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Hi Cat
Bracken, without any warning, collapsed on Thursday, could not stand up and was sick four times. Whilst she was unable to stand up she wet herself. She was rushed to the vets during the night and spent the next two nights on a drip with antibiotics. She was sick one further time whilst at the vets. Urine test was clear. Blood test came back high re glucose and high liver enzyme, red and white cells normal. The diagnosis is pancreatitis. One further blood test is being done at the lab on Monday to be certain it is pancreatitis. Brack is now home eating her usual Hills WD food and drinking normally. She not that lively but that is expected after no food for two days and being sick. She is showing interest in her toys etc and goes out for short five min walks. I am a bit confused as have not been given any tablets or anything to perhaps prevent this happening again, only they want to know how she is on Thursday. The only advice is to keep her on bland food. I understand there is no cure but there must be some way of preventing this happening again or being warned that it will happen again and to intercept it before it gets too bad. This might have been a one off incident I don´t know. Is there anything more that I can do? Thank you again Viv.

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17 Jan 2010 14:14

Cat the Vet

Hi Viv,

Pancreatitis is a condition which occurs occasionally in both dogs and cats and can be very serious. The pancreas is an organ in the abdomen and has lots of functions but is mainly involved in producing enzymes which help digest food. In pancreatitis the pancreas becomes inflamed and these digestive enzymes are released into the body, where they cause a lot of problems because they essentially start to digest the body itself. The initial cause of the inflammation of the pancreas is rarely found but it is a condition which is more common in over-weight, neutered animals and is often associated with a recent fatty meal. The symptoms of pancreatitis are very variable depending on the severity of the condition and can range from vague lethargy and depression to severe vomiting and diarrhoea. It is also extremely painful.

Braken sounds like she had a very severe attack of pancreatitis if she collapsed and did well to be only hospitalised for 2 days. There is no specific treatment for the condition and the vets have to support the body with fluids (a drip), pain killers and anti-inflammatory medications, while the inflammation dies down. Also, the dog is usually starved until they are better. When an animal eats the pancreas is activated and releases the digestive enzymes into the gut, starving the dog allows the organ to rest and repair itself and also prevents any further release of enzymes into the rest of the body.

I can understand your worry that this will happen again but unfortunately there is no treatment which can prevent it. Once a dog has had an attack they are prone to more and the best way to prevent them is to keep them on a low fat diet and get them to lose weight if they are fat. Also, if they ever show any signs of a tummy upset or discomfort, for example vomiting or diarrhoea, they should be taken to the vet as soon as possible.

I hope this helps and she continues to make a good recovery.

Cat

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