Anyone else dealt with severe Pancreatitis?

[Harley2]

My Gal Pebbles who will be 13 next month had two really bad attacks of Pancreatitis last year within 3 months of each other. The vets did not diagnose the first attack or I am sure the second would never have happened. The second time She had 105.2 fever and was in the hospital for a week and then I had to take a week off from work to stay home with her (as she needed to go to the vet every other day & be monitored and given fluids.

It has been a long slow road to recovery. I do not think she will ever be 100%. She is on Prescription diet I/D for the rest of her life only. And has to get a pepcid from time to time for an upset tummy. Anyone else have dealings with this? It broke my heart, and really felt like it was my fault because of her diet... or lack thereof. She was always overweight, but very active. She was 22 lbs at one point... 13.5 now! She looks really skinny to me but the vet assures me she is fine. She goes to get weighed and checked up every other month... we will start decreasing that to about 6 months now.

Since the second bout, she has REALLY bad breath and is starting to lose her hearing (from high fever I am told).

But we got Harley to keep her company (and b/c we wanted another) and she has really improved alot since he has come into our lives. Last night she was doing laps around the hous eflat out with him... I had the best belly laugh from it! She is my best friend... we have been through so much together I could not stand to see her suffer and it was the first time I was slammed in the face with her mortality ...

Anyone else have similar experiences? Whats the treatent for your dog? How are they doing? Any advice, etc? Would be greatly appreciated

Thanks,
Christy

[weezyNollie]

Only dealt with mild pancreatitis. We gave my dog IV fluids, bland diet -- we fed even more bland than I/D, we did W/D. But only temporary. And also she was on several GI protectants, not on an as needed basis but a regular basis.

[janice bronson]

my mothers little beagle cross had that. we boiled hamburger and rice and gave pancreatic enzymes, i think for the rest of his life, and got him through it.

[Harley2]

Thank you for the replies. What are pancreatic enzymes? And what GI protectant did you use?

[janice bronson]

oh, i'm sorry >>> I've been off for a couple of days >> had to rush the little puppy from one vet to the other fri and taught on sat.

you can buy digestive enzymes right at the drug store, that's what i used on my dog with colitis, but we did a blood work up first to rule out pancreatitis, they can tell that stuff by the blood work i believe.

the other product that i used that was extremely helpful was called str-j
you can get it on the natures'sunshine web site
it is a 100% natural herbal treatment for colitis
(and helps with a lot of other things, too)
chamomile, hops, etc.

he was very sensitive to foods with chemicals in them. for instance, he could eat the chicken in nfld, but he couldn't eat it here in quebec. it is much less lean, and i suspect that they are putting something to the poultry birds to promote faster growth. also most commercial dogfoods he couldn't handle, but purina one he could, the flat brown one. so it must be fairly low in chemicals. and mixed it with half brown rice >>> he couldn't do any white products like spaghetti, etc unless it was whole grain .
and then i caught up on his protein with boiled chicken which the other dogs loved 'cause they got the broth >>>> and poached him two eggs every morning.

he had lost a lot of weight from being a "fatso" a little bit >>> he had been very well muscled from us always in the country and having big kennel space to exercise in with other dogs to just him and me walking in the city and me not well with the tumours, >>> his exercise level dropped a lot and he got quite chunky. but when the colitis started >>> his stools were terrible and he had "urgency" which just caused him a lot more stress 'cause he was a very clean housedog.

the combination of stuff mentioned above got him under control, like, immediately.

was he ever relieved and he plumped back up to a nice weight and his coat just shone. he was really in mint shape his last couple of years with this management to his diet.

you can read right on the enzymes that they sell in the drugstore, the one that i got said "for fats carbs and protein" >>>> different enzymes break down or utilize different food sources.
(that's from nutrition 101 --- which i tho't had something to do with recipes, and i ended up with all of this bio chemistry which i don't even have high school chemistry -- but i do have pre nursing biology, so had enough base to pass it)

