Sick Yorkie-Lymphangiectasia - Update

[12PawRanch]

We just got the diagnosis today for my 3-year od Yorkie. It's such a shock, since he seemed fine until I noticed on Sunday that his belly was getting swollen. Here it is just 4 days later and he's been poked and prodded and had the endoscope biopsy yesterday. He has a mild to moderate case and starts treatment (low-fat prescription diet, prednisone, azathiopine) tomorrow. The vet is being so careful not to get my hopes up that it will work. I need some hope.

[jacs0517]

Please look up my original post regarding my Oscar's battle with this illness. Link here - http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sic...orkie-two.html

Also, I would highly suggest a home-made diet - I used one from Hilary Watson, information attached (she is awesome answering any questions). Even though your vet may suggest a medical diet, it is no where near as good as home-made. Also, you MUST never feed him anything fattening - not even a little bit - if he needs a treat give him peas. Good luck and keep me posted - any questions please let me know.
THE BALANCER Home-Made Meal Supplement for Dogs

[12PawRanch]

Jacalyn - thanks for the info and I'm really sorry about Oliver (his photo is precious!). Jock started treatment today and I'm praying that it works and his albumin goes up. His spirits seems pretty good (better than mine!).

Thanks,
Karen

[jacs0517]

Hi Karen, my profile picture is of our new love - Carson (has the same letters as Oscar) - he looks so silly because I put baby oil in his fur as his skin was flaking. In my profile I have an album of all Oscar's pictures, I haven't had a chance to upload any of Carson yet (except the profile). Keep on top of the blood testing, weekly if you can until he gets stable. Please try to get him on a home-made diet, something high protein and low fat. Good luck!

[ScruffyMom]

Hello Everyone. About two hours ago, I received a phone call from my vet that no one wants to receive. Yesterday, after 4 days of on and off diarrhea, I decided to take Scruffy, my 3 year old yorkie, to the vet. He had lost 1lb, and just was not himself. The vet prescribed him antibiotics and took a CBC [complete blood count]. This morning, Scruffy was doing much better and was back to himself. However, the doctor called me and said that Scruffy's albumin levels were very low. He went through what could be causing this: liver problems, the kidneys not functioning properly, and bowel problems. He insisted that the first step is to bring in a stool sample along with a urine sample tomorrow. I am fearful that this is PLN or PLE, or cancer [which the doctor did mention as I nearly hit the floor]. Scruffy is 3 years old and is one amazing dog. I have researched all possibilities [which only makes me more nervous] and was hoping that someone out there was going through something similar or went through something similar with a positive outcome. I can actually that I have never been this scared. . . any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[Wend]

Oh I am sorry your baby is not well. You may get more response if you start a new thread, I have no experience with this and I know I am of zero help. I hope someone who has more knowledge than I do can help you out!

[12PawRanch]

Scruffy's Mom -

I'm sorry to hear that Scruffy is suffering and you are scared. When my Jock first got sick, I heard many of the same potential diagnoses from my family vet. However, he knew that he didn't have the expertise to treat something so specialized, so he referred me to an internal medicine specialist who really focuses on intestinal problems, often in small dogs. She was able to diagnose in minutes what our family vet could only speculate about. I think the key to my Yorkie's successful management of his disease (lymphangectasia) has been high-quality specialized vet care and a good partnership between the specialist, our family vet and us.

Good luck. Let me know if you have any specific questions.
Karen

[jacs0517]

Lymphangiectasia can only be diagnosed by a biopsy, however, as my original post mentioned I would have your vet put your little guy on Prednizone and see if his albumin levels increase. Then change his food to a low fat, good quality high protein diet – absolutely no fat what-so-ever. Within 7-14 days you should see a better blood result, and if not then go for the additional tests. Good luck!

[LuvMySissy]

Originally Posted by ScruffyMom

Hello Everyone. About two hours ago, I received a phone call from my vet that no one wants to receive. Yesterday, after 4 days of on and off diarrhea, I decided to take Scruffy, my 3 year old yorkie, to the vet. He had lost 1lb, and just was not himself. The vet prescribed him antibiotics and took a CBC [complete blood count]. This morning, Scruffy was doing much better and was back to himself. However, the doctor called me and said that Scruffy's albumin levels were very low. He went through what could be causing this: liver problems, the kidneys not functioning properly, and bowel problems. He insisted that the first step is to bring in a stool sample along with a urine sample tomorrow. I am fearful that this is PLN or PLE, or cancer [which the doctor did mention as I nearly hit the floor]. Scruffy is 3 years old and is one amazing dog. I have researched all possibilities [which only makes me more nervous] and was hoping that someone out there was going through something similar or went through something similar with a positive outcome. I can actually that I have never been this scared. . . any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I would also suggest running a Spec Cpl panel on him as this can accurate diagnose PLE - which is how my Sissy's was discovered. Although you only read about managing symptoms and no cure, the vast majority of these cases are not found until very late end stage. Sissy's was caught at the very earliest stage and subsequent blood work has a normal TLI level. Her albumin was never high however.

She is on a regimen of supplents (probiotic, vitamineral green, colostrum, and liver support) along with The Honest Kitchen Preference mixed with cooked white fish and salmon alternatred with The Honest Kitchen Embark. After 6 months of supplements and this food, along with B12 injections, she is a completely different dog and doing very well. Never give up hope!!!!!!

