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Recurring mild pancreatitis

  • Thread starter maggie_grieve@gmail_com
  • Start date
M

maggie_grieve@gmail_com

Hi,  I am a new member and eager to begin sorting out our almost 8-year old miniature poodle's  recurring GI issues, including mild pancreatitis, and many food sensitivities.  For a long time she was stable on Honest Kitchen Preference with added fresh ground turkey breast (cooked) and a small amount of brown rice, but then seemed to become sensitive to the vegetables or something else in the Preference.  She reacted to a new box with several episodes of vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite.  She also had a staph infection on her abdomen after that and was treated with an antibiotic.  Since about June, she has been on a vet nutritionist prescribed diet of ground turkey breast and rice with some added Balance IT supplement, but clearly this isn't the answer either because she has been ill again in last several weeks.  She is very sweet, smart and sensitive, can be anxious in certain situations and seems to feel the loss of her loved ones very acutely so needs extra attention if there is a change in the  household.  Am glad to have joined this site to learn everything I can and especially to get fresh food diet advice -- how to find the right balance for her.   She is recovering from the latest episode now and I've begun reading the diet threads and resources, but not sure where to start adding to her diet without setting off a new round of GI issues.  Also interested in whether there are specific supplements to support her GI system and reduce inflammation.  And whether there are homeopathics that might be indicated.  All advice welcome.

Thanks,

Maggie

 
 

Dr. Jeff

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Hey Maggie-

Welcome! Thanks for posting your question.

Wow, this is a big, and important topic.

That is dietary, and other, management for a sensitive pup with recurrent pancreatitis.

The first thing to know is that no one diet will be right for everyone or even for one individual all of the time.

Diet is just one piece of the overall health and happiness puzzle.

A great place to start to learn more about diet is in the introduction text course.

It's available by hovering your mouse over the "member resources" menu above then clicking on the "my courses" submenu (that's where you'll find any of the courses that have been configured so far).

Another relevant resource is the vomiting symptom webinar that should come up when you type vomiting in the search.

Her body is giving us the answers to all of her health challenges! These answers can be found in her symptoms.

However, not in the general description of them, but rather in the details.

For example, how exactly did her GI sensitivity first manifest and what exactly was it? Was her recent diarrhea watery, soft-formed, blood-tinged, etc.?

What are her other current GI sensitivities?

What were her skin symptoms that were treated with anti-biotics? Did they quickly resolve or take awhile to go away?

Regarding other supportive supplements, I'd definitely consider a great probiotic like <a href="https://www.homevet.com/product/rx-biotic-2-12-oz/">Rx Biotic</a>. And a probiotic multiplier like the human Floraphage from Arthur Andrew medical.

Also support from a digestive supplement like <a href="https://www.homevet.com/product/nutrigest-powder-132-grams/">Nutrigest</a> or Rx Zyme (both also from Rx Vitamins).

Unlike supplements though, finding helpful homeopathic medicines really needs to be further individualized.

The fastest route to individualization and case management for your pup is to start working with a vet homeopath.

Pancreatitis can be serious, so you may want professional support in addition to how we can help you here.

Now's a great time to start practicing proactive prevention!

That's exactly what we teach, so feel free to post any other questions or comments in this forum thread.
 
M

maggie_grieve@gmail_com

Thanks so much.  I don't seem to be able to access any courses, but I did find the vomiting webinar helpful.   I'll provide a little bit of info in response to your questions.

1. Our dog first had GI sensitivities after being spayed as a puppy.  She had a mix of diarrhea and vomiting in the weeks after her surgery.  When her vet at the time couldn't address the problem effectively after food changes and repeat episodes, we consulted a holistic vet who sorted out the foods she was sensitive to and things stabilized.  The foods that she was sensitive to were chicken, beef, lamb, rabbit, pork.  She could have turkey, pheasant and salmon. I don't think this has changed over time, but not certain.  As a back-up, she was OK on ZD/Ultra and we used that with some of the proteins she could eat.

2.  At age 3, she had her first bout of mild pancreatitis.  That was vomiting with specks of blood. After supportive care, we switched her diet to Honest Kitchen Preference mixed with only turkey and brown rice.  This was the diet she was stable on the longest.  She would have occasional upsets, but short and easy to resolve.

