calculating proper enzyme dosage

A

amber682

New member
I've seen someone post in the past about a certain formula used to decide how much enzymes a person needs. Sorry to be so vague but I can not remember who posted it or what the formula was.

Anyone know how the doctors decide how much someone needs? I believe my son's enzymes need to be increased but the doctors said he's already on a pretty high dose for such a little guy. He weighs 26 lbs. and takes 3 Creon 10's.
 
A

amber682

New member
I've seen someone post in the past about a certain formula used to decide how much enzymes a person needs. Sorry to be so vague but I can not remember who posted it or what the formula was.

Anyone know how the doctors decide how much someone needs? I believe my son's enzymes need to be increased but the doctors said he's already on a pretty high dose for such a little guy. He weighs 26 lbs. and takes 3 Creon 10's.
 
A

amber682

New member
I've seen someone post in the past about a certain formula used to decide how much enzymes a person needs. Sorry to be so vague but I can not remember who posted it or what the formula was.

Anyone know how the doctors decide how much someone needs? I believe my son's enzymes need to be increased but the doctors said he's already on a pretty high dose for such a little guy. He weighs 26 lbs. and takes 3 Creon 10's.
 
K

ktsmom

New member
I remember reading that somewhere, too, but I don't recall the specifics, sorry.

Katy is about 33 pounds and takes 2 Creon 10's with meals and 1 with snacks. She also takes Prevacid once a day - as I understand it the Prevacid is supposed to help her Creons do their work. If we miss her Prevacid, I can REALLY tell a difference in her BM's. So we don't miss her Prevacid anymore (LOL!)

Also, I thought the Creon dosage was more of an art - touchy feely, see how the BM's are, kindof thing. But I know the consequences of overdoing are very severe. And did you see someone's recent post about the Creon being the worst for the kidneys? Aaargh! Too much worry already!!

What's going on that makes you think his need to be increased?

Dana
Mom to Katy (3, cf) and Kyra (6, no cf)
 
K

ktsmom

New member
I remember reading that somewhere, too, but I don't recall the specifics, sorry.

Katy is about 33 pounds and takes 2 Creon 10's with meals and 1 with snacks. She also takes Prevacid once a day - as I understand it the Prevacid is supposed to help her Creons do their work. If we miss her Prevacid, I can REALLY tell a difference in her BM's. So we don't miss her Prevacid anymore (LOL!)

Also, I thought the Creon dosage was more of an art - touchy feely, see how the BM's are, kindof thing. But I know the consequences of overdoing are very severe. And did you see someone's recent post about the Creon being the worst for the kidneys? Aaargh! Too much worry already!!

What's going on that makes you think his need to be increased?

Dana
Mom to Katy (3, cf) and Kyra (6, no cf)
 
K

ktsmom

New member
I remember reading that somewhere, too, but I don't recall the specifics, sorry.

Katy is about 33 pounds and takes 2 Creon 10's with meals and 1 with snacks. She also takes Prevacid once a day - as I understand it the Prevacid is supposed to help her Creons do their work. If we miss her Prevacid, I can REALLY tell a difference in her BM's. So we don't miss her Prevacid anymore (LOL!)

Also, I thought the Creon dosage was more of an art - touchy feely, see how the BM's are, kindof thing. But I know the consequences of overdoing are very severe. And did you see someone's recent post about the Creon being the worst for the kidneys? Aaargh! Too much worry already!!

What's going on that makes you think his need to be increased?

