# recovery time for pancreatitis???



## virraszto (Jan 4, 2007)

I took my dog to the vet on Thursday the 27th. She had thrown up the night before and was acting like she was in severe pain. 

After taking x-rays and a full blood work, the vet dignosed her with acute pancreatitis. I was given Amoxicillian and Reglan pills to give her. She said to withhold all food for 24 hrs ( which was actually 36 hrs because she hadn't eaten the day before), but to give her small amounts of water frequently, and then after the 24 hrs to start her off on rice(or pasta)/boiled ground turkey/beef. My dog would not eat for three more days ( for a total of 5 days), but drank water. It's been almost 10 days now. She is eating her pasta/boiled ground beef at 1/4 cup 4 times a day. She is drinking plenty of water. I can tell she does feel a lot better, but she is still not acting her normal self. At least her tail is wagging now, where before, she was in her own zone, a painful one, I'm sure. How long should I expect before she's back to normal? She 's not vomiting, but she still has really lose stools.

I took her back to the vet on Tuesday for a weight check. She'd lost 2 lbs. Vet said the test came back posistive for hypothyroidism and was put on soloxine. I failed to ask the vet how long it would take her to recover from this. Does anyone know or have any experience with this?


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## Dogged (Nov 19, 2006)

Personally, I think a dog diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, that was vomiting and not eating and painful, should have been hospitalized and put on IV fluids and pain medication. That is the proper treatment in this type of case, especially since she ended up not eating for 5 days (!). You are lucky she is doing better. I have seen dogs die of this, like I said, you're lucky.

Has the vet done anymore labwork to see where her Lipase numbers are at now? That is usually tracked to see how they are doing.

I also wouldn't think turkey would be a good idea for a dog with pancreatitis (I have a dog with chronic low grade pancreatitis). It is common for vets to see quite a few cases of pancreatits right after Thanksgiving when everyone at the dinner table gave "Fluffy" a little bit of turkey without knowing that everybody else was doing it too. I would stick with plain white meat chicken, or beef with the fat drained off.

Does your vet know about the diarrhea? 

Is the dog on pain medication? This is a painful disease.

Every dog is different as to how they will respond and recover even with proper medical attention.


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## virraszto (Jan 4, 2007)

Thanks so much for replying.  Actually, the vet did give me the option that she could stay there, or I could try taking care of her at home. I didn't realize at the time how serious this was. Because she was drinking, and wasn't dehydrated and wasn't running a temp, I guess she thought it was ok to bring her home. I know she was in severe pain, and I did ask about pain meds. The vet said the Reglan worked as an anti-inflamatory and would help with the pain. It didn't seem to me to help at all with the pain.

She had only vomited twice before I took her to the vet. The reason I took her was because it was obvious she was in severe pain and I initially thought she had an intestinal blockage.

Her amylose test came back with 2652 HD and the normal range is 400-1500, so it was quite high. I think that is the test you mean. No, she didn't say she needed to come back for this same test, but she does need to come back to get bloodwork done for her newly diagnosed hypothyroidism problem. 

I was just getting worried that ten days seemed like a long time and she's still not totally well yet. I have never had experience with this disease before.

I started her on the thyroid meds ( Soloxine) last night, so she's had three doses so far, and since then she has been sneezing quite a bit. No idea if this is a result of the new med or not. She wasn't sneezing before.
Anyhow, Yes, I'm very glad she's doing ok and Thanks again for replying. I'll give her a few more days and hope she keeps recovering.


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## Dogged (Nov 19, 2006)

I have never heard of Reglan (Metoclopramide) being used as a pain medication. It is used to keep things moving through the gut. You may still want to ask your vet for pain medication because dogs and people recover better with it. (although honestly if what you are telling me is right, I don't have alot of faith in your vet)

The Amylase and Lipase tests are usually the ones that are checked for pancreas function, but the Lipase is more often checked.
To know where she is at, and how she is responding, those tests should be periodically checked, especially if there are still symptoms.

I have never heard of Soloxine causing sneezing, and it is a commonly used drug.


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## virraszto (Jan 4, 2007)

In case anyone wants to know, it took about 10 days for my dog to recover from pancreatitis. She was VERY ill. During that 10 days, I took her to the vet 2 times, and she picked up a bad cold that took her a week to shake. So, it is now abt. 16 days later, and she's 100 percent better. She also lost 9 lbs in 16 days. I didn't start her on the thryoid meds until last night because I wanted her to be well before she started and so I could track her weight loss from the meds, not from her illness.

I didn't know pancreatitis was so serious... I'd never even heard of it until my dog got it. Now I know, and hopefully this post will help someone out.


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

virraszto said:


> Now I know, and hopefully this post will help someone out.


Thanks for sharing, and thank you Dogged for your insight.


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## sheltieluver (Sep 8, 2006)

You are SO lucky your dog is ok. I lost my 15+ year old sheltie due to this a year ago and it still breaks my heart. I don't know how she got it but I lost my best friend.


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## virraszto (Jan 4, 2007)

I'm so sorry you lost your dog to pancreatitis. My dog is about 6 yrs old, maybe her young age helped her pull through it?
If I had known how serious it was, I would have put her in the hospital. I asked my vet when I first brought her in and she told me that 99 percent of dogs get better, and she wasn't too worried that mine wouldn't. Now, I look back and think if she hadn't pulled through I would have not forgiven myself for not having her hospitalized. But I didn't know how serious it was. Now I do, and like I said, hopefully this thread can help someone out. 

Again, I'm sorry you lost your dog. I lost my first dog 3 yrs ago, and It totally devastated me.


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