Min Pin recently diagnosed with Pancreatitis/ Liver Isues

[teressap]

My 12 yr old Min Pin was diagnosed at the end of June with Pancreatitis. His glucose numbers were through the roof at level nearing 700. Liver levels were somewhat high but was not a complete concern. Andy's triglycerides were also at a all-time high at. Andy started out with small increments of Insulin N and slowly increased to 5 units. He did not seem himself so we reduced the Insulin to 3 units. He did have a couple of small bougths of what we believe were colitis and everything seems to be running rather smoothly. This last week he started vomiting a couple of hours after he had eaten. After a visit to the vet yesterday and $200.00 later we have been told his sugar levels are high again as well as his liver. The vet does not think he will pull out since she is also concerned with his gall bladder. I am not ready to give up just yet and need help with recipes for a 8 pound Min Pin. Help!

[Mpollww]

Re: Min Pin recently diagnosed with Pancreatitis/ Liver Isues

Hello and welcome! I also have a 12 year old min pin who was diagnosed over 2 1/2 years ago with diabetes and suffers from pancreatitis. After a lot of trial and error, we feed Cooper a combination of food we make for her and Mercks dog food. (She refused to eat the w/d she was initially prescribed). She does well with chicken, sweet potatoes, green beans, and a little rice. She also gets 1/2 of a Pepcid AC morning and night and takes Cerenia for nausea and pain medication when her pancreatitis is acting up. She gets 5 units of insulin in the morning and 51/2 at night. I'm sure someone will post soon who is much more knowledgable than I am but please know this is the best place for you. Everyone here is so helpful. Cooper would not still be here without this group! My only advice is to make sure your vet has a lot of experience with diabetes and is willing to work with you. Good luck and hope he feels better soon!

[Mpollww]

Re: Min Pin recently diagnosed with Pancreatitis/ Liver Isues

Oops... Sorry.. The dog food is Merrick. The one she likes is low day and low glycemic .... I think it's called cowboy cookout ....

[k9diabetes]

Re: Min Pin recently diagnosed with Pancreatitis/ Liver Isues

I'm sorry to hear that Cooper is having such serious problems. It seems like diabetes is a relatively small concern in terms of crafting a diet for him - I would want to consider any possiblie food sensitivies / allergies plus a very low fat bland gentle diet... something to address the other issues that are driving his high blood sugar.

It can be challenging and sometimes impossible to test blood sugar at home with a min pin, but I wondered if you are or have tried.

His insulin could need some flexibility to respond to what's happening with his blood sugar.

Does he have any ketones?

Has he gotten any subQ fluids?

Did the vet do an abdominal ultrasound?

Probably not as that would cost more still... but if you can swing it, an appointment with a skillful internal medicine specialist and an abdominal ultrasound, which is noninvasive, could give much better answers about the source of his liver and GI problems that might allow the treatment to be targeted to make it more effective.

Natalie

[teressap]

Re: Min Pin recently diagnosed with Pancreatitis/ Liver Isues

Hello Mpollww,

Thank you for posting a message. I appreciate the advice. We have been going to the same vet for as long as I can remember and they have always given the best advice. However I don't think they really have the time to spend with me to figure this out. I think we should see a specialist or a holistic vet but I don't know who to go to. Cost of all of this is a real issue. I have been reading up on this all weekend and also read we should possibly be giving Andy pancreatic enzymes. I have also been told his gallbladder is involved. I really hope we can get past this episode.

[Mpollww]

Re: Min Pin recently diagnosed with Pancreatitis/ Liver Isues

You may want to see a specialist. It cost us a bit when we started, but after awhile we were able to get her somewhat regulated and now we are on "auto pilot" a lot of the time and only see our regular vet who has really worked with us. I have never given her enzymes, but we do keep her on a very low fat diet and she is on Pepcid AC. Cooper is a very feisty little girl, so we have never been able to test her blood at home but I would strongly recommend that you do. We test her urine very regularly for ketones and glucose (it is not as accurate), but at least we have something to go by. I hope he feels better soon!