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Originally Posted by DAB  HMM. My Yorkie was sick during the holidays----throwing up bile and very loose stools. She has been to my vet and also to Tufts University. Her bile acid numbers are in the 500's. Normal, I am told, is 7 or under! She has had numerous blood tests to confirm the high numbers simply because one test showed her BA number was fine. She has had an ultrasound done by very highly qualified personel at Tufts. No signs of a liver shunt problem. She will go back to Tufts this week for a scintigraphy test where she will be injected with a radio active dye to once and for all determine what is wrong.
But, please note. Since her sick bout in December she has been on Metronidazole...now once a day. She is as perky as ever and does not appear sick. In other words, there are no outward clinical signs that ANYTHING is wrong with her. Yet, apparently there is as the Acid Bile numbers are ridiculously elevated! I will keep everyone posted to my little Emma's progress. She will be kept over night at the Tufts University Foster Hospital for Small Animals to be sure all the radio active dye is flushed from her system. I am a bit worried about this procedure but I know people on this forum have had good results with it. Once we know exactly what is wrong, we can sir with the doctors and consider our options.
Maybe a bile acid test for your baby would be advisable....just in case. But I am so happy that your girl is feeling fine as mine is.
DAB |
Just an FYI, Lacy did have a bile acids test. That's what started the whole thing!
I'm sorry your girl is going through all that. Ultrasounds are not reliable for detecting liver shunts. Shunts, especially those outside the liver, are easily missed. It is harder to detect them with an ultrasound in small dogs, too.
Portosystemic Shunts FAQ
Scintigraphy is much more accurate. Hopefully that will give you some answers.