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Old July 16th, 2008, 12:24 AM
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Nicker Nicker is offline
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Dog with pancreatitis....Now also anemic. Help?

Hi. My little buddy, a 12 year old bichon, was DXd with pancreatitis back in February. To tell his whole recent history is pretty long but he has been through a lot. I will try to make it brief. But I know details can be important. Whenever we get one thing resolved another thing pops up. We have tried feeding him Medi-Cal Gastro Formula (Medical/Royal Canin Veterinary Diet) but he refuses to eat it. Harley, my dog, seemed to be on the mend. He wouldn't eat the dog food but he was eating a recipe I got from the vet that was potato and cottage cheese puree with a mineral supplement. He was doing well and gaining weight. They he got an ulcer on his eye which wouldn't heal becuase the edges kept wanting to curl under. When that was going on we (the vet and I) both noticed that eye seemed a little bigger than the other. He checked the pressure and it was border line high. He consulted with an opthamologist who advised to start on Cosopt drops for glaucoma (not uncommon in dogs who have had cataract surgery). Around this same time (long weekend in May) Harley started to not want to eat or drink. So he spend he May long weekend in the hospital on fluids. Finally they eye problems resolved and his pressures returned to normal. We discontinued all meds because we thought maybe they were upsetting his tummy as he still was not eating much to speak of. I didn't think an animal would let them self starve to death, but he would if all he got was the dog food. I tried everything but he would not eat. Not even the potato/cottage cheese mixture...EXCEPT he would eat pizza that he jumped up on a chair and walked accross the kitchen counter and carefully unwrapped the foil and helped himself to while his grandma and grandpa were away in the next room.... That caused the pancreatits to flare back up which led to another hospital stay.... Anyway... while he was in the hospital about a month back he refused to eat the dog food, but when they were feeding the cat next door he got excited so they gave him a little and he gobbled it up. They tried mixing it with his dog food and he picked out the cat food and left the dog food behind. If I puree the two together, he won't eat. Because the dog was getting scarily thin we decided that if he was eating it and keeping it down we would go with it. Since cat food is higher in fat and protein than dog food I do mix it with mashed potato and he will eat it as long as there isn't too much potato for his liking. I would use rice but he licks off tghe cat food and leaves the rice behind. (The ratio he will eat is 1 cup potato: 1.5 cups cat food) Now... since he was last released from hospital on June 19 he has gained 13 oz (He is now up to 9lbs 12 oz but he was 14 pounds in the fall when he had his vaccinations). He is keeping the food down and he has started to play again and can jump up on the couch again and he is really a different dog. Now he has become anemic. We were in to get anal glands cleaned out on Thursday July 10 (they were infected and he got a shot of an antibiotic) While we were there the vet thought Harley looked pale, so he ran a hematocrit. His hemoglobin ( I hope I am getting that right... red blood cells anyway) which had been at 36% when he was discharged on June 19 was down to 30%. On Monday We went back and the vet ran a CBC which he had to send away. Because of machine malfunction at the lab, we just got results back today. My vet said because the CBC showed an elevated white count he suspects that due to all of the things that have gone on with my poor littl guy that his immune system has started killing off his own red blood cells and would like to start him on short term course of prednisone. This is what he was suspecting when he sent the blood work away. Now... I picked up the pred today and was going to start him on that this evening but I did decide to hold off until I talk to the vet again because I started thinking about a few issues/concerns. I have been on prednisone and it is nasty nasty stuff... Since the CBC was done, both the vet and I have noticed he isn't quite as pale. His gums are pinkish now. They were white. Could the white count still have been elevated from the anal glad infection DXd 4 days earlier and should we run another hematocrit first? If we do need to proceed with the pred, I really am scared about the the food thing. He is doing so well and pred will increase his appetite. If he eats more of the cat food even mixed with the potato is that going to cause pancreatic inflammation again? Is there other dog foods I can try that may be more pallatable for him with less protein and fat than the cat food? The cat food is also vetrinary cat food for sensitive stomaches so it is lower protein than regular cat food.

