Jasper - Pancreatitis

[lulusmom]

Thank you all so much for your kind words. My little Jasper is not doing well today. He hasn't been eating much for the last few days and this morning I woke up to diarrhea everywhere. I can usually get him to take his meds in a pill pocket but no go this morning. We'll be the first ones at the vet's office this morning. Please say a prayer for my little guy.

[Squirt's Mom]

Prayers rising, arms reaching....

[labblab]

You've got it, Glynda -- prayers are on their way!

Marianne

[jmac]

Absolutely, Glynda. You and Jasper are in my prayers. I am so sorry to hear he is not doing well. I'm sending positive vibes and warm thoughts your way.

I'll try to check in at lunch.

Thinking of you both!

Julie & Hannah

[addy]

I will going with you to the vets in thought and hopes and hugs and spirit and any other possible way.

love,
addy

[Altira]

Our hearts and thoughts are with you!!! We anxiously wait to hear.
(((((hugs))))) please don't be sicky Jasper.

[frijole]

Glynda, You KNOW I am praying and am with you in spirit. Give the little guy a huge hug and a kiss from me. Strength sent your way. Keep us posted. Love ya, Kim

[lulusmom]

It took me two hours of fighting traffic to get Jasper to VCA All Care this morning. :( He vomitted twice on the way there so thank goodness I threw a blanket on the seat. He is very weak. He managed to sit up for a few minutes and just laid his head against the seat back staring at me. All I could do is stroke his head and tell him everything would be better soon. They took us in right away and while I was waiting for the estimate of damages, I could tell Jasper was uncomfortable so I put him down quickly so he could throw up if he needed to. He promptly squatted and squirted watery poop everywhere. :( They brought me the estimate for the hospital stay, bloodwork and an abdominal ultrasound and I wanted to vomit. :o

He will be staying in the hospital for at least 24 hours, on light IV fluids. They have to keep it light because of his heart condition. I should have bloodwork results in a few hours but won't know results of the ultrasound until this evening after the sonagrapher gets in. Thank you all for your well wishes and prayers. Please keep my Jasper in your prayers. He's a very sick and mom is very worried.

Hugs,
Glynda

[Harley PoMMom]

Oh Glynda! I am just now reading your posts...I do not know how I missed this.

I will definitely be keeping sweet Jasper in my thoughts and prayers. Sending healing thoughts, positive energy, huge hugs, and tons of love...Lori

[Squirt's Mom]

Hanging with you, sweetie. Trinket and Brick send hugs and much love your way, too.

[Cyn719]

Glynda

I am so sorry Jasper is not doing well. I am sending TONS of prayers, support, strength, love and tight hugs.

xoxoxo

[Jenny & Judi in MN]

Sending lots of healing thoughts to little Jasper and his humans. Judi

[Altira]

Glynda,

Gosh TWO HOURS! Orange County Freeways suck! I'm so sorry, what a dreadful trip with such sick puppy. Let us know if you here anything.

[lulusmom]

A huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I just spoke with the IMS and Jasper is doing well. He has been given meds for nausea and diarrhea but he has a ways to go before they try to give him food. Apparently I did the right thing by not giving him his arsenal of meds this morning. I asked about that and she said they were not going to give him any of those meds yet either. The Special cPLI test won't be back until tomorrow but the blood chemistry is in. Everything is NORMAL except for BUN, which is 30, with high normal being 25. Dehydration usually causes this. I couldn't believe that all values were normal! He was like a limp rag this morning....I was terrified and had already diagnosed him with kidney failure, liver failure and life threatening pancreatitis. All these horrible things going through my head...I just knew I was going to lose him. Sometimes I'm my own worst enemy.

I believe prayers are powerful but the k9cushings family's prayers is a force to be reckoned with. Thank you all so very much for watching over me and Jasper. I can't even tell you how much it means to me and Gil.

Hugs,
Glynda

[addy]

This is good news. I hope we continue to get good news for little Jasper.

Still praying, still hoping, still sending hugs and love,
addy

[Squirt's Mom]

Oh, I am so happy to read this post! And I can well imagine how relieved you are. :D

Prayers and healing white light continue!
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[Cyn719]

Glynda and Gil

I am so happy to hear Jasper is doing well!! :) Happy tears!!!! You can breath now:) You better get a good nites sleep so when your little guy comes home you are well rested. Way to go Jasper you tough little guy!!!!:D Yes the power of prayers!!