3.  In March 2018, she started a complicated set of issues that haven't fully resolved months later.  On a new box of Preference, she started vomiting all meals so we stopped the Preference.  We could get her stable on turkey and rice for a month or so but then a flare up.  During one flare up she had an ultrasound and no anomalies were seen.  During this time she also had a scare of some kind while outside and was very anxious after for weeks.

4.  The skin infection in April was cultured as staph.  There were small lesions on her abdomen.  We used Preva wipes and she was given an injection of an antibiotic.  The infection cleared quickly and was clear when checked after a month.

5.  The very recent symptoms started as soft formed stools and became watery for a day.  Resolved for two days and then watery for a day again.  No blood.  Then vomiting, but also no blood.   She was NPO for about 24 hours, had Cerenia and then began to improve.  She has been stable, improving since Sunday.  Normal appetite and stools again. Using small meals of warmed, soupy turkey and rice.  She is playful again for short periods of time and enjoying her walks, both good signs.

Will look into the supplements you suggested and I have a call in to a holistic vet homeopath in our area, so hoping to get an appointment soon.  Thanks for help and resources.

Maggie
 

Dr. Jeff

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Thanks for all of this great additional info. Maggie.

Your organizing it like this is fantastic and will also help your holistic vet homeopath figure out what to do.

Here's the <a href="https://www.holisticactions.com/courses/introduction-to-holistic-actions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">direct link</a> to the intro. course.

In the meantime, here's a few other details that will be important:

1. How old was she when spayed and had there been any <a href="https://www.holisticactions.com/early-warning-symptoms-signs-internal-imbalance/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">early warning sign</a> of imbalance before that?

When exactly did Tibby's vomiting and diarrhea start after surgery? This context is important because it will give you a clue whether it was a direct reaction (and primary effect) from the anesthetic stress.

Alternatively, if her sensitivities were not immediate, they are more indicative of her individuality.

Also, exactly what did the diarrhea look like? Meaning frequency, urgency, consistency, straining (before during or after), blood (drops, streaks?), mucus, etc.

Did it occur at the same time as the vomiting, or were they separate events? And was it vomiting or regurgitation (active vs. passive as you heard in the vomiting webinar-course)?

That's great that your vet helped you sort out her food sensitivities!

In general though, food sensitivities are triggers, not causes.

The <strong>cause is her internal energetic imbalance</strong> which continued to progress despite seeming to be better.

2. Her pancreatitis symptoms at 3 were from the same imbalance as her initial sensitivities.

You can tell a lot by looking at both her first and most severe pancreatitis symptoms in much greater detail.

And what was happening during them.

For example, how was her BEAM during this (or other) episodes?

BEAM = Behavior, Energy, Appetite, Mood. These are the symptoms that most closely reflect her internal balance.

They also give you important clues to the true seriousness of any symptom.

For example, vomiting in the face of excellent BEAM is much less likely to indicate a serious problem.

Anything else changed about her during these first (or other) episodes of pancreatitis symptoms?

3. Can you give us more detail about her complicated issues, in addition to her vomiting, that started in March?

Also. regarding her fright at this time, exactly how did her persistent anxiety manifest? Trembling, panting, trying to hide, etc.

4. It sounds like her skin symptoms in April were a positive way that her body was trying to cope with her March episode.

Any symptom on the outside of her body is better than anything internal (such as pancreatitis).

Rapid relief of symptoms after anti-biotics is actually not a good thing. Quick fix results from drugs actually worsen the underlying internal imbalance.

This is a really important concept that will help transform her happiness and quality of life.

In general, "antis" work against her body to just stop symptoms rather than allowing it to heal naturally by working with it.

Sometimes working with her body can take longer than you'd like, but it's worth it!

5. What were the details of her vomiting and diarrhea in this most recent episode?

Also, I have the same questions as in #1 above, e.g frequency, urgency, timing, etc.

Was she 100% in all ways from age 3 to 8 or were there any vet visits for symptoms (or ones that just resolved on their own)?

Regardless of all these questions, I'm so glad that she is doing better now.

The goal is to keep her happy and doing well for at least another decade!

I'll look forward to further updates and talking during one of the weekly Empower Hour! webinars.

In addition, I'll post some questions that will help you individualize her symptoms in the homeopathy folder.

You can find even more in a homeopathic repertory like that from Kent. This <a href="https://amzn.to/2PqFY0g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">invaluable book</a> is worth owning!

Thanks again for posting this great info!
 

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