HELP, Please read - YorkieTalk.com Forums

psvidesigner · 03-31-2007, 07:47 AM

We have Icky, a little yorkie rescue. He has been with us for about 11 weeks. 2 1/2 years old, 4.2 pounds. We have no medical history other than the tests that we have results for. His alt is 45 U/L and that is in the normal range but a little high. So I had a bile acid test that indicated liver disfunction. Pre 14.0 and post 47.0. The next step was to the neurologist to rule out epilepsy b/c of his frequent petite and grandmal seizure. About 1 ever week to ten days for the grandmal seizure. The petitemals are all day long. The ticks can be so strong they flip his body upside down. We had ultrasound and some blood work done on Thursday. Some of the blood work results are not in (will have Monday) but they have ruled out liver shunt. After we have results of blood work and it does not point to anything specific we are headed back to the neuro Vet. Here are some of the symptons:
His head sways back and fourth from side to side (like a parkinson sympton).
Unsure of his balance. He will lift his paw and test his bed and carefully/cautiously. It looks like a balance thing again.
Fast walk around furniture over and over but not in the same direction.
He rubs his face along the furniture like he is wiping his snout.
Sleeps alot. Appetite is up and down. His back is slightly arched and he prances when he walks.

Does anyone experience these symptons? Or a majority of them? What was your diagnosis?
I am so anxious to find out what is wrong. It is breaking our hearts to see him this way. We just want a normal happy life for him. He has been shifted around to so many environments b/c no one wanted to deal with his problems.
Thank you so much for reading such a long thread. We are so sad and frustrated.

ldenise · 03-31-2007, 08:20 PM

poor baby! I hope they can find out what is wrong with him and can cure it. I don't know any thing to help you, I just wanted to bump this up for you. I will be watching for an update. we are praying for you Icky!

peanut · 03-31-2007, 08:24 PM

I am so sorry, sounds like liver shunt

peanut · 03-31-2007, 08:25 PM

I know they ruled it out but thats what mine did when we found out he had a liver shunt...does he drink alot of water...

doortego · 03-31-2007, 09:15 PM

No information to offer just want to commend you for your efforts on his behalf.

psvidesigner · 04-01-2007, 06:46 AM

No he does not drink a lot of water. Just the opposite. Now he is walking sideways and slightly triping over his front two legs. Everything just seems to be getting worse. They were talking about possible ALI but we did not have x rays yet. We will know more tomorrow on the blood work that was not finished on Friday.
I did want to know what symptons anyone has experienced with mvd? If this is what he has, his symptons are extreme. Thanks everyone.

Chato's Mama · 04-01-2007, 11:04 AM

i agree with the other girls. Sounds like a liver shunt. I had me baby operated not long ago PM me if you have any questions I became sort of an expert in liver shunt!

good luck.

Yorkieluv · 04-01-2007, 12:51 PM

From what I understand, symptoms of MVD are practically the same as liver shunt symptoms...He may have some other kind of liver disease...Did you ever try going to the liver shunt/mvd support group? They really have so much info there. They may be able to help give advice. It's a different kind of forum, it's more like an emailing list and takes awhile to get used to. I didn't post until 2 weeks after I joined b/c I couldn't get the hang of it, but eventually, I got it. Good luck with your baby!

psvidesigner · 04-02-2007, 08:20 AM

Well we have the blood work back and the vet said to go back to the neurologist. Her recommendation is to start anti-convulsant meds. HOWEVER...the neurologist is out of town until Wednesday. UGH! Everyday we wait is an eternity. Please pray that he may get the message and call back sooner.

