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siestakeykc · 02-08-2013, 01:23 PM

Well, I've spent quite a bit of time on this site so far looking for something...anything to help with what we are facing. Our Sampson will have his first birthday in 25 days. During his neuter surgery in October, his heart stopped for 45 seconds. They were able to resuscitate him, and he took a while to recover fully. On Thanksgiving day we had to take him to the ER. He had an episode where he was stumbling, had barely any strength in his hind legs. ER doc gave him Nutrical, said his blood sugar was low. Said they were finicky eaters. He did mention a shunt, but Sampson got better so quickly that we put off those tests. We had no issues until Monday. He wouldn't eat or drink and slept all day. By the end of the day he could barely stand up without his hind end wobbling and falling over, staggering like he was drunk. Hindsight shows he's a poster child for a portosystemic shunt. We had the bile acid test done, and we are headed to the specialist on Monday, and they will likely do an ultrasound. Btw, Sampson is pretty normal today, although still a bit weak in hind end and staggering a tiny bit. The cycle is hard to understand.

I found posts from 2008 and they consisted of people posting pre and post numbers of 19/147 or 20-something/260. Sampson's pre was 12 and his post was 26. That seems low in comparison to others. He truly fits every symptom of a shunt (minus head pressing). Is it possible that it's something else or that it's a small shunt? Maybe he will be in the small percentage that responds to meds/surgery/diet?

Sorry for the long post. I just needed to reach out in hopes of comparisons, experience w/ this ... something to help me think positive.

02-08-2013, 01:23 PM	#1
siestakeykc YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: McKinney, Texas USA Posts: 7	Portosystemic shunt Well, I've spent quite a bit of time on this site so far looking for something...anything to help with what we are facing. Our Sampson will have his first birthday in 25 days. During his neuter surgery in October, his heart stopped for 45 seconds. They were able to resuscitate him, and he took a while to recover fully. On Thanksgiving day we had to take him to the ER. He had an episode where he was stumbling, had barely any strength in his hind legs. ER doc gave him Nutrical, said his blood sugar was low. Said they were finicky eaters. He did mention a shunt, but Sampson got better so quickly that we put off those tests. We had no issues until Monday. He wouldn't eat or drink and slept all day. By the end of the day he could barely stand up without his hind end wobbling and falling over, staggering like he was drunk. Hindsight shows he's a poster child for a portosystemic shunt. We had the bile acid test done, and we are headed to the specialist on Monday, and they will likely do an ultrasound. Btw, Sampson is pretty normal today, although still a bit weak in hind end and staggering a tiny bit. The cycle is hard to understand. I found posts from 2008 and they consisted of people posting pre and post numbers of 19/147 or 20-something/260. Sampson's pre was 12 and his post was 26. That seems low in comparison to others. He truly fits every symptom of a shunt (minus head pressing). Is it possible that it's something else or that it's a small shunt? Maybe he will be in the small percentage that responds to meds/surgery/diet? Sorry for the long post. I just needed to reach out in hopes of comparisons, experience w/ this ... something to help me think positive.