Pancreatitis - Has Anyone Dealt With It?

[Sorcha]

I was awoken this morning by the sounds of Harkan the Italian greyhound throwing up under my bed (of course, make it hard to get to - thanks, buddy). Following that he had very soft stool. I could tell he was not himself, he would lay in a "prayer position", would wimper if his belly was touched (and it felt very tight), etc.. The first thing that went through my head was bloat and that he needed to be checked out, but he did not have a lot of the other symptoms seen with bloat so I figured at worse they will treat him for a bad stomach ache. Long story short, he was diagnosed with having pancreatitis. He was given IV fluids under the skin on his back and an injection of a medication called Cerenia. I was told to feed him only boiled chicken & rice for the next few days. I wish there was something more I could do for him, he seems so uncomfortable.

 

Has anyone dealt with pancreatitis in a dog?

[Guest IrskasMom]

No Advice Sara , but Hugs and Prayers for Harkan

[JohnF]

No direct experience with dogs, but I do have with humans. I have a relative who they thought at first had Pancreatitis but it turned out to be Cholecystitis where sludge and maybe a stone had blocked and inflamed the Common Bile Duct; fortunately it didn't necrotize. But he swelled up, was very sick, had a lot of pain etc. After recovery any food he had needed to contain less than 10% fat - no pastry at all and nothing with batter etc. I think you'll need to make your dog's food from quality lean meat ingredients for a while keeping a close eye on the fat content. I hope your dog gets better soon.

Add: The doctor said just one big bad fatty meal is enough to start it off as it makes the gallbladder contract. So feed more often.

Edited September 7, 2011 by JohnF

[Sambuca]

Can they tell you if it's acute (one time occurrence) or chronic (lifetime)?

 

I hope he feels better soon.

[RaineysMom]

Rainey had pancreatitis. Her first one presented just like that, she kept "play bow stretching" and could not get comfortable. After the first bought, we just made sure to NEVER give her any people food (other than defrosted green beans at the end) and the lowest fat food/treats you can get. She only had one more episode (possibly 2, what turned out to be bloat presented very closely to panc.).

 

good luck and I hope if you follow the strict diet he'll never have another episode and be fine! :hope

[Guest RaznNik]

Nik had one bout of pancreatitis. He didn't eat for 3 days, the Big D, threw up a few times, then he was on meds but I don't recall what. Fed him cooked lean ground beef and rice for a while, then gradually went back to his regular raw diet. I remove all fat from his food, and I do add cooked green beans (blended) to his beef/chicken mix that he eats for breakfast. There is very little fat in it. If your little guy eats kibble, I am sure he should be on something that is low fat to ensure he doesn't have repeat episodes.

[Sorcha]

Thanks for the information. He eats Pro Plan small breed formula, has never had a problem with it. I just bought a new bag! He does not get table scraps, but now that I think about it he got in the garbage last night and licked clean an empty ttin of cat food, could that have set it off? For now he will get boiled chicken and rice, until at least Sunday.

[tbhounds]

Fat's the enemy here. In really bad cases the pet needs to be admitted and placed on IV flluids and fasted to let things calm down. You need to feed an easily digested low fat food. One a fat meal can trigger an attack. Did the Dr dispense a medication for pain?

[Sorcha]

Fat's the enemy here. In really bad cases the pet needs to be admitted and placed on IV flluids and fasted to let things calm down. You need to feed an easily digested low fat food. One a fat meal can trigger an attack. Did the Dr dispense a medication for pain?

 

He did get IV fluids and medication. The doctor said to bring him back for a fentanyl patch if his pain/discomfort gets worse.

[Hubcitypam]

Poodle had it very very bad.

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/249240-poodle-in-hospital/

The vet thinks that bout was what caused him to become diabetic shortly thereafter. That was a year and a half ago and he hasn't had any more episodes. He has been eating Natural Balance Ultra Light and doing fine, but I am super paranoid about fat.

[Sorcha]

The food he has been eating (http://www.proplan.com/dry-dog-food/small-breed-formula/default.aspx) says Crude Fat (Min) 17.0 %. Is that good or bad? When he goes back on dog food next week, should I continue with that or start switching him to something else? If so he needs a dog food with small kibble bits because he's a little guy.

[Hubcitypam]

I can only say that I feel better feeding Poodle something with about 1/2 that fat, but I think lots of dogs just go back to their regular food. Innova, California Natural and Natural Balance make low fat kibble without celluose (which I refuse to feed, but that's just me..)

[tbhounds]

17% fat content is way too high. Should be closer to 9%.

