My nightmare has come true:(

[tmorrow26]

Ever since I got my little guy Jax I have been terrified of a liver shunt. He is now 61/2 months old and weighs 3.5 pounds. I have definitely read up on them and tried to watch for symptoms of anything suspicious. Over the last several days, Jax as been trembling more and I noticed it was after eating sometimes. He would only do it for a minute or two, nothing major. Well tonight he had two bowls of food, (his and his sisters) and fell asleep. About 30-45 minutes later, he woke up and could not walk. He was falling over and acting very bizarre. Limp, shortness of breath, lethargic....then his legs sort of bent over to one side like he couldn't move them. Almost like a person after a stroke. Obviously we were scared to death so we called our vet and he met us at the office. He has since been 'perking' up but still walking sideways and just not 'right'. He had no temp, his sugar was 90, he doesn't appear to be dehydrated. Dr. A seems to think he might have had seizure and this seems most likely to be caused by a shunt He is still in the post-ictal phase but seems to be getting a little better. He hasn't vomited or had any diarrhea and his legs are working again just not great. The doc put him on Augmentin and is sending some blood off. I am devastated because I know in my heart that my baby has a liver shunt. I need your prayers because we love this little guy more than anything. My husband and I have already decided that we will do whatever it takes to make him better. Luckily my worried self purchased pet insurance months ago for this very reason being my fear of a liver shunt. He is sleeping by my side as I type this and I just cannot picture my life without him To top this whole night off....we left in such a rush that I did not put my pup Molly in her expen and she got into the trash and had cooked ONIONS spread all over the floor! I have no idea if she ate any. Hopefully not...she eats like a bird anyway which is the reason Jax snatched all her food earlier. Please pray that she doesn't get sick from the stupid onions. Geez, I am never getting to sleep tonight Please, if anyone has any words of encouragement for me, I could really use them.

[elemtchr99]

I am sooooo sorry to hear this. My Sophie is just about the same age as your little Jax (born 2/23/10), and I just can't imagine what you are going through. I will definitely say a prayer for your little guy. He is lucky to have you!! PLEASE keep us posted!!!

[ladyjane]

I am so sorry ... what scary stuff to be dealing with. I will say a prayer for all of you...you and your husband...and Jax and Molly.
Please let us know how things are going.

[kjc]

....unless he overate, vomited and aspirated the vomitus, creating a lack of oxygen, then seizure. Every puppy I've seen with LS, the vet feeds them and almost immediately to within minutes they go stiff and start seizing. They don't go to sleep first.

He is a bit small, but many LS dogs appear malnourished, and are very picky eaters. Hard to get them to eat enough to keep any weight on their little bodies.

Shaking can also indicate pain... could he have eaten anything that would block him? Stuffing from a bed or toy, any chew toys, plastic/vinyl toys? Have his BMs been normal...and what color?

Did your vet run any in-house tests?

Does he do any circling, head pressing, walking into walls or furniture. any head tilt?

Feed him small meals, more frequently... easier on the liver...

If he seizes bc of a Liver Shunt, you will need to give Lactulose, diazepam will have no effect and will not stop it. Lactulose can be administered rectally in the event of a seizure.

Onions eaten one time may be okay... but onions eaten over 3-5 consecutive days will cause problems.

Check that your insurance covers congenital conditions.

Sorry your little Jax is not well... hope he's feeling better soon...keeping you all in my prayers...

[MeganS]

I am so sorry. Liver shunt is a scary thing and I've had my experience with it. Luckily they can still live so happy and well when they get the right care. Keep hope & a prayer in your heart and you will get through this!

Your family and both of your babies are in my thoughts and prayers. <3 <3 <3

[Lizzie07]

So sorry to hear you little guy is so sick. I hope the diagnosis is confirmed quickly and that you can get Jax on the road to recovery. Please keep us updated on how he is doing.

[MI Yorkielover]

I am so sorry to hear about your little guy. Praying for Jax and your family. Please keep us updated.

