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Old 04-30-2008, 03:49 AM   #1
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Default Sick Yorkie-Lymphangiectasia - Update

An update on Wycket follows. I posted some 44 days ago asking questions about my very sick Yorkie - Wycket - who had been diagoised with Lymphangiectasia. I wanted to give an update and also provide some information should anyone else find themselves in this same position.

I am happy to report that although he is on a medicine regiment and on a special food product, Wycket has gained a pound and is back to his old self.

He again torments his sister (Bristol the cat and queen of the house) and barks loudly enough that his elderly brother (Rusty a 13-year old Cocker) who's hearing is not good, barks right along.

Wycket is on the following medicines: Metroridazole, Prednisone and Cyclosporine. We are just about to begin weaning (sp?) him off the Prednisone which is a steriod and aside from not being a good idea to be on a steriod too long, it makes him urinate alot. His blood will be tested monthly to make sure all the levels remain where they should.

He is on special dry food and his medicine is now given to him in a piece of bread instead of a piece of cheese or luncheon meat as he cannot process fat so must have none of it. (Oh Wycket feels much better as he tries to steal everyone's food).

Basicallly, Wycket will always have this condition and this regiment is designed to manage - not cure - his Lymphangiectasia. Treatment is not inexpensive.

Just wanted to provide an update as I received many informative and encouraging messages.
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Old 04-30-2008, 04:20 AM   #2
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Great update!
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Old 04-30-2008, 05:57 AM   #3
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I'm so glad that his condition is being successfully managed!
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Old 04-30-2008, 06:04 AM   #4
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I am so glad that he is doing better. It's wonderful that you are able to share your experience and knowledge with others who are or might find themselves in this same situation. Thanks for updating on Wycket. I pray that he continues to do well.
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Old 04-30-2008, 06:34 AM   #5
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thanks for the update!! so glad his conditon is under control and hope all goes great for him!!
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Old 02-01-2009, 01:10 PM   #6
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I've just posted my dog Spencer's story and hope to hear back from you on your experiences with this disease. My vet doesn't seem to know much about it and I am so very scared for my baby spence. Any help you can provide would be so appreciated.
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Old 02-02-2009, 06:59 AM   #7
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Default Wycket's Life with Lymphangiectasia

I am sorry to hear about Spence's illness. I know how scary it is but with proper treatment and diet, we have had great success. Wycket is back to a normal life being the alpha dog (yes, he only wieghs 8 pounds) in a household with an old Cocker and one alpha cat sister.

Wycket is off the steriod Prednisone altoghether. He is now taking a lower dosage of Cyclosporine and if his blood work comes back ok(we test quarterly), they will probably lower it some more. He still takes his Metroridazole and will for life from what I understand. He is on a diet of Duck & Potatoe dry food (which costs $31.60 per 8 pound bag) but it seems to do the trick. Yes, he still steals regular food from his brother when we don't watch closely but even that has seemed not to have any detrimental effects. He is totally normal at this point.

I am happy to give you my vet's name and number so that your vet can call and compare notes. Certainly this disease is probably different in every animal but my vet is really pleased with Wycket's progress.

I'm at work otherwise I would let you know the dosages of the medicines Wycket is current only and the actual name of the dog food.

All is all, this course of treatment seemed to have saved Wycket and aside from the cost, is a small price to pay for Wycket's health.

All the best to you and Spence.
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Old 02-02-2009, 03:00 PM   #8
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Thanks so much. I am so happy to hear Wycket is doing so well. Other than the two days of vomiting and an engorged tummy, Spencer is doing great. I think my vet is still not 100% sure this is the cause of his fluid retention. Did Wycket have surgery to confirm his illness? I am struggling with whether or not to do this. Spence is scheduled for next Monday but I'm worried the surgery is high risk due to his low albutim levels. My mom's vet will be doing this in TN and he seems to think there could be many other culprits at work. He will run some tests prior to doing any surgery, but feels looking inside will give us an ideal of exactly what's wrong. I have him on EN by purina right now and he seems to be coming around, he had about 20 pieces of kibble today. I also bought some extra virgin coconut oil which is rich in MCT's. He is on the met.... drug too and steroids. I should dry the wet food you mentioned. Spence has always been on Royal Canin for yorkies so may like their formula better. Is that something you can buy at petsmart? Thanks so much for your encouraging words, it does give me great hope.
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Old 02-03-2009, 06:55 AM   #9
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Wycket never had any surgery just x-rays, sonogram, test of the belly fluid and blood tests. We decided to try his current regement before going any further with other tests. Fortunately, we have had success.

