BB has pancreatitis but need some advice.

[Benji&BB2022]

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Hi All.

Just joined the forum as need some help and advice about our 13 year old dog BB who has Pancreatitis and is in pain and we do not know what to next or for the best.

it started last weekend when she started being sick and it was all water and green and yellow so we got her into see the vet on Monday morning and the vet we seen said she had a bug and to feed her chicken and rice and to make sure she was still drinking and that she could have 1/4 of a paracetamol which we was shocked that she said to give her that as i have seen online not to give dogs that.
we have not given her any as she will not take tablets and i am not sure its a good idea to give her paracetamol even with vet saying we could.

BB was not happy at all as the vet was a bit rough with pressing on her belly to feel if she has any lumps as she was having black poo so she scanned her belly but could not find anything but she had a temp.

she was also given a anti sickness jab so the sickness stopped.

so as last week went on she was eating less and less to now she is not eating anything and on the wednesday she stated being sick again so we took her back to vet on Friday and seen another vet who looked at BB and gave her another anti sickness jab and felt her belly and said its not a bug but thinks its pancreatitis and to get a wee sample which we have got a little to take back to vet today and he gave her some Omeprazole to take daily.

he said doing the wee sample they will be able to see if she has diabetes as he thinks she may have that as well.

she is not liking taking these tablets but over weekend we got one each day down her but she still has not eaten and is having a little bit of water and i can see she is in pain but feel we are going round and round in circles with the vet as seen 2 vets in a week and they both tell us diff things.

BB has started having backward cough as well so that is not helping.

Now please dont judge us but we only want whats best for BB and want her to get better but we feel the vet is treating us different and not giving the best treatment to BB because i am on disability benefits and have had to ask them if we can pay when we get paid later this week which they have done but now we have got a bill for almost £150 just for 2 trips to see them.

i can not let BB go on being in pain any longer and just do not know what to do next as it will get to the point of where we will not be able to go to vet because of the cost which is unfair to BB and i know about the PDSA but the nearest PDSA hospital is about 30 miles away and we have no transport and BB gets travel sickness so that is out.

we just do not know what to do next.

 

[JoanneF]

It's tough when they feel nauseous because that makes them not want to eat, and that in turn makes them more nauseous and it just keeps getting worse.

If you are really not keen to give her paracetamol (and to be honest, I'd have given it if she were mine) you could ask your vet to prescribe a canine alternative. Getting relief from the sore tummy might tempt her to eat a little. I'd offer white fish with rice or mashed potato, just cooked in the microwave or boiled - if you boil it, she might also drink the cooled water. Another tip to keep her hydrated is to add the water from a can of tuna in spring water (not oil or brine) to a normal bowl of water.

I'm sure your vet will have said this but if it is pancreatitis, cut right back on fats. And food ingredients are listed by dry matter, so you need to do a little calculation to get the true fat content.

If the fat content shows as 12% but the food has 10% moisture, you would divide 12 by 90 (the dry matter percentage after taking away the moisture) and multiply by 100. So, it goes up to an actual fat content of 13.333. That would be on the high side; check with your vet but I think the recommendation is lower than 10%.

 

[JudyN]

Please be reassured that no one here will judge you - you are trying to do the very best for your dog.

As far as the paracetamol goes... The reason people are told not to give it to their dogs is that it can be very harmful at the wrong dose, and you can't calculate a safe dose based on what works in humans - dogs and humans will process it differently. But of course any drug can be very harmful at the wrong dose, and this certainly applies to paracetamol in humans as well. My large dog has half a paracetamol a day, as recommended by my vet.

Could you crush her tablets and mix them with a little stinky pate, or soft cheese - would that work? Again, check with your vet first - some tablets need to be given whole rather than crushed.

 

[Benji&BB2022]

The tablets she has been given by Vet are Omerazole capsules so not sure if we can empty that and put it in with some soft cheese as you say.

 

[JudyN]

The tablets she has been given by Vet are Omerazole capsules so not sure if we can empty that and put it in with some soft cheese as you say.

Possibly not if they're capsules - they may be designed for slow release. It would be worth asking your vet if you think that would make it easier to give them though.

 

[JoanneF]

I'd suggest not mixing with pate or cheese though, the fat could irritate her pancreas.

 

[JudyN]

D'oh... that's a very good point, JoanneF, thanks for raising it

 

[Benji&BB2022]

With these Capsules she is biting on them while in her mouth as we have her head back to get her to swallow then she spits it out and its opened up.

its breaking my heart to have to do it but as my wife says its for her own good.