[tmorrow26]

Jax woke up this morning and is his normal self again. I know this doesn't mean we are out of the woods by no means, but I am so happy to have him lick my face again and wag his little tail and growl at his sister He scared me so much last night! This is the very first episode for anything like this. He has never had head pressing, or head bobbing, walking into walls, or turning circles. He has shaken on occasion but nothing that ever worried me much. He was perfect all day and then BAM-he was limp as a noodle and falling down. His mouth was sort of clenched a bit. I had to open his mouth to get the nutrical in. His legs then did this weird over to the side thing and stiff then he curled up his front paws to his chest and would not move them. His back legs were quivering. I literally thought he was dying in my arms. I kept rubbing his chest to keep him awake while waiting on my vet to get to the office. It was so horrible. He did develop the symptoms about 1 1/2 hours after he had eaten and he did not eat anything knew (that I know of). He did eat Molly's food as well as his own but that is nothing knew He is a little piggy. He is very small~3.5 pounds but when we got him at 12 weeks, he only weighed 1.01 so I am very proud of his weight gain. I have noticed over the past couple of days that his bowel movements are very small like he is constipated but they are normal in color and he isn't straining. His tummy is soft and not distended at all and is non-tender. One thing that has always concerned me is he eats EVERYTHING he sees as normal pups do and usually when he does do this, his tummy is upset and he vomits and then is fine. He did vomit a few days ago, only bile, but who knows what he ate! I absolutely did not see him get into anything last night but I would imagine that he would have thrown it up if he had. The vet did not do any in-house tests because it is not an emergency clinic, he just came to check him out for me at the normal office and it was 9 at night. Unfortunately, I bet your right about the insurance not covering congenital disorders. Great. I guess liver shunts are considered congenital too. Why the heck do I have it then By the way, Molly is acting okay....I hope she just licked the butter off the sauteed onions instead of eating any She eats like a bird so I cannot imagine her eating an onion. She is a grazer and that is why Jax always snags her food! So as of right now, my boy is acting normal and he has eaten today but I made sure my husband fed him very small amounts. Thank you everyone for your advice. I truly appreciate it. Please keep praying for my boy. I love him so very much and I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep him healthy.

[kjc]

Great to hear he's doing better.

Sometimes they will vomit bile if their tummies are empty... as small as he is, if he does it in the AM, give him a late snack before bedtime, it may stop that.

May want to consider having a neurologist look at him. That sounded like a faily complex and intense episode and I don't think I would be comfortable waiting for it to happen again. Have your camera ready though... it really helps to get it on video for the vets to see what actually is going on.

Keeping you and Jax in my prayers...

[Micah my love]

I am so glad to hear that Jax's is feeling better today

[AllDogBoots]

Originally Posted by kjc

Great to hear he's doing better.

Sometimes they will vomit bile if their tummies are empty... as small as he is, if he does it in the AM, give him a late snack before bedtime, it may stop that.

May want to consider having a neurologist look at him. That sounded like a faily complex and intense episode and I don't think I would be comfortable waiting for it to happen again. Have your camera ready though... it really helps to get it on video for the vets to see what actually is going on.

Keeping you and Jax in my prayers...

I also don't think you can wait for another episode. You really should continue investigating what is going on with him.

Definitely take video. When I visited the neurologist for my Max, I had plenty of videos for them to watch. I'm glad I did because he didn't exhibit his behavior while he was there and it needed to be seen. In fact, before I went to the specialist, I uploaded it on youtube so they were able to view it as a group.

[ladyjane]

You and Jax are in my thoughts and prayers.

[tmorrow26]

My vet just called and all Jax's lab work was normal. His bile acid 2 hours post prandial was 9. Does this rule out a liver shunt? I am very happy if its not a shunt but then what the heck is it? He is still acting normal but I am so worried that he will do it again. My vet mentioned the other night that his head was 'dome-shaped'....is this abnormal. I do know Jax has an open fontenal on the top of his head also. The vet mentioned hydrocephalus He said that this may be the only episode that we ever witness or he may have more. I am nervous to watch and wait but he said if it were his puppy then that is what he would do. I have known this vet for 11 years and I trust him completely but Also...Jax did fall off the bed on the day that he had the scary event...it was about 3 hours before and he fell between the mattress and headboard. He did not make a peep when it happened and ran off and played after that but I wonder if he could have hurt his head when he did that. I don't know. I am so thankful that it is not a liver shunt but now I am even more worried that it is something more terrible!

[shodanusmc]

I have no idea, but I hope it is nothing serious and the little guy gets well and you find out and cure whatever it is. Surprised the bet did not offer a diagnoses or at least a guess..

[ladyjane]

I think I would speak with my vet about a consult with a neurologist. Even if there is nothing, at least you won't be sitting and wondering and waiting for another episode. That one sounded pretty scary to me. Next time might not have such a good outcome??