mvd/liver shunt question

[Telea]

I have a 3.5 pound 3 year old female yorkie named Mia. Up until last mid October she had never had a sick day in her life. We have seen 3 vets now and she is under the care of a holistic vet the is treating her for possible nerve damage in the left side of her face/neck area. I have questioned all 3 about the possibility of liver compromise, and all 3 have said no due to a full blood panal that she had in Oct. that showed perfect numbers. Her main and lasting problem is that she has lost a full pound of weight and not gained any back, but has a very good appetite, no bowel issues at all, but she circles to the left a lot.

Last night we did this for 1 hour with breaks only when I would pick her up and hold her so she couldn't. She finally settled down and when she does she is worn out. I am at a loss on what to do. I have put her on a mixture of Royal Canine and the Natural Balance Vegtable diet to lower her protein and have even thought about buying the Science Diet l/d. This morning I gave her the natural balance only

Could she have mvd of a shunt with only this one sympton? And can this show up at her age and all of a sudden. I checked today another vet clinc here about doing the bile acid test just to see what her results would be, and if not that to rule this out. The cost is 65.00 which I thought was reasonable.

I am on here frequently reading most of the treads, I just don't post often. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Or anything to try. She doesn't seem to be in any pain with this it is just kinda strange and I worry so much about her.

Thank you

[Ellie May]

Yes, I would definately bile acids test her.
In the end, a normal blood panel doesn't mean a whole lot because most of the time, there has to be a lot of cell death in the liver for a problem to show up (on the blood panel).

With circling, I would test immediately.
It can show up at this age without a previous problem.
While the vets you've been to may see the BAT as unnecessary, they should at least agree to run it for you. If they will not run it, please find a new vet.

[bchgirl]

Some dogs present differently...and not necessarily all or the same symptoms as another. Your vet is probably relying on the numbers of her BUN and creatin count to rule out liver shunt. These numbers are typically lower in dogs with LS.

Even if she doesn't have a shunt...it sounds like she definitely has some type of neurological problem. Has GME been ruled out?

http://www.yorkieangelpatrol.com/gmeinfosheet.doc

[Telea]

How would they test for GME and what is this? She was originally treated for a mild concusstion and they have ruled out any ear problems (vertigo). She has problems aiming to get to her food bowl and sometimes bites the side of the dish trying to find her kibble. She has problems finding a treat that you hold up to her mouth, and will sort of hunt for it until you can get it to her mouth. In the beginning she had some agression issurs but that has gone away (with her sibling yorkie).

Thanks for everyone's replies

[bchgirl]

GME - Granulomatous Meningoencephalomyelitis

She has more than one symptom for this disorder. The paralysis, loss of vision, and the circling. Although loss of vision and circling are ls symptoms too.

Here's one site with more information

Granulomatous Meningoencephalomyelitis (GME)

There are some threads here about it, unfortunately you will need to scroll through the sick/injury emergency forum to find gme in the thread titles. I couldn't get them to show up using search.

Sending prayers for Mia.

[Ellie May]

Deb, the bottom Google search on YT allows three letters words.
Just don't forget to select Yorkietalk.com down there instead of search the web.

To the original poster, with the concussion and paralysis, it sounds less and less like LS (although it may be worth looking at still). Please get to a vet that will help you get to the bottom of this.