the beginning, My vet concentrated on the most life threatening aspect, which was the potential organ failure from PLE. This had stopped her otherwise voracious appetite. Too many drugs can cause complications. Then blood tests become skewed by them.
Incidentally, when I was at dog rescue in Greece, they said that they fed the skinny dogs pasta, obviously none for you!
I hope you have a better day.

How fun for you to have lived in Greece, and what an amazing opportunity to work at a dog rescue there.
Oh, YES, Levi has a very keen interest in eating real foods like tuna, chicken, steak, turkey and all of the yummy protein sources he is now allergic to. He has not been allowed to eat any of these foods for many months. It breaks my heart that he cannot enjoy the finer things in life - dogs are meant to be spoiled and enjoy tasty meals! I have lost 17 pounds because I cannot bring myself to eat in front of him. I have to do something to figure this out because I have to eat to keep up my strength to take care of him.
But even when Levi was eating delicious and healthy real foods, he would often go on hunger strikes due to his nausea and abdominal pain. I could offer him his most favorite food and he would refuse.
He gets a bowl of ice after every meal(which he thinks is his dessert) to make sure the enzymes get washed down. He enjoys chewing the ice cubes since all of his chews had to be taken away.
The EPI is the lesser of all of Levi's diagnoses. He has two other bowel diseases that are causing him extreme pain and discomfort. We have figured out the treatment for the EPI, but it cannot work until the other 2 diseases are brought under control. The inflammation causes severe pain and bloating (way more severe than the SIBO/SID.)
I agree with you about too many medications and also administering the wrong medications. When Levi was hospitalized, the ICU vet gave him the wrong foods (against my will) and he also took him off of medications that were helping some of his GERD symptoms. He was a very difficult doctor to work with so I brought Levi home after 15 days. He was not getting better and only being traumatized by the experience. I figured a puppy would rather be home and be loved and we would figure the treatment out day by day. With the help from this group, Olesia, his regular vet and doing a lot of research Levi's diet and meds for the EPI seems to be right on track for now. He is eating the Ultamino which is a dry kibble (not my preferred choice, but the only food he can tolerate for now) I have a consultation with his regular vet on Monday about treatment options for the Lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates and the eosinophilic enteritis - these are the two diseases cause him the most pain and discomfort. The refusal to eat comes when his pain is too great to bear. Having Levi back home, I have been able to observe him 24/7 and I document everything and look for patterns that are working and patterns that need to change. His regular vet will be doing a consultation with Texas A & M on how best to treat Levi's complex diagnoses. The saddest thing is Levi no longer gets his favorite chews like grass fed bully sticks, dried icelandic cod skins, and buffalo cheek rolls. He is allergic to the protein sources in all of his chews. His training had to stop when he got sick, but he did earn his Canine Good Citizen title inspite of starting to not feel well. I was so proud of him and how hard he worked. But now without the motivation of a high value treat, he acts like he has forgotten so many of the skills he had mastered. Once we get these health issues under control and he can start eating a few vegetables, I will use them for treats.
Interesting that you should mention pasta...he was eating gluten free pasta right before his hospitalization because it was the only food he would eat and I needed to get calories in him. It was an organic gluten free pasta made of only organic brown rice and water and he seemed to tolerate it well for several weeks. But I think the rice in the pasta eventually caused him digestive issues which did lead to diarrhea.
Thank you for sharing your ideas and posting your thoughts!

[Olesia711]

Lisa,

I am so sorry that Levi (and you) are struggling so much........ but huge kudo's to your vet for planning a consult with TAMU! i know we have communicated privately... and i am so pleased to hear that your regular vet is trying certain things to calm poor Levi's intestinal inflammation until TAMU or a gastroenterologist can recommend appropriate meds for the other conditions so that he can respond better to his EPI treatment and so that his body can positively respond to treatment for the eosinophilic enteritis and Lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates.

[LisaDorn2024]

Lisa,

I am so sorry that Levi (and you) are struggling so much........ but huge kudo's to your vet for planning a consult with TAMU! i know we have communicated privately... and i am so pleased to hear that your regular vet is trying certain things to calm poor Levi's intestinal inflammation until TAMU or a gastroenterologist can recommend appropriate meds for the other conditions so that he can respond better to his EPI treatment and so that his body can positively respond to treatment for the eosinophilic enteritis and Lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates.

Thank you, Olesia. I know Levi's vet had an extremely busy week, but she is working on getting that consult scheduled as she knows how badly Levi needs the treatment.