 

[Finsky]

The tablets she has been given by Vet are Omerazole capsules so not sure if we can empty that and put it in with some soft cheese as you say.

As already mentioned....when dog has pancreatitis, they have to be on low fat diet as the fat content will aggravate the pancreas and make dogs tummy painful. So it is best to keep off from cheese unless it is very low fat type
When my dog had this condition, the immediate remedy to alleviate the health issues was to hold off from food for 24 hours to allow the pancreas to rest. Vet described some anti-inflammatory & pain killing liquid medicine (Meloxicom) that we gave with syringe straight into our girls mouth (amount depended of the dog's weight). We started feeding our girl first with Royal Canin 'gastro issue' food (canned & low fat) as she was starting to feel better, being that food is not made with good ingredients and it is quite expensive as well, I started to make my own alternative. First home made food was slightly cooked with low fat meats and added veg and slowly changed it into raw alternatives.
As dog's with this condition have digestive issues in general, I also gave mine some digestive enzymes to help her get all the nutrients from the food.
Our girl did get over her issues but there is no doubt that this condition would eventually return if I would not be careful and not to indulge her with rich food. If she gets something little richer, next day she will have more leaner dinner.
What I made our girls cooked dinner with was carrots/sweetpotato, peas, lean meat/liver/heart/tripe. Although oily fish is good for dogs, but while the pancreas were acting up, we kept well away from any oily things too.
The pain/inflamation medication wasn't very expensive and she was on it altogether 3 weeks...first week on full doze and little less as time went by. The Royal Canin food wasn't cheap and I bought it on line to get it cheaper that I paid for the vets. After that first 3 weeks period, biggest job was preparing the food for her....which became easier as we switched to raw alternative. Those digestive enzymes that I gave her were human supplement types.

 

[JoanneF]

Isn't Chappie original tinned supposed to be good for dogs recovering from pancreatitis?

 

[Belle51]

Our baby also has pancreatic flare up, it’s termed as IBD. 3 trips to the vets in a fortnight. She takes steroids, a stomach protector and today she was given buscopan. It’s awful to see. Today she had another anti sickness injection and an opioid injection. She is on a hypo allergenic food, no treats at all, but because of the steroids she is constantly like a little vacuum looking for food which has caused a flare up. I really feel for you, it’s so awful.

 

[Benji&BB2022]

Just a update.

We had to take BB back to the vet yesterday as still not eating and the tablets do not seem to be working.

So vet thinks something else is going on with her as she has lots a lot of weight since last Monday so after talking to the vet we think its best for her to be put to sleep which breaks our heart but think its for the best due to her age.

so Vet has put a line into her leg and gave her some sickness meds and fluid for overnight and she will be put to sleep at 3pm today.

 

[JoanneF]

I'm sorry to hear that - does the vet think there is a possibility of helping her, since they are trying the meds and fluid rather than putting her to sleep straight away?

 

[JudyN]

I'm very sorry... I'll be thinking of you today.

 

[Hemlock]

My thoughts are with you. Hugs.

 

[CoCo2014]

Sorry I wrote this before reading your last post. Hugs to you & BB

Not blaming you, your vets haven't done their job very thoroughly.
Symptoms of pancreatitis are:- Hunched backe
Repeated vomiting (either several times within a few hours or periodically over several days)
Pain or distention of the abdomen (dog appears uncomfortable or bloated)
Diarrhoea
Loss of appetite
DehydrationW
Weakness/lethargye
Fever
Diagnosis should include blood tests for elevated white blood cells, has your vet done this test?

Omeprazole is a fairly drug treatment for dogs although it has been around for a long time for human use.

Did your vet consider the current outbreak of Canine Corona Virus? Some the symptoms are similar to pancreatitis, which is why a blood test plus urine & faeces tests are required.

You would need to use a low fat cheese etc to hide the capsules

 

[Benji&BB2022]

Just to update you all with what has happened.

BB got worse last week and had stopped eating and almost stopped drinking so took her back to the vet last Wednesday where she was put to sleep.

it was the saddest day that i have ever had and was holding her till the very end and she will be very muched missed.

Have to say i am not sure i will be taking our other dog to the same vet again as we got a new reason for why she was ill on each trip so am not happy with them at all.

we will be getting her ashes back end of this week.

 

[JoanneF]

I'm very sorry for your loss.

 

[JudyN]

((((Hugs))))

 

[Hemlock]

Hugs from me too. We all understand.