Love and hugs and continued prayers for a quick recovery!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

[Harley PoMMom]

So happy to read that Jasper is doing much better!!! Continuing to keep you both in my thoughts and prayers.

Huge loving hugs being sent your way....Lori

[frijole]

Glynda, So happy dear Jasper is doing better.... I can just see you diagnosing all these terrible possibilities... I do the same thing... and who said knowledge was power? :confused::D:eek:;)

Thank GOD you were wrong. Keep us posted and give him a big hug from me. Kim

[lulusmom]

The IMS called me and the ultrasound results are in....Pancreatitis. He hasn't thrown up since checking him in so I'm hoping it stays that way. They will try to get him to eat later tonight and if he keeps it down, he can come home tomorrow. Praying and keeping fingers crossed that he feels a lot better tomorrow. Low fat meals coming up.

[Altira]

Well there see.... that medical mind of yours wasn't so far off... Three cheers for All Care...(Dr. Moore?) for getting you an answer fast and and getting your Jasper on track quickly... And he gets to come home tomorrow maybe... How cool is that?

<Getting up to do "happy dance" now!>

[k9diabetes]

I'm glad it was caught quickly and that he's already doing better. Pancreatitis is high on my list of stuff I never want to have to deal with. Sorry Jasper is...

Natalie

[Harley PoMMom]

Hoping and praying sweet Jasper will eat...sending mega tons of healing thoughts and prayers with lotsa of love...Lori

[Bailey's Mom]

So happy to read that Jasper is doing much better!!!
Continuing to keep you both in my thoughts and prayers.
Huge loving hugs being sent your way.
I hope Jasper is back home later today.

-Susan

[labblab]

Whew!!!!!!!!!!!! It's hard to believe that it feels like a "relief" to hear the word pancreatitis -- but in this case, it truly does!!!

Here's hoping the little guy gets straightened out really quickly. I know you are not a newbie to pancreatitis :o, and so probably already know much of this info. But the commercial food analysis in these charts by Mary Straus really helped me when I was trying to pick out low-fat food for Peg:

http://dogaware.com/articles/wdjlowfatdiets.html

[Squirt's Mom]

I, too, am so glad it is nothing worse than pancreatitis, tho that is tough enough.

Little Jasper will be so glad to be out of that cage and back in your loving arms, which I sincerely pray is today. Can't wait to hear you say he came wagging down the drive to welcome you home again! :D

Many hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[Harley PoMMom]

Hoping Jasper is feeling much better today.

Although you probably already have a lot of knowledge about pancreatitis, if I can be of any help, please do not hesitate to ask me.

With much love and hugs,
Lori

[lulusmom]

Thanks again everyone for being so amazing!

I just spoke to the IMS and Jasper is still refusing to eat. :( She thinks it could be that he is scared and might eat something at home. She wants to watch him throughout the day and keep trying to offer food. If he still won't eat, Gil will pick him up on his way home from work and we'll see if we can get our little guy to eat.

Lori, I learned a good deal of what I know about pancreatitis from you so I may be calling on you very soon.

Marianne, thanks for the information on the low fat diets. None of my babies are overweight but all would be better off with lower fat in their diet based on their medical conditions. I'll be checking out that site.

[Cyn719]

So glad Jasper gets to come home tonight:). Maybe he needs mom and dad to feed him and give him hugs. Hopefully that will make him feel so much better!! Cute picture!

Will check back

Love and hugs xoxo

[Bailey's Mom]

I hope Jasper is home now and I'm waiting to hear news of how the eating has gone. Hugs from Bailey and me.

[Altira]

Have you braved the traffic yet?? Is Jasper home yet? What does he get to eat? Eat eat eat Jasper!

[lulusmom]

Gil works in Orange County so he is swinging by VCA on his way home to get Jasper. They were unable to get him to eat so I hope he will start eating for us. As of 6:00 tonight, he will have gone 48 hours with nothing to eat. No vomit today but had some diarrhea last night. IMS said he's acting and looking better now so she felt it was okay to send him home. I'm sure she's giving Gil special instructions which I hope he remembers. He's not good with medical stuff and confuses easily. :D I'm looking forward to seeing my baby when I get home.

