pancreatitis help please

[Amy W]

Hello, could someone please help me? I am very worried about my 2.5 year old rat terrier Gracie.
On Sunday am she threw up 1x, she was fine,ate, drank played. around 2:00am she vommited and acted like somthing was hurting her, but did go back to sleep. appox an hour later she sgain vommited. I called emerg. vet and she instructed me to give no food or water, and to bring her in at 8:00 am. they did blood work, x-rays, exam gave her fluids, metoclopramide for vommiting. xrays were all normal. sent us home blood work would be in in the am. Gracie did not vomit again. the vet told me to put her om a bland diet, and she ate good (chicken and rice) but was depressed. bood work came back: Amylase-1119 normal is between 350-1050 Lipase-684 normals-100-750 her eloctrolytes were off, and calcium was up(not sure what this means)she was dx with probable pancreatitis. I was told to keep careful watch on her. she was still eating but would only drink out of my cupped hand. so I brought her back in. they gave her more fluids(sq) a inj. of amoxicillin, a inj of pain killer and sent me home with amoxicillin and trobutrol for pain. it is now thur and she is still not better, she is Not vommiting at all however and never had diarrhea. she is in pain, she whines sometimes, is hunched up. and I am so worried about her, should she be in the hosp? is she being treated correctly? Im scared. what else can be done? I have not hardly slept at all since sunday nite, she sleeps on my lap on the couch, and I watch her, so afraid to go to sleep. I don't understand how ahe got this, I am soooo careful with my dogs, no fatty food,garbage kept up. I did switch rom wellness to Innova VERY slowly, and vet thinks it was to rich for her? she was in perfect health she got an excelent health exam on her visit in may. she is not overweight and is excercised. please help me. Amy, and the love of my life Gracie

[Traci]

I assume the x-rays showed nothing revealing? (i.e., inflammation, obstruction)....an elevated amylase can also indicate intestinal obstruction, renal insufficiency and urinary tract obstructions.....was a complete urinalysis preformed? Were any of the liver enzymes out of normal range?

I would get her back in for more fluids, urinalysis, and possibly another x-ray and/or barium series to rule out some sort of obstruction. If you're not comfortable with your vet's approach, don't hesitate to get a second opinion immediately.

[Amy W]

Traci, thank-you! I took her in again this am. they did the barium xrays and just called to tell me they all were normal. she said because some of her electrolytes are way off on her blood test, she is waiting for a call from the lab to talk about doing a test for addison's. I had no idea about this disease. and also she asked if I had seen Gracie drinking more water then normal, before this stomach thing all started. I had noticed she drank more then normal for her,but thought it was the warm weather we have been having here in Arizona. I don't think they did a urinalysis, but I will ask when she calls back. the liver and kidney values were all normal. they are giving her more fluids as we speak and also a pain inj. and are putting a patch for pain on her. I hope with all I have in me that she will make it through all this, I am out of my mind with worry, she is such a sweet little soul. thanks again, and I will let you know what comes about. Amy

[k9Karen]

I know if this is truly pancreatitis (inflammation or infection of the pancreas only, not as a side effect of other problems like Traci mentioned), the dog must be kept off both food and water since anything in the stomach causes the production of gastric juices - part of what the pancreas does. Any stimulation of the pancreas needs to be avoided. From what I understand, the usual treatment for pancreatitis is no food, no water, and IV hydration and nutrition. Traci - how does your vet treat this?

[Traci]

Karen, you are correct....in confirmed cases (based on blood analysis and clinical signs), IV fluids, and fasting for at least 2-5 days are the mainstay in treatment (+/- antiemetics, antibiotics, analgesics). If symptoms improve, then a slow introduction to water only, then a mild and bland food is introduced, one that is low in fat, low in protein (carbohydrates-boiled rice), and on to something bland like cottage cheese or lean meat. Repeat PCV, TP, BUN and urine output during initial treatment and followup with chem analysis where necessary. If symptoms do not improve, then ultrasonography may be necessary to differentiate from obstruction, hepatic biliary obstruction, perforations, masses or abcesses. At this time, a TLI may be more confirmative than rechecking lipase/amylase only.