[llapan]

Dear all you wonderful Yorkie folks:

First, I apologize for waiting so long to post an update--but Miss Kitty's blood test values have been fluctuating so much, I couldn't bear to come here to post the results and get even more scared by hearing from posters with similar problems with their Yorkies. Okay, call me an ostrich hiding my head in the sand. For the present time, Miss Kitty is in a very good place, and I totally owe her health to all the good advice from the posters herein. I have not been giving Miss Kitty a smidgeon of food, except her recommended prescribed can food the vet gave me to feed her--and for training snacks outside--the poster who said "she'd think it was a treat because it came from my hand was right--she does accept the canned food as a treat (I had tried other normal doggie food as a treat from my hand, in the past, but she never would eat it if she had eaten a meal in the last several hours. With the current canned food, she likes it well enough that she'll always accept it as a "treat" out of my hand.) Thus, we have eliminated one of the worries--that I'll cause Miss Kitty health issues by giving her something I think is healthy, but is really not. Just canned prescribed dog food is good enough for both of us !!!

I am sorry to report I still haven't received:

"a cpli and tli add on for pancreatitis as the amylase and lipase will not be indicative of pancreatitis but the cpli and tli will tell you exactly if this is pancreatitis" as especially recommended by Dwerten.

In my defense, I printed out and sent Dwerten's post concerning this special testing WITH my husband during the very next vet visit (I work days/my husband works nights / my boss is an ogre about letting me off to take my dog to the vet--so my husband Casey is generally elected to make the vet visits without me). However, while my husband was at the vet's, he learned that the head vet I've been using was out of the office attending a seminar. One of the younger vets was elected to check Miss Kitty (my husband didn't know to ask for a higher level vet). That vet talked my husband out of any more blood work / tests at that point--since Miss Kitty "was so obviously feeling better." A few hours after my husband left the vet's office on that day, I called the vet to find out blood work, and when I learned that no blood work had been done, I almost lost it. I eventually talked to the vet who had made the decision not to test, and he literally begged me not to chew my husband out when I got home--took total responsibility for talking my husband out of more blood work. I explained to him how vital blood work monitoring was, because Miss Kitty can quite literally be "top of the morning" one day, and puking her guts out and refusing to eat the next--and that the head vet had RECOMMENDED that we absolutely get blood work.

Then--for the next visit, my husband had lost the printed copy of the post from Dwerten containing the very informed recommendations for "a cpli and tli add on for pancreatitis"--and I certainly couldn't remember what that extra blood work is called off the top of my head. (I couldn't check this forum, because we had my laptop packed away (moving). So, just the normal blood work was done. Ditto for the next visit -- we were still moving, couldn't access Internet to retrieve Dwerten information about special testing.

So, I'm stupid. Now that I've unpacked my laptop, obtained phone service so I could check this forum, and looked at the blood work we've been routinely receiving on Miss Kitty and realizing that Dwerten's recommended testing has not yet been done, I feel totally inadequate.

Here's the testing that has been done, and for the most part, I'm giving only today's values. (At the end of this post, I'll give the history of the BUN and Creatinine levels that are indicators of possible kidney malfunction.)

WBC 8.5 (normal= 6.0 to 17.0)

LYMF 4.6 (normal =1.2 to 5.0)
GRAN 3.1 (normal =3.5 to 12)
MONO 0.8 (normal = 0.3 to 1.5)

(three directly above also shown in percentages, as follows below:

LYMF 54.7% (normal =0.0 % to 99.9%)
GRAN=36.7% (normal =0.0 % to 99.9%)
MONO 8.6% (normal = 0.0 to 99.9)

HCT 39.6% (normal = 37% to 55%)
MCV 61.1 (normal =60.0 to 72.0 )
RBC 6.48 (normal = 5.50 to 8.50 )
HGB 13.4 (normal = 12.0 to 18.0)
MCH 20.6 (normal = 19.5 to 24.5)
MCHC 33.8 (normal = 32.0 to 38.0)
RDW% 21.3 (normal = 12.0 to 21.0)
MPV 9.9 (normal =6.1 to 10.1)
PLT 110 (normal = 200 to 500)

The following testing doesn't say what is normal, but only shows a marker if something is ABNORMAL:

GLU 84 mg/dl
ALP 216 IU/L (MILD ELEVATION -- insignificant, per vet)
T-PRO 6.4 g/dl
ALT under 10 IU/L
ALB 2.8 g/dl
T-Bil under 0.2 mg/dl
Amy-W 672 IU/dl

All of those were today's results.

The following is the history of her BUN and Creatitine tests:

BUN (normal: 9 to 26)
11/29/08 195
12/01/08 37 (after being kept over weekend and being given IVs)
12/09/08 39
12/16/08 29

CREATITINE (normal: 0.5 to 1.6)
11/29/08 4.3
12/01/08 0.8 (after being kept over weekend and being given IVs)
12/09/08 2.3
12/16/08 2.1

The Lepto testing is being repeated, because last tests showed low "positive" on a couple of Lepto markers. HERE's where it gets interesting. On one of the vet visits (when main vet was at seminar), vet told Casey to "check to see whether breeder gave Lepto virus, this could explain why Lepto was showing low positive. We called breeder, she said she would never give that vaccine to puppies as small / young as mine -- and wouldn't give it to older Yorkies unless there was an active outbreak in the area -- due to the fact that Yorkies have historically had bad reactions/including kidney damage, due to the vaccines. (According to my reading, current Fort Dodge vaccines are supposed to be better, but not all vets are using the "less problematic" Fort Dodge vaccines. When we reported back to the vet that breeder hadn't given Lepto shot, he looked in file, and it showed that FIRST vet (before I got the main vet) had given the Lepto vaccine. When my "main vet" quizzed first vet about the vaccine, that vet said he would never "give Lepto to a small/young Yorkie puppy, and that it must be an error in her file. (Can we say COVERUP ??) I'm highly skeptical about first vet's answer--she probably did receive Lepto vaccine from that moron--he's the one that sent her home without any blood work, and after having given her a Cortisone shot that would be totally contraindicated if Pancreatitis was the diagnosis--which we didn't know at that point (and still don't know, really). Anyway, since I can't prove the first vet gave the Lepto shot--I'm instead moving on toward treatment (cure), not playing the blame game.

It's ridiculous and embarrassing that I've continued to have all this testing, and have forgotten to get the key Pancreatitis testing. I'm not horribly worried about Miss Kitty at this point -- her BUN and Creatitine levels continue to fluctuate up and down, slightly above normal levels.

I would take her straight back in for the Pancreatitis bloodwork, but today's vet bill was $195, and I've been spending anywhere from $95 to $600 (weekend stay at vet) every WEEK since Miss Kitty first was taken ill. The till is empty right now. I'll have to wait for her next scheduled testing in a month, then put my foot down about specific Pancreatitis blood work. Of course, if she doesn't continue to thrive (eating very well / very active) -- we'll be back in sooner. Right now, she is more "normal" than she ever has been--meaning that, besides being very active and alert, as she always was before she got sick, she now has a good appetite for almost every meal. That, in itself, is a miracle !!!

Since the food prescribed for her is equally good for kidney problems / Pancreatitis problems (both low fat AND low protein), I believe we're okay waiting the month to get the Pancreatitis testing. Anybody disagree?

Thanks for your patience in reading this overlength post. I suppose I've proven that I know no other way of posting.

Everybody give their Yorkies a special hug from me. They are truly God's gifts to us.

Take care.