Greyhound With Pancreatits

[Greytlady94]

My Teddy has been diagnosed with pancreatits based upon his blood test results. I have not had imaging done yet.

 

Teddy got sick Sunday evening. It was my fault. I had bought some hamburger at Kroger (he is raw fed) that was on sale and the label did not have the % of fat. Normally if I buy them hambuger I buy the 93/7. He had the hamburger for breakfast and did not show any signs of illness until I put his dinner down for him and he walked away. Teddy has never not eaten. A few minutes later I took him outside and he projectile vomited. When we came back in I gave him a Reglan and Zantac. I took his temperature and it was 104. During the night he vomited again, this time it was primarily water with some food remnants. First thing Monday morning I called our vet and made an appointment. I took his temp and it was 103.6. Prior to going to the appointment he vomited again.

 

At the vet he was thoroughly examined, had his temp taken, still 103.6. We decided to do a comprehensive senior panel and urinalysis which she could compare to the one just done a month ago. Vet gave him an injection of Reglan and an injection of penicillin. After we got home he vomied once more. At this point he has not vomited for 24 hours. He has eaten tiny bits at a time over the afternoon. He ate a jar of Gerber baby meat which is 2.5 oz over a couple of hours. He has eaten 1/2 can of ID over the next couple of hours. He has drank several times.

 

Our vet called me this afternoon with his test results, and based upon those the diagnosis is pancreatitis. She discussed Teddy's referral to a speciality clinic for imaging. It is a new, state of the art clinic, I was there about a month ago with Renie and was very pleased with the service. She told me the treatment protocol, if the pancreatitis was confirmed by imaging, woud be antibiotics by injection twice a day, IV fluids, and witholding anything by mouth to give the pancreas time to calm down and heal.

 

Teddy is a fearful dog. At home he is my big brave watch dog but when he leaves home he is very nervous, and at the vet he shakes and his temperature goes up quickly. I know him going for an ultrasound and xrayrs would be very hard on him. Staying at the clinic for treatment would be extremely traumatic for him. I don't want to not treat him obviously, but I want to be sure putting him through this is absolutely neccesary. I told the doctor that I wanted to give him 24 hours to see if he can get better on his own. I have lean chicken for him, boiled and drained burger and prescription ID. I just took his temp and it is 103.

 

If you have made it this far through this book I'm writing, please tell me your experience with your greyhound with pancreatitis. Thank you in advance.

[Guest jg_consult]

Very sorry to hear about Teddy's illness! My greyhound George has experienced the same problem. He fully recovered after a four day stay at the emergency vet's, with the IV and antibiotic care.

 

Pancreatitis is extremely serious. Withholding all food is very key, to let the pancreas and digestive system recover. That is why Teddy would need to stay at the vet's, so he can receive the IV hydration and antibiotics in support while his body heals. It is a tough decision, if you have a fearful boy, to weigh the emotional trauma of being at the vet's with the physical risk of the damage pancreatitis can do. It can be rapidly and irreversibly fatal for a dog. If your vet is certain the readings in the blood are indicative of pancreatitis, and given the symptoms, I would encourage you to have Teddy under the vet's care.

 

 

[CaliforniaGreys]

I went through this about 8 years ago with my boy, and the treatment was as your vet suggested. He had to stay for 4 days and then once he came home, he was on strict baby food for a week. I wouldn't fool with it, but that's just my opinion. It's painful for them. Keeping Teddy in my prayers

Edited September 30, 2008 by cbudshome

[patricia]

Our Angel LaceyLaine had severe Pancreatitis and she was very ill and very painful. She was panting...unable to stand or walk...horrible diarrhea and vomiting every few minutes. She also was very stressed in any clinical setting. She was hospitalized 3 times with this dreadful disease. They fasted her for 5 days...not even water...she got all her meds including anti anxiety meds through her IV. She was diagnosed by her labs...x-rays and ultrasounds. With our little girl...ICU is what saved her life.

Sending my many prayers and white light.

[dante2zoe]

We just went through this with our whippet. He is also raw fed and had lamb the night before. It had fat in it but he had eaten fattier meat before without problem, but not this time. We were fortunate that we caught it really early. I actually thought he was beginning to bloat. He has severe SA and and we were able to keep him home. He received an injection of pain medicine, which lasted for 8 hours. He was put on antibiotics, carafate slurry and pepcid. I also withheld food for 24 hours. I spent a couple days constantly syringing water into him. He didn't care for it, so I was able to add low sodium chicken broth, which he liked. He is now eating pasta and steamed chicken and all is well! Hang in there!