P.S. The little guy in the picture is Jojo. It's his long awaited turn to be my avatar.

[frijole]

Hoping the appetite returns when he gets home to his mama... I bet you can get him to do anything! Good luck Glynda and know we are all holding you close in our thoughts and prayers.

[Cyn719]

Hope Jasper ate and is cuddled on your arms!!

Jojo is very cute:)

Hugsxoxo

[lulusmom]

Just finishing boiling the rice to death and hoping Jasper will eat something for me. Gil didn't go prepared with towels so the vet gave him one and glad they did. Jasper had a diarrhea attack on the way home. Ugh! Just cleaned his bottom and put him on the sofa to watch t.v. with dad while his dinner is finishing. He's still pretty wiped out.

I just shoved a Cerenia pill down his throat and unless he eats something, I'm going to have to get his heart meds down the hard way too. Thank goodness a few are liquid. I just hate to give them all to him on an empty stomach. :( This is the second time I've dealt with pancreatitis. I had a little female Maltese years ago who almost died from it so I'm nervous. Gil is off work tomorrow so he's going to keep an eye on him and if he doesn't get any better, he'll drive him back to VCA.

Keep the prayers going, please.

[Skye]

Hey!
Shysie had a horrid pancreatic attack in October. Was in ICU 3 days. Her diet is boneless skinless chicken breast rice and green beans. for a snack she might have warmed apples (NO seeds), pumkin, sweet potatoe. Vets changed her foods around so much in 6-7 months and changed that many times to. i do not trust processed foods at all for her. Its not hard at all to cook for her, i do 2-3 weeks at a time and place in freezer. Super simple.
Did the doctors give any meds at all for the bad stools? there are couple things out there that are amazing, if you want the names of them let me know.
careful of broths even low sodium ones if you try any of those, are you only allowed to try rice? will they let you try some chicken breast? Please dont hesitiate to text or call me if you ever need to. I can pm you my number if you ever want.
love and hugs

[lulusmom]

Jasper ate three tiny bites of boiled chicken breast and would have nothing to do with the rice. :( He's taking Cerenia for vomiting and Metronidazole syrup for the diarrhea. Have to go try to get his heart meds down. Skye, if you PM me your number, I'll give you a call tomorrow.

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Glynda,

Don't forget about the slippery elm bark. It can do wonders for the digestive system. You would need to give it a couple of hours away from his meds, tho.

I'm glad he is home and hope he does well today.

Am keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers.
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[frijole]

Glynda, I second the Slippery Elm recommendation. Nutrical is a good option if you can get him to take it - Annie would never touch it but I did force feed it to her at times so she'd get some calories.

I can tell you how to make the SEB concoction and also if you have a medicine dropper you can give it to him that way - again, I did with Annie.

If you are concerned about us being too 'voodoo' just google it. :D

Sending continued hugs, loves and prayers to you and yours. Kim

[lulusmom]

We still have diarrhea and the diarrhea med says to give with food. What do you do if you can't get them to eat? I also don't want to give him theophyllin because it can upset the stomach. He takes strong doses of lasix so am concerned about giving him the full amount because of dehydration. Gotta call the IMS! I've just brewed up a cup of slippery elm tea and will give it to Jasper when it cools down. :(:(:(:(

[labblab]

Glynda, I just want to repeat Leslie's warning about not giving the slippery elm bark at the same time as other meds. I don't know that it's been proven, but there is speculation that it can affect absorption.

[Cindy Thoman]

Oh Glynda, my heart breaks for poor Jasper. When we went through all the stomach problems with Alex a couple years ago the only food that helped was Hills WD. I am not thrilled with the quality of the food but it seems to be the only thing that works for him. Every time I try and switch the severe diarrhea and vomiting is back. Lots of prayers coming your way.

Love,
Cindy, Alex and Bear

[jmac]

Hi Glynda,
I have no advice for you, but I'm thinking of you and Kaspersky and hoping he is doing better soon. My vet that did laser therapy said the laser can help pancreatitis, but my parents' vet who also does it said she didn't know. My vet said it can reduce the inflammation.

Good luck!

