Epi4Dogs

hi there and a huge welcome from the UK

Dear God, I am bewildered with this, and Thank God you were there

My Kara was 39 pounds at her worst at 14 months, old and a GSD so I know all about bones being everywhere

We fed her 5 times a day all enzymed, and an evening meal of scrambled eggs and mashed potato enzymed, to get her through the night

She had double the amount of kibble that the food instructions gave for the weight she SHOULD be, we always recommend 150% of the weight a dog should be over the day

I know nothing about diabetes and Olesia is the oracle

Feed on a flat glass pie dish, it keeps the muzzle out to a certain extent , and then maybe get a bowl of water with a ball floating in it, and he can bob for the ball, and he will clean his mouth out

ice cubes can always help with mouth washing and can be fun to chase

My Kara put weight on slowly, but consistently, so I know you will get there, and you have everyones love and support.

She ended up at 90 pounds and stabilised at that till we lost her last year

anyway I see you have a very good handle on this so you know where we are

jx

Jill__Thank you. What is the formula, again, for initial feeding for weight gain? Is it 1 1/2 times what you would feed if they were at their ideal weight? I don't know why I've forgotten this. --P

50% over and above what it says on the food bag for what they SHOULD weigh, over several meals

Hi Masha - welcome to you and Mouse! Thank God you were there to save that sweet baby! You are in the best possible hands with Olesia as she's got the most knowledge when it comes to EPI and EPI with diabetes so I'm not going to muddy the waters by adding anything other than we are here to help you in any way we can. Hopefully with Olesia's guidance and your love Mouse will be quickly on his way to healing.

First, thank you so much everyone for all the help and advice. It's been almost 48 hours and we've already been seeing great signs of improvement (no accidents in the house for a whole day for example).

Also, for all the people who explained the meatball, it is genius!!! I give it to Mouse halfway through his meal and he LOVES it. Practically inhales it. So these are all positive steps.

Now for the new hurdle. Mouse is becoming a super picky eater. I mean, he went from inhaling everything we put in front of him to refusing to eat all dog food, canned or dry. It hurt my heart so much watching him hungry that I gave in and gave him cottage cheese, boiled chicken, and pumpkin. I figured in the beginning I'm just happy he's eating. But this isn't a long-term solution. I'm trying to figure out if it's just his appetite, or if it's just developed a love of human food. I was going to try going to the store and buying a few different cans for him to try, but I'm worried about that getting expensive, so any ideas or tips please let me know.

As to the questions about the specifics of Mouse's diagnosis. I don't have his exact TLI number. The critical care vet was moving quickly to get him enzymes and B12 as soon as possible. I'll get more specifics when I go to his follow-up with the internist. As for the diabetes, they have been basing everything off BG tests and a curve they did while he was in the hospital. Two different vets have gone back and forth about whether to do the fructosamine test or not. One thinks he doesn't have diabetes because every time he was administered insulin he "behaved like a non-diabetic". The second vet disagreed and sent me home with urine test strips to do daily and each day the measures on the test strip were at the maximum "2 or more level". Since his BG was so high the original plan was to restart Mouse on insulin at this followup.

THEN, something crazy happened today. Today is the first time since he's been with me that his test strip showed a huge reduction in BG to the "1/4" measure. Is it possible that treating the EPI could also fix the issues with hyperglycemia? Honestly, now I'm more confused than I was before.

THank you for your detailed response... and SOOOooo glad that Mouse is feeling much better!!!!

Okay to answer your question,,,, "No" EPI treatment will not correct a diabetes condition.
But if you changed foods or are feeding a food that is more agreeable with the diabetes condition, the BG will be more level .

NOw i have a question for you.... Are you saying that the BG has been mostly high (hyperglycemia),,,, but then he crashes with low blood sugar (Hypoglycemia) some of the times after receiving the insulin?

Hey Masha.... I first want to thank you for taking Mouse into your home and heart! Second, I a, so happy that you are getting assistance from Olesia. I can help you out with the EPI portion of small dog treatment, but the diabetes is something that I don’t know a lot about. You’re doing a fantastic job, so I just want to lend you support, and say welcome!
Susan

Hi Olesia,

Up until yesterday, he was always hyperglycemic (BG between 400 and 700) and went hypoglycemic EVERY time he received insulin. With vetsulin, he dropped to 96, with a different insulin (that I can't remember the name of) he dropped to 78.

So basically, he responds horribly to insulin which is why the two vets are arguing whether he is actually diabetic or not. One says no and thinks the hyperglycemia will disappear once he's absorbing his food properly (EPI). The other says yes, but thinks once he gains weight he will tolerate insulin better. I'm just stuck in between trying to figure out what to do next.