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Pancreatitis

My chocolate lab "Skip" is about 10 years old and developed pancreatitis for the first time.  We took him to the doctor he never vomited or diahrea until the day after he got to the vets office.  His amalyse was high like 8000 and his glucose and white blood count low but we got an ultrasound to make sure not cancer.  He started to show improvements with the IV and antibiotic. Now a week later he is starting to decline and the vet has tried everything.  He is now barely sitting up and cant walk. He has lost over 30 pounds.  Anybody got any suggestions my vet has called 4 other vets and they cannot figure out what else to do?
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Avatar universal
I just loss my yorkie  KOBE today he was 8yrs old as well from pancreatitis
Helpful - 0
462827 tn?1333168952
Hi Julie....I'm so sorry for your loss....I'm glad you had the time with him last night.....That was fortunate....

You did everything you could and he knows it...I'm hoping that time will heal your heart....

Thank you for giving him 10yrs. of Love.....He was very Lucky......

Run Free "Skip" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sincerely, Karla
Helpful - 0
974371 tn?1424653129
Oh Julie, I'm so very sorry to hear this.  I went through something very similar with a young Sheltie of mine some years ago.  We were doing the Vet and ER at nights for about 3 days and he just could not pull out of it.  I had to make the decision to let him go.  He was suffering and I could see that.
We can only hope to see them at the Rainbow Bridge one day, happy and playing.
Hugs
:-(
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Avatar universal
Well I really appreciate all of your help.  But as of this morning he was fading fast & I got the call @ 11:00am he had gone to sleep & quit breathing.  I stayed with him most of last night from about midnight until 7:45 this morning but had to come to work.  I feel that he is better off now versus the last week we have had.  Everyone at my vet office is very upset they have only seen one other case where a pet died.  He never had trouble urinating & they did test for tick disease but he came up negative.  He lost all the weight over less than 2 months.  But never had any other symptoms until the last 2 weeks.  Again I appreciate all of your best wishes & ideas.  Julie!
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462827 tn?1333168952
Thanks Margot...Your Answer made me think of something else.....

Julie, have you noticed if Skip is having trouble urinating? Think back...Anything odd? Straining, not going, crooked stream, anything? A Blockage to the Kidneys will cause the Pancreatic Enzymes to rise to an alarming rate....

Thought I better throw this in.....I'm hoping for the best for you both....Karla
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974371 tn?1424653129
Just got in and checking mail. I'm so sorry to hear this!!!  Are they *sure* this is pancreatitis?  I agree with Karla, would be interested to see what the other blood work shows.  Tick borne disease is a possibility and they can run blood tests for those but, at this stage, maybe trying the Doxy would be worth a shot, but then I'd be worrying about kidney/liver function.
Did you even ask your Vet to call one of the University clinics for a consult?
Feel bad for you.  Never easy decisions.
hugs and keep us posted.
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462827 tn?1333168952
Hi Julie.....I'm sorry your having to face all of this...I'm praying for you and your dog...Are you saying he lost 30bls. in a week? Or....Has this been building for some time? Was he moaning before all of this happened? Or started after?

What Antibiotic did they give him? What are they trying as of yesterday?
Again, was anything else on his bloodwork abnormal? RBC I'm wondering? Or Liver enzymes? If you do not have a copy of the bloodwork, go ask them for one.....

Did you actually see that the scraps were gone or you assume he ate them?

I'm gonna step out on a limb here, but I think this sounds like final stages of A "Tick Borne Disease".....Has anyone thought of that, yet? It wouldn't hurt to try a round of "Doxycycline" to rule it out.....Don't mess with the testing as false positives/negatives are too common....Still, the antibiotic wouldn't hurt....You actually should notice a difference in a few days to a week, but the medication has to be given much longer....

If these 5 Vets don't know what's going on, I'd call over to the Office and at least ask your Vet, "Could it be a Tick Disease?" They can mimic many other diseases....You need to rule this out!

Please let me know if you can think of anything else.......I'll be thinking about you, Karla
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Avatar universal
Evidently he got into some scraps we threw out which is what they think caused the attack.  He honestly did not have many symptoms until the very end now the worst part.  He moaned some but only the weight loss until he started now being as active.  In less than a week it progressed to he is laying flat no movement & then finally the vomiting & diarrhea.  He wasn't even running a temperature until now.  They tried pain medication at first in the pill form but moved over to putting it in his IV.  My vet is trying something else as of yesterday but basically they told me now I need to make the decision to put him down.  I honestly DO NOT want to make this decision.  I have no kids but this is my baby and I am very crazy about him.
Helpful - 0
462827 tn?1333168952
Hello Julie & welcome...I'm sorry to read this, also.....

My first suggestion is that your Lab should have been given PAIN medication.....This is very important....You need to call your Vet and get some, tomorrow.....

Do you know what caused the attack? What were his original symptoms that lead you to take him to the Vet to begin with?

Was there ANYTHING else on the bloodwork that was abnormal? What was his RBC (Red Blood Count)? Do you have a copy of the bloodtest results that you can look at?

What Antibiotic is he on? There's got to be something else....Can you think of anything else to add to this? Thanks, Karla



Helpful - 0
974371 tn?1424653129
I'm so sorry to read this. My daughter just went through another pancreatic episode in her little Chihuahua mix to the tune of another $1,200.  
I am no expert in the field but, from my experience, food and water is usually completely stopped from 1-5 days to let the pancreas REST.  Fluid therapy, regular blood work (sometimes several times a day), pain meds or a patch for pain and antibiotics are often used. This is a very painful condition.  In pancreatitis, nutrients the dog needs are passed out in the feces, thus probably the reason for the weight loss (and that is quite a bit).  Has he been checked for diabetes?  
If the Vets your Vet has called can't come up with any other possible treatment, assuming the above is being done, I would suggest a call to a University Vet Hospital, if there is one in your area.  Like the closest one to me is UC Davis in Sacramento.  However, your Vet could probably call then, Cornell, etc for a consult.
So sorry.  I will keep my fingers crossed that something can be done.  :-(
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