Phenobarb, BARF & pancreatitis

[Maysie]

Hi all,

Just wondering if there's a link between phenobarb and pancreatitis?

Toby has been suffering vomiting and bad nausea (very restless) yesterday and today. Well no vomitting today but a lot of licking lips and desperate grass eating so we went to the vet anyway to get him checked out and she is worried he might have pancreatitis. She took blood but wont have results until monday. In the meantime she gave him an anti-vomit injection which should last 24 hrs. He is very depressed and not himself His tummy is rumbling a bit and feels tight.

I also recently (around 2 months ago) switched him to a part BARF diet and the Vet thought maybe this was too fatty and might be linked. If so, i will be very diappointed as he has never been so happy and energergetic and playful in his whole life as he has been since ive been feeding BARF - even while taking the medication.

Anyway, if anyone has had a similar experience or any other knowledge about pancreatitis would love to hear from you Thanks

Maysie

[Gentle Jacob's mom]

Hi Maysie,
I'm sorry to hear that Toby's having a bad day. We haven't had a problem with Jake's Pbr, or the raw diet he's on. He eats Paw Naturaw and Primal. I don't know if you've seen this yet, but on the Canine-Epilepsy-Guardian-Angels.com website there is information on the connections between pancreatitis and medications.
Let us know how you're doing,
Take Care,

Linda

Gentle Jacob 5 year old Australian Shepherds
First seizure 10/04/10
Last seizure 05/06/10

[MK's mom]

I don't know if pancreatitis is linked to Pb, but it is certainly linked to KBr. I hope that's not what your pup has!!

[Maysie]

Hi there!

Thanks for your advice and well wishes.... turns out all Toby's bloods came back normal! And he was much better in the days after. So the vet cleared us for any liver/ kidney/ pancreas probs - yay! we also checked his pheno levels which she was happy with at 65.

unfortunately last night he had a seizure - so we made it 2 days short of 7 weeks. Not bad but last time we made it 8 weeks and we also increased his dose since then I suppose the upside is that he was so quiet we didnt hear it happen, only noticed when he came out acting very 'post ictal'. As we didnt hear it and there was no urination (i only found foaming), i am hoping it may have been milder than the usual. being 42 kg, i usually hear him thumping and thrashing but i didnt last night. So trying to find the positive

Oh - one thing which has worried me though.... he tries to chew things manically in the post ictal stage. Last night we discovered he'd ingested about 15cm of his coat cord - like the cord in hooded jumpers or tracksuit pants. Almost like a bit of 5mm diameter rope but shiny so must be polyester. I hasnt come out the other end yet but should i be worried? Its been 14 hours. He slept through the night soundly so no vomitting or distress. And this morn, despite some excessive urination, he seems pretty normal. maybe a bit restless. I couldnt see the cord in his morning stools....

Does anyone else's dogs chew things madly post ictal?! Its very strange.

Any thanks again for listening (reading)
Hope you and your furry friends are all doing well!

Maysie & Tobes x