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01-08-2006, 04:20 PM | #1 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Amarillo, Texas
Posts: 84
| Sick Baby We got Izzy B. on November 28 when she was 6 weeks old. We saw the vet the breeder suggested the following day and he pronounced her well. Exactly 2 weeks later we noticed early in the morning she was having breathing problems. Two vets could not figure out what was wrong but she got better through the day so we went on to our "city" home a couple of hours away and spent the night. The following morning she once again was having breathing problems so we took her back to the vet there and he did an x-ray and could not see that she had aspirated anything - thought maybe her heart was a little large but might be the position she was in on the x-ray table. Breathing improved as the day went on and she was fine the next day but on our way home to the "country" that evening she woke from a deep sleep with some sort of "spell" where she couldn't seem to swallow or get her breath and was incontinent and started crying. This lasted a matter of seconds and was over and she was fine. I called our local vet the next day and she said it could be collapsed trachea and we started her on some liquid Benadryl to help dry up the secretions in case she was choking on them. She did fine for 6 days and then was sleeping in my lap while I was working at my computer when she had what was very obviously a seizure. This lasted for about 10 seconds, she was incontinent, scared to death, cried, I held her and consoled her and after about 10 minutes she was eating and back to her playful puppy self. I immediately called the local vet and she said she was worried about liver shunt. Since we were going to our "city" home the next day (and we were in the midst of an ice storm that was to thaw out the next day) she asked that we see the vet there since he could do blood work and get it back right away where she would have to send hers off. So, 2 days later Izzy had blood work and it was all okay, although it was not the standard liver shunt tests. But, her liver enzymes were all okay and this vet did not feel it was liver shunt. So, he then went back to the enlarged heart on x-ray and sent the x-ray to Dallas for 4 x-ray specialists to look at and they felt the heart was enlarged and that there was also edema in the lungs. So, we set her up for an echocardiogram on her heart which she had done this past Tuesday. All this time she was doing great - no more seizures, acting like a normal puppy. The vet who did the echo said if anything, her heart was a little smaller than normal. So, the next day(this past Wednesday) she went to her "city" vet for her second set of puppy shots in the morning, played all afternoon and we returned to our country home that evening. We went to bed at 10:00 and at 10:30 Izzy B. woke me up panting and slobbering. Since our 3 year old Yorkie had had her shots that day also and had panted on the way home I assumed it was due to a low-grade fever and turned down the electric blanket and settled her back down. At 11:30 I woke to a thud and found her on the floor in an active seizure. As soon as she came out of the seizure I noticed she was once again having trouble breathing (the last 2 seizures did not cause breathing difficulties) so we called the local vet (actually, the vet is 35 miles from us) and she said there really was not anything we could do but keep her calm and watch her. She said to give her some honey in case she was hypoglycemic but as soon as I gave her just a taste of the honey she went into another seizure so we called the vet back - again, she said there really wasn't anything to do but call if she had a really long seizure. Izzy B. never could settle down after this because of her breathing. She would try to sleep but could only rest for a couple of minutes and would get up and move again. It was so hard to watch. Finally, in fear of her having another seizure and falling off the bed once again I put her in her crate (which she hates) and pulled it up close to me where I could put my fingers through the grate on the door and touch her foot. About 10 minutes later she had a violent seizure and when I got her out of the crate she looked unconscious. I rushed her to my husband who was down the hall and told him I could not watch her die. He called the vet and told them she was going to die and we had to bring her in and she finally agreed to see her. Thus followed a horrible 35 minute mad rush to the vet clinic at 2:00 in the morning where not even halfway there I realized that Izzy B. could not even open her mouth - her teeth were clenched shut and she was salivating everywhere. I just kept shouting at her not to die. As soon as we got to the clinic the vet and her husband (who is also a vet but mostly takes care of horses and cows) took her and started an IV and gave her Valium and all kinds of other medicines. They took her to their home with them and we came home, convinced that she would not live out the rest of the night. The following morning, though, I called the vet and she said she was better. She did do one of the liver shunt blood tests on her later that day but could not get enough blood to do the other one (the blood has to be taken from the neck). That blood test ultimately came back normal so she called the lab in the "city" where they had done her other lab tests and had them run the same test on her blood which they had not yet discarded and that test was elevated. So.......now the problem. We have a precious Yorkie puppy who is on a liver shunt diet - she absolutely hates the food and I hate that she has to eat it, and we really don't even know if she really has liver shunt. Our vet in our town (who is mainly a horse and cow vet) said it all sounds like epilepsy to him, and a vet we saw in the "city" the day after Christmas who checked her heart for a murmur also felt that it sounded like epilepsy, even though her regular city vet (who was closed that day) said she was too young to have epilepsy. Right now, Izzy B., besides being on the liver shunt diet, is on phenobarbital for the seizures and we have Valium to give her rectally should she have another really bad seizure. This is all making me a nervous wreck. I cannot sleep at night (she sleeps in bed with me because the vet said not to leave her alone until she stops having the seizures). Every little sound she makes I am awake and checking her with the flashlight. Does anyone know if there is something like a Mayo Clinic or Scott and White for dogs in the state of Texas?? I want so much to find out what is wrong with my baby. Of course the breeder says he has never, ever had this happen with any of his other puppies and has raised them for 10 years. If anyone has ever experienced this with any of their babies (God forbid) please let me know. It would help to know what I might be dealing with. Thanks |
Welcome Guest! | |
01-08-2006, 04:36 PM | #2 |
Donating YT 14K Club Member | OMG! Reading this just breaks my heart. I know that Texas A&M has a veternary school with AWESOME doctors there. You should contact them and see if you can get her in. My prayers are with you.
__________________ As always...JMO (Just My Opinion) Kimberley |
01-08-2006, 04:50 PM | #3 |
Donating YT 30K Club Member | I live in Illinois and when my other Yorkie I had was diagnosed with a severely collapsed trachea at just over 5 years old , my vet told me to contact Texas a& m University Vet clinic and they were so kind and sent me a research paper on a stidy that had just been done on collapsed trachea and said if it was their dog they wpould not advise the surgery based on their finding. Point is i would definately get in touch with them.
__________________ Cali Pixie Roxie : RIP Nikki; RIP Maya;RIP my sweet Dixie girl 1/17/08 http://callipuppyscastle.bravehost.com/index.html |
01-10-2006, 07:02 PM | #4 |
Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Central Texas
Posts: 2,624
| DEFINITELY get in touch with Texas A&M - good luck! So sorry your baby is so sick - I hope they find out what is wrong with her!
__________________ Rex & Rowdy's Mom |
01-11-2006, 07:15 PM | #5 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Amarillo, Texas
Posts: 84
| Sick Baby We are taking her to Stillwater, Oklahoma to OSU since it is closer - hopefully next week. She saw the "city" vet yesterday and he wants us to go there to have more sophisticated tests done to check for liver shunt and also heart problems. Thanks for your concern. |
01-11-2006, 07:25 PM | #6 | |
Donating YT 14K Club Member | Quote:
__________________ As always...JMO (Just My Opinion) Kimberley | |
01-11-2006, 07:33 PM | #7 |
Donating YT 30K Club Member | Good luck please keep us posted.
__________________ Cali Pixie Roxie : RIP Nikki; RIP Maya;RIP my sweet Dixie girl 1/17/08 http://callipuppyscastle.bravehost.com/index.html |
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