The Royal Canin food is the dry food - Duck & Potato Light. Wycket didn't eat much to begin with and even less when he was ill. He lost body fat as I could feel his back bone extremely well when I would pet him. That was another symptom I missed at the beginning. He has gained back some body fat since his appetite returned and his backbone is not as pronounced as it was. We also watch his weight but he still doesn't eat much but he never did. He may consume 1/2-3/4 of a cup of dry food per day - and usually in the morning. The vet told me to just leave food out all day - right with another dog and cat in the house, Wycket would never get any.

My best wishes to your entire family.

-Yvonne
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Old 02-03-2009, 07:04 AM   #10
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Im so happy to hear he is better. Thanks for the update.
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Old 02-03-2009, 03:32 PM   #11
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Thank you Yvonne. Your story gives me hope. I just got back from the vet and they're going to do an ultrasound Thursday. If nothing else presents itself I probably won't do the surgery. That would just tell us if it was IBD or LI and the treatments are pretty much the same. I don't want to put him through surgery for that. He's doing great right now. He's bright, wants to play and walk and eating so hopefully that continues. How long has your little guy had this? As far as life expectancy I don't know what to expect. I want to do all that I can to make him as comfortable and happy for as long as possible. He's only 6. I love him so much, this is so hard. I just wasn't expecting it at all. You wouldn't even know he was ill if he didn't have the fluid in the tummy. Give Wycket a hug for me. Juliet
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Old 02-04-2009, 04:50 AM   #12
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Wycket was diagnosed in March of 2008. My vet says that this is a condition that he will have for life but as long as it is managed, he should have a long and happy life. So far, we feel really confident about his future. I had talked with another person whose Yorkie was also diagnosed and she said her Yorkie died at 18 due to heart problems not from this condition as they too were able to manage the illness. Keep the positive thoughts and know you are doing everything you can. These little guys are much tougher than we are. Keep us posted.
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Old 02-04-2009, 07:16 AM   #13
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Hi. My baby went back to the vet last night in an emergency. He has been sick for about 2 weeks. We took him in 2 weeks ago because of listlessness and an engorged tummy and breathing difficulties. He is 5 years old. The vet was mostly concerned with low calcium and low protein levels. She performed some test to see if he has a thyroid problem. They told me to give him Tums which I did. He got worse so took him back in 2 days and they started IV and gave him calcium. He was better Monday but had an awful diarrhea. We took him home and belly swelling was down and diarrhea was gone. He ate like a horse all day and we gave him meds for diarrhea as the vet prescribed and the calcium. Yesterday he would not eat or drink all day and the diarrhea came back viciously also with vomiting. We rushed him back last night as he was becoming nonresponsive. They immediately gave him calcium (still low and protein very low) and put him back on IV. Now they are testing for Addison's but I am more concerned with intestinal lymphangiectasia. The vet said it would be bad news if that is what it is. I am very upset about this and he said he would need to do a biopsy but is ruling out Addison's first. Is there anyone else in my position?
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Old 02-04-2009, 11:11 AM   #14
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Default My Experience With Lymphangiectasia

I lost my 10 year old Oscar last Saturday after being diagnosed with this disease six months ago (via biopsy). I wanted to post my experience, and hope to help or save even one yorkie. Please keep in mind I am posting from Canada, so many drug names or normal ranges may not be the same as in America).

