 Liver Shunt woes
I started to write this and went back to see what questions were asked and there was nothing here. Hope is doesn't appear after I start over. Sorry. I am no computer genius.
An Internist did the ultrasound and she required anesthesia because she would not hold still. Some kind of gas was used.
No problem with the Portal Vein was noticed on ultrasound so we assume it is MVD. Is that always congenital or can it be acquired?
My vet told me to add cottage cheese to her diet when she goes through these cyclical "downtimes". At first she will eat it, but that doesn't last long. It is apparently common for these little dogs to go through these times. An Internist told me he thinks they may become septic and that the next time she becomes ill I should have my regular vet draw blood cultures. This must be done before an antibiotic is started or it is of no value. If the body has an overwhelming infection sometimes the dog will not have increased white blood cells to attack an infection. Therefore, when a regular CBC comes back without elevated WBC's a vet might think there is no infection when there is. He also has questioned whether they might get a "touch" of hepatitis. It is interesting that she has not been deathly ill since I have been giving her the Marin supplement.
The Science Diet Mature Adult food has chicken as its base. It's probably not the best I could do. She has some food down all the time. She doesn't eat much at a time.
There is an exceptional Interist that I will talk to before she has the surgery.
I fiddled around with dosages and have decided that .7ml is a pretty good dose of Lactulose for her daily. Maybe I should decrease that to .5 and give it every day.
I hate to see anyone else going throug the trauma of Liver Shunt. I will keep all our little friends in my prayers. |