[Jgordon1990]

Hello everyone,
I posted about a week ago regarding my GSD's size and weight not getting bigger. I took him to the Vet today for a check up and concerns that I have. He is four months old and sadly only weighs 11 lbs. I can assure you all that he is being taken care of. The vet said that he more than likely had EPI. Which is Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. The vet stated that once the the results come back, the treatments could start and he could live a normal life. Has anyone ever witnessed this disease or know of anyone who has? Im very concerned about him.

Thanks

 

[Mary Beth]

That's good that your vet has done the test so the treatment can start soon. These older threads are from members who gsds have EPI:

https://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/health-issues/742809-epi.html

https://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/health-issues/661969-just-diagnosed-epi.html

https://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/health-issues/439481-epi.html

 

[tc68]

Hello everyone,
I posted about a week ago regarding my GSD's size and weight not getting bigger. I took him to the Vet today for a check up and concerns that I have. He is four months old and sadly only weighs 11 lbs. I can assure you all that he is being taken care of. The vet said that he more than likely had EPI. Which is Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. The vet stated that once the the results come back, the treatments could start and he could live a normal life. Has anyone ever witnessed this disease or know of anyone who has? Im very concerned about him.

Thanks

My previous GSD had EPI. (Btw, it's quite common. It's not breed specific. Other breeds have it. In fact, cats can have EPI. And even people.) Lived 11.5 years. It's almost a year since I had to put him down for an unrelated issue. The disease is manageable with medication and he can live a full life. But he will be on medication for the rest of his life and it won't be cheap. (If you don't give him medication, he'll waste away. My dog had lost 1/3 of his weight from 80lbs to 55lbs before he was diagnosed and on his way to recovery. At his prime after medication, he was a very thin 98lbs.) The cheapest I had paid for a 12oz bottle of powdered porcine pancreas was $125. Towards the last few years of his life, it got up to about $150/bottle. For us, a 12oz bottle usually lasted about 4 months. It was a pain to have to prepare his food at meal times and to get the medication to the right dosage. If you give too much medication...diarrhea or vomit. If you give too little, he won't put on the weight. There were many nights that I had to go out 4-5 times a night because he had diarrhea. Oh and some dogs with EPI will need regular injections of Vitamin B12. I'm not trying to scare you....just trying to tell you what to expect and what I've gone through for the past 12 years or so. I loved my dog. He was a great dog and IMO he broke the mold of what a first dog and a GSD should be despite his health issues. So don't be discouraged about it. Your pup can live a normal life. There are support group websites dedicated to dogs with EPI...owners willing to help you with your problems. Some of them purchase the powdered porcine pancreas in huge bulk and then they divvy it up and everyone pays much less. If you feed your dog raw, you can even feed your dog raw pig pancreas. I don't know much about that but I know it can be done that way. Anyway, if you have questions or concerns or just want to talk...you can private message me here. I'll be more than happy to help you as much as I can. I'm no expert by any means...I've just lived with a dog that had it for the past 12 years. Anyways, good luck.

 

[tc68]

sorry, there are a lot of websites for this. this is one that I got a lot of info from: epi4dogs.com

 

[wolfy dog]

I don't know if this is of any help but I believe that Greentripe.com has a mixture with bovine pancreas in it.

 

[MrGSD]

My last GSD developed EPI when she was about a year old. Mind you this was back in 2006 so some of the details are vague. But what I do remember was it happened almost overnight. She had the runs(with a horrendous odor), was extremely gassy and her weight was dropping by the day. It took 3 different vets to identify the actual cause, but the treatment was easy. I had to add Vio Case to each of her meals. First I would dampen the food and then sprinkle the Vio Case over it. Mix well and let it sit for 30 mins before feeding her. The results were almost immediate. She went on to live a normal healthy life until her passing last spring at 12.5 yrs old. The only side effect was she seemed to be always hungry, but it was manageable. She did require the Vio Case for the rest of her life though.



If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

 

[tc68]

My last GSD developed EPI when she was about a year old. Mind you this was back in 2006 so some of the details are vague. But what I do remember was it happened almost overnight. She had the runs(with a horrendous odor), was extremely gassy and her weight was dropping by the day. It took 3 different vets to identify the actual cause, but the treatment was easy. I had to add Vio Case to each of her meals. First I would dampen the food and then sprinkle the Vio Case over it. Mix well and let it sit for 30 mins before feeding her. The results were almost immediate. She went on to live a normal healthy life until her passing last spring at 12.5 yrs old. The only side effect was she seemed to be always hungry, but it was manageable. She did require the Vio Case for the rest of her life though.



If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Sounds exactly like my dog, the gassiness, the soft yellow mucousy poop, the diarrhea, and the hunger. When I was getting my dog back up to weight, he was eating around 9 cups of food a day and he was still hungry. Mine was also diagnosed sometime around 2006. VioKase is the expensive brand. I've had to use it twice because of supply issues with other brands. Last I checked it was somewhere around 180 bucks per 12oz bottle. That was years ago. I can imagine it being well over $200 now. In the lifetime of my dog, the prices for all the brands went up significantly. My vet called VioKase, "the designer brand." I've used much cheaper brands like Pancrezyme, Epizyme, etc. etc. At the end of the day they all worked the same.

 

[Heidigsd]

About 70% percent of EPI cases are GSD's, there is nothing you did wrong!


I would join "epi4dogs", the group has everything you need to know about EPI. https://epi4dogs.com/managing-epi/


My Nikki was diagnosed with EPI at one year old, she just had her 9th birthday and is doing good. It can feel a little overwhelming at first but we are here to help you.


You also don't have to spend a fortune on enzymes at the vet. Last time I bought a bottle of Viokase I paid $330. You can purchase them from Enzyme Diane or Pan-tenex.


https://www.pantenexdogenzymes.com/
https://enzymediane.com/


In order to treat EPI successfully you need 4 things:


1. Enzymes (make sure you prepare the food properly with the enzymes)

2. Correct diet

3. Antibiotics for SIBO if needed
4. B12 if low to low-normal


Also keep daily notes when you first start treatment, you will refer back to them a lot.


Just wanted to mention that you don't have to wait for the test results to come back to start treatment. Go to to a health food store and get some emergency enzymes for now.

https://epi4dogs.com/emergency-enzymes/