[grey14me]

my angel Bailey, had two bouts with pancreatitis. it was diagnosed by blood tests, so I'm not sure why you have to go through with imaging and just start treating him. Bailey's treatment was iv fluids with famatadine (fancy name for pepcid)...there may have been antibiotics as well, I don't actually remember. they put an iv in her paw and she went in to the vet's every day for five days. I sat with her in our own little room with a couch the whole time (Bailey also stressed at the vet's office). it was like being in our own little living room every day...the nurse would come in periodically and check on us. I took her home every night...they taped the iv down pretty good so she wouldn't jiggle it loose and we just plugged her in every day. they can relapse very easily and that is what happened to Bailey just a few days later, but we did one more round of fluids and she was fine. it's extrememly painful for them, so I hope you get to start him on some treatment very soon :hope

[Greytlady94]

I appreciate all of your responses.

 

What is puzzling to me is Teddy and not shown any indication of pain since yesterday morning, nor did he respond to the pressing and squeezing done at the vet's. He has not had any diarrhea, but I understand that they don't always have it.

 

I'll watch him closely tonight and call his vet in the morning.

 

What is compounding this is Teddy had a dental two weeks ago and his temp was up to 104 within a few minutes of my leaving him. During the dental it went to 107. Our vet and I agree that he will never have another dental or anything else where gas is used. He has always had the problem of his temp shooting up when he goes to the vet but it has never been this bad. She said she was afraid she was going to lose him. I feel very caught between being afraid to not leave him for treatment, but being afraid he will die if I leave him.

 

[Batmom]

Worth getting that x-ray just to make sure it isn't a blockage?

 

 

When I have to take Zema in for more than ordinary stuff, we arrange to whisk her straight in to whatever needs to be done. For her, it's waiting around that lets her imagine the worst (or the doggie equivalent) and shoots her bp and temp up. She's probably not as bad as your pup, tho; she has never had any trouble with anaesthesia.

[CaliforniaGreys]

I appreciate all of your responses.

 

What is puzzling to me is Teddy and not shown any indication of pain since yesterday morning, nor did he respond to the pressing and squeezing done at the vet's. He has not had any diarrhea, but I understand that they don't always have it.

 

I'll watch him closely tonight and call his vet in the morning.

 

What is compounding this is Teddy had a dental two weeks ago and his temp was up to 104 within a few minutes of my leaving him. During the dental it went to 107. Our vet and I agree that he will never have another dental or anything else where gas is used. He has always had the problem of his temp shooting up when he goes to the vet but it has never been this bad. She said she was afraid she was going to lose him. I feel very caught between being afraid to not leave him for treatment, but being afraid he will die if I leave him.

Maybe you're catching it early before any pain. Talk with the vet, hopefully they will work with you. Because stress will only make it worse for Teddy, and no one wants that. Please try to update, I'll have him on my mind, and in my prayers of course

[Guest argolola]

Prayers for your little sweetie.

[Guest EmilyAnne]

I don't have much experience in this area, but I have read that the blood tests alone cannot conclusively diagnose pancreatitis. The whole picture has to be looked at, including the symptoms. Kind of like gathering up clues to solve a mystery. The blood tests are part of clues, but they are not *definite* clues and by themselves cannot be used to conclusively diagnose pancreatitis. They're sort of like 'circumstantial evidence' as opposed to concrete evidence. I hope I'm making some resemblance of sense here.

 

By the way, my Henry can NOT have hamburger. I tried once, and he threw up 4 times in one morning. No diarrhea though. He gets lean steak. I look for cuts with little or no fat marbling. (Henry is on homecooked though, not raw)

 

Editing to ask, what are the antibiotics for? I wasn't aware pancreatitis is an infection?

Edited October 1, 2008 by EmilyAnne

[Greytlady94]

I don't have much experience in this area, but I have read that the blood tests alone cannot conclusively diagnose pancreatitis. The whole picture has to be looked at, including the symptoms. Kind of like gathering up clues to solve a mystery. The blood tests are part of clues, but they are not *definite* clues and by themselves cannot be used to conclusively diagnose pancreatitis. They're sort of like 'circumstantial evidence' as opposed to concrete evidence. I hope I'm making some resemblance of sense here.

 

By the way, my Henry can NOT have hamburger. I tried once, and he threw up 4 times in one morning. No diarrhea though. He gets lean steak. I look for cuts with little or no fat marbling. (Henry is on homecooked though, not raw)

 

Editing to ask, what are the antibiotics for? I wasn't aware pancreatitis is an infection?