Edited to add that I'm a little suprised your vet didn't suggest you feed the prescription food I/D or EN. Both are very easy to digest and are low in fat.

Edited September 8, 2011 by tbhounds

[Sorcha]

It was not my regular vet. I told the vet what food he eats and she advised me to feed boiled chicken & rice for next several days and then back to his regular food.

 

Guess I will do some research on quality dog foods with small pieces that is lower in fat.

[racindog]

17% fat content is way too high. Should be closer to 9%.

Edited to add that I'm a little suprised your vet didn't suggest you feed the prescription food I/D or EN. Both are very easy to digest and are low in fat.

Yes indeed. I was rather shocked to see that 17% fat content too. Definietely too high.

[PrairieProf]

In the spring Beth had *near* pancreatitis (evidence of pancreatic inflammation, just under the "acute" level) and was on a six-week course of metronidazole (Flagyl) -- it has anti-inflammatory effects on the GI system. We also put her on Hill's Prescription I/D, a low fat highly digestible food that is often recommended for pancreatitis, and she's done so wonderfully on it by every measure that I've kept her on it, though other foods with a similar fat/protein level would be acceptable. We monitored her pancreatic enzyme levels several times over a period of weeks/months to confirm that they got back well within normal range and stayed there. If your dog has had pancreatitis I do think his diet must be changed -- needs to be low fat, moderate protein. I will not put anything in Beth's mouth, even a treat, that is above 10% fat and preferably less. Things like dried sweet potatoes and lowfat cottage cheese or yogurt are safe snacks for her, though I feed some low-fat biscuits as well.

 

Was your dog having pancreatitis confirmed with a blood test (presumably Snap cPL)? If it was true acute pancreatitis, he should be hospitalized and having NOTHING by mouth for several days (IV fluids). From the treatment he got, I'm thinking the vet didn't think that he had full-on pancreatitis -- or else (hate to say it) that's a very casual and incompetent vet. I would insist on a lot more information and probably a trip pronto to your regular vet. At least find out why no metronidazole was prescribed.

 

There's a lot of solid information about pancreatitis in dogs online if you Google. It can be life-threatening and is NOT something to play around with.

Edited September 8, 2011 by PrairieProf

[Hubcitypam]

Was your dog having pancreatitis confirmed with a blood test? If it was true acute pancreatitis, he should be hospitalized and having NOTHING by mouth for several days (IV fluids). From the treatment he got, I'm thinking the vet didn't think that he had full-on pancreatitis -- or else (hate to say it) that's a very casual and incompetent vet. I would insist on a lot more information. At least find out why no metronidazole was prescribed.

Wow. I guess that I have a casual and incompetent vet. There is no doubt that Poodles was very acute (and confirmed by blood test) Due to my lack of income at the time my vet did several rounds of subQ as opposed to IV. Poodle did spend one day at the vet but no metronidazole was given, just some tramadol for pain and anti nausea injections. I was not instructed to fast him, just to give chicken and rice in small amounts as he'd accept them.

[PrairieProf]

OK, well maybe I was wrong, but everything I've read (and I read everything I could find) says no food for several days to rest the pancreas in cases of acute pancreatitis, because any food you're giving stresses it. But we didn't actually go through that, fortunately.

[ozgirl2]

Sarah - Cody had pancreatitis twice and had gastritis/colitis multiple times. Had a very sensitive stomach...

 

A greenie caused the 1st pancreatitis bout - vet said WHY did you give her a Greenie?!?! They're hugely high in fat!! So no more greenies for her...

 

Yep - limit fat & no people foods!! (Cody was also allergic to soy & rice - so finding foods for her was always fun, fun, fun!)

 

Good luck! Hope you don't have any repeats!!

[tbhounds]

It is true -depending on the blood values it is a common practice to admit the pet and start them on injectable medications and iv fluids---no food or water by mouth- I have seen vets fast dogs (not cats) for up to 5 days to allow things to calm down. Many vets will monitor the amylase and lipase values but, the Spec Cpl is another test available that may be more accurate (however some vets may dispute that). Fat is hard to digest and thereby raising the pancreatic values, hence the low fat diet is required.

Antibotics and pain meds are often dispensed upon discharge.

[JJNg]

A greenie caused the 1st pancreatitis bout - vet said WHY did you give her a Greenie?!?! They're hugely high in fat!! So no more greenies for her...

Greenies are very high in protein, but not high in fat. Here's a link to the regular Greenies formula. Click on the heading for Nutrition. Greenies have less fat than Hill's Prescription i/d or Purina EN.