Hi Rudy's mom and welcome to our EPI family.
Sorry that Rudy has been diagnosed with EPI, but.... the good news is that once you understand that with EPI you need to treat the whole dog (and we will help you with this) it is amazing how quickly these dogs become very manageable .
The key things are:
1. Porcine based enzymes with EVERY meal
2. Over 80% of all EPi dogs need B12 supplementation, normal range is NOT good enough
3. In the beginning many have better results with food with love fiber content, try to avoid food with grain. Simply because grain laden food can interfere with the efficacy of the now necessary enzymes anywhere from 0% to 50%..... and we have no idea which dog will have a problem with "grains" .. so universally (in the beginning ) we suggest to start with no grain/low fiber food... something with 4% or even less fiber content often works better.
4. Get SID under control. Some EPi dogs do not have much of a problem with SID, but most do in the beginning. We used to automatically recommend Tylan (Tylosin Tartrate antibiotic powder) over Metronidazole antibiotic... but now we are going one step further and telling folks hold off on the Tylan for a few weeks and try a prebiotic to see if that is enough to improve the gut flora... if not... then resort to trying Tylan antibiotic over Metro. Metro doesn't always work on SID..... and can have adverse effects, whereas Tylan has a better track record battling SID and has no known adverse effects........
ANd the last but very important piece to managing EPI is to keep an EPI log. Trust me this will save your sanity when thing go south or are just not working as they should. What this means is that something needs to be adjusted... but juggling 4 possibilities and trying to figure out which is "off" can be mind-boggling. If you keep an EPI Log.... it will help you and your vet see what helps and what hinders your pet. Sometimes it is not just a specific ingredient that sets them off... but sometimes it is also the amount of a certain ingredient... hence keeping an accurate log/journal will REALLY help you. I am attaching a sample of an EPI log for you to have an idea of what to keep track of... AND i will also provide a link to our EPI Log page because one of our members actually created an EPI LOG on Google so you don't have to write anything down, jsut keep ino on your computer and you will have access to it no matter where you go. The EPI "google" Log page is here
https://epi4dogs.com/epi-log/
and paper sample of an EPI log is below:
The attachment EPI Log 8-2017.pdf is no longer available
Also i am attaching a quickie EPI beginner guide the summarizes managing EPI. for your perusal...
Olesia, was owned by Izzy, a 35lb Spanish Water Dog (SWD), Diagnosed at 1.5 years old - TLI results 1.. Izzy passed away on February 13, 2020 at 15 years old. She lived with EPI for 13+1/2 years. It was because of Izzy that Epi4Dogs was started... she was the inspiration. May her legacy of helping others with EPI continue for as long as needed.........
