Pancreatitis - Mini Pincher Justin

[Betty428]

I have a mini pincher just under 12 years old (our baby Justin), diabetic and now has Pancreatitis

Today we had to rush him to the Veterinarian. They are holding him and are put an IV in him so he will not dehydrate. Earlier we walked him and he "seemed" fine. Oh he had a few episodes of vomiting, but for the most part I thought he was ok.

After we let him back in he immediately vomited again. He also seemed less active then normal, and went straight to his bed. After looking in on him from time to time, he appeared to be suffering discomfort, so I called the Veterinarian right away.

They had me bring him right in, and they did blood tests. After the Veterinarian got the results he told he said it was likely to be Pancreatitis His glucose level was up to 441 and it has been steadily rising over the past few weeks. We now take him in and have it checked weekly.

I would like to here from anyone who has been through this. I would like some moral support and some advice. I am very worried.

Thank you...

[palehorse]

Hello Betty.

I found an interesting artical on Pancreatitis on the web. Here is the jist of it:

What is it?
The pancreas is a glandular organ located near the liver. It performs two types of glandular functions. The first function is to produce insulin, a hormone that helps control the metabolism and blood sugar levels. The other function is to make digestive enzymes that secrete into the intestines, vital for normal digestion of food.

When the pancreas is injured, be it from trauma or disease, the production of these enzymes are decreased, or the enzymes may "actually" start to digest surrounding organs, even the pancreas itself!

Pancreatitis is the name for the disorder that occurs when the pancreas is inflamed. There are two stages of this disease, acute and chronic. The biggest difference in the two is that when acute pancreatitis is over, there is no damage to the organs. . Chronic pancreatitis is a continuing inflammatory disease that is often accompanied by irreversible damage.

Cause And Treatment
In a fairly large number of cases the exact cause of pancreatitis is unknown. During holidays, like thanksgiving or Christmas, pancreatitis is more commonly reported due to highly fatty meals. Another cause of pancreatitis is brought on by medicine, including the medications eazathioprine and asparagines.

Under ordinary conditions digestive enzymes made by the pancreas are activated when they reach the small intestines. With pancreatitis, these enzymes activate too soon inside the pancreas, instead of in the small intestines. The severity of the illness will depend greatly on the quality of enzymes that get activated too soon.

Vomiting is a very common symptom of pancreatitis. They are ussually unable to keep down medicine or food given orally. As a consquence they ussually need to be given injections.

Typical medications administered for this disease are antiemetics, analgesics, and antibiotics. It is important to completely fast the dog and give nothing by mouth (NPO) for at least 24 to 48 hours.

Often times, a prescription diet is required, either for a particular time period or for the life of the dog. Keep in mind that feeding table scraps to dogs with a predisposition for this condition is harmful to your dog.

What Dogs Are At Risk?
Certain types of dog breeds are more susceptible than others. Miniature Schnauzers, Yorkshire and Silky Terriers, miniature poodles and cocker spaniels are more likely to come down with this disease more often than any other breed. It seems that there's a genetic susceptibly to the disease in these breeds. Miniature Schnauzers appear to be the most vulnerable of all.

Dogs are vulnerable at any age, but more commonly in middle age, seven years and up. And, female dogs seem to be more regularly represented.

Dogs with diabetes are also vulnerable to this. And when a dog with diabetes gets pancreatitis it can be difficult to treat. Because the dog is not eating and is vomiting, it becomes very difficult to administer insulin. If insulin is given, the blood sugars will require close monitoring as the dog may become hypoglycemic. In addition, diabetes may result as a complication of a severe case of pancreatitis.


What's a Dog Owner to do Pancreatitis can be a very unpredictable disease. In most cases, if the attack was mild and the dog only had one episode, chances of recovery are good. Simply avoiding high fat foods may be all that is called for to prevent recurrence and/or complications.

The recovery rate really depends on the degree of severity of the attack. In mild forms it is 100% recovery and in severe forms it is 50%. The recovery rate with acute necrotizing pancreatitis is guarded to poor.

Here is the good news
Most dogs with uncomplicated pancreatitis (no additional health problems) recover spontaneously after a single episode. These dogs typically do well when diets don't include foods high in fat content.



Good Luck Betty, on your fight with pancreatitis!

Mike