Hips and Pancreas?

[Aerina519]

Hi,

I posted about a year and a half ago seeking advice for my now almost 12 year old GSD, Jas', "potential brain tumor". I don't believe she has a brain tumor, in fact I was almost positive she had Cushings, but she was tested for that and of course it came back normal. She's "passed" every test so the vet couldn't really give me any answers; the seizures stopped just as suddenly as they started and so I just (reluctantly) let it go. It's been a quiet year for Jasmine as far as health concerns go (which is good! ), until about a week ago. Her hips have been in pretty rough shape the past year or so (she's been on glucosamine for all of her adult life), but there was never any indication of pain, just a weird gait and the slightest bit of stiffness after lying down for long periods of time. A couple of days ago I noticed that for the previous 4 or 5 days she has been extremely lethargic; sleeping ALL the time, eating and drinking about half as much as normal, and she refused to get up for anything (even to go outside, which caused her to wet herself repeatedly) when she had always been my shadow, following me from room to room. The night I decided she really needed to be seen, she was lying on the floor. I sat down next to her and started petting her, she would look at me without lifting her head, but showed no emotion. I called her name in a really happy/excited tone, nothing (but still looking at me so I knew she could hear me). Finally I got her to raise her head and as I continued to pet her I could just tell she was incredibly uncomfortable. Then she did what she's never done before: she got up and walked away from me. 3 times she did this, it was really devastating for me. So the next day we went to the vet, he did an exam and took blood work just to be sure but he said that her hips are "very, very bad" and put her on Metacam. The Metacam has helped her tremendously! She's walking so much better! She still has a hard time getting up but her personality is almost completely back to normal - she's again excited to go for walks even though she can't go very far and she has a really hard time getting back up the front steps. Her bloodwork came back today and the vet said her lipase levels were elevated (he didn't say how much or give any more detail) indicating pancreatitis but since she has no other symptoms I should just monitor her. Sorry for the rant, I do have a point to this post . My question is this: should I put her on a diet as if she had pancreatitis (boiled chicken and rice) just to be safe or as a precaution? I guess I just don't really understand why her pancreas enzyme levels would be elevated if there wasn't something going on with it? Also, the Metacam is really doing wonders, but with all of her medications combined (she's also on Proin for her bladder control issues) it runs over $100 a month...I know that my time left with her is limited and although in reality I really don't have an extra $100 a month, I will do whatever I have to in order to come up with the money...I was just wondering if anyone has any suggestions on any cheaper (but equally effective) alternatives? I asked the vet if Aspirin would be okay and he said absolutely not because within a matter of days she could develop an ulcer or other stomache issues, but what I read on the internet when I google Aspirin vs Metacam is a completely different story. At the same time, most of the Metacam review I read were negative, where Jas responds very well to it. I know I'm rambling and kind of all over the place but I would really appreciate any suggestions anyone has.