Steel (age 10) has a history of high lipase.

Idexx******************1/9/2009****4/17/2009**** 4/30/2009****9/23/2009****4/27/2010
LIPASE(Ref 100-750)886 High****1033 High*******813**********647********3988 High
ALT (SGPT(5-107)********33************39***********44********37*********132 High
AMYLASE(450-1250)*****696******1040*********795********811*********568

4/20 – DS disposed of bacon fat in the back yard because he didn’t know what to do with it. UGH! I discovered what he had done about an hour after it happened. He cleaned it up and received a lecture on how bacon fat could kill a dog.

4/27 – vomited bile, refused food. Took him to the vet. Testing showed very high lipase. Ultrasound was done. Everything was normal. Put on a low fat diet. Mostly good days. DS was given another lecture and a bill for $600.

5/11 – I *thought* he was better. His lipase came back even higher at 4161. I switched his ground turkey to boneless chicken breasts.

5/12 – Fasted. An Idexx Spec cPL was done.

5/13 – Results <30 (Ref < or = 200 ug/L Serum Spec cPL concentration is in the normal range. I haven’t talk to a vet about it yet, because the one that uses and understands the test, wasn’t in today.

I found this on the Idexx site:

A normal Spec cPL lets you:
• Explore alternative causes for the presenting signs (e.g., gastrointestinal obstruction or neoplasia) because a normal Spec cPL is very unlikely in a dog with pancreatitis.
• Save the pet owner and your practice the added worry and expense of diagnosing pancreatitis (e.g., ultrasound). You can focus, instead, on diagnosing and treating the true cause of the clinical signs.

Does anyone have any ideas on what could be causing the high lipase? I would think that the ultrasound would have ruled on an obstruction or neoplasia?

He WAS eating Evo Red Meat and Primal Venison.

His breeder is looking for any old blood work that she may have.

My guess? Acute pancreatis.

An ultrasound may reveal it, but it may not. (Blood tests may reveal it, but may not. Even an MRI may reveal it, but may not. Stealthy stealthy!) What do Steel's feces look like?

You're not that far out, timewise, from the initial event. The pancreas is stubborn. It takes a long time to heal, and it remembers insult more deeply than almost any other organ. The slightest thing can anger it again.

If Steel were my guy, I would boil his chicken (or his turkey) til it's overly dead, strain and rinse it thoroughly to remove as much fat as possible. I don't know what else you're feeding him, but I'd try to mix other no-fat (or very low) foods into the mix as well. Boiled sweet potatoes, boiled oats or rice, green beans, etc. We need to keep him eating and getting nutrients (GI insult can stop a dog from eating. We DON'T want that). But we want his GI tract to go on vacation.

How long of a vacation? Weeks. Months. You may never get that number back to where it was (and he may never go back to a red meat diet). But a few days isn't nearly long enough.

L-carnitine can be helpful for GI tract health. I'd start supplementing that.

And, a consult with an internist is probably a good idea if you can't get control of this pretty soon. Pancreatitis is a serious situation AND it's painful. This is definitely one time when we don't want to mess around at the regular vet's office too long. It can't be cured, but it can be managed. But most regular vets haven't a clue how to do so.

to Steel and Joanne.

So it could still be pancreatitis? I'm kinda relieved. That neoplasia thing sounded scary...

His feces are pretty formed, but orange. The orange could be from the curcumin. I upped it to every day from 3 times a week.

He also eating boiled sweet potatoes or rice (switching from brown), green beans, broccoli, or kale. Nonfat organic yogurt or natural apple sauce. I put everything into the food processor.

I will add the L-Carnitine (I have lots as LJ takes it for her heart). I've been giving him L-Glutamine in apple juice. He's been using Prozyme Plus for a few months.

He's always had weird burps - like barfy burps.

Forgot to say thanks 3K9Mom! I spent a lot of time reading your old posts on pancreatitis.

