my yorkie has pancreatitis...anyone been through this?

[cbhayden]

Bruiser stayed with the vet over the long weekend for treatment. This morning the vet took him to work with him and is going to take his blood to check his levels. If they have gone down then I will get to pick him up today and start his new lifelong diet. The vet said Bruiser did well over the weekend and started to pep up. He also said his entire family has fallen in love with him and they hate to return him, that's my big boy, always making friends even when he feels badly!

I am going to call the vet at 10:30 and see if the results are back yet...

I'll keep you posted. Thanks for all the prayers!!

[Martie]

Any updates????? Hope Bruiser is feeling better.

[yorkieusa]

So, how is he?

I found this and wanted to share it with you.

May of 1998 brought the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is a very painful condition and not always easily diagnosable. The pancreas become inflamed, then do not function normally which adversely affects the digestive process. Treatment usually involves withholding food and water until the crisis passes followed by bland diet. A word of warning, if left untreated, pancreatitis can be fatal. Sparky's diet was changed to that of no, or very low fat, restricted protein - specifically boiled chicken in small quantities, egg, rice or pasta and small quantities of broccoli due to the pancreatitis and tendency to form bladder stones (calcium oxalate). I added Prozyme (digestive enzymes) to help him pre-digest his food, allowing his digestive system perform better, Vitamin B50 Complex, Calcium/Magnesium, and Vitamin D, very small amount to help bind with oxelates in the gut and keep them from reaching his kidneys) as well as other supplements. I had also added Milkthistle - reported to help the liver function more efficiently. If you decide to add Milksthistle, then make sure you don't have the additives such as artichoke (it acts as a diuretic). See the link for Sparky's Diet at the bottom of this page.

http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Zoo/3190/

Sparky's Diet:

http://www.geocities.com/Petsburgh/Zoo/3190/diet/

[Tophersmom]

I lost my beautiful terrier mix Nighean to pancreatitis in January. It was her third bout with it and she was in such horrific pain this third and last time. Her pancreas was just a mess and sadly we had to put her to sleep.

It can be a very devastating disease, and very painful for the dog, but hopefully if treated quickly and properly by the vet, it can be overcome. I hope everything works out well for your little one. Not all pancreatitis stories have sad endings.

We'll keep saying prayers that all works out well for your Bruiser.

[cbhayden]

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all of your posts! I had never heard of pancreatitis before Bruiser got it so all of your posts have been so helpful!

I brought Bruiser home yesterday afternoon. He is finished with his fasting and I am starting his new low fat bland diet. He kept his food down last night and I fed him a very small amount this morning before I left for work. I'll check on him at lunch, I hated even leaving him today. He was so peppy last night and wanted to play, it was nice to see the old Bruiser. He went poo poo this morning too, that was such a relief that it was normal.

His blood test was still high, levels are supposed to be 200-1800 and his is 3000, but started at 5500. So he goes back in Saturday for another blood test. Please say alittle prayer for him.

Thanks again for all of your replies and support. My sympathy goes out to all those who lost their yorkie to this condition. You are so brave to go on and tell people about pancreatitis and how important it is to not feed them table scraps of any kind!!!

[sshaw]

Originally Posted by cbhayden

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all of your posts! I had never heard of pancreatitis before Bruiser got it so all of your posts have been so helpful!

I brought Bruiser home yesterday afternoon. He is finished with his fasting and I am starting his new low fat bland diet. He kept his food down last night and I fed him a very small amount this morning before I left for work. I'll check on him at lunch, I hated even leaving him today. He was so peppy last night and wanted to play, it was nice to see the old Bruiser. He went poo poo this morning too, that was such a relief that it was normal.

His blood test was still high, levels are supposed to be 200-1800 and his is 3000, but started at 5500. So he goes back in Saturday for another blood test. Please say alittle prayer for him.

Thanks again for all of your replies and support. My sympathy goes out to all those who lost their yorkie to this condition. You are so brave to go on and tell people about pancreatitis and how important it is to not feed them table scraps of any kind!!!

Well, I don’t know about brave but I am glad to hear that he is doing so well! Thanks for the update and prayers still coming your way!

[yorkieusa]

I would imagine that it will take some time for the levels to drop. I am glad he's doing so well and hope you continue to update us.