|
Welcome to the YorkieTalk.com Forums Community - the community for Yorkshire Terriers. You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. You will be able to chat with over 35,000 YorkieTalk members, read over 2,000,000 posted discussions, and view more than 15,000 Yorkie photos in the YorkieTalk Photo Gallery after you register. We would love to have you as a member! Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today! If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please click here to contact us. |
|
| LinkBack | Thread Tools |
04-26-2008, 10:14 PM | #1 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 28
| Canine hepatitis??? About two weeks ago, our two-year-old yorkie, Lacy, started having terrible diarrhea for a couple of days. We took her to the vet (this was about four months before her regular checkup), and the vet, just as a precaution, decided to take some blood samples just to see what was wrong. Lacy got better on her own in a few days, and we thought all was well. The vet called us in a couple of days with startling news that Lacy's liver readings were a little high. Her SGPT reading was fine, but SGOT, which should be around 63, was 98. We took her back a week later for another blood test to see if they had returned to normal. They hadn't. SGPT, which should be 116, had skyrocketed to 668. SGOT had gone up to 427. Our vet, who we have had all of Lacy's life and regard as very intelligent and creative, had no idea what to say. She prescribed a homeopathic drug to improve liver function, and sent us to a specialist nearly a 5 hours drive away. We got an appointment for Tuesday. Lacy is two years old and we are just sick with worry. With some research, I've come to suspect some kind of liver hepatitis, but we'll find out what the internist thinks on Tuesday after she has to go through hours and hours of X-rays, sonograms, and a liver biopsy. I don't even like to imagine what would have happened if Lacy hadn't had diarrhea a few weeks ago and we had never gotten that blood tested. Lacy has always been fed wholesome, homemade food, but now we've cut out all supplements in it and she's getting straight rice and chicken every day. I can't even put into words how much we love this dog. Has anyone ever had any experience with what I think is chronic acute canine hepatitis in a yorkie? I don't think it's the infectious type, because she got all the standard vaccines. From what I've read the prognosis isn't good, but it makes me sick to look up anything else about it. |
Welcome Guest! | |
04-27-2008, 06:23 AM | #2 |
Donating YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: North Carolina
Posts: 8,317
| Has she had a bile acids test? Liver shunts are very common in Yorkies. In fact, Yorkies are thirty-six times more likely to have a liver shunt than all other breeds combined. A bile acids test, then a Protein C test, and then a scintigraphy, are the tests that need to be done before invasive procedures like liver biopsies. Also, don't waste your money on ultrasounds as they are only 80% accurate according to the University of Tennessee, as low as 60% according to Dr. Center. Most vets don't know enough about liver shunts. Where are you located? Vet schools are usually a better option. Here are some good links for you: The Univ. of TN College of Veterinary Medicine - Portosystemic Shunts Hepatic Vascular Disorders - WSAVA 2006 Congress |
04-27-2008, 06:31 AM | #3 |
Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: USA
Posts: 7,178
| An ultrasound will show if the liver has atrophied (shrunk/become smaller) at this point and it will also show if there are stones/crystals in the bladder which is usually secondary to liver shunt/liver disease. Other than that, it's very difficult to actually see if there's a liver shunt with a sonogram. What supplements and food were you giving her exactly before you found out about this? If you can join the liver shunt and mvd group on yahoo groups, it would probably be beneficial to you. In the Files section we have an extensive amount of information which you can print up and take to your vet if you like. The people on there are very knowledgable about liver shunt and liver disease, and you can get advice and help. Liver_Shunt_And_MVD_Support : Liver Shunt & MVD/HMD Support
__________________ Miko 's his Mommy |
Bookmarks |
|
|
| |
|
|
SHOP NOW: Amazon :: eBay :: Buy.com :: Newegg :: PetStore :: Petco :: PetSmart