Pancreatitis dog gets better and worse

[ggreg]

All,
I need encouragement.  Our 12-yr dog got teeth cleaned a month ago, on antibiotics, she slowed eating Iams dry, then wasn't eating at all, retching, "out of it."  Wouldn't even drink milk, her favorite.  Last Tuesday vet said she has pancreatitis from her bloodwork, took her off Prednisone for allergies (he said was one of causes), put her on Hill's I.D. diet, no human snacks, gave her shot of nausea medicine.  Right away she ate her dinner, and continued to eat better and better, got well and stayed that way several days.  

We got both canned and dry food, fed her just canned for a couple days, and then started adding the dry, then her eating slowed again, she threw up a huge bunch of grass yesterday morning, and last night and this morning she refused to eat.  She keeps wanting to go out and eat more grass, which is how she was before all this.  I'm afraid she's returning to the bad state she was in again.

I'm just feeling so sorry for our girl, and I'm afraid she may be too far gone.  Or perhaps this is just a bump in her road to recovery.  I don't know, maybe someone else here does.  I dread calling the vet, fearful of what he might say, but I will call this afternoon.  Vet DID say sometimes it takes a little while for pancreatitis to straighten out, but since we stopped the Prednisome a week ago, she should clinically also get better.  He is a wonderful vet, I have no doubt in what he's telling us, particularly with bloodwork to back it up.  But I don't get how come she got better and we enjoyed major relief, and now we're facing the same sad emotion all over, and don't want our dog to have to endure going downhill again.  Sigh.

Anybody else got any words of encouragement?  I know, the vet will know what to do.  I just came here looking for support while this goes on again this coming week.  We've had dogs pass away over the years, and this is looking so similar.  So far, she hasn't gone back to "out of it" yet, really hard to watch.  I'd like any replies for me, reassurance, or whatever.  Thanks a lot.
GG

[chasha33]

I am glad to hear that your baby is doing better.You are going to have to keep me updated on her.I will continue to keep you and your family in my Prayers...God Bless you all....Chan

[ggreg]

Dear Sandra,
Thanks so much for your suppportive post.  I did hear that sometimes pancreatitis dogs will have relapses, and there are other posts at this forum that talk about that.  I hope your pup improves soon, it is a devastating thing to watch them go downhill.

Dear Chan and others who are interested,
Well, our dog has been home from the four-day I.V. treatment at the vet for exactly one week now.  She is FINE.  I am so relieved, and she is acting just so wonderful every day, no strangeness at all.  We began to introduce her regular food in small increments last Tuesday, as directed by the vet, and other than her tummy growled a couple nights ago, she is tolerating the change well.  I did buy her some fat-free milk, in case her tummy growls again anytime, becuz she loves the stuff & it always settles her stomach, and the vet said that kind of milk would be fine.  

So, a week out, and she appears to be "cured," at least for now, as far as I can tell.  The vet says she should stay that way, unless something stresses out the pancreas or something, but that should only happen possibly once a year, if at all.  Anyhow, this is my final post on this particular matter with our dog.  I SO appreciate everyone helping me with this, got me thru the endless downward spiral of dispair, by knowing others have gone thru this and how they've handled it.  

If anyone has a pancreatitis dog, just go straight into the three- or four-day I.V. thing, it cost us about $500, and that way you won't have to watch them go downhill, and if they do not do well after that, well, surgery or putting them down is probably where you're at.  At least that's my two cents from my experience with this health issue.  
Best wishes to all doggie people for always, GG

[chasha33]

I hope all is going well with your baby still.How has she been since you got her back home.I have recently put my Bulldog on Atopica and we are hoping that that will be the fix to his problems.We have never had much luck out of the over the counter meds.Keep me posted.Thoughts and Prayers,Chan

[Sandra_G]

My 9 yr. old little Poodle Julie also had 2 bouts of Pancreatitis..in 6 mos. time. Same symptoms as your dog & she was hospitalized both times for 4 days.  They did the same to Julie as your dog. She came home 2 wks ago & is much better. Julie has Cushings disease & that may have caused it. No-one is sure. One thing I do know is that I gave her fatty table food right after last Xmas & she was real sick on New Years Eve. She also had a seizure with that bout...not the 2nd time though.  Anyhow, her belly is bloated again ( it was better when she came home 2 wks. ago) & my Vet says  he has no doubt that she will have many other attacks that require hospitalization. (my poor baby doll)
I have not given her fatty foods since last December, or I try not to.
I do feed her Hills KD..she loves it & thats just to keep her kidneys okay. I also give her starches...pasta, yams, cooked veggies, BOILED chicken & rice, & a taste of beef now n than, egg whites every am for breakfast. Nothing spicy, I do use low sodium chicken broth for flavor.
Starches are okay. This whole illness scares me & I just do the best I can for my baby. I see thats what you do too. I feel for you & your pooch.  If you can, go to my Journals or postings. I said alot about Pancreatitis & Cushings. (Julie was not on antibiotics nor steroids.
I wish you all well.