[ging4444]

Jacs0517 I am so sorry for your loss. I lost my beloved Teddy to this horrible disease last year and I am still so devastated by the loss. I also tried everything to save him and spent $16000 the last few months of his life. I was taking him to a specialist also. I am sorry all of you have to go through this. As for the diet, they had me hire a top veterinary nutritionist who told me he could have no dog food whatsoever. She said that even the low fat dog foods had too much fat for his body to handle. I did catch his early and I had him on a special home made diet. I did everything I could possibly do but it wasn't enough. The specialist hospital was 2 hours away and when he took a turn for the worst very early in the morning I was hysterical that I wouldn't get there in time to see him again. Thankfully I was able to be with him and he died very peacefully in my arms. I will miss him for the rest of my life.
Please try to be as informed as possible. I learned that a lot of vets, even the top ones, don't know a lot about this disease. I wish you all the best and many long years with your babies.

[jacs0517]

Thanks ging4444 - I miss Oscar every day, he was such a sweet boy. My new love Carson is adorable; the breeder thought he would be the best choice for me after I lost Oscar. Carson was one year when I got him and he is the sweetest boy I've ever met - if I was to manufacturer the perfect Yorkie, this would be him. I am so sorry to hear about Teddy, it is terrible when not even all the money in the world won't help a sick being. I just know so much more this time around, and am going to give Carson the healthiest life I can possible.

[iluvdirk]

My yorkie Dirk is sick. He acted like he had something stuck in his throat. He would cough and trie to throw something up but nothing came. Then he started laboring to breath. I took him to my vet and we have run tests. Blood work, liver test. His protein level was way below what it should be. 1.5 os considered critical and his was below that. They gave him a plasma transfer and that brought it up to 1.9. He is doing better but we still do not know what is causing it. Dirk is not under weight so I don't think that he is losing protein through his stomach. If you have any ideas please let me know

iluvdirk

[ScruffyMom]

Hello. First and foremost, I know exactly what you are going through, and it is horrible. Try to be positive and get your yorkie the help he needs. After about 5 days of diarrhea, I took my yorkie Scruffy to the vet. The vet ran a CBC and he had an albumin level of 1.9 which is well below what is normal. The doctor gave me a long list of possibilities as to why he had this problem. . . kidney disease, liver disease, lymphagiectasia, IBD, lymphoma, etc. The first step my vet took was to collect a urine and fecal sample. The urinalysis results ruled out kidney problems as his kidneys are the picture of health. The fecal exam looked at whether or not he had some type of parasite that was causing the problem. He did not have a parasitic infection. The next step was an abdominal ultrasound performed by an ultrasound specialist. The doctor gave me the option of waiting two weeks to see if the problem was purely related to colitis, but I opted to have the ultrasound done right away. The ultrasound showed some areas on inflammation in the stomach, as well as the intestines. Both the ultrasound tech and my doctor agreed that there were no true clinical signs that led them to believe it was lymphagectasia, thus, they determined it is IBD. By this time, Scruffy was back to himself and was putting on weight. Scruffy is allergic to something in food and he must be kept on a strict diet. He eats prescription food and is currently on 1/4 of a pill of metrodinazole twice a day. He appears to have put some weight back on and is back to being his playful self. The doctor insists that that there is the possibility that Scruffy can come off of the medication at some point, but his protein levels must be stable first. Be sure that you ask your vet as many questions as possible. Make sure that he/she has an understanding of all of the above mentioned problems and don't be afraid to get a second opinion if you do not see your dog's condition improving. I will warn you that the cost of running these tests adds up [about $1000 for me], but it was worth it to make sure that Scruffy is getting the care that he needs. As I said, he's a happy little camper these days, and aside from getting his medicine twice a day, everything is back to normal. He'll have another CBC run in a few weeks to monitor his albumin and globulin levels. Good Luck!!

Sue

[12PawRanch]

Dirk's Mom - I'm so sorry to hear about your pup. Hang in there. It's difficult but there are so many impressive vets out there to help with difficult medical problems.

When my Jock had the same problems (really low albumin), the vet (a specialist in internal medicine - not a general vet, which I think is really important), immediately suspected lymphangectasia. She did a scope where she put a tube down his throat with a little camera on the end (he was under anesthetic) and took a small sample of his intestine out for visual inspection as well as lab tests. The visual confirmed the lymphangectasia and the lab tests ruled out IBD.

Jock was not underweight either. In fact, b/c his intestines could not process the protein, he was losing intestinal fluid into his abdomen. So in reality he really was losing weight (major muscle mass) but I could not tell b/c it was being masked by the bloating from the fluid. Once he started treatment and the fluid went away, he was the skinniest little thing. I felt so badly for him, since I hadn't been able to tell.

I would strongly suggest if at all possible where you live that you get Dirk to a vet that specializes (i.e., is Board certified) in internal medicine rather than a regular general vet. It may make the difference between a quick and correct diagnosis and a bunch of guessing and unnecessary tets. Our family vet suggested all kinds of things - cancer, liver problems, IBD - but referred us to a specialist. We went there the same day and the vet honed in quickly on the diagnosis and started treating him the same day.

Jock has done really well with the treatment, but there have been some ups and downs. But all in all he is so much better and he's like a puppy again (he's 4).

Good luck. Let me know if I can answer specific questions.
Karen

[iluvdirk]

I am so glad to hear that your Wicket is doing better. My Dirk is now home from the Vet and is on a special food called Purina H A hypoallergenic. Also he is taking Metronidazole. I was wondering what kind of food you are feeding your dog ? Also my Dirk is still retaing to much fluid. He stomach is large and feels like a sponge. Did your dog have the same symptoms. Please let me know what you think. I am looking for guidance here. Thanks so much for the past information. I really appreciate it.

Teresa
North Dakota