lapi's yorkies · 04-02-2007, 08:52 AM

I got a puppy from a local breeder at 7 weeks (my mistake) and with no vet health certificate (I knew her personally). She gave me the puppy with pills in a ziplock bag and said it was for stress she never told me what the pills were for(but I trusted her). Once I stopped giving her the pills the seizures started maybe it was a coincidence. They were grandmal seizures every 3 days and little twitching ones with some foaming everyday. The puppy would walk around the house holding itself up with the wall and an arched back. I rushed it to the vet and she was there for overnight watch it was not hypoglycemia (as the breeder insisted) it was not liver shunt all the test were negative. The neurologist siad it could be Ideopathic epilepsy which means no underlying cause for it or epilepsy with an underlying cause. The neurologist tended to think that because of her age it was not ideopathic (that tends to happen in older puppies/dogs. She felt that it was congenital Neurological problem or a brain mass I started the puppy on seizure meds and it didnt work. So I contacted the breeder and the breeder refused to pay for the vet bills I only had the puppy for 10 days. I did get a letter from the vet saying it was an open diagnosis that needed further testing and she still refused she did give me the $ for the puppy back and told me she would euthanize the puppy. For months I have been heartbroken and I am still paying for the vet bills. The vet did tell me that I was looking at $3000 to $5000 I just couldnt afford it. After this I did get insurance. My prayers are with you because it is a very hard thing to go through. I am praying that your baby comes out of this fine

Mybabe4me · 04-02-2007, 05:54 PM

This might help this might not. I have a little guy you can find his story here many times on this forum. He is Babybear he suffered from a few of the same symtoms as your baby. He would have these weird seuzire things but not all the time. Any ways ask your Neuro to check on AAI(Atlantoaxial Instability) this is done with a x-ray. This goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. You can find more info on this defect on Petplace.com that is where I found it thanks to a good YTer. This is what happened to my little guy and he ended up braking his neck. I am also involved with another group that helps parents with congenital defects and it sounds like this might be a congenital defect. If you would like some more help or need someone to talk to you can go to
Yahoo. And put in Congenitaldogs@yahoo.com and that is where we are at. We try to research the problems and help the parents cope with everything because we all on group have gone through so much also. And you don't have to wait for a response you get one really quick and a lot more to go with it. And it is not just for AAI babies it is MVD,Livershunts,Hydrocephalus,Cancer,etc. If you have any questions about AAI please don't hesitate to ask I will help out as much as possible.

psvidesigner · 04-12-2007, 04:25 PM

Good news! This is the second day of his treatment plan of antibiotics, lactulose, marin and LD. Only one seizure today! this poor little man has been having seizures forever. Sometimes all day long. I am sure he will be looking forward to a solid night of sleep

. We are all

Yorkieluv · 04-12-2007, 04:37 PM

Glad to hear your baby had a good day today! What antibiotics did the vet put him on?

teffiemoore · 04-15-2007, 11:06 AM

Wow, thats alot better!!! So..was his ammonia levels high from the liver?? Is that why they gave the lactulose???? I'm just curious..when these are high, they can produce seizures and it all stems from the liver???

psvidesigner · 04-15-2007, 02:43 PM

At this point I am convinced that this was the toxic ammonia in his blood stream. It goes to the brain and causes seizures. I suspected that because his alt level was high and he was seizuring, that I should have a serum bile acid test. The written evaluation was shunt or other liver disorders. This is quite the long story. He is a rescue and we have been on a rollercoaster. If you want the whole story you can pm me. It is a long one.... Since he has been on a full treatment (as of this past Tuesday) to help the liver and his seizures are almost gone. He even looks better. His eyes and overall deamner. We are happy!!!!

