pancreatitis in senior dog Hi I am new to the yorkietalk, but very glad to find an arena for advise/help. I have a senior yorkie (16 years) who has been throwing up (mainly bile), loss of appetite, and not drinking water. The vet said tests show she has pancreatitis and pres. antibiotics and said to put her on a bland diet of rice with a little chicken. All of the article I have read seem to focus on younger dogs. She only eats dog food and limited treats, as anything else will give her the squirts. It has been three days since the vet results and no improvement I can see. she has had fluid treatment to help with the lack of fluids. Any suggestions? thanks - Kinsey |
Maybe she should be admitted to the hospital to be put on fluids and no food so her pancreas can rest?? I hope she starts feeling better soon |
Poor girl. :( Sorry I don't have any advice, but I do want to bump this thread up for you in case someone else has something to contribute. Hope she starts feeling better very soon. And WELCOME to YorkieTalk! |
I'm sorry to hear this..... I can't offer much help but I just had a little experience with pancreatitis My Chanel got really sick last weekend - I took her to a vet nearby - and she was treated for mild stomach distress - well - she got sick again and while she WAS eating I was really concerned so I took her back to my longtime vet where I used to live - He ran bloodwork and she has mildly elevated Lipase levels - they called it Pylorus ? With her - the levels are at 2300 - very mild - .....with full blown pancreatitis it can be 5000-6000 (I'm only QUOTING My vet here) so PLEASE ....don't take what I'm saying as fact - and yes - Chicken Rice and the ID food was what I was told to feed her too - but she never stopped drinking - The 1st vet I went to last Monday when she was throwing up gave me cut up Pepcid AC pill type medication - The 2nd vet prescribed something called Reglan - She takes it 3 x per day to help her with her food - it's taken an hour before eating. My baby has never been sick ever - so this was such a scare for me too....but again - my Chanel's is MILD and could be temporary. I'm really sorry to hear about your dog because I know it's harder on seniors and it sounds like your yorkie may need more care than a simple vet visit.... Ask your vet about Pedialite (water) and if you have to syringe feed her water - do it ! She needs to drink - GOOD LUCK !!!! |
I'm sorry to hear this..... I can't offer much help but I just had a little experience with pancreatitis My Chanel got really sick last weekend - I took her to a vet nearby - and she was treated for mild stomach distress - well - she got sick again and while she WAS eating I was really concerned so I took her back to my longtime vet where I used to live - He ran bloodwork and she has mildly elevated Lipase levels - they called it Pylorus ? With her - the levels are at 2300 - very mild - .....with full blown pancreatitis it can be 5000-6000 (I'm only QUOTING My vet here) so PLEASE ....don't take what I'm saying as fact - and yes - Chicken Rice and the ID food was what I was told to feed her too - but she never stopped drinking - The 1st vet I went to when she was throwing up gave me cut up Pepcid AC pill type medication - Amoxicillin (antibiotic) The 2nd vet prescribed something called Reglan - and NO antibiotic - he said stop. She takes the Reglan 3 x per day to help her with her food - it's taken an hour before eating. My baby has never been sick ever - so this was such a scare for me too....but again - my Chanel's is MILD and could be temporary. I'm really sorry to hear about your dog because I know it's harder on seniors and it sounds like your yorkie may need more care than a simple vet visit.... Ask your vet about Pedialite (water) and if you have to syringe feed her water - do it ! She needs to drink - GOOD LUCK !!!! |
From my understanding they can still have pancreatits without the high bloodwork. I went through this with my german shepherd |
I put my 2cents in on another post where a yorkie had this, I am a human nurse who also gets panceratitis and a lot of time my amalays and lipase are only a bit elevated and sometimes not at all and I can tell you no matter wht the blood work said my pain level said someting else, this is a very painful event and takes awhile to rebound, your goal is to let tht organ rest.........tht is why we go without anything by mouth, so the organ does not have to secerete out those enzymes to breakdown the food.......young or old, animal or human, just make sure your puppy does not hurt........please voice this to your vet, make him tell you tht your puppy is not in pain and then ask him how he knows and if youy are ok with that, then move onto the other important info, like other meds he needs to be on, if any and how long he will need to go like this, ask him wht you should give him, or if he is still resting his belly and if so do you need to bring him in to get an IV, I have a good dr for myself tht when I get a mild case of it, he lets me come in he runs a bag thru me and I am on my way.......not 100percent but I know tht I wont get dehydrated, so if money is a issue, tht is something you can look into as long as you know wht to look for if he gets worse......this is a yiucky thing ti go thru and I am only a human nurse and have this horrible luck to struggle with this, however had not had a attack for a few years now since I watch my diet and take my meds....so good luck, he will be fine, just make sure he is pain free and is getting fluid somehow someway, you need anything else let me know CHRISTINE |
