Diet for pancreatitis?

[MomofGus]

Wondering what food you feed your dog that has had pancreatitis? My vet said to feed like normal. He ate last evening, but did not this morning again, and has vomited throughout the night. What he threw up was 8 hrs after his evening meal,and still was not completely digested, and then again later at 10-11 hrs since last meal and still contained his supper.

Should I try boiled rice and hamburger? His sugar is 559 and is drinking excessively (understandably). Since he didn't eat, I only gave 1/4 dose of insulin.

It's been a long night and not much sleep.Sure hope the meds start to work.

[MikeMurphy]

Re: Diet for pancreatitis?

The one time Lily had pancreatitis, she was in obvious pain, throwing up and not wanting to eat. The vet gave her tramadol for the pain and Cerenia to ease her stomach.

I fed her boiled chicken breasts and brown rice for about a week and then switched to a low fat dry food. The first few days she didn't want to eat, so I hand fed her the small amount of food she would take and made sure she had plenty of water. It's important not to force them to eat.

Also... tested her BG more frequently and adjusted her insulin down.

Hope Gus starts to feel better.

[jesse girl]

Re: Diet for pancreatitis?

when jesse had a sever case of pancreatitis the vet restricted all food and drinking for 3 days. gave iv fluids and that extended into a week because of the severity. she also was DKA and recovering from emergency surgery

i put jesse on one meal a day hoping with less digestion less strain on the pancreas an opposite approach to more smaller meals .

you definitely want a food thats easy to digest and restrict fat but you may have to withhold food all together for a bit. may need iv fluids so a vet visit maybe needed

if it is pancreatitis its going to take a bit to heal
hope gus feels better soon

[MomofGus]

Re: Diet for pancreatitis?

Thanks for your thoughts. Those are exactly what I was thinking. I'm fixing some boiled overcooked rice with chicken to feed a little tonight if he wants it. He's not vomited now for 7 hours, which is good and means the Reglan meds stayed in his stomach. I'm limiting his drinking because he wants to drink so much at a time.

Yesterday, when we were at the vet, he hadn't vomited. I'm thinking I made mistake in letting him eat his normal meal last night even though he wanted it.
Monitoring his sugar more frequently as well since he only got 1/4 dose this morning. If not improved tomorrow, we'll make another trip to the vet. His regular vet was not in the office and we had to go to another one. He's on Reglan for vomiting,Tramadol for pain, and Amoxicillin.

[jesse girl]

Re: Diet for pancreatitis?

Thanks for your thoughts. Those are exactly what I was thinking. I'm fixing some boiled overcooked rice with chicken to feed a little tonight if he wants it. He's not vomited now for 7 hours, which is good and means the Reglan meds stayed in his stomach. I'm limiting his drinking because he wants to drink so much at a time.

Yesterday, when we were at the vet, he hadn't vomited. I'm thinking I made mistake in letting him eat his normal meal last night even though he wanted it.
Monitoring his sugar more frequently as well since he only got 1/4 dose this morning. If not improved tomorrow, we'll make another trip to the vet. His regular vet was not in the office and we had to go to another one. He's on Reglan for vomiting,Tramadol for pain, and Amoxicillin.

i was thinking that yesterday on feeding .the pain medication may have made that possible but pain medication doesnt mean it corrects the problem and may have made it worse giving the ability to feed when gus maybe should have fasted

just go slow with food gus will be fine not eating full meals .

[MomofGus]

Re: Diet for pancreatitis?

i was thinking that yesterday on feeding .the pain medication may have made that possible but pain medication doesnt mean it corrects the problem and may have made it worse giving the ability to feed when gus maybe should have fasted

just go slow with food gus will be fine not eating full meals .

I agree that I should not have fed him. Hindsight now. Just tested BG and it's down to 429. Also went out and got some ketone sticks. He tested trace. I plan to withhold food tonight even if he is interested, but I have a feeling he won't want anything. He's acting uncomfortable again, an it's still a couple hours before I can give him another Tramadol.

[amydunn19]

Re: Diet for pancreatitis?

You might just try boiled chicken and broth to start. Rice didn't agree with Maggie. Once she recovered, we had her on multiple meals a day. Although the one meal a day worked for jessegirl, Maggie wouldn't have been able to handle it because she would vomit this frothy stuff if she went too long on an empty stomach. It is like her system needed to be working a little all the time. I also found her sugar to be more steady if she ate small amounts of food several times a day. It all depends on what works for each dog - we all attack the problems doing what is best for our dogs. I have no scientific proof but I think little dogs seem to need more frequent meals than larger dogs. Perhaps it is metabolism or something like that.

[Raysaint]

Re: Diet for pancreatitis?

A full meal makes the pancreas work more to digest the food. Making the pancreas work as little as possible is key.
So a few small meals may be better, and that would also spread out the glucose release from the food. That would keep her sugar from spiking, and give you hopefully a flatter curve. And a bit of food every couple hours helps prevent frothy vomit, which is caused by no food. A stomach produces bile if it goes empty for too long.
But you have to assume she'll eat a few meals if you're going to give her her normal full insulin dose.

Keep food as low fat as possible. No red meat, chicken is best. Things like sweet potato and brown rice have the carbs and fiber you need, but no fat.

[amholmesy]

Re: Diet for pancreatitis?

Hi there
My westie CJ suffers on and off pancreatitis so now for the last 4 years I give him 4-6 small meals a day. He has been diabetic since May 2012 and generally he is doing really well. I give him normal amounts of insulin and it works for him. However you need to check blood sugar levels at least twice a day. I always check first thing in morning before food and before his food in evening .
Small amounts of food work better for a dog with pancreatitis .
CJ gets a mixture of food - baby food 3 times a day and two other meals with chicken and vegetables . He won't eat dry food any more . Just goes to show that you need to work out what works for your doggie.
Hope he's feeling better soon

[Lchow022]

Re: Diet for pancreatitis?

My dog was mainly on iv everyday for a whole week when he had pancreatitis. He would stay at the vet the entire day and at night he would have more of an appetite to eat some wet food. I think it's best to keep your dog on iv until he stops vomiting. Or maybe some chicken broth and very very watery food that's smooth and easy to digest.

Sorry to hear..

[bichons9]

Re: Diet for pancreatitis?

I asked DVM if Suzie could eat at 5:30pm rather than at 7 pm..She eats at 7am and 7 pm. No exeptions allowed per DVM. I understand the rationale so ...How do you feed 4 small meals a day.. Maybe Suzie would eat better if we could do this.There has been no diagnosis of pancreatitis but I do wonder???
Feeding Suzie video:Frank feeding Suzie: Insulin dependent Diabetic dog who must eat!!! Start with tsp or in hand or put pieces on floor..If all fails, place in your mouth and then in Suzie's--You do what you have to do!!! NEWS: Adding 1/2 boiled egg this am let her eat herself without assistance!!!
https://www.facebook.com/fran.munsch...07986874507884

[Raysaint]

Re: Diet for pancreatitis?

When you say no diagnosis, do you mean it has been tested for and was negative, or it's a vet's hunch?
Test to be sure!! If it's negative, then you can address the right situation.