[ggreg]

For anyone wanting an update, we picked up our dog from the vet yesterday, and she is doing better than I've seen her in a couple months.  Of course, time will tell, but I have more hope now that she'll make it this time.  She's been more frisky, and gosh is she ever sleeping, which since she's been sick so long, she needed the rest.  

The vet told us if she does actually stay improved, we can try to see if she'll eat her regular food, so we won't have to use the Hill's I.D. diet forever, possibly.  Of course, if she has problems with regular food, we can just keep her on the special diet... or I might put both dogs back on their Nutro, which they ate that for years, it does wonders for their coats, but we finally switched to Iams because of cost and availability.  The good thing about returning to regular food is, for a while there we couldn't give her any human treats, and that was hard for us to ignore "snack time."  But we'll see.  Also, she will never go back on the prednisone, which may have contributed to her getting pancreatitis.  

I did read that some antibiotics can cause pancreatitis, among a lot of other things, and I had noticed her feeling sick, right as she was finishing up a round of antibiotics that she was given last month when she had dental work done, so I now sort of think that may have set off her illness.  Anyhow, if by this time next week she is doing well, I'll post one more time and let you all know.  And of course if she goes downhill, I'll let you all know about that, too.  Here's hoping!
GG

[ggreg]

I am switching over to a new post, becuz I have a diff subject relating to this same dog, so want replies that don't have so much to do with pancreatitis, rather how we should let the other dog in our household know what is going on if we have to put her down.  It's entitled, "One of two dogs dies, how to tell other one?"

Chan,
We pick up our dog from the week-long vet stay this afternoon.  The antibiotic you asked about, she took Cephalexin when she had her dental a month ago.  By the way, our dog had been on Prednisone since she was five years old, and she's now twelve, so it takes a long time for it to have bad effect.  We now have an antihistimine in case her allergies flare up again.  Since we've been living in this house for the last three years, tho, they are nowhere near as bad as at the other house, so we likely won't need to use it much.
GG

[chasha33]

Well it sounds like you are heading in the right direction now.The antibiotics that she was taking was it Antirobe?It is a really good one for any dental problems.As far as the Predisone that is what my bulldog has been on for 3 months now for allergies,But it dont help him for very long.I was concerned for him about long usage of that med and now i think that he will no longer be taking his monthly injections!!! They have a med called Atopica for allergies and that is what my vet gave me at our last visit.But i wasnt going to start it until the steroids where out of his system.I dont like mixing to many things together.I will keep praying for you and your baby.God bless the both of you.Please keep us posted!     Chan

[ggreg]

Hi Chan & Karla,
In reply to your two posts, yes, we did take her off the Iams when we switched over to the I.D. Hill's wet and dry foods.  And the vet thinks the prednisone is what gave her pancreatitis, given long-term for her allergies.  So, we also took her off that for good.  I did ask initially about pain relief, and so the vet has this in mind for us, I recall he gave tramadol for another dog we had.  As for antibiotics, she just got off a round of that when her teeth were cleaned last month.  So, all those bases are covered.  I'm calling the vet today, which is mid-week for her hospitalization and I.V. nutrition, to see how she's doing, but they have our phone and email if something is amiss.  We can hardly wait to get her back on Friday, will love her up big-time, and hope for the best.  Thanks for the prayers, it's God's Will now.
GG  

[chasha33]

Hey hope that all is well with you and your furbaby.I have been praying for the both you.There has to be a direct cause for her develpoing this condition.A really good pain med for her to take is Tramadol.Which is also used in humans as well.I would try to stay away from Etegisic at this time right now though.Even though it is a once a day pain med,It can irritate her tummy even worse.Have you discussed with your vet a long term fix for this problem,Cause i know sometimes this condition can go on for awhile.If the source of the problem is not fount quickly.Just please dont give up hope.I am here for you if you need to talk and i believe that your baby is going to be fine.I will talk to you soon God bless you,Chan

[Misfits4Me]