my parents shihtzu had pancreatitus and she had to go to the ER Vet for about 3 days and stay on IVs she recovered good but it was scary I dont remember how bad hers was I was younger I just remember she was gone for a few days...I would call the ER vet better safe than sorry |
I lost a yorkie at 6 1/2 with pancreatitis and almost lost another that was 5 1/2 at the same time. I would suggest getting another opinion asap. Prayers for your baby! |
Usually, they do recommend putting a dog on iv therapy so they can withhold food for 2 - 5 days and give the pancreas time to rest. The chicken and rice are usually the foods they start back with once the pancreas is healed. Dogs with pancreatitis usually drink a lot (but often throw it back up) that is why Reglan (anti-nausea) is prescribed. If she is doing as poorly as it sounds I would find another vet and put her on ivs. In the very least, I would feed her Pedialyte, an infant electrolyte solution, by syringe every hour around the clock. It only lasts 48 hours after opening so buy the small single serving bottles. I would also discontinue food and all treats for 24 hours (I would be afraid to do this any longer without iv support) and then begin feeding boiled white chicken no skin and white rice and discontinue treats all together. Do you feed fatty treats like fatty meats, pig ears, bacon, peanut butter, etc. Also check the fat content of the food you feed. |
still sick Hi - Thanks for all of the input and stories. It is very scary when a dog gets seriously sick for the first time (I am very lucky in that way.) I took Jackie (my senior yorkie) back to the vet the day I posted the first message. The vet did x-rays and then sent us to an internal medicine vet after seeing something on the stomach xray that he did not like. The internal vet did an abdominal ultra sound and thoracic radiographs. Nothing in any of the results to say what the issue may be (the specialist thought it may not be pancreatitis - but, I must admit, she has all of the symptoms). So we took her home with a liquid nutritional supplement (I forget the name) to give by mouth and IV fluid treatment to give at home with anti-nausea medication. Both vets said that Jackie did not appear to be in any pain which is good. Jackie has been on the fluid therapy and supplement for a few days. She is still not eating on her own and is still throwing up the bile, but usually does not throw up immediately after the liquid supplement, of which I have been giving her a small amount every hour or so - but usually about 2 hours after the first. Although she is not getting any better that I can see, she does not appear to be getting any worse. They will rerun her blood work to see if anything has changed, but for now we will keep her hydrated. After talking again with the vet today (they are really nice and call every other day to see how things are going) I know the time is rapidly approaching when a decision will have to be made, but I want to give Jackie every chance. Selfish as it may be, as long as she is not in pain I will take a few more days. Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and please hope for the best. Kinsey |
Kinsey, you and your precious baby will be in my thoughts and prayers daily !:hands: :hands: :hands: :hands: :hands: We are never ready to let our "kids" go. I have 6 at Rainbow Bridge waiting for me. Just remember God makes them whole and happy again & please remember to keep us updated. God bless you both. |
It's very possible that she will bounce back from this. You've apparently provided good care for her to make it to this age. It's always a hard decision to make. Luckily, Lacy passed away in my arms and I didn't have to make the decision. I did have a Great Dane though that I anquished over the decision for quite some time. I would think this is it, but then she would just bounce back and be fine or several months. I'm hoping your baby will bounce back from this too. I'll keep her in my prayers. |
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There is a homeopathic antinausea med called Nux Vomica, maybe you can discuss this with your vet to give it a try to help the nausea. It helped my shepherd with the nausea, im not a vet just offering a suggestion Sending lots of prayers for your baby |
Do I dare to hope Hello Again - I am not sure what is going on, but I am happy to report that Jackie has not thrown up for over 12 hours - a great improvement over throwing up every 2 hours. She is still not eating or drinking on her own although she stands over the water dish when she is up and looks - I am hopeful. She is still on the IV fluid bag at home to keep her hydrated. She is very weak, which is to be expected, but seems to be a little more alert and attempts to walk a little more. She goes back in for a check up on Monday so hopefully I will have some good news to report. Kinsey |
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