senior dog with pancreatitis

[Deleted]

Hi.  We have a 15-year-old dog with pancreatitis.  She's had pretty good health up to this point; we've been lucky.  However, about a week ago she started having the symptoms, especially refusing food.  She's been very food-centered, so this is a big change.  We have no luck with any type of dog food.  For a day or two she enjoyed chicken (we heard about chicken/rice being a good combo), but now she doesn't like that anymore.  We have tried to basically give her any odds and ends that she will eat.  Today she threw up and had diarrhea.

She's been to the vet twice.  The first time she received a shot, and we were told to try really hard to keep her hydrated and get her eating something.  After a few days of little to no success, I took her in again today.  She had another shot, and she stayed for the day to get fluids via i.v.

Our vet told us to let him know tomorrow how she's doing.  Her kidney levels are elevated, but we don't know yet if that's due to the pancreatitis or the beginnings of kidney failure.

Has anyone been through this?  She does not appear to be unhappy or in pain.  She seems like she peps up a little bit when my husband gets home from work in the evenings. I'm sad, though, because she just wants to lie around or, worse, sits kinda in a stupor in the corner.  I feel selfish and then beat myself up over it when I get upset about all her accidents.  It's getting difficult to bear.

[peppermint]

I've never dealt with this diagnosis, so I don't have much help to offer. Just wanted to send hugs to you and your pup. Are there any treatment options for pancreatitis that the vet isn't telling you, or did they say it will go away on its own?

[Deleted]

Our dog could probably get over the pancreatitis if she ate, but she won't eat anything, not even a lot of foods that she's loved ever since we got her.

She's had three shots of a drug that's supposed to combat the pancreatitis, plus she was getting fluids so she'd stay hydrated. Our vet told us that this is basically the only treatment because the other ways of combating it include pills, which she won't take because she's always taken pills with food, or treatments that would exacerbate her somewhat high kidney levels. (I forget the exact wording.)

She could also go into a hospital and get feeding tubes, but what life would that be for her? He said that probably he'd be doing the same thing that we are. (He is a family friend in addition to being a vet that's taken care of our dog and every other pet our families have had in the past 30+ yrs.)

edited to add:  She's been drinking fluids but is now on her second day of not eating a thing.  On Saturday I could get her to at least lick at a little bit of ham and eat a pizza crust.  (I know, not the greatest foods, but of course we have exhausted normal choices like dog food, bread, chicken...)

[peppermint]

Thanks for the update and info. I hope she perks up soon and starts eating again! My dog always goes nuts for canned dog food, maybe give that a try if you haven't already? Sounds like you're offering her all the good stuff. I'll keep my fingers crossed that she starts to eat soon and feels better. Also, this board doesn't seem very active, so if you want more opinions or advice you can try posting on Married life or one of the busier boards. Hugs to you and your sweet pup!

[Deleted]

We're beyond the point of no return now. It's just a waiting game. We had tried the bland Science Diet food as well as her dry dog food and human food that she always liked. She has no appetite. At this point she's on her third day without food. After telling our vet's assistant my opinions, she said that he said that we could basically give her pain pills, but that would be essentially the equivalent of "hospice care."

The only problem is that we can't give her the pain pills because she could only take pain pills with water.

I'm going to our pet cemetery in an hour. I have to do all the pre-planning and arrangements because we leave for vacation relatively soon, so there might be a chance that unfortunately she passes away while under our relative's care. Measuring her today with a tape measure for her box (casket) was not great. My husband's the lucky one who is at work all day; I have been the one to have to see and hear what she's going through, which is getting a little bit worse.

[Deleted]

We have administered Pepcid in the past to her.

I think I want my husband to call the vet tonight at home (he's a family friend in addition to our vet) and get some information. I want to know what is going on with her body and how much pain she is feeling. DH has had some dogs with the same level of sickness before, and it's usually been a week or two until they pass away.

Unfortunately, we will be gone next Monday through Friday on a vacation that we very desperately need.

[Deleted]

There was a sad ending to this story. Our dog stopped eating, then drinking. She began wheezing and going into corners to "hack," like she was trying to get away to die, and we reluctantly had to put her down on June 19.

[peppermint]

I'm sorry for your loss. I hope she went peacefully.