|
Welcome to the YorkieTalk.com Forums Community - the community for Yorkshire Terriers. You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. You will be able to chat with over 35,000 YorkieTalk members, read over 2,000,000 posted discussions, and view more than 15,000 Yorkie photos in the YorkieTalk Photo Gallery after you register. We would love to have you as a member! Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today! If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please click here to contact us. |
|
| LinkBack | Thread Tools |
11-07-2012, 07:11 AM | #1 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Roswell, GA USA
Posts: 61
| Need advice please - very sick yorkie My yorkie, Kirby, has had health problems since the day I got him at age 2. He's a rescue. He's currently 5 and he's very sick right now. He had been having periodic seizures about every 6 months, and his quality of life was just fine. Then he had two a couple weeks ago and he's been going downhill since. They put him on phenobarb. He's now developed pancreatitis and he had two more seizures. While they were testing him for that, I asked them to do a bile acid test. It came back high and they referred me over to a specialist this morning. A specialist that I can't really afford, but I'm taking him anyways. They told me to start with the neurologist and go from there. He has an appointment next Tuesday. If we're looking at a potential liver shunt situation here - what are my options? Would surgery be effective? What kind of tests should they do on him? And, what things can I do between now and Tuesday to help my little guy? I just need some advice so I go in there able to make an informed decision. |
Welcome Guest! | |
11-07-2012, 02:36 PM | #2 | |
Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: USA
Posts: 7,652
| Quote:
__________________ The Above advice/comments/reviews are my personal opinions based on my own experience/education/investigation and research and you can take them any way you want to......Or NOT!!! | |
11-07-2012, 03:13 PM | #3 |
Resident Yorkie Nut Donating YT 20K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas
Posts: 27,451
| Not sure why they would advise a neurologist for starters; but I am not a vet nor do I know the full history. It just seems logical to me that an internal med specialist might be the place to start since he had elevated BATs. Whatever you do, I wish you the best and will say a prayer for your Kirby.
__________________ |
11-07-2012, 03:18 PM | #4 |
Donating YT 30K Club Member | I hope you can get some answers and it is nothing serious. Do you know what his bike acid test results were? Generally if they are under 100 post it can mean MVD (internal shunt) and can usually be treated with medicine and diet. My Cali has MVD and all I have to do is keep her on a low protein diet. I will keep Kirby in my prayers.
__________________ Cali Pixie Roxie : RIP Nikki; RIP Maya;RIP my sweet Dixie girl 1/17/08 http://callipuppyscastle.bravehost.com/index.html |
11-07-2012, 04:27 PM | #5 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Roswell, GA USA
Posts: 61
| I called and got the bile acid results: pre meal was 20.6 (reference <10) post meal was 53.7 (reference <20) I also called the specialist back and told them I wanted to see internal medicine instead of neurology. They said they had not received the results of his bile acid test yet and assumed he was being referred for his seizures. I'm being told since he has both pancreas and liver problems right now, he needs both a low fat and a low protein food. They gave me RC Gastrointestinal low fat. I'm not a fan because it looks like corn pops to me, but they said it would help him, so I'm going with it. So is MVD a different kind of shunt that doesn't require surgery? Is it something they find on an ultrasound? Sorry, Google is not helping me much with this. |
11-08-2012, 08:10 AM | #6 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Roswell, GA USA
Posts: 61
| I received a fax copy of the lab work today and his pre meal bile acids were 28.6, not 20.6. I must have misunderstood them on the phone. |
11-08-2012, 01:48 PM | #7 | |
I♥PeekTinkySaph&Finny Donating Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Posts: 18,866
| Quote:
Maybe a neuro would be a better choice to find out why he seizes... MVD does not usually cause seizures by itself.
__________________ Kat Chloe Lizzy PeekABooTinkerbell SapphireInfinity | |
11-08-2012, 02:28 PM | #8 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Roswell, GA USA
Posts: 61
| I said the same thing to the vet about pheno and his liver - but they told me that since he'd only been on it for two weeks, it would not have caused the liver values to be off. They told me that pheno is metabolized in the liver but liver damage would only occur with long term usage. I'm not an expert though. He only has 2-3 seizures a year usually, and I actually called the vet on Monday to take him off the pheno. In the 2 weeks he's been on it, his health has severely deteriorated. They told me to keep him on it, but by Tuesday he was vomiting and lethargic and I took him to the vet. That's when he was diagnosed with pancreatitis and I asked for the bile acid test. Honestly, I wasn't that concerned with the seizures, and his other health problems come and go... but in the last couple weeks he's become sicker than I've ever seen him. |
11-08-2012, 07:42 PM | #9 |
Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: USA
Posts: 7,652
| MVD Again I have no experience with this but did find this site with what seems like some good info.
__________________ The Above advice/comments/reviews are my personal opinions based on my own experience/education/investigation and research and you can take them any way you want to......Or NOT!!! |
11-08-2012, 09:39 PM | #10 |
Resident Yorkie Nut Donating YT 20K Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas
Posts: 27,451
| Here is some information about MVD from the Academy of Veterinary Surgeons: ACVS - Hepatic Microvascular Dysplasia or Portal Atresia I would still start with Internal Medicine, but that is only my opinion....if you go to a facility that has all specialties they can refer you to neuro if needed. I would discuss this with your vet.
__________________ |
11-09-2012, 01:57 AM | #11 | |
I♥PeekTinkySaph&Finny Donating Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Posts: 18,866
| Quote:
Diagnosis of Portosystemic Shunts
__________________ Kat Chloe Lizzy PeekABooTinkerbell SapphireInfinity | |
Bookmarks |
|
|
| |
|
|
SHOP NOW: Amazon :: eBay :: Buy.com :: Newegg :: PetStore :: Petco :: PetSmart