Hello GG....Did they also give her antibiotics for the pancreatitis? How about pain meds.? This is an extremely painful condition....The trick here is to let the pancreas rest for the inflammation to go down. Usually, antibiotics are given incase the cause is infection. What you choose to feed her is the next step. Get them both off of Iams Food; as this is very LOW quality and they need much better nutrition for their senior years. LOW fat is what your sick girl will need. You can add boiled chicken to her I.D. diet to tempt her to eat it. Only serve the canned...After she gets over this bout, you can decide something better to feed her. Ideal would be a diet that you choose the protein source and how much fat is in it....Also, a probiotic & digestive enzyme is helpful for digestive issues....I'm thinking about all of you, including the guy at home that misses his sister....Please, let us know how she is as you get updates....Karla

[ggreg]

Thanks Chan.
The update is, I called the vet, and he decided to put her in the hospital there and only give her IV nutrients until Friday, no food by mouth.  Then we pick her up and see how she does.  One of two things will happen:  She'll get better and stay that way, or in a few days she'll go back downhill, and then husband and I have to talk serious with our vet.  Breaks our hearts, really.  She's 12 years old, so while an operation is a possibility, we're not sure she would make it thru that.  It's been lonely around the house without her here, but our other dog knows something is amiss and has been a great comfort to us.  He's also 12 years old, but in a little better shape than she's been lately.  I'll keep you all posted.
GG

[chasha33]

Dont give up hope.She needs you to be strong for her right now.Just like with us humans,we all have our ups and downs.Maybe her little belly is still really sensitive and she just needs canned food for awhile.Fix her some boiled chicken and rice with the broth.I bet that would thrill her.Let your vet know that you are willing to do whatever it takes to make her feel better.Try reading up on some home remedies about this condition.And if you would feel better get a 2cd opinion.This is your furbaby wouldnt your vet do it for his?I will keep you in my prayers...The both of you.I am going to do a little checking on some things that you could possibly do.I will get back with you...God Bless you two,Chan

[Lucylouloskot]

My 7 year old Min Pin has acute and reoccurring pancreatitis. We had to take her to an emergency vet one weekend and thought we were going to lose her. She's our baby. She is on Hills ID, no flavors and boiled chicken breasts without skin and nothing in the water. She is off of all treats. We do give her some dry dog food which is Purina little bites but we ration her with that also, but like our vet said, it helps with plaque build up since she's on the other 2 soft foods. We have to watch her closely. We never know when she's going to get sick again. She starts breathing really heavy when she starts getting sick. My vet told me to try and keep the belly acids down to take flavored tums and break them into 4 little pieces. Now she thinks these are her treats. I give her 1 a day. because she can have her 2 others treats anymore that she dearly loved. Pancreatitis can be fatal and can affect other organs. We watch her very closely. She used to like to actually steal candy out of the candy dish even with the glass lid on top. she scooted it with her nose. But we put everything up high now. I know how it feels. It breaks my heart to think that one day I could lose her from this. we give her a couple tablespoons of the Hills ID every morning, then in the afternoon she gets some boiled chicken breast. She begs for everything and acts like she's starving, and it breaks my heart, but I'd rather have her. We supplement with her purina little bits throughout the day. Good luck and God bless you and your baby.

[Lucylouloskot]

My 7 year old Min Pin has acute and reoccurring pancreatitis. We had to take her to an emergency vet one weekend and thought we were going to lose her. She's our baby. She is on Hills ID, no flavors and boiled chicken breasts without skin and nothing in the water. She is off of all treats. We do give her some dry dog food which is Purina little bites but we ration her with that also, but like our vet said, it helps with plaque build up since she's on the other 2 soft foods. We have to watch her closely. We never know when she's going to get sick again. She starts breathing really heavy when she starts getting sick. My vet told me to try and keep the belly acids down to take flavored tums and break them into 4 little pieces. Now she thinks these are her treats. I give her 1 a day. because she can have her 2 others treats anymore that she dearly loved. Pancreatitis can be fatal and can affect other organs. We watch her very closely. She used to like to actually steal candy out of the candy dish even with the glass lid on top. she scooted it with her nose. But we put everything up high now. I know how it feels. It breaks my heart to think that one day I could lose her from this. we give her a couple tablespoons of the Hills ID every morning, then in the afternoon she gets some boiled chicken breast. She begs for everything and acts like she's starving, and it breaks my heart, but I'd rather have her. We supplement with her purina little bits throughout the day. Good luck and God bless you and your baby.