Diagnosed with EPI today - Mouse
Posted: 18 Sep 2020, 20:37
Hi everyone,
Sorry for the long post, but the situation is a bit complicated.
Here's the story of Mouse who was diagnosed with EPI today. Mouse was being neglected and abused by my neighbors. I was watching the situation for about 4 weeks trying to figure out what I could do to stop. Then suddenly, on August 30th, they moved and just left Mouse behind, so I took him in. Mouse is approximately 8 years old and is a Chihuahua or a Chihuahua mix. The day I found him, he was dirty, covered in fleas and weighted 4.2 lbs (he should be closer to 12). He was also weak, lethargic, and peeing and stooling constantly.
I cleaned him up, gave him a flea bath, and started a careful refeeding. He got a lot stronger, more energy, and walking around more. But the peeing and stooling continued. So a few days later, I took him to the vet where they diagnosed diabetes based on a urine test and they gave him a shot of insulin, as well as sent him home with insulin for me to give him twice a day. Within a few hours of the first dose, he was weak and having problems walking on one of his legs. After 24 more hours and 2 more insulin doses, he went in the hypoglycemic shock and was rushed to the emergency vet. He spent 5 days in the hospital. The critical care vet still believed he had diabetes, but each time he was restarted on insulin he became hypoglycemic so he was released without insulin while we waited for the results of his TLI test. The vet said this was the skinniest dog she has ever seen. He was sent home with clavamox, omneprazole, sucralfate, and urine test strips to monitor his glucose
He was discharged from the hospital on Monday. Today the TLI test came back and he tested positive for EPI, plus with the results from the test strips the critical care vet is also convinced that he is diabetic. The vet is amazing and called in a prescription immediately for PancrePlus and injectable B12 so Mouse didn't have to wait another week or 2 for his followup to start the medication.
BUT, I'm so confused and overwhelmed. First, she freaked me out by mentioning the mouth ulcers and bleeding side effect. Second, Mouse was prescribed 1/2tsp per feeding but as a (now almost) 5lb chihuahua, he is only eating a little more than a 1/4c of food per feeding/ 3-4 feeding per day. 1/2 tsp seems like a lot to get him to eat with this amount of food. I got him a grain-free, poultry-free food he likes (26% protein, 14% fat 3.5% fiber). (He hated all the prescription foods he tried). She also mentioned something about giving him the PancrePlus in a meatball before his food. I can't even figure that out.
I guess here are all my questions:
1. How would you use a meatball to give a powdered medication?
2. How much is the scoop that comes with the container? I think it's a 1/4 tsp, but I'm not sure.
2a. If I follow the vets guide, would Mouse get 2 scoops or one.
2. Is 1/2tsp too much to be putting on 1/4-1/3c of food?
3. What if he doesn't finish all his food? Did he get enough enzymes?
4. He prefers dry food. How do you get the enzyme to mix in so he doesn't hurt his mouth? (wet food has been a failure with him)
5. How quickly will he start gaining weight and or muscle?
6. Any suggestions or ideas on what to expect over the first few weeks?
Lastly to make this more complicated, I have fallen so in love with this dog, but I can not keep Mouse long-term. I already have a dog, cat, a son on virtual school, and a husband recovering from a spinal cord injury. My goal was to keep Mouse until he was stable enough to move to a more permanent foster or his forever home. I'm starting to wonder what stable or improved even look like for a case like this.
Please help this freaking out foster mom.
Thanks,
Masha
PS - I attached a picture of him the day I found him and then one from Monday when he came home from the hospital.
Sorry for the long post, but the situation is a bit complicated.
Here's the story of Mouse who was diagnosed with EPI today. Mouse was being neglected and abused by my neighbors. I was watching the situation for about 4 weeks trying to figure out what I could do to stop. Then suddenly, on August 30th, they moved and just left Mouse behind, so I took him in. Mouse is approximately 8 years old and is a Chihuahua or a Chihuahua mix. The day I found him, he was dirty, covered in fleas and weighted 4.2 lbs (he should be closer to 12). He was also weak, lethargic, and peeing and stooling constantly.
I cleaned him up, gave him a flea bath, and started a careful refeeding. He got a lot stronger, more energy, and walking around more. But the peeing and stooling continued. So a few days later, I took him to the vet where they diagnosed diabetes based on a urine test and they gave him a shot of insulin, as well as sent him home with insulin for me to give him twice a day. Within a few hours of the first dose, he was weak and having problems walking on one of his legs. After 24 more hours and 2 more insulin doses, he went in the hypoglycemic shock and was rushed to the emergency vet. He spent 5 days in the hospital. The critical care vet still believed he had diabetes, but each time he was restarted on insulin he became hypoglycemic so he was released without insulin while we waited for the results of his TLI test. The vet said this was the skinniest dog she has ever seen. He was sent home with clavamox, omneprazole, sucralfate, and urine test strips to monitor his glucose
He was discharged from the hospital on Monday. Today the TLI test came back and he tested positive for EPI, plus with the results from the test strips the critical care vet is also convinced that he is diabetic. The vet is amazing and called in a prescription immediately for PancrePlus and injectable B12 so Mouse didn't have to wait another week or 2 for his followup to start the medication.
BUT, I'm so confused and overwhelmed. First, she freaked me out by mentioning the mouth ulcers and bleeding side effect. Second, Mouse was prescribed 1/2tsp per feeding but as a (now almost) 5lb chihuahua, he is only eating a little more than a 1/4c of food per feeding/ 3-4 feeding per day. 1/2 tsp seems like a lot to get him to eat with this amount of food. I got him a grain-free, poultry-free food he likes (26% protein, 14% fat 3.5% fiber). (He hated all the prescription foods he tried). She also mentioned something about giving him the PancrePlus in a meatball before his food. I can't even figure that out.
I guess here are all my questions:
1. How would you use a meatball to give a powdered medication?
2. How much is the scoop that comes with the container? I think it's a 1/4 tsp, but I'm not sure.
2a. If I follow the vets guide, would Mouse get 2 scoops or one.
2. Is 1/2tsp too much to be putting on 1/4-1/3c of food?
3. What if he doesn't finish all his food? Did he get enough enzymes?
4. He prefers dry food. How do you get the enzyme to mix in so he doesn't hurt his mouth? (wet food has been a failure with him)
5. How quickly will he start gaining weight and or muscle?
6. Any suggestions or ideas on what to expect over the first few weeks?
Lastly to make this more complicated, I have fallen so in love with this dog, but I can not keep Mouse long-term. I already have a dog, cat, a son on virtual school, and a husband recovering from a spinal cord injury. My goal was to keep Mouse until he was stable enough to move to a more permanent foster or his forever home. I'm starting to wonder what stable or improved even look like for a case like this.
Please help this freaking out foster mom.
Thanks,
Masha
PS - I attached a picture of him the day I found him and then one from Monday when he came home from the hospital.