03-31-2007, 07:47 AM	#1
psvidesigner YT Addict Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 286	HELP, Please read We have Icky, a little yorkie rescue. He has been with us for about 11 weeks. 2 1/2 years old, 4.2 pounds. We have no medical history other than the tests that we have results for. His alt is 45 U/L and that is in the normal range but a little high. So I had a bile acid test that indicated liver disfunction. Pre 14.0 and post 47.0. The next step was to the neurologist to rule out epilepsy b/c of his frequent petite and grandmal seizure. About 1 ever week to ten days for the grandmal seizure. The petitemals are all day long. The ticks can be so strong they flip his body upside down. We had ultrasound and some blood work done on Thursday. Some of the blood work results are not in (will have Monday) but they have ruled out liver shunt. After we have results of blood work and it does not point to anything specific we are headed back to the neuro Vet. Here are some of the symptons: His head sways back and fourth from side to side (like a parkinson sympton). Unsure of his balance. He will lift his paw and test his bed and carefully/cautiously. It looks like a balance thing again. Fast walk around furniture over and over but not in the same direction. He rubs his face along the furniture like he is wiping his snout. Sleeps alot. Appetite is up and down. His back is slightly arched and he prances when he walks. Does anyone experience these symptons? Or a majority of them? What was your diagnosis? I am so anxious to find out what is wrong. It is breaking our hearts to see him this way. We just want a normal happy life for him. He has been shifted around to so many environments b/c no one wanted to deal with his problems. Thank you so much for reading such a long thread. We are so sad and frustrated.

03-31-2007, 08:20 PM	#2
ldenise YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Rancho Viejo, Tx Posts: 2,690	poor baby! I hope they can find out what is wrong with him and can cure it. I don't know any thing to help you, I just wanted to bump this up for you. I will be watching for an update. we are praying for you Icky! __________________ Buckeye, Ahia, Tressie, Archie & LDenise Dogs are really people with short legs in fur coats

03-31-2007, 08:24 PM	#3
peanut Dogs Rule Cats Drool! Donating Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Tennessee Posts: 6,267	I am so sorry, sounds like liver shunt __________________ KIM http://dogster.com/?307164 http://dogster.com/?375879The Monkeys http://www.photoshow.com/watch/PH5fy9Ff

03-31-2007, 08:25 PM	#4
peanut Dogs Rule Cats Drool! Donating Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Tennessee Posts: 6,267	I know they ruled it out but thats what mine did when we found out he had a liver shunt...does he drink alot of water... __________________ KIM http://dogster.com/?307164 http://dogster.com/?375879The Monkeys http://www.photoshow.com/watch/PH5fy9Ff

04-01-2007, 12:51 PM	#8
Yorkieluv Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,821	From what I understand, symptoms of MVD are practically the same as liver shunt symptoms...He may have some other kind of liver disease...Did you ever try going to the liver shunt/mvd support group? They really have so much info there. They may be able to help give advice. It's a different kind of forum, it's more like an emailing list and takes awhile to get used to. I didn't post until 2 weeks after I joined b/c I couldn't get the hang of it, but eventually, I got it. Good luck with your baby! __________________ Miko 's his Mommy

03-31-2007, 09:15 PM	#5
doortego Little Bit & Buttons Donating Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 2,098	No information to offer just want to commend you for your efforts on his behalf.

04-01-2007, 06:46 AM	#6
psvidesigner YT Addict Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 286	No he does not drink a lot of water. Just the opposite. Now he is walking sideways and slightly triping over his front two legs. Everything just seems to be getting worse. They were talking about possible ALI but we did not have x rays yet. We will know more tomorrow on the blood work that was not finished on Friday. I did want to know what symptons anyone has experienced with mvd? If this is what he has, his symptons are extreme. Thanks everyone.

04-01-2007, 11:04 AM	#7
Chato's Mama Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: kentucky Posts: 128	i agree with the other girls. Sounds like a liver shunt. I had me baby operated not long ago PM me if you have any questions I became sort of an expert in liver shunt! good luck.

04-02-2007, 08:20 AM	#9
psvidesigner YT Addict Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 286	update Well we have the blood work back and the vet said to go back to the neurologist. Her recommendation is to start anti-convulsant meds. HOWEVER...the neurologist is out of town until Wednesday. UGH! Everyday we wait is an eternity. Please pray that he may get the message and call back sooner.