Poop Report time. I can tell real quick if Lakota is having a Pancreatis flare by the color and consistency of the poop.

This is very painful for the dog. It could take months to really get him stable and even then he will probably always be easily tipped to another flare or attack.

When it happens I don't really fast, but I do cut his meals way back and give him lots of little snacks. The Pancreas is in over drive you really don't want to fast, but lots of low fat to fat free little meals or snacks. Even if you fast the Pancreas is still working overtime, you need to give it something to work on.

I agree with the cooking and rinsing. My crew does better with beef, but we have our beef raised for us. I would not go any more than 50/50 on any grain added to start. I use Oatmeal, over cooked rice (if it is a dog that likes rice), white potato or sweet potato. I would try Oats or Barley before the Sweet Potato right now, the sugar might be harmful at this point.

A neoplasm could be lurking. But it's easier to see a growth in an ultrasound than inflammation.

Are his stools greasy? If you took away curcumin for a few days, would they be yellowy? Classic signs of pancreas upset.

"Acute" pancreatitis is often low-burning pancreatitis that's just looking for a reason to explode. Weird vomity burps and elevated lipase may indicate that he's been doing a slow burn for a while. A scope could tell you if those burps are due to something else. I bet if you consulted with an internist, they'd want to scope him. Not a bad idea, but if the ultrasound didn't show anything obvious and if you can get the symptoms under control with strict diet, I don't know that it's necessary. (I'm not a fan of doing invasive tests just because...)

Strict diet. That's everything, treats and all. Would you like to send DS here for a while just to be sure she doesn't slip up? She's more than welcome!

The pancreatitic pain showed in my dog Robin with a hard and tense belly, hunched up posture, pain face, and panting. The pain was severe. She needed a pain killer injection in the middle of the night. Poop light colored, yellowish/beige.

Is he drinking enough? If you make a skin 'tent' in the shoulder area and let it go, how long does it take for the skin to get back into place? Dehydration/electrolyte imbalance can be an issue in the acute stage, and subq or iv fluids necessary.

My dog Robin kept having flare ups, oddly enough each November, and had to stay on a special diet for the rest of her life. It wasn't easy. This was over twenty years ago. Diagnostics and treatment are more complex now, as I learn from 3K9Mom's and Val's posts.

Get well soon, Steel!

I hope he is going to be ok
hugs to you all

Brady says feel better my friend need you on out next meet up!!

Hey Joanne (sudden thought), what are Steel's kidney values? We want to keep a close eye on those too. If they're not absolutely WNL, we want to start monitoring with regular blood draws and UAs.

On 4/27:
Creatinine (0.4 - 1.8) .09
BUN (7-27) 13

You may be on to something here. He doesn't look as comfortable after a meal with sweet potatoes. I have oatmeal. Will give it a try.

He's not dehydrated. He's a good drinker.

Thanks Dawn!

This made me laugh. Cheers Steel!

I knew someone would find that funny!

Me too!

Joanne - hope he's better very soon!!

I talked to the vet about the Idexx Spec cPL coming back as normal. She said - what I thought - that the lipase is not coming from his pancreas. She admitted that she's never encountered this before and would attempt to find an answer. She's wondering if his body had a very bad reaction to the combination of EVO red meat and Primal venison. That is when I first noticed that something was off. I switched to the fish version, but kept feeding the venison - mostly because I paid $75 for an 8 lb bag (which is now in a landfill some where). I feel terrible and will never, ever try to make the dog fit the food.

Wonder if there are any bacterial issues involved.....

EVO red meat, after two days, decimated my dogs' digestive systems - I don't understand it.

Val, Lori, et al,

Any thoughts if the glucose is also elevated?

With Indy's pancreatits, her glucose wasn't elevated, but her lipase wasn't as far out of range either. I was just thinking that Steel's high glucose was a product of pancreatitis???

Steel's glucose was 136.

He appears to be feeling well. I have to stop googling as I'm driving myself crazy. I was much happier thinking it was pancreatitis.