Dana
Mom to Katy (3, cf) and Kyra (6, no cf)
 
W

welshgirl

New member
joe takes creon 10000 ( 150 mg) he takes one creon per kilo of bodywieght. for joe thats about 26 creon a day. it will be different in the us though. ( iv'e put this on for brits <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> )
 
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welshgirl

New member
joe takes creon 10000 ( 150 mg) he takes one creon per kilo of bodywieght. for joe thats about 26 creon a day. it will be different in the us though. ( iv'e put this on for brits <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> )
 
W

welshgirl

New member
joe takes creon 10000 ( 150 mg) he takes one creon per kilo of bodywieght. for joe thats about 26 creon a day. it will be different in the us though. ( iv'e put this on for brits <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0"> )
 
F

folione

New member
We figure enzyme dosing for our 3 year old son based on the number of fat calories in what he's eating. Our standard we measure against is the dosing he uses with whole milk. Lately we've been adjusting downward because he switched from zantac to prevacid and seems to need less enzymes now. I think everybody w/CF is different, but for reference our boy takes 2 Creon 10s with breakfast consisting of about 8-10 ounces of whole milk plus something like a cereal/fruit bar or pancakes; if he eats bacon we usually give him another 1/2 or 1 capsule. (But like I said, this dosing seems to need adjusting down now).

His CF Doctor, meanwhile, thinks we're obsessive to do this: she says it's not an exact science and we could just go for X number for "big" meals and half that for "snacks" and zero for fat-free things.
 
F

folione

New member
We figure enzyme dosing for our 3 year old son based on the number of fat calories in what he's eating. Our standard we measure against is the dosing he uses with whole milk. Lately we've been adjusting downward because he switched from zantac to prevacid and seems to need less enzymes now. I think everybody w/CF is different, but for reference our boy takes 2 Creon 10s with breakfast consisting of about 8-10 ounces of whole milk plus something like a cereal/fruit bar or pancakes; if he eats bacon we usually give him another 1/2 or 1 capsule. (But like I said, this dosing seems to need adjusting down now).

His CF Doctor, meanwhile, thinks we're obsessive to do this: she says it's not an exact science and we could just go for X number for "big" meals and half that for "snacks" and zero for fat-free things.
 
F

folione

New member
We figure enzyme dosing for our 3 year old son based on the number of fat calories in what he's eating. Our standard we measure against is the dosing he uses with whole milk. Lately we've been adjusting downward because he switched from zantac to prevacid and seems to need less enzymes now. I think everybody w/CF is different, but for reference our boy takes 2 Creon 10s with breakfast consisting of about 8-10 ounces of whole milk plus something like a cereal/fruit bar or pancakes; if he eats bacon we usually give him another 1/2 or 1 capsule. (But like I said, this dosing seems to need adjusting down now).

His CF Doctor, meanwhile, thinks we're obsessive to do this: she says it's not an exact science and we could just go for X number for "big" meals and half that for "snacks" and zero for fat-free things.
 
B

blopunky

New member
my son is taking Pancrease MT16's-4 with meals and 1-2 with snacks depending on the snack size. it seems that here lately he's had more smell (bm odor)and i'm thinking we may need to up it. i never see these mentioned, are they not used much?
blopunky's mom
 
B

blopunky

New member
my son is taking Pancrease MT16's-4 with meals and 1-2 with snacks depending on the snack size. it seems that here lately he's had more smell (bm odor)and i'm thinking we may need to up it. i never see these mentioned, are they not used much?
blopunky's mom
 
B

blopunky

New member
my son is taking Pancrease MT16's-4 with meals and 1-2 with snacks depending on the snack size. it seems that here lately he's had more smell (bm odor)and i'm thinking we may need to up it. i never see these mentioned, are they not used much?
blopunky's mom
 
R

Ratatosk

Administrator
Staff member
When DS was still on formula, we had more of a problem with fluffy loose stools. We were basically told "we'd know" based on his poo how many to give him. We were also told that zantac and other acid reducers help to make the enzymes work better -- help keep the stomach acid down, so they reach the intestines, where they do their work.

DS has been more of a snack monster lately. Used to be he'd eat a couple of pretzels, some juice, a pickle, maybe a package of fruit snacks after daycare, so I wouldn't worry too much about enzymes. Lately he wants peanuts or sunflower nuts, milk... Last night he was wandering around with a hershey bar. He NEVER eats candy and I looked and half of it was gone. So gave him an enzyme, then he wanted milk, so gave him another. What bothers me the most is the lack of science. That there is no formula -- it's based on what goes in and determined by what comes out.
 
