Treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in dogs.
Epi in dogs treatment.
Your veterinarian is your first port of call and he will assist you to treat your dog.
Porcine enzymes in a powder given with food are considered the best.
However there is a treatment available which will allow your dog to return to a normal life.
Epi treatment pancreatic enzymes.
The goal of epi treatment is to replace the digestive function of the pancreas gardner says.
If your dog doesn t tolerate pork well there are also beef based or plant enzymes.
Dogs with epi generally feel well and are otherwise healthy.
Other treatment considerations for animals with epi include additional dietary alterations and possible treatment of the main cause of pancreatic disease when diagnosed.
Treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in dogs while there is no cure for this condition there is help available to assist your pet to overcome this debilitating disease.
Epi is treated even in conventional medicine using pancreatic enzymes to compensate for your dog s own lacking enzyme production.
Epi4dogs foundation inc s purpose is advancement of science and education of epi exocrine pancreatic insufficiency for dogs by raising funds for epi research that will yield useful insights or positive outcomes in better managing the epi health condition in dogs and cats and promoting epi education through epi awareness efforts by educating the public and offering.
The treatment of epi often includes the recommendation of an enzyme replacement.
Treatment often is administered on an outpatient basis and may include one or more of the following.
Here s how the three elements of epi treatment can help do this.
The pancreas is an organ near the stomach and small intestine that produces enzymes needed for digestion as well as releasing hormones including insulin that regulate body homeostasis including blood sugar levels.
Animals with epi have extremely low concentrations of this enzyme in their serum.
You may need to take dietary supplements.
Epi interferes with your body s ability to absorb nutrients from food.
This can affect your intake of fat soluble vitamins a d e and k.
In fact even though complete recovery from epi is rare.
Dogs with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency are unable to digest nutrients in their diet properly resulting in maldigestion weight loss and abnormal feces usually pale and.
Epi is less common than pancreatitis in both dogs and cats but it is the second most common exocrine pancreatic disorder in both species.