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10-14-2008, 11:41 AM | #1 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: May 2007 Location: Georgia
Posts: 73
| Liver Shunt or Yorkie Encephalitis? My yorkie is only 2 years old. And over the weekend, we noticed that she was going in circles alot, bumping into things, and not directly looking at us. These are definite things that she doesn't ever do. So Monday comes, and I made an appointment to see the doctor. The vet believes that there are only two things that she could have, Liver Shunt or Yorkie Encephalitis...but without bloodwork or going to see a neurologist, we wouldn't know. She has almost if not, completely lost all of her vision. But she doesn't seem to be in pain, just a bit confused...So I brought her home before doing anything, so I can discussed our options with my husband. I decided to monitor her even closer now, and maybe in a day or so, I'll decide if we need to do anything. The vet says that Liver Shunting is treatable, but if it's Yorkie Encephalitis, then there's not much we can do, except for keeping her comfortable, and making the surrounding safe for her. My husband is soooo distraught over this. More than I, I believe. Does anyone know of a good site to research Yorkie Encephalitis? Or if anyone has gone through something similar, share your experience....
__________________ BluePangTaylorTwix |
Welcome Guest! | |
10-14-2008, 01:33 PM | #2 |
Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Havre de Grace, MD
Posts: 1,536
| Very sorry to hear. I have no experience, but this looks like good information. Veterinary Teaching Hospital :: North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine |
10-14-2008, 03:28 PM | #3 |
Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: USA
Posts: 7,178
| The first thing you need to do is rule out liver shunt/mvd....You don't need to spend a lot of money to find out if the problem is in the liver...Have a Bile Acid Test done...Depending on your area, it runs between $45-$100, and is very sensitive to liver function. It will tell you if there's a problem in the liver. If the liver is the problem, your baby can be treated with proper diet, lactulose, meds, and supplements... Prayers that what your baby has is treatable... Can you tell us more about the symptoms? When did you start noticing them? Is your baby a picky eater? Does she ever vomit?
__________________ Miko 's his Mommy |
10-14-2008, 05:34 PM | #4 | |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Kansas
Posts: 39
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10-14-2008, 05:44 PM | #5 | |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Kansas
Posts: 39
| Quote:
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10-14-2008, 09:37 PM | #6 |
Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bay Area, California
Posts: 2,249
| Not to scare you more, but if it is GME or other form of encephalitis you need to get her on Prednisone quickly, you can't wait around and decide what to do because GME can progress really rapidly. GMe is usually diagnosed by an MRI and a spinal tap. I hope it is not GME but it sure sounds like it. Please update us on how she is doing. Hugs and strength.
__________________ Nanci 's her furbabies!! Brooke,Binky,Bunny,Buster & BooBoo And My Chichis: Baby & Bitsy There's nothing that brightens my day more than a puppy kiss! |
10-14-2008, 09:40 PM | #7 |
Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bay Area, California
Posts: 2,249
| I should have mentioned that my Brooke had GME, I say HAD because she has now completed a year of treatment and is is remission. It can be done, there is hope but Brooke would not be alive now if I had not contacted Dr. Allen Sisson. Gidgetann sent you his info and he is the GME guru and will help your doctors to use his protocol. I would highly recommend that you contact him when he gets back from vacation, in the mean time she needs to be on Prednisone.
__________________ Nanci 's her furbabies!! Brooke,Binky,Bunny,Buster & BooBoo And My Chichis: Baby & Bitsy There's nothing that brightens my day more than a puppy kiss! |
10-15-2008, 11:00 AM | #8 | |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: May 2007 Location: Georgia
Posts: 73
| Quote:
I have decided to get a detailed blood panel work done to her. So we'll be getting results tomorrow morning for further information...
__________________ BluePangTaylorTwix | |
10-15-2008, 11:36 AM | #9 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Scotland , Isle of Bute
Posts: 6
| liver shunt Hi, we have a 2 year old yorkie who has just gone through his second liver shunt op. Basically, you really need to have him blood tested as soon as possible. Liver shunt is treatable. Our wee dog is a little on the small and thin side and his liver is still quite small, but he is a million times better now and is a happy wee dog. The bile acid tests and abdominal scans will be able to verify if its liver shunt, but do get it seen to asap. Our wee dogs symptoms were, not growing well, vomiting, not eating, shaking all over, walking against the walls in circles and falling over a lot. His coat was very poor and shabby as well. He needed a second op because the first one was still slightly leaking. Liver shunt is basically the food he eats isnt being processed through the liver properly. Instead of going through it and the "poisons" being treated in the liver, it is going straight into the blood streams which is carrying the poisons around the body and to the brain where it is causing the neurological problems. A vessel needs to be closed off to stop the poison going through and make it go through the liver instead, where it will be processed properly. If theres anything else you want to ask, please do. Don't leave your little dog to long before getting a diagnosis. |
10-15-2008, 11:45 AM | #10 |
YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: MA
Posts: 1,252
| I just brought my foster Emerson to the Neuro and she mentioned Yorkie-Encephalitis...so I was just googling it and it brought me to Yorkie Talk :-) I have already done a bile acid test and they were fine... however I don't think Emerson has the typical symptoms...he does a head bobling..but that is really it... but it is side to side not up and down so that rules out some other disorders.. Any info for me too would be great....
__________________ Kerrianne |
10-15-2008, 12:26 PM | #11 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: May 2007 Location: Georgia
Posts: 73
| Blood Panel She is getting bloodwork done this afternoon. It's not he bile acid test, but the doctor recommended that we do this blood panel first.
__________________ BluePangTaylorTwix |
10-15-2008, 12:32 PM | #12 | |
Donating YT 10K Club Member | Quote:
I understand you trust your vet's opinion, but keep in mind...most vets are not very knowledgable about liver shunt.
__________________ Deb, Reese, Reggie, Frazier, Libby, Sidney, & Bodie Trace & Ramsey who watch over us www.biewersbythebay.com | |
10-15-2008, 12:37 PM | #13 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: May 2007 Location: Georgia
Posts: 73
| Thanks! I trust it more than I trust myself with knowledge about liver shunt or encephalitis. If the numbers are high or whatever for liver functions, then we will run the bile acid test.
__________________ BluePangTaylorTwix |
10-15-2008, 12:42 PM | #14 |
Donating YT 10K Club Member | For liver issues to show up on a blood panel the damage to her liver has to be fairly extensive.
__________________ Deb, Reese, Reggie, Frazier, Libby, Sidney, & Bodie Trace & Ramsey who watch over us www.biewersbythebay.com |
10-15-2008, 12:54 PM | #15 |
And Rylee Finnegan Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Metro Detroit, MI
Posts: 17,928
| While it is always a good idea to run a blood panel and I definately would in this case, the liver enzymes may not be elevated even if there is a problem. There usually has to be a fair amount of damage done to the liver for those numbers to be up. My dog's bile acids are very high and her ALT (liver enzyme) was normal once and "slightly" elevated once. So both need to be done.
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