Epi Help Please

[Monah]

My friend had a dane like this and she is on a vet prescription diet. When she put on a few kilos my friend added other foods and guess what? poor bably lost all the weight she had put on and they had to start all over again. She is fine now and will be on her special diet her whole life. Please see someone about it. Good luckxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Monah]

Have just seen your updates and lovely photos. Fantastic. Well done. Lovely dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KOE]

That is fantastic

[shekhina]

Just thought I'd update again and Tajah is almost completely back to normal. She's regained all the weight she needed, there are no bones showing, her coat is good again and the oils and smell are almost completely gone.

The difference in her since starting the Creon and changing the food is absolutely incredible

[NickyC]

Seen the progress and Congrats! My dog was diagnosed late last year. My dog is on raw with added supplements like Enzyplex, cod liver oil etc...I give her kibble (low fat), veges, pasta alternating each meal so she doesn't get bored. She is pretty much eating anything which is good.

Can I ask what does the Creon do?

Susie stools are fine sometimes she might have a bad day but mostly they are solid but she hasn't gained weight which worries me. But some people say it can take up to a year or sometimes they won't regain their weight which is frustrating. She is an Australian Kelpie, I was told 17kg is perfect weight, she was 23kg when she was a little tubby before her illness but she is around the 14kg maybe less.

What can I add for her to gain her weight? I would like to get her back to 17kgs.

I still worry she is wasting away in front of me.

Nicky

[shekhina]

I think the Creon does the job that Enzyplex is supposed to do. My parents had Tajah on Enzyplex and before that Thrive D and neither of them worked. After switching to Creon and onto Vets All Natural Complete mix, mince and vegies she started regaining weight in two weeks.

[NickyC]

I may up the dose of Enzyplex again. As I was adding a teaspoon per meal and leaving for 20mins as recommended by fellow EPI dog owners but I was concerned about giving her too much. I have read here someone giving their dog 2 teaspoons per meal. I might try adding some more to see if that will help if not better look into Creon.

How is the Creon administered compared to the powder? Just give the dog the tablet? Crush it up in their meal? If so does it have to soak like the powder? Is it a stronger form than Enzyplex?

Sorry so many questions. I know different things work for different dogs so I can only give it a try then go onto the next thing til I see some change in her weight.

Thanks for replying.

Nicky

[shekhina]

The Creon is just given as a tablet. You'll need to get your vet to prescribe it and then pick it up at a chemist

[NickyC]

Thanks! It is so frustrating that everything seems to be going fine except for weight gain. <sigh>

Kelpies are slim dogs anyway but not this slim.

Nicky

[shekhina]

No worries. It was awful seeing Tajah as nothing more than a skeleton with skin, I hope your girl will gain some weight for you soon.

[Sarada]

EPI is an old friend in this house..... Foodwise I think it is horses for courses - we've tried the lot (prescription etc) but come back to Eukanuba Large Dog maintenance which seems to suit my girl better than anything else. On paper you should be sticking to a low fat diet -eg Senior dog foods - just takes a bit of time to work out which works best for the individual dog : I would DEFINITELY steer clear of PAL though......

We've used Enzyplex for many years - tell your Dad that you often need to use more than it says on the packet to get a result. I've checked with my vet & apparently you can't overdose on it so he should just up it until he gets a good result. Also remember to soak the food with the Enzyplex & water for 10 minutes before feeding. We used this for years & it worked - my girl has recently got worse but has been stabilised for the last few months by the addition of CREON to her food - this is the human med designed for the same affliction. So now my 32 kg GSD has 2x huge heaped measures of Enzyplex & 1 Creon tablet in each meal (which is far more than you would expect to give a dog of her size) & she hasn't had a problem for months. It is cheaper if you get your vet to write a script for Creon & pick it up from the local pharmacy.There is quite a lot of word of mouth evidence that fresh pancreas is good for this affliction but we have found it impossible to get hold of....

I have recently had my dog Tyler (Rough Collie) diagnosed with EPI. Been a struggle. Nearly thought we had to put him down. Was on Enzyplex, not with success. Just now started on Creon. Wud like to know if they will still suffer small intestine bacterial overgrowth whilst on Creon. Also what brand of food is your dog on?