My dog has Pancreatis

Hi my name is Kristen and I live in Lexington, KY. I have a 10 month old male boxer, Chase, who has been recently diagnosed with pancreatis. I originally took my Chase to the vet because he had a seizure one day and also because I had been concerned with the fact that he had been having diarrhea a lot. The vet told me seizures could be caused by problems with the pancreas or some other organs. She did some blood work which told us that Chase's pancreas wasn't functioning properly and could have been the cause of the seizure and the diarrhea. We were sent home with some medicine while we waited on more thourough blood work to be sent off and anaylized. As it turns out chase has pancreatis and the vet decided he should be on a low fat diet. This concerned me because Chase is already extremly skinny due to the fact that his pancreas is not digesting properly and the nutrients run right through him. So we tried the new diet which was Purina's veterinary diet dog food called EN GastroENteric formula. Chase's diarreah still had not improved so the vet added a pancreatic enzyme to his diet called Viokase-V. This is given to him daily with each meal to help him digest his food properly. The vet also recommended Chase have an ultrasound of his pancreas to see if there was anything wrong with the pancreas that couldn't be determined from blood work. A specialist from Louisville to come do the ultrasound since it is difficult to find the pancreas and properly diagnose the problem. My vet has been conferring with an internal medicine vet in Louisville, KY on Chase's condition to ensure that he gets the right treatment. However, I am still awaiting the official results from the ultrasound and how they plan on treating Chase.
It has been a slow, frustrating and expensive process to find out what exactly is wrong with Chase and how to fix it. His diet and medicine haven't brought his condition back to normal and his weight is still under. Though it has helped, I really want him to recover completely though I realize this might be something we have to deal with all his life. This has been very hard for me to deal with this emotional and financially. I am a college student at the University of Kentucky and am currently doing an internship for the planning division for the city of Lexington. It has been very difficult to deal come up with the money for everything being a full time student and working thirty to forty hours a week between my internship and a part-time job delivery Sandwhiches. I also have two other dogs, Chase's mother and sister, Jezzebelle and Jazmine. Chase's dog food costs $50.00 for a 30lb. bag and it's hard to keep the other dogs from eating his food. Separting them to eat is nearly impossible. II have also spent over $700 in the past month trying to help Chase and I don't know how much longer I can afford his medical bills. I have my hands full of more than I can handle but I will do what ever it takes to keep Chase healthy. Luckily I have my boyfriend who loves the dogs as much as I do and he helps a lot. I am concerned about Chase and what is best for him as well as what is best for me. I just wonder if there is something out there that can help him that maybe my vet hasn't thought of. Also, I was wondering if there is perhaps a different diet chase could be on that won't strap me financially but will be helpful to him. There are so many things I am confused on about this and everything seems to still be up in the air as to what is really wrong with Chase. I assume it is the pancreatis but everytime I go to the vet, she has something different to say. If anyone out there has delt with this problem before or knows anything about it or has any suggestions on diet or medication I would appreciate it very much. Thank you for taking the time to read my message. I will keep you updated with Chase's condition and hopefully my information can help someone else.

I'm so sorry to read of this diagnosis with such a young dog! Chase sounds like he is worth every single penny that you are spending, but I can't imagine the stress that you are under, financially and mentally, with such concern for your beloved dog.

I have no suggestions for you. It sounds like you certainly have gotten the best of care for him. I will keep Chase, and you, in my prayers and hope that you can find a solution for him.

We're glad you're here and hopefully you will keep us updated on Chase's situation.

Logan

Poor Chase, poor you:( First, I commend you for your devotion to your pup. I can only imagine how difficult it is for a college student to handle the financial burden, on top of the emotional strain. Reading your message brought tears to my eyes. You are doing all you can for your baby and I understand your frustration.

My best advice would be to research the topic of pancreatitis in dogs on the internet. There are a lot of great vet info. sites on the web; I'll come back and post some links later. Make sure you have complete faith in your vet. If you do, ask questions and make try to get some definitive answers re: diagnosis, prognosis and course of treatment. ALL of the questions and concerns you've shared here, share with your vet, including his continued diarrhea and failure to gain weight! So often, patients, and the family of patients, are reluctant to share their concerns with their doctors/vets...but that's what they are there for! Tell her your concerns about his lack of wt. gain, difficulty feeding, etc. She is there to help!!!

Pancreatitis is a serious condition, in dogs and humans, but is treatable, though sometimes it is a lifetime course. Often, it is an acute condition requiring hospitalization. Is Chase on any other form of treatment, aside from the enzyme, such as antibiotics? A few members of Pet Talk have experience with this; I'll try to make sure they see your post.

First, you have to await the results of the consult and the ultrasound to confirm the diagnosis. From there, you can discuss with your vet his immediate and long term care. If you are at all in doubt regarding the appropriateness of your vet's care, perhaps you can get a second opinion. Your vet would be obliged to forward all of Chase's records/test results/consults. You have to try and make sure that Chase eats only his prescribed diet. Do the other pups free feed? Does Chase? You may have to gate him off during feeding time.

I want you to know that I will be keeping you and Chase in my thoughts and prayers. Please, check back with us and let us know how he's doing. We're here to help, but most of all, to support our fellow doggie moms. You're not alone! Pet Talk is known for pulling miracles out of hats, so stick with us! Please give your beautiful baby a hug for me. Try to hang in there. Chase has two loving and devoted furparents, and that's the most important thing. {{{HUGS}}} Sandra

Sorry I can't help too much, but when i was a vet tech, (only a few years ago) there were a few dogs there w/ pancreatis, although none had any seizures from it. they did have other symptoms like diarreha.

Of course all the dogs were underweight. Our vet perscribed a medicine (i think the actula name was pancreatis enzyme or something w/ pancreatis in the name), it came only in powder form, in a brown plastic bottle w/ yellow lettering. Our vets perscribed that & a good quality food (not low fat, just regular good food). The medicine was ver expensive (about $100-$150
per bottle which for a larger dog would only last a month or so).

It takes a while for them to put on weight (months & some times more months) & they will almost always stay on the slim side, but not emiciated though. But the diarrhea would go away in a few weeks or so at the most.

Maybe get a second opinion, it can't hurt.
i wish you the best of luck