Can managing a dog's EPI really cost $500 a month for treatment?

Here is a website with information on EPI. If your dog has the disease than he would need to have digestive enzyme replacement, like Viokase-V. He may also need an antibiotic, metronidazole, and vit B12 injections. Adding a probiotic to his diet may help, too. Without having a vet to diagnose and treat the disease will make it hard to manage. http://www.allshepherdrescue.com/info/display?PageID=9888

EPI can be a very frustrating condition to manage, weekly B12 injections, a hydrolyzed diet such as royal canin hypoallergenic and lypex supplement all help to control symptoms and maintain weight but any treats or stolen snacs can be expected to create flare ups

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There are really no good at home remedies for this. She just needs to be supplemented with the appropriate pancreatic enzymes that she lacks. Usually this is easy and straightforward to treat. Good luck and have a great day!

Not all dogs with EPI require B12 inj or supplementation but I would recommend it for any dog which is not maintaining their weight despite treatment. I also recommend feeding a highly digestible, hydrolysed diet such as royal canin hypoallergenic in these patients as it requires much less digestion by the pancreas than other diets and can compensate for reduced function

There are a number of pancreatic supplements on the market. Some of the really inexpensive ones do not seem to work as well as the more expensive ones and since we don't yet have a diagnosis on Dexter, I would start with a proven product first to see if it works. (If it does, you could consider changing to a less expensive product later to see if it works as well.) The least expensive company I have found that has a good quality product is Enzyme Diane. http://www.enzymediane.com/ordersusa.htm The dosage instruction is based on the amount of food fed because you mix the enzymes into each meal. So, I would follow their recommendations for dosing instructions. If you go with a different product, I normally recommend dosing a dog at their ideal body weight, so I would dose Dexter at a 70 pound dose. Good luck with Dexter! I hope that helps! Thanks for using PetCoach.

Thank you for your post regarding Wally! I am sorry to hear that he has Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency. This can be managed and it sounds like your vet has you on the right path for treatment. However, I am not familiar with Pancreatin and I know that it is a human formulation. I would suggest switching to a veterinary-specific pancreatic powder such as Pancreved, Panakare or Pancrezyme. The doses for these are specifically labelled on each of the bottles. The origin of the enzymes in the veterinary-specific enzymatic powders are different from that of the human formulations, which is why I would encourage you to use one of the powders mentioned above. I hope this guides you in the right direction. Please do feel free to contact me with any further questions / concerns.

Princess has probably been diabetic for a while (possibly many months). When the diabetes continues on untreated, the dogs can become ketotic. If she still has a good appetite, the she may be able to start insulin shots, anti-nausea medications, pain medications, etc. at home without needing specialized hospitalization. If she is very ill, her best chances are in the hospital. You always have the option of declining in-hospital treatment and trying to treat at home, but you may not always be successful. You should discuss all available options with your vet, even if the outcome is not ideal or leads to a poor prognosis. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a very serious problem in pets and causes life-threatening abnormalities. They need aggressive IV fluid therapy and a special type of insulin to slowly decrease their blood glucose and manage them through the many ups and downs. The monitoring and hands-on-vet care required means high bills. Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas - the organ that regulates insulin) is very common in diabetic dogs, and can make things harder to treat since it causes intense pain and nausea. Your vet probably also warned you that having a diabetic dog is expensive since she will need regular vet visits, blood glucose monitoring, insulin and the syringes to administer it, a change in diet, etc.