 

She said to heal the inflamed pancreas.

 

Sixty years of dogs and 14 years of greyhounds and this is the first time with this diagnosis. I do know that i caused it with the hamburger though.

[Guest EmilyAnne]

Well one thing I would do is, have your dog fast 24 hours right away just in case. I'm pretty sure pancreatitis can be life threatening, and if it is pancreatitis, food will make it worse. Is there any chance your vet will let you administer the fluids via sub-q at home since you are so nervous the stress of being left at the vet would weaken Teddy? Do you have to be away at work in the next few days?

Edited October 1, 2008 by EmilyAnne

[Guest Jennifer4719]

Years ago our mini doxie had pancreatitis. It was very serious, she almost died. She had to stay at the E-vets for a week for IV's and antibiotics. When she came home she was on a liquid diet of Ensure for a couple of weeks.

 

Sending good thoughts to you and your pup.

[Guest ss556]

Sending prayers for your Teddy.

[Greytlady94]

Well one thing I would do is, have your dog fast 24 hours right away just in case. I'm pretty sure pancreatitis can be life threatening, and if it is pancreatitis, food will make it worse. Is there any chance your vet will let you administer the fluids via sub-q at home since you are so nervous the stress of being left at the vet would weaken Teddy? Do you have to be away at work in the next few days?

 

He fasted for over 48 hours then started with tablespoon of Gerber baby meat with several small amounts of food today. No vomiting for well over 24 hours now. I plan to call in the morning for another appointment so she can examine him again and we'll decide what to do from there. There is no one at the vet clinic overnight so I would not leave him there alone. I am retired, so no work to worry about.

 

My little Renie has had her own medical crisises the past few months so we don't miss a week at the vet.

[Guest EmilyAnne]

Excellent!!!

 

Now if this was a pancreatitis attack, then Teddy will be more prone to getting them in the future now, and if and when they come back, the prognosis is poorer, so you'll have to be real careful. Is your vet knowledgable on raw? Normally it is suggested they go to a kibble that is lower fat, but Teddy is not on kibble, so I imagine trimming fats off meat would be what you need to do from now on? (And no more hamburger of course!!!! )

[patricia]

This disease is just so nasty. Angel LaceyLaine never had a problem until she went in for surgery for an perianal mass. She came home and was ok until the following morning. All labs before surgery were perfect...next day they were bad. She had 3 flare ups each one worse than the one before. It's so hard...because in her case...it was stress that would bring these attacks on. She was fed a very low fat kibble...that and water was ALL she could have. Her kibble was at 6% fat...her cookies were her kibble that I placed in the cookie jar. Thank goodness she loved her food. Sending my prayers.

Edited October 1, 2008 by patricia

[Greytlady94]

First, thank you to everyone who posted with your experiences and your prayers. I do really, really appreciate the support.

 

I took Teddy back in to our vet first thing this morning. I had taken his temp before we left home and it was down to 102, so almost normal. Dr. Ross was very pleased at how good he looked. He is very well hydrated, alert, sparkle back in his eyes, (even though he was "hiding" behind the chair I was sitting in. No sign of any yellow in his eyes, gums or ears. No vomiting since Monday afternoon. He had fasted for 48 hours, and then yesterday he had several really small amounts of Gerber baby meat, ID, and a little lean baked chicken. Dr. Ross agreed that he did not need to be hospitalized, she knows that would make him sicker. She said he did not need the IV fluids, that he was doing very well with what I was doing. She said to just keep doing what I was doing with him. We are giving him 750mg Cephalexin twice a day for 10 days and he will remain on a bland diet for two weeks.

 

So my boy is back to goosing me in the butt when we are on our way to the back yard.

 

And definitely no more hamburger other then the 93/7. I will start slowly transitioning back to raw after the two weeks on the bland diet.

 

Thank you all for the prayers and good thoughts for Teddy.

[CaliforniaGreys]

Excellent!

[patricia]

Wonderful news!

[Guest CyndiW]

Once a dog has pancreatitis (caused by anything), they are more susceptible to it in the future unless they stay on low fat foods. I am not a fan of prescription diets but Royal Canin Low Fat worked wonders to make sure Alex was able to come home and stay home. I did slowly transition him back to regular food. He has since passed from cancer (unrelated) and I have several cans that are going to waste if you would care to have them. The date is good until 9/2009. Hope your boy continues to recover and stays well.

[Greytlady94]

Thank you for your kind offer.

[Guest CyndiW]

How is Teddy doing today?