We Have A Sick Puppy,sammi,need Help.
 

Hi, this is about Sammi, our yorkie who is
8 months old. She has been sick since we
got her. At about 10 weeks she had her first
seizure. We took her to the hospital and they
could not figure what was wrong. They gave
us some valium to give her to prevent the
seizures. This worked for about 4 months,
then she had another really bad seizure and
we took her in again. They observed her
for 2 days and sent us to a neurologist. He
said to get an mri and spinal tap.....$2000.00.
We have not been able to do this yet.
In the meantime the Dr prescribed phenobarbital.
The first day we gave her the medicine, she went
into a catatonic state for about 15 min, while
we were driving to the vet, where she stayed
for another 2 days........
Now she is on potassium something plus 3 other meds
and seems to be better, but the Dr thinks she is just a sick
dog,(called her a "lemon") and we dont know if we can
keep up with :( the payments for all the vet bills.
We are soo sad for her and don't know what
to do, we have gotten money from some people
to help, but they dont want to keep her alive if
she is suffering.........sometimes she is, but
mostly she is ok, but not healthy.
I will send a picture of her.......we also have her
sister who is healthy......sorry this is so long.
We just dont know what to do, we watch her
constantly, never leave her alone, do whatever
the Dr says, and the DR has a good reputation.
We are just so heartsick, and just don't know
what to do. They cant figure out what it is.
HELP!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH, DON'T KNOW
WHERE TO TURN.......:(
Joan Davis, Las Vegas, Nv

I am so sorry. Have they tested her for Liver shunt? Can you see if one of the university vet clinics can help?

Sammi, Liver Shunt
 

YES, SHE WAS TESTED FOR THAT AND IT WAS NEGATIVE.
I dont know if Las Vegas has anything like that. There is only
UNLV so I will check into it.
I may need to surrender her to a rescue center, if that is possible.
I have no experience at all with this, my other dog was never
sick a day in her life except in the beginning, and that was fixed.
I am sorry if I dont make sense sometimes.....we are pretty much
at our wits end.......
Thank you so much for your answer, I will keep trying and looking
into things to help.

So sorry your baby is sick. I hope they can find out what's wrong.

Jodie, thank you
 

Thank you for your wishes..................
love, Joan Davis and Sammi and her sister Gizzi

I try one of the veterninary colleges, because I think their a lot less expensive, and are up to date on the most current diseases.

colleges
 

kind of wish we were in a bigger town now, but as soon as I can I will
look into it........you are all so very nice.......thank you very much.
Love, J, S and G

Praying for your baby

How did they test for a liver shunt? Was it just one blood test to look at her ALT levels or was it a preprandial and postprandial bile acid test?

Has hydrocephalus been ruled out? I think that can cause seizures.

Does she have any other strange symptoms?

Praying for you and your little one.

Welcome to YT. I am so sorry you have a sick furbaby. I will pray for Sammi. This is a great place to get advice from others. I know it may be hard to give Sammi up to a rescue, but I know for some people this is the only answer to make sure the baby gets the needed treatment

hi yorkiesmiles........
 

Yes it is very hard to think of giving her up, but I would rather she be
alive as long as possible, and have the care she needs. She is the
sweetest thing.
Please tell me if you hear or know of a rescue group near Las Vegas, NV.
We are still so upset here, but trying to think positively and praying
a lot.. they are like our babies............you know of course.
THANK YOU AGAIN.........
LOVE, JOAN AND SAMMIE AND SISTER GIZZI

Hi Crystal and Ellie May
 

How did they test for a liver shunt? Was it just one blood test to look at her ALT levels or was it a preprandial and postprandial bile acid test?

Has hydrocephalus been ruled out? I think that can cause seizures.

Does she have any other strange symptoms?
__________________
Crystal and Ellie May

They took several blood tests plus the bile acid test. They still don't
know for sure about hydrocephalus, but seem to think the other symptoms
don't match.
Now she is just having digestive problems diarehha (sp), and vomiting
occasionally. I am kind of losing it at this point. But we are all discussing
the best way to give her the best life possible.........
I will keep you all updated.............we love yorkies........
J and Sammi and Gizzi

Have any of your vets considered GME? We have had several very young Maltese on another forum I belong to have dogs diagnosed with the disease. It is very difficult to diagnose and unfortunately very expensive. I know it requires an MRI and spinal tap. The prognosis isn't very good, either.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body...encephali.html

My Lady has idiopathic epilepsy which is true, organic epilepsy with no known cause. It's unusual in a dog under a year old as seizures are usually caused by an underlying condition like a liver shunt, thyroid irregularities, etc. This is a fabulous website loaded with information:

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/

My heart goes out to you. You are in such a difficult situation. Vet bills can run into the thousands quickly with no diagnosis. Did you get a health guarentee? Is your breeder helping you at all with the vet bills?

I feel so badly for you, you're in a terrible situation.
Re. the epilepsy, there are almost certainly online support groups that can help you with advice and shared experiences. Perhaps the drug doseage simply needs adjusting??
I've heard that many dogs do really well on phenobarb, but it does take awhile for their bodies to adjust to the drug.
I have an epileptic cat... the first few weeks on phenobarb I often wondered if I was doing the right thing, he was lethargic, moody and not himself at all. He gradually got back to his old self though and it's been two years without another seizure. I'm starting an attempt to wean him off his drugs.
In my original research etc., for my cat I found that there ARE other drug choices available for the pets that just can't tolerate phenobarb.
Perhaps the gastric issues are a result of simple stress.... or any medications currently being used.
I'm so sorry you're experiencing this right now and will be hoping and praying that you'll be able to find a happy resolution.