Pancreatitis - Canine

[Lauren]

I have a 16 month old Husky who over the last few days was very lethargic, vomiting several times. We took her to the vets and she was diagnosed with Pancreatitis. In reading about this afterwards, it sounds like this is usually tied to animals who have high fat diets, are obese, etc. Sasha is a self-regulating feeder, and is not even close to being obese, nor do we feed her table scraps.

I am concerned about what caused this, and that it sounds as if it could become a chronic issue for her, with some heavy duty consequences health wise. I also read that some dogs with this problem have Cushings disease, and I am not sure what that is.

Can anybody help shed some light?:o

[pippin52]

I'm sorry. I can't offer anything but I will pray for you and your friend. I will also pray that it is not cushings and just something simple. Let us know. You will be in our prayers,
Annie and Annie's Mom

[Lauren]

Appreciate your thoughts. After several days of IV, anti-nausea meds, antibiotics, Sasha is still not eating, although she seems a little better. Sadly, she had to go in the hospital today for a few days to get IV's around the clock, and more meds. I hope that she feels better soon - it is too quiet around here without her greeting me at the door.

|I

[pippin52]

Sorry you don't have your baby this weekend. Let us know how things are going. Our thoughts and prayers will be with you.

Maida and Annie

[Audrey]

Hi, Lauren,

Cushing's is a disease involving overproduction of cortisol by the adrenal glands. Cortisol allows the body to handle stressful situations; you need it for that purpose, but dogs with Cushing's produce far too much, even when they aren't under stress. Over time this causes organ damage and a number of complications, of which pancreatitis is one. However, Cushing's is primarily a disease of middle-aged and older dogs (average age at diagnosis is about 10), so at 16 months it's probably unlikely that Sasha has Cushing's, especially if she doesn't have any other symptoms (excessive hunger, excessive drinking and urination, muscle weakness, hair loss are some of the more common ones).

As you know, obesity, high fat diet, and lack of exercise are risk factors for pancreatitis, but a dog can still have this problem despite not having these risk factors. Did Sasha get into the garbage or otherwise get some food she shouldn't have? That can be enough to do it. Also, pancreatitis can be a little difficult to diagnose; sometimes a dog will have elevated pancreatic enzymes (lipase and/or amylase), but otherwise, the diagnosis is just based on the symptoms, which are similar to those for a lot of other things. Is the vet fairly certain that's what she had?

A dog can have a single attack of acute pancreatitis, or it can become chronic, with repeated attacks of acute pancreatitis followed by periods with no symptoms. Over time, chronic pancreatitis (or an especially severe acute attack) can cause diabetes or pancreatic insufficiency (lack of pancreatic enzymes). Neither is good, but both are treatable. As far as I know, there really isn't any treatment for chronic pancreatitis, other than preventative measures: keeping the dog's weight down, avoiding fat in the diet, and making sure she gets enough exercise. Basically, these are things you're already doing, so other than maybe switching her to a lower-fat dog food, depending on what she's eating now, there may not be much else to be done -- just be on the lookout for a recurrence of symptoms and get her medical treatment as necessary. Periodic monitoring of blood sugar and pancreatic enzymes might also be a good idea.

My dog had an attack of pancreatitis in May at the same time he overdosed on his Cushing's medication. He's a little butterball and does get some table scraps -- however, most of them are fairly low fat (fruits and vegetables) and he does get a reasonable amount of exercise, so I think the Cushing's was primarily to blame in his case. His pancreatic enzymes have been permanently sky-high since then, but so far he hasn't had any more symptoms or shown signs of becoming diabetic; hopefully, that will continue. It seems like this is just something where you have to wait and see -- it may become chronic, or it may be a one-time thing.

Hope Sasha is feeling better, and good luck in the future.

Audrey