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Originally Posted by Looneylinda  My 9-year-old Yorkie, Pebbles has liver shunt. Because no large blood vessel was noted outside of the liver we are guessing it is Microvascular Dysplasia.
This was diagnosed when she was three years old--kind of late! We got her when she was 1 1/2 and there was no sign of a problem. She started becoming more quiet, going around in circles and falling over. She wasn't eating well, shaking and drooling.
I took her to 3 vets. Finally a great old-time vet in Bountiful UT took her home with him to watch her. He then decided to do a bile acid test. I think that normal is about 6-10 and hers was 183!!!!!
He told me it was better to give her Science Diet K/D than the L/D. What do you think about that, anyone? I guess it doesn't matter much, because she weighs under 3 pounds and she can't chew a kibble that big. When I tried the canned K/D she kept getting it stuck in the top of her mouth and I was afraid she would choke. The vet knows what I am feeding her and he approves. He could be wrong, though.
I'm sure I'll get some heat for this, but she eats Science Diet Adult 7+ Small Bites. It has 16% protein as compared to 13% in the dry K/D. She's not crazy about it. Sometimes I put a little bit of brown rice in it. She also likes fresh broccoli--the stalk that has been peeled and is more mild.
She definitely has hepatic encephalopathy and she is blind in her right eye. She still goes around in circles.
I give her Metronidizol and a Supplement called Marin from Nutramax. I thought it had Milk Thistle in it, but apparently it doesn't. I don't give her Lactulose all the time, because it makes her quite Loosey-goosey!! It is hard to decide on how much to give her because the same amount does not always have the same effect.
She has other problems too. The worst is Lupus. We found that out a couple of years ago. She started getting sores on her nose and in her ears. We had a biopsy done. It affects the skin.
Every 6 months or so she becomes extremely lethargic, stops eating and we think she is dying. We have blood tests that only show her glucose is a little elevated, but that can be from stress. Her last bile acid test was 15. Still too high, but it sure is better than 183.
I tried giving her Niacinimide for the Lupus but she threw up 8 times after one dose. I just can't do that to her. How much medicine can I shove down that teeny throat?
NOW she is having difficulty walking and it appears that her rt knee needs an operation. Needless to say my husband is not thrilled about spending $700-800 on knee surgery when she is in this condition. I can understand how he feels, but she is NOT his baby!!
She loves me intensely, and only tolerates my three sons. She won't go to any of my daughters.
I love this little creature. We call her a puss pocket or an abscess because she really has an attitude. She is the BOSS over Dexter, our other 9-year-old Yorkie who is such a gentleman. He only has arthritis in his back, so we think he's pretty healthy.
Sooooooooooo- what do I do? Have surgery on her leg or not? The vet said he thinks she will be okay with the anesthesia, because she has minor anesthesia when he hand scales her teeth and she had it when we did an ultrasound of her liver. He is, however, concerned that some of her difficulty walking could be neurological and not just her knees.
Her surgery is scheduled for next Friday?
This is my very first post. I'm sorry, I probably am asking too many questions and giving too much information on someone else's thread. |
Some vets do recommend K/D over L/D because it is lower protein but what they don't consider is that it is the wrong kind of protein and is more likely to cause neurologic symptoms. If she is having neurologic symptoms on 16% protein, then it is probably either the wrong kind of protein or she does need lactulose. What doses have you tried? If you want to get really clinical with her, the purines in the food have to be watched too. What are the ingredients in teh Sci Diet that you are giving?
Why did she have to go under anesthesia for an ultrasound?
Did a regular vet do it?
How was a large shunt ruled out?
Is she on Denosyl?
How many times a day is she fed?
Marin contains milk thistle but dogs with extreme symptoms may react to the liver and the yeast in the Marin.
Because she would need to be under anesthesia for a very long time for knee surgery, I would talk to an internist about it.
What anesthesia is used and what does the vet plan to give as a pain med?
If she had trouble eating the K/D kibble, how about L/D canned?