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Originally Posted by christiers  i had just finished reading your posts when i noticed this one. thank you. i have joined the liver shunt and mvd yahoo group. we did the biopsy, because my vet here felt Coco had a shunt and the specialist at U Penn felt that she was perfectly fine given all other labs were normal and she was asymptomatic...she never mentioned or seemed to consider mvd. i don't like putting my babies under anesthsia for any reason, but with the biopsy or ultrasound either would have required it. after speaking to one of the in-take nurses at UT (i was going there if it was a shunt), my husband and i decided on the biopsy for what we thought would be a shunt diagnosis. we are still fairly novice to liver shunts & mvd...although not for long. after losing the one baby so suddenly last year, i am fearful of not doing the right, best thing. my inexperience is why i am seeking information, so i ask the right questions and do the best things for her. i agree about invasive procedures, but i feel that sometimes to gather the best information they are necessary. Elissa was correct, you do have a wealth of knowledge in regards to this topic. i truly appreciate all of your information. where is Dr. Dodds located, is a phone consult an option? as for RAW diets, i meet those that swear by it and those who completely oppose it. thank you again for replying to this thread. any and all information shared is greatly appreciated.  |
here is dr dodds info
Hemopet/Hemolife, HEMOPET a full animal blood bank, Diagnostic Laboratory, Adoption and Consultation. She is in so california but she consults vets, specialists, and pet owners all over the world. She has been studying blood work for 40 years and i trust her as she is very conservative in her approach to this profession. I probably would have trusted as you did in the past but since learning alot more i tend to question more now. Ultrasound is very hard to see a shunt unless the person is very experienced with shunts and even then not real easy. Scintigraphy is most accurate not ultrasound but that is only in dogs well over 100 having symptoms in my opinion and why i did not do with my dog like vet recommended. Dogs do not have to be sedated to do an ultrasound as they did not sedate my dog for ultrasound for pancreatitis.
I am glad you are joining those groups as they taught me everything about liver disease and are some very sharp pet owners. I find I learn the most from pet owners dealing with a specific disease day in and day out as they do alot of research and educate themselves to take better care of their dog with an illness. They take the time also to help other pet owners and provide a wonderful support group as well so why I recommend yahoogroups to many pet owners with dogs with different health issues as you not only need info but you also need support sometimes to get through it daily in more serious diseases until you can get the dog balanced and in a good place. They take the time to explain things thoroughly that most vets or specialists do not have the time to do sadly.