Julie & Hannah

[Harley PoMMom]

When Harley would not eat, his vet gave him a shot of cerenia, it's a very strong drug used for nausea and vomiting...it did help.

Getting these poor pups to eat is so hard but it is important because they are finding that the cells in the intestine need nutrition in order to heal. Also, if Jasper won't eat on his own, they may need to tube feed him. My heart goes out to you, I really do understand how worried you are. I am here if you need me, remember that.

Sending healing thoughts and lots of love...Lori

[lulusmom]

The only meds I gave Jasper this morning was his enalapril and liquid lasix. I had to go to work so I didn't have a choice to wait an appropriate amount time between the slippery elm and meds. If it interferes with the absorption of the enalapril, so be it. I didn't give him the cerenia because I opted for the slippery elm; however, if Gil is unable to get him to eat anything by noon, I'll be taking him to the vet this afternoon for a cerenia injection. The IMS called me back and said that was an option. I'm going to see if I can the gp vet to give the injection.

[mypuppy]

Glynda,

Hoping your little boy will start feeling much better after he receives his shot. In the meantime, thinking of you and your babies with tons of love.:)

Tight hugs to all...

xo Jeanette and Princess

[lulusmom]

Well folks, the slippery elm gruel did the trick. Jasper ate at least a dozen small pieces of chicken breast and is acting much perkier. I just got home from work and gave him another tablespoon of the gruel.

This is the website I read this morning, which told me how to mix it up. I've bookmarked for future reference.

http://www.holvet.net/slippery_soup.html

Yes, I'm a believer! Thanks Les and Kim...and thank you to my friend, Brenda, for giving me the capsules two months ago. Had I not had them, I would be on the way to the vet right now for a cerenia injection.

[Harley PoMMom]

So happy to hear that Jasper is eating and feeling much better!!! SEB, just love that stuff!

[Squirt's Mom]

I am so glad to hear he is eating and feeling better! That SEB is some good stuff; happy it helped.

Hugs,
Leslie

[Cyn719]

Glynda

So happy little Jasper is eating!! As you know I understand exactly how it feels when you cant get them to eat - thank God Penny took to the mixture I made up for her:) Hope each day gets better for the little guy and you!!!! Will be checking back

love and hugs xoxoxoxoxo

[frijole]

Yes! That's what I'm talking about! Go Jasper Go! SEB rocks huh? So glad you trusted and tried it. We wouldn't steer you wrong sister. Hug our boy! Kim

[BestBuddy]

Glynda,

I am so pleased it was good news for Jasper. Tummy problems really suck in the little ones, big ones too I suppose but out tiny ones haven't got much weight to lose to start with.

It is such a simple thing to watch a dog eat but wow is it great when there have been problems.

Jen

[Squirt's Mom]

Just checking in. Hope things are going well today!

Hugs,
Leslie

[jmac]

Hi Glynda-
So happy to hear Jasper was eating! Hope he's doing better today, too!

Julie & Hannah

[lulusmom]

Jasper is doing much better today. We had a little diarrhea last night but things are firming up. :D I hadn't seen him drink much so I checked his gums and they were a little tacky this morning so I've been syringing water. By this afternoon, he was drinking on his own and he ate his dinner without having to be coaxed. Tail is up and he's carrying Mr. Froggie around again and squeeking up a storm. :D:D:D:D

[Sabre's Mum]

Glynda ... I have been reading ... just rather busy and wanted to post before heading to bed. So relieved that lil Jasper is feeling a tad better.

Angela and Flynn

[labblab]

Glynda, this is wonderful news. Hooray for Mr. Froggie!!!! :p

Marianne

[Squirt's Mom]

YAY!!! The magic of Mr. Froggie!!! :D Weeell, mom and dad may have had something to do with Jasper's improvement. ;):p

So, SO, glad to read this report this morning.

Hugs,
Leslie

[addy]

I am so happy this morning to hear this news!!!! We
need some good news!!!!!! I hope Jasper and Mr Frogie have a really good day.

I also wanted to tell you how much I love your new avatar:D:D

love and hugs and prayers

addy and kids

[frijole]

Hurray! Wonderful news. Hugs and continued love. Kim

[jmac]

Glynda-
What wonderful news!!! :) Of course the sure sign of how good Jasper is feeling is Mr. Froggie! :D I am so happy and so relieved that he is doing well. Good work, Mom!