04-02-2007, 08:52 AM	#10
lapi's yorkies Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 71	Praying for you I got a puppy from a local breeder at 7 weeks (my mistake) and with no vet health certificate (I knew her personally). She gave me the puppy with pills in a ziplock bag and said it was for stress she never told me what the pills were for(but I trusted her). Once I stopped giving her the pills the seizures started maybe it was a coincidence. They were grandmal seizures every 3 days and little twitching ones with some foaming everyday. The puppy would walk around the house holding itself up with the wall and an arched back. I rushed it to the vet and she was there for overnight watch it was not hypoglycemia (as the breeder insisted) it was not liver shunt all the test were negative. The neurologist siad it could be Ideopathic epilepsy which means no underlying cause for it or epilepsy with an underlying cause. The neurologist tended to think that because of her age it was not ideopathic (that tends to happen in older puppies/dogs. She felt that it was congenital Neurological problem or a brain mass I started the puppy on seizure meds and it didnt work. So I contacted the breeder and the breeder refused to pay for the vet bills I only had the puppy for 10 days. I did get a letter from the vet saying it was an open diagnosis that needed further testing and she still refused she did give me the $ for the puppy back and told me she would euthanize the puppy. For months I have been heartbroken and I am still paying for the vet bills. The vet did tell me that I was looking at $3000 to $5000 I just couldnt afford it. After this I did get insurance. My prayers are with you because it is a very hard thing to go through. I am praying that your baby comes out of this fine __________________ Lapi Proud mommy of Tyler Tiffany and Chloe my new baby

04-02-2007, 05:54 PM	#11
Mybabe4me YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Maine Posts: 596	This might help this might not. I have a little guy you can find his story here many times on this forum. He is Babybear he suffered from a few of the same symtoms as your baby. He would have these weird seuzire things but not all the time. Any ways ask your Neuro to check on AAI(Atlantoaxial Instability) this is done with a x-ray. This goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. You can find more info on this defect on Petplace.com that is where I found it thanks to a good YTer. This is what happened to my little guy and he ended up braking his neck. I am also involved with another group that helps parents with congenital defects and it sounds like this might be a congenital defect. If you would like some more help or need someone to talk to you can go to Yahoo. And put in Congenitaldogs@yahoo.com and that is where we are at. We try to research the problems and help the parents cope with everything because we all on group have gone through so much also. And you don't have to wait for a response you get one really quick and a lot more to go with it. And it is not just for AAI babies it is MVD,Livershunts,Hydrocephalus,Cancer,etc. If you have any questions about AAI please don't hesitate to ask I will help out as much as possible. __________________ Val and Babybear http://www.dogster.com/dogs/136060[/url]

04-12-2007, 04:25 PM	#12
psvidesigner YT Addict Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 286	hip hip huray!!!! Good news! This is the second day of his treatment plan of antibiotics, lactulose, marin and LD. Only one seizure today! this poor little man has been having seizures forever. Sometimes all day long. I am sure he will be looking forward to a solid night of sleep . We are all

04-12-2007, 04:37 PM	#13
Yorkieluv Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,821	Glad to hear your baby had a good day today! What antibiotics did the vet put him on? __________________ Miko 's his Mommy

04-15-2007, 11:06 AM	#14
teffiemoore Donating Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Texas Posts: 718	Wow, thats alot better!!! So..was his ammonia levels high from the liver?? Is that why they gave the lactulose???? I'm just curious..when these are high, they can produce seizures and it all stems from the liver??? __________________ Steph & Furkids,Yogi, Bogus, and Suki www.dogster.com/?320202 www.dogster.com/dogs/778799 Join YAP Here! "Animals are the most agreeable freinds"..

04-15-2007, 02:43 PM	#15
psvidesigner YT Addict Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 286	At this point I am convinced that this was the toxic ammonia in his blood stream. It goes to the brain and causes seizures. I suspected that because his alt level was high and he was seizuring, that I should have a serum bile acid test. The written evaluation was shunt or other liver disorders. This is quite the long story. He is a rescue and we have been on a rollercoaster. If you want the whole story you can pm me. It is a long one.... Since he has been on a full treatment (as of this past Tuesday) to help the liver and his seizures are almost gone. He even looks better. His eyes and overall deamner. We are happy!!!!