R

Ratatosk

Administrator
Staff member
When DS was still on formula, we had more of a problem with fluffy loose stools. We were basically told "we'd know" based on his poo how many to give him. We were also told that zantac and other acid reducers help to make the enzymes work better -- help keep the stomach acid down, so they reach the intestines, where they do their work.

DS has been more of a snack monster lately. Used to be he'd eat a couple of pretzels, some juice, a pickle, maybe a package of fruit snacks after daycare, so I wouldn't worry too much about enzymes. Lately he wants peanuts or sunflower nuts, milk... Last night he was wandering around with a hershey bar. He NEVER eats candy and I looked and half of it was gone. So gave him an enzyme, then he wanted milk, so gave him another. What bothers me the most is the lack of science. That there is no formula -- it's based on what goes in and determined by what comes out.
 
R

Ratatosk

Administrator
Staff member
When DS was still on formula, we had more of a problem with fluffy loose stools. We were basically told "we'd know" based on his poo how many to give him. We were also told that zantac and other acid reducers help to make the enzymes work better -- help keep the stomach acid down, so they reach the intestines, where they do their work.

DS has been more of a snack monster lately. Used to be he'd eat a couple of pretzels, some juice, a pickle, maybe a package of fruit snacks after daycare, so I wouldn't worry too much about enzymes. Lately he wants peanuts or sunflower nuts, milk... Last night he was wandering around with a hershey bar. He NEVER eats candy and I looked and half of it was gone. So gave him an enzyme, then he wanted milk, so gave him another. What bothers me the most is the lack of science. That there is no formula -- it's based on what goes in and determined by what comes out.
 
Z

zoe4life

New member
Zoe is 2 1/2 yr. weighs 26 pounds. She takes 5 Creon 5's with meals, 3 with snacks. We always give her whole milk mixed with 1/2 & 1/2. For snacks we give her cheese, olives, anything higher in fat. She eats either french toast, pancakes or eggs w/cheese and 2-3 slices of bacon for breakfast. She has pretty bad pancreatic issues, she had a feeding tube when first diagnosed just to catch up. Now we load her up with as much fat, protein & calories as we can. We watch her stools very closely, easily done since she is still in diapers. We have a notebook that we have kept since diagnosis. It has time,creon#, food, stools (time, consist., color, size), antibiotic time, neb, cpt, zantac, vitamax times. We also write any different behavior, signs of sickness, changes at all. This has been extremely helpful for us, anytime there is a change, we can look back at her chart to see what might be going on. We were told that a Creon 5 covers 2-3 grams of fat. We have found it easier just to watch her stools. About 3 months ago (she was taking 4 Creon5's then) she started having more stools per per day and the yellow-orange oil. So we called her nutritionist, who agreed we needed to increase. So for now, that is where we are. Hope this helps!
Jada
Zoe's mom
 
Z

zoe4life

New member
Zoe is 2 1/2 yr. weighs 26 pounds. She takes 5 Creon 5's with meals, 3 with snacks. We always give her whole milk mixed with 1/2 & 1/2. For snacks we give her cheese, olives, anything higher in fat. She eats either french toast, pancakes or eggs w/cheese and 2-3 slices of bacon for breakfast. She has pretty bad pancreatic issues, she had a feeding tube when first diagnosed just to catch up. Now we load her up with as much fat, protein & calories as we can. We watch her stools very closely, easily done since she is still in diapers. We have a notebook that we have kept since diagnosis. It has time,creon#, food, stools (time, consist., color, size), antibiotic time, neb, cpt, zantac, vitamax times. We also write any different behavior, signs of sickness, changes at all. This has been extremely helpful for us, anytime there is a change, we can look back at her chart to see what might be going on. We were told that a Creon 5 covers 2-3 grams of fat. We have found it easier just to watch her stools. About 3 months ago (she was taking 4 Creon5's then) she started having more stools per per day and the yellow-orange oil. So we called her nutritionist, who agreed we needed to increase. So for now, that is where we are. Hope this helps!
Jada
Zoe's mom
 
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