Pancreatic Insufficiency - Page 4

I order Pancreatin 6x USP Powder for my dog,  from American Laboratories. You do not need a prescription from the Vet, and it is cheaper than buying the Pancreas Powder from the Vet.

www.americanlaboratories.com      Phone Number is....1-402-339-2494

Dawn

I have a 4 yr old GSD that was diagosed with EPI at 9 months of age.  He went from 90 pounds to 75 pounds in under 2 weeks before we got it under control.  Now, at 95 pounds he is still lean, but healthy and has a beautiful coat. The breeder "didn't understand where it came from" as HIS dogs were EPI clear. Right, like I believe that now. 

Anyway, there is a generic replacement to Viokase-V. It is called Biokase-V and is about half the cost.  You can check different websites to see who carries it in your area or you can check with your vet.

Biokase-V along with a low-fat, low-fiber diet has kept my boy healthy and strong.  Good luck.  I hope it works for you.

Dawn

That's the same one the Yahoo group supplies. They buy it in bulk and split it up, sort of like a coop. I think it's even cheaper than by-passing the vet and going directly to manufacturer.

I just got a request for info about feeding/treatment for EPI from one of "those" customers... You know the ones. They call and waste your time, time and again for months/years, make appointments to come inspect your puppies, never show up, try to haggle over price, ask for advice about litters from other breeders, and finally buy a puppy from somebody else for a couple hundred less than what you ask...  end up with an unhealthy dog, and then want YOU to help them some more after the fact.

I will, of course, but only for the sake of the poor puppy, lately diagnosed with EPI. They have the puppy on Pancreatab-Plus, now want to know what to feed her. Frankly, I don't know, but I'm betting its going to be expensive. So much for saving a couple of hundred dollars on their initial investment. I didn't bother to ask about health guarantees because I don't want anything to do with whatever business goes on between them and the breeder of the puppy. I'm betting they're out of luck.

I sent the owner a link to some of the messages on this board regarding EPI, including this one, requested they send info to the EPI dB A and M is creating for the good of the breed. I also advised them to buy stock in paper towels and Nature's Miracle. Obviously it doesn't bother me if they read this post.

Idiots...

SS

I also heard of using beef pancreace ground up but haven't checked on price to see if it is cost efficent over enzyme powder

You can purchase the enzymes VERY cheaply at any health-food store for a few bucks a bottle.  My last american line gsd had pancreatic insufficiency (among other things) and I switched from the expensive vet--supplied supplement the second I read the label in the health-food store and realized it was the exact same thing for a fraction of the price. 

A good few years back a friends dog was eventually diagnosed as having PI, that's what we knew it as then and the medicine was very expensive.

Her dog lived till he was almost 13, without prescription medication.  Once every couple of months, she'd visit the abattoir and buy pigs' pancreas.  Once she'd got the dossage sorted, the dog never looked back!

He had to have some every day, which meant buying lots of the stuff and keeping it in the freezer but it wasn't expensive.

I, too had a dog with EPI. You must be very careful regarding advice about this. It is true that you can buy digestive enzymes at any health food store (dog or human), but, the important thing to note here is that you can only buy Plant based digestive enzymes over the counter. This may be what your vet is selling you and if it is working great! This probably means that your dog has a mild case. In more severe cases your vet has to prescribe porcine (pig pancreas) based digestive enzymes. The animal based work much better if your dog has a more severe form of EPI. These are some of the previous mentioned products like Viakase. If you are using this do some homework. There are now much cheaper alternatives like Pancrezyme. It is the same stuff as the Viakase, but, much cheaper. I was buying a big bottle of it from my vet that would last about 2-1/2- 3 months for about $100.  The key to using these powders is that you have to sprinkle the powder on the food and then soak the food in warm water for about 20-30 minutes.

As Ghostly previously mentioned getting raw beef pancreas from your butcher or slaughter house works extremely well. This is especially true if you are feeing a raw diet or modified raw diet. Green tripe is also invaluable as a food source if your dog has EPI.

Go to: http://greentripe.com/       then look in the products section and scroll down to Beef Pancreas

The other thing that should be pointed out here is that some of the dogs that have this in a mild form will actually be able to go off the digestive enzymes after 6 months to year. For some reason using the digestive enzymes will jump-start the pancreas and it will start producing them again. This seems to be the situation when a dog suddenly gets EPI at an older age instead of growing up with it.

If you are going to use kibble with your EPI dog I would highly suggest that you look at Wellness Core Reduced Fat. 33% Protein and 9% Fat. Just what the doctor ordered for EPI dogs.

I hope this helps!