[Pitbull Lover]

Canine Pancreatitis

The Normal Pancreas and What It Does
We eat food, chew it up into a slurry, and swallow it. It travels down the esophagus to the stomach where it is ground up further and enzymes are added to begin protein break-down (digestion). When the food particles are small enough, they are propelled into the small intestine for further digestive treatment and ultimately nutrient absorption. The small intestine has three portions: the duodenum that connects to the stomach, and the jejunum and ileum below. The jejunum and ileum are mostly involved in absorption but the duodenum, being so close to the stomach, is the site of further digestion.
There are two ducts that enter the duodenum near where the stomach contents enter. One duct is for bile, squirted in directly from the liver’s gall bladder. The bile serves to neutralize the acid that the stomach had added, to emulsify (or dissolve) dietary fats for absorption later in the tract, and also to excrete some toxins. The other duct is the pancreatic duct, which squirts in more digestive enzymes so as to break down starches and more protein.
The pancreas is a pale pink glandular organ that nestles cozily just under the stomach and along the duodenum. As a glandular organ, the pancreas is all about secretion, and it has two main jobs: the first job is the secretion of digestive enzymes to help us break down the food we eat, the second job being secretion of insulin and glucagon (to regulate sugar metabolism). The digestive enzymes are the part of the story that concerns us in pancreatitis.
Pancreatitis Is Inflammation of the Pancreas
In pancreatitis, inflammation disrupts the normal integrity of the pancreas. Digestive enzymes that are normally safely stored in granules are released prematurely where they digest the body itself. The result can be a metabolic catastrophe. The living tissue becomes further inflamed and the tissue damage quickly involves the adjacent liver. Toxins released from this **** of tissue destruction are released into the circulation and can cause a body-wide inflammatory response. If the pancreas is affected so as to disrupt its ability to produce insulin, diabetes mellitus can result; this diabetes can be either temporary or permanent.
Special disasters include the disruption of “surfactants” in the lung tissue that normally keep the tiny air-filled alveoli from collapsing after each exhaled breath. Without surfactants, the alveoli close up and respiratory failure results.
Also, there is a syndrome called Weber-Christian syndrome in which fats throughout the body are destroyed.
Pancreatitis is one of the chief risk factors for the development of what is called disseminated intravascular coagulation, or DIC, which is basically a massive uncoupling of normal blood clotting and clot dissolving mechanisms. This leads to abnormal simultaneous bleeding and clotting of blood throughout the body.
Pancreatic encephalopathy (brain damage) can occur if the fats protecting the central nervous system become digested.
The good news is that most commonly the inflammation is confined to the area of the liver and pancreas but even with this limitation, pancreatitis can be painful and life-threatening.
Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic, mild or severe.
What Causes Pancreatitis
In most cases we never find out but we do know some events that can cause pancreatitis:
• Reflux of duodenal contents into the pancreatic duct. The pancreas has numerous safety mechanisms to prevent self-digestion. One of these mechanisms is the fact that the enzymes it creates are stored in an inactive form. They are harmless until they are mixed with activating enzymes. The strongest activating enzymes are made by duodenal cells, which means that the digestive enzymes do not actually activate until they are out of the pancreas and mixing with food in the duodenum. If duodenal fluids backwash up the pancreatic duct and into the pancreas, enzymes are prematurely activated and pancreatitis results. This is apparently the most common pancreatitis mechanism in humans, though it is not very common in veterinary patients.
• Concurrent hormonal imbalance predisposes a dog to pancreatitis. Such conditions include: diabetes, hypothyroidism, and hypercalcemia. The first two conditions are associated with altered fat metabolism that predisposes to pancreatitis, and the latter condition involves elevated blood calcium that activates stored digestive enzymes.
• Use of certain drugs can predispose to pancreatitis (sulfa-containing antibiotics such as trimethoprim sulfa or chemotherapy agents such as azathioprine).
• Trauma to the pancreas as from a car accident or even surgical manipulation can cause inflammation and thus pancreatitis.
Miniature Schnauzers are predisposed to pancreatitis as they commonly have altered fat metabolism.
Signs of Pancreatitis
The classical signs in dogs are appetite loss, vomiting, diarrhea, painful abdomen, and fever.
Making the Diagnosis
A reliable blood test has been lacking for this disease. Traditionally, blood levels of amylase and lipase (two pancreatic enzymes) have been used. When their levels are especially high, this is felt to be a reasonable sign of pancreatitis, but still these tests are not as sensitive or specific as we would prefer. They can elevate dramatically with corticosteroid use, with intestinal perforation, kidney disease, or even dehydration. Some experts advocate measuring lipase and amylase on fluid from the belly rather than on blood but this has not been fully investigated and is somewhat invasive.
A newer test called the PLI or pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity test has come to be important. Lipase is one of the pancreatic digestive enzymes and small traces are normally present in the circulation. These levels jump dramatically in pancreatitis and the diagnosis can be confirmed with a less expensive and non-invasive test. A regular lipase level measures all forms of lipase, not just those of a pancreatic source; this is test is specific for pancreatic lipase. The problem is that technology needed to run this test is unique and the test can only been run in certain facilities on certain days. Results are not necessarily available rapidly enough to help a very sick patient.
More recently a new test called the SPEC cPL (specific canine pancreatic lipase) test has come to be the test of choice. This test is a newer generation immunological test for canine pancreatic lipase and can be run overnight by a reference lab. This test is able to detect 83% of pancreatitis cases (the test is 83% sensitive) and excludes other possible diseases in 98% of cases (i.e., the test is 98% specific for pancreatitis). There is no comparable test for cats at this time.