He also has really pale urine. However he is not drinking extra nor is he urinating any more frequenly. The vet did send a urine sample away and said there was some blood in the urine but that wasn't surprsing to him with the anemia. He had also run blood work to check kidney function when Harley was hospitalized in June. That blood work said the kidneys were fine

Last edited by Nicker; July 16th, 2008 at 09:35 PM. Reason: Fixed a few important typos Like would to wouldn't
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  #2  
Old July 16th, 2008, 09:52 PM
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Update

Talked to the vet today. Harley's white count was WAY high (60% and I think he said normal is around 20). Started on the prednisone this morning.

I also made up a batch of food I hope he will eat. Rice and potato pureed with butternut squash, zuchinni, yam and chicken breast. Maybe he will be so hungry from the prednisone that he won't care. I know when I used to have to go on prednisone I would get so hungry I would say, "I am so hungry I could almost eat a dead festering skunk."

I offered some of the food to HD (short for Harley dog). He sniffed and licked it a bit. He didn't eat that long ago so he may not be hungry yet.. I am crossing my fingers. I don't have to worry about the fat or protein if he will eat that.
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Old July 16th, 2008, 10:07 PM
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that the pred makes him hungry enough to eat! When our setter was on pred, he had a voracious appetite. It took a day or so for it to kick in, though. The pred may also increase Harley's water intake and urination.

You and Harley have been through an awful lot recently. I hope he starts back on the road to recovery soon

Actually, the recipe you made sounds good to me! I'd eat it even without the pred.
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Old July 17th, 2008, 12:15 AM
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Yes we have be through a lot. I am grateful for a terrific vet. Fortunatley I am off work for July and August. Hopefully Har can be back on track before school resumes. When I am working he gets dropped off at his grandma and grandpa's place on my way to work. He likes it there but is waiting for me by the end of the day.

If all goes well we have an appointment to see the vet on the 23rd for another hematocrit. Hopefully hemoglobin is up and hopefully Harley is over 10lbs.

At least if he won't eat the food I made, I can eat it. Well... except for the container he licked.

Time for prednisone and bedtime snack!
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Old July 22nd, 2008, 10:29 AM
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Thumbs up Good news

Har dog has switched back to dog food!! He will only eat the kibble and only if it is softened in water but dog food.

He gained another 8 oz this week. Which is a total of 1 lb 5 oz.

His red blood cell count has gone up from 20 (CBC 2 weeks ago) to 28.

Only thing is since starting the prednisone and the new food he now has very loose stool. Looks like a cow pie! Hoping that is temporary. I will keep an eye on it.

Back to the vet next Monday for another hematocrit to make sure those red blood cells continue to increase in numbers.
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Old July 22nd, 2008, 11:50 AM
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That's great news!

Well, all except the cow pie part, anyway. When will you start weaning him off the pred? As the dose decreases, if the soft stool is from the pred, it should improve.

We've never experienced that side-effect, though--the pred always improved Evan's stools--but he had inflammatory bowel disease, so the pred was working on pre-existing inflammation in the intestine.
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Old July 22nd, 2008, 02:14 PM
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I think the plan is when the red blood cell count is in the normal range they will run another CBC and if the white cell count is normal then start to taper off.
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Old July 29th, 2008, 01:18 AM
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Woo hoo! Red blood cell count up to 35!!! 36 is low normal. Also up another 10oz this week. Almost up to 11 pounds now. (10lbs 14 oz)

Our regular vet is on holidays this week. Next Tuesday we will get blood work done again and then hopefully start to wean off the prednisone.

As of last night stool seems to be solidifying again.

He is also eating the kibble without it needing to be softened in water first.

All is good this week.
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Old July 30th, 2008, 01:44 AM
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Good to hear Harley is doing better

Very unfortunate with the anemia creeping up in a dog with pancreatitis, though I guess it is quite common. High protein red meat & especially organ meat like liver is usually given to anemics but with the pancreatitis that makes even that avenue not viable.

I'm glad he's back to actual dog food

for great test results
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Old July 30th, 2008, 12:12 PM
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Actually the vet doesn't think it is dietary. Because he has had so many things going on since Feb the vet thinks his immune system just got out of whack and is attackig the red bllod cells. That is why the prednisone is working. It is supressing that immune system to get it working normally rather than in overdrive
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