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Pancreatis question
My baby girl (9 yr old dog) got into the garbage and ate a whole package of bacon which caused her to have sever pancreatis, its been a week and a half since she has been at the vet, she seems to be doing a lot better, but her liver count is so high, the doc said she has only seen this once before, also, her blood is clotting, does this mean that she is dying? she jumped into my lap today when I went to visit??? She was also warm today and panting, they have her on IV, no food, her pancreas has shrunk on all other blood levels are going down....
I just wanted to tell you that I'll be thinking of you and your dog. I can only imagine how worried and sad you are. I do hope your dog fully recovers and you get to bring her home soon. I'll say a prayer for you both. Hugs.
Thank you for all the info, it gives me some hope. I have taken her to the vet for check ups in the past, she has always been chubby, but the vet never said anything about it, her weight would often fluctuate between 3 pounds.
Today my vet got my dogs liver blood test back but is not saying anything to me except that she has to contact the intern, this must mean her liver enzymes are worse or not getting any better. I go today to visit my dog. She has been drinking water from a bowl, but still not eating but is so excited to see me, she even jumps in my lap. I will do what you state regarding preparing her food for her from now on, when she comes home. Regarding the blood, she just states coagulating? blood is clotting.
This has been such a hard time, the ups and downs, I just wish she would get better so she can come home. Thank you for responding to me.
Today my vet got my dogs liver blood test back but is not saying anything to me except that she has to contact the intern, this must mean her liver enzymes are worse or not getting any better. I go today to visit my dog. She has been drinking water from a bowl, but still not eating but is so excited to see me, she even jumps in my lap. I will do what you state regarding preparing her food for her from now on, when she comes home. Regarding the blood, she just states coagulating? blood is clotting.
This has been such a hard time, the ups and downs, I just wish she would get better so she can come home. Thank you for responding to me.
In severe cases of pancreatitis it is also possible for the liver to be inflamed, so if your dog's case is severe, this is the reason for the elevated liver values. You said that the vet said that her blood is clotting. Did she use the term disseminated intravascular coagulation? If so (and I am not trying to frighten you I am just being truthful) you have got one sick doggie there. DIC sometimes occurs in very severe cases of pancreatitis.
The reason for her being at the vet and hooked up to intravenous fluids is because when pancreatitis is the problem, it is necessary to withhold ALL food and water for at least five days in order to give the pancreas complete rest so that the inflammation will subside. ANY food or liquid taken orally that gets into the stomach will trigger the pancreas to produce enzymes so this is why it is necessary to make sure that nothing gets into the stomach. If she has been there a week and a half however, and is STILL hooked up to IV fluids, she must have quite a severe case for them to not yet be allowing her any food or water orally.
If the clotting you were talking about IS disseminated intravascular coagulation, there is no cure for it, the only way to get rid of it is to cure whatever it is that started it, in this case, the pancreatitis. The fact that her pancreas has shrunk and her other levels are going down is a very good sign, but she still has a long way to go and will not be out of the woods, so to speak, for a while yet.
Whether you were aware of them or not, she had to have had some underlying liver and pancreatic issues to begin with because even though she ate a whole package of bacon, which is extremely fatty, fat doesn't cause pancreatitis in a dog with a healthy pancreas. It can cause some pretty nasty gastric upsets but not pancreatitis, and certainly not a severe case of it.
If (and again, I am not trying to scare you, I am merely speaking frankly) she recovers from this episode I would feed her a diet that is practically 100% fat free for the rest of her life. In fact, I would plan on home cooking for her from here on in so that you can control every bit of fat that she gets.
Boiling is the best way to cook meats to rid them of fat. White meat chicken and low-fat ground beef are two good choices. Even though it's the priciest type you can buy, you want to use ground beef that is at LEAST 90% lean. It would be even better to purchase other cuts of beef, remove ALL visible fat and veining that is visible, and grind it yourself. Do not feed her dark meat chicken, it's got fat in it. ONLY feed chicken breasts. This very lean boiled meat should comprise 50% of her diet.
Twenty five percent of her diet should consist of vegetables, again, boiled very well to improve their digestibility. Summer squashes (yellow or green), broccoli, spinach, collard greens or mustard greens can all be fed but must be boiled well so they are easily digested. The last 25% of the diet should be some type of grain, either oatmeal, rice or barley. Of all the items in the diet, it is most important to thoroughly cook the grains for easy digestibility.
Supplementary enzymes should be added so that the pancreas doesn't have to work to produce as many as it normally would to cause digestion. Her pancreas has taken such a beating over this that you basically want to let it take the rest of her life off, or at least do as little as possible. She'll feel a lot better for it in the long run. Also, instead of feeding her once a day, her normal amount of food spread out over four feedings will be a lot safer for her.
Please keep us up to date on her progress.
Ghilly
The reason for her being at the vet and hooked up to intravenous fluids is because when pancreatitis is the problem, it is necessary to withhold ALL food and water for at least five days in order to give the pancreas complete rest so that the inflammation will subside. ANY food or liquid taken orally that gets into the stomach will trigger the pancreas to produce enzymes so this is why it is necessary to make sure that nothing gets into the stomach. If she has been there a week and a half however, and is STILL hooked up to IV fluids, she must have quite a severe case for them to not yet be allowing her any food or water orally.
If the clotting you were talking about IS disseminated intravascular coagulation, there is no cure for it, the only way to get rid of it is to cure whatever it is that started it, in this case, the pancreatitis. The fact that her pancreas has shrunk and her other levels are going down is a very good sign, but she still has a long way to go and will not be out of the woods, so to speak, for a while yet.
Whether you were aware of them or not, she had to have had some underlying liver and pancreatic issues to begin with because even though she ate a whole package of bacon, which is extremely fatty, fat doesn't cause pancreatitis in a dog with a healthy pancreas. It can cause some pretty nasty gastric upsets but not pancreatitis, and certainly not a severe case of it.
If (and again, I am not trying to scare you, I am merely speaking frankly) she recovers from this episode I would feed her a diet that is practically 100% fat free for the rest of her life. In fact, I would plan on home cooking for her from here on in so that you can control every bit of fat that she gets.
Boiling is the best way to cook meats to rid them of fat. White meat chicken and low-fat ground beef are two good choices. Even though it's the priciest type you can buy, you want to use ground beef that is at LEAST 90% lean. It would be even better to purchase other cuts of beef, remove ALL visible fat and veining that is visible, and grind it yourself. Do not feed her dark meat chicken, it's got fat in it. ONLY feed chicken breasts. This very lean boiled meat should comprise 50% of her diet.
Twenty five percent of her diet should consist of vegetables, again, boiled very well to improve their digestibility. Summer squashes (yellow or green), broccoli, spinach, collard greens or mustard greens can all be fed but must be boiled well so they are easily digested. The last 25% of the diet should be some type of grain, either oatmeal, rice or barley. Of all the items in the diet, it is most important to thoroughly cook the grains for easy digestibility.
Supplementary enzymes should be added so that the pancreas doesn't have to work to produce as many as it normally would to cause digestion. Her pancreas has taken such a beating over this that you basically want to let it take the rest of her life off, or at least do as little as possible. She'll feel a lot better for it in the long run. Also, instead of feeding her once a day, her normal amount of food spread out over four feedings will be a lot safer for her.
Please keep us up to date on her progress.
Ghilly
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