Julie & Hannah

[Cyn719]

Glynda

I know how happy you must be that Jasper is eating on his own:D::):D
Good boy Jasper!! Now mom feels alot better!:)

Hope each day he feels better and better!

Love and hugs xoo

[marie adams]

Dear Glynda,

I am so happy for you and Jasper!!! Yay!!! for eating and drinking; he is on the road to recovery!!! :D:):p

Take care Ms. Wonderful Glynda!!

[jmac]

Hi Glynda,

Just wanted to stop by and check in on Jasper. I sure hope he is still doing well! :D

Julie & Hannah

[lulusmom]

Hi Julie,

Jasper is doing really well. Thanks to Marianne directing me to a great site to find a good low fat, easy on the digestive system, food, I think I found a real winner. Jasper and the other three love it and lick their bowls at every meal. The food I found is Boomers Blend, made by My Perfect Pet. It's a bit expensive, especially for four dogs $17.99 plus tax for four days of food. I think I need a second job. :D I checked their site and was pretty impressed. They use restaurant grade products and the pictures of the ingredients look better than some of the stuff I cook for my dinner. :D It's made here in California and unfortunately, the only stores on the map are in California and AZ. I drive a few communities over to get it at Unleashed (a high end Petco). You can have it shipped and you can also have a special blend made, depending on your dog's requirements. I'm sold but like I said, it's not cheap.

http://www.myperfectpet.net/index.html

My Perfect Pet got a five star rating on the Dog Food Adviser site and special mention of restaurant grade ingredients.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/my-perfect-pet/

A strange thing happened after Jasper's pancreatitis and I think it probably has to do with how terribly thin he got after more than a week of picky eating and four days of no eating. His coughing and breathing difficulties with CHF and collapsed trachea subsided greatly. I think this is probably due to loss of fat in his thoracic area, which reduced pressure on the trachea. He was really dehydrated too so I wonder if that didn't help in reducing the fluids around the heart. I've been able to reduce his cough syrup considerably. It's a barbituate so he remains alert and probably more active than I would prefer. When he's feeling good he runs around like a mad man, which panicked me before but now, he can run down the driveway at breakneck speeds to greet me when I get home without gasping for air and prolonged coughing jags. He's one of those dogs who loves to be loved on but if you reach down to pick him up, he runs the other direction. That's so frustrating when you are trying to keep him calm. What a little turd! :D

Thanks for checking in, Julie.

Glynda

[Altira]

Wonderful news about Jasper!

[frijole]

That is remarkable news - particularly that you don't have to worry about the breathing... it must be such a huge relief. Congrats to you and kudos to Marianne for finding this food.

[Roxee's Dad]

Great news Glynda :)

[lulusmom]

My relief is very guarded because I know how bad Jasper's trachea and heart is. The heart doesn't get smaller and the trachea doesn't open up so I just have to make sure he stays at a healthy weight so I can keep him with us for as long as possible.

[Squirt's Mom]

I know Jasper is in the very best of hands. It is wonderful that he is feeling better, a bit less stressed physically. Enjoy those good moments to the fullest, as I am sure you are doing anyway without direction from me. :p He is such a lucky, lucky little guy to have you as his mom.

Hugs and love,
Leslie

[Bailey's Mom]

Hi Glynda-
How is Jasper doing?

-Susan

[lulusmom]

Hi Susan and thank for asking about Jasper. He is doing well. I am so perplexed about how much better his cough and difficulty breathing is since the pancreatitis episode. The only thing I can figure is that he got really skinny and the weight loss took enough pressure off the thoracic area to make it easier for him to breath. He can sprint down the driveway without setting off a coughing jag. Weird, huh? I'm just hoping that things continue to go well for him. I've been very worried for months so this has been a very welcome reprieve. We're riding the wave for as long as it lasts. Keeping fingers and paws crossed.

[Bailey's Mom]

Glynda that is such good news! How nice for you to get a reprieve. I hope it is a very long wave!
-Susan...and Bailey with paws crossed.

[jmac]

Glynda-
I'm so glad to hear he is still doing well! I hope it continues!

Julie :)

[marie adams]

Keep up the good work Glynda--Jasper is so lucky to have you!!!:):D:)

((((HUGS))))