Radiographs can show a widening of the angle of the duodenum against the stomach, which indicates a swelling of the pancreas. Most veterinary hospitals have the ability to take radiographs but this type of imaging is not very sensitive in detecting pancreatitis and only is able to find 24% of cases.
Ultrasound, on the other hand, detected 68% of cases and provides the opportunity to image other organs and even collect fluid from the belly easily. When one balances rapid results and accuracy, this test may be the best.
In some cases, surgical exploration is the only way to make the correct diagnosis.
Treatment
The passage of food through the duodenum is a strong stimulus to the pancreas. In the treatment of canine pancreatitis we do not want any stimulation of the pancreas; we want the pancreas to rest. This means no food and no water for 2 to 3 days (IV fluid support prevents dehydration).
Fluid support will generally require potassium supplementation as potassium depletes in pancreatitis. Blood pH must be tracked as well. A critical patient with pancreatitis will need 24 hour care and blood test monitoring several times a day. A plasma transfusion represents a special type of fluid therapy and helps provide special proteins that inhibit pancreatic enzymes. Whether or not the protection afforded by plasma is real or theoretical is still being worked out but since it is difficult to go wrong with a plasma transfusion, do not be surprised if your veterinarian uses this approach.
Pancreatitis is a painful condition and pain management is not only humane but important in recovery. Untreated pain affects the immune system and increases mortality. Injectable pain medications, fentanyl patches, and even continuous drips can be used effectively to control pain. Additional medications to control nausea are also commonly used in the management of this condition. Antibiotics are often used because even though pancreatitis is not a bacterial disease, bacterial invasion from the diseased intestine is a common occurrence.
Once the patient has started to eat again, a low fat diet (such as one of the prescription high fiber diets) is important to minimize pancreatic stimulation. Since there is potential for the pancreas to always have a chronic smoldering bit of inflammation, long-term use of a low-fat diet is likely to be recommended.
Beware of Diabetes Mellitus
When the inflammation subsides in the pancreas, some scarring is inevitable. When 80% of the pancreas is damaged, insulin cannot be produced, and diabetes mellitus results. This may or may not be permanent depending on the capacity for the pancreas’ tissue to recover. See more information on the management of diabetes mellitus.