He was diagnosed with IBS about two years ago, his albumin level had dropped to 29 (the normal range is 31-42) – my vet said it could either be IBS or Cancer (I almost dropped dead), however, if the Prednizone worked then it would be IBS. He also thought it IBS because Oscar had previous issues with diarrhea – which we gave him Flagyl for (10 days), this would happen maybe twice a year since he was 4 year old. After four weeks on Prednizone (decrease the dose every week) his albumin level increased within the normal range, always in the low range – but in the range none the less. My vet suggested that we test Oscar’s protein levels every three months. So this is what we did, however, until about 10 months ago.

I went in for blood work April 2008, before getting his teeth cleaned – and I am sure that I asked the technician to check his protein levels. I called the next day, and she said everything was okay – I assumed she meant protein too, because I was sure I asked them to check that. Anyway, mistakes happen – I love my vet and I know he cared so much about Oscar, it wasn’t his fault. Then during the summer, when we were renovating our kitchen and I forgot to pick up off the floor and throw away the half a KFC big crunch sandwich – you got it, I came home a few hours later and he had diarrhea all over the place. I found him in my bed with the top of the bun licked dry; he seemed sick and stayed that way for about 24-36 hours when I finally took him to my vet for blood work. When we got the results his albumin level had dropped to 13 and had to be rushed to the emergency clinic (anything below 15 will result in fluid building up in the lungs, belly, and legs). After an ultrasound they found 100ml of fluid in his lungs and the specialist actually came in on the Sunday to insert a needle and remove the fluid. Anyways, on the Monday (after three days on IV) when the internal medicine specialist came in he did the biopsy and advised that Oscar had Lymphangiectasia – the course of treatment would be steroids.

So we went home with Prednizone and tested his albumin level almost every week. At first it went up (we were excited), then it dropped again about a month later – maybe to 19. Oscar was not himself on Prednizone, couldn’t hold him, like he was paranoid. So the doctor decided to try Budesonide which made it go up a point or two, but nothing that would keep him healthy. Then he started to vomit uncontrollably – not exaggerating when I say 30 times, just blood and mucus. This lead to rushing him to the emergency clinic and a couple day stay – more tests, etc, etc. So the doctor put him on Imuran and also gave him Ranitidone for his stomach (to help settle his stomach with all the drugs). The protein level went up again, and then two weeks later down – another bought of vomiting, rushing to the clinic, etc, etc. So we decided to try a homemade diet –the vet gave me a hills canine reducing diet, its for overweight dogs – but it had the same make up, low fat, high protein. He also allowed me to take home the anti-nausea drug (Cerina) and be able to administer it to Oscar via needle; it seemed that it would work after ten minutes. This way Oscar would not have to endure the trauma as before. The diet worked for a week and then albumin level dropped again. I thank the doctor so much for the needle, as Oscar vomited maybe seven more times until last Saturday – but it would stop ten minutes after the needle. So I tried another home made diet, from Hilary Watson, she is in Guelph, Ontario and created a recipe book and supplement (this is very new – look up Balancer) – this diet was cod fish, peas, blueberries, cod liver oil, safflower oil and balancer supplement. After one week his albumin level increased to 29 – it hadn’t been that high since being diagnosed in August, but yet again the next week it dropped to 23. My last hope was the diet, so I knew his time was coming. The doctor said Oscar wouldn’t be able to live long on such a high dose of steroids, as those drugs would cause other issues. So about 10 days ago his white blood cell count came in at 35000 (17000 is normal) with some issues in the kidney – we tested his urine but that was okay. My regular vet said we could check his stool for blood – which we did and it came back positive (on the Friday), however, that day he stopped eating and seemed in pain (up until this point he ate like crazy). I knew that day we were going to let him go; I just couldn’t bring him to the emergency clinic and leave him one more time. I was worried the specialist would tell me the end was near and I didn’t want his last days to be in a cage in the clinic. In the end we spent $11,000 to try to save him – but only a miracle would, and it didn’t come.

I know this may seem like a very sad story, however, this is my suggestion could I go back in time. Test your dog’s albumin levels often, yearly if he is not sick (I think this disease can be managed if caught early – I wish now we would have kept him on a low dose of Prednizone since 2007). If he continues to have diarrhea or poop that is not normal, take him to the vet and test his albumin. If his protein levels are low, get him on Prednizone, and possibly keep him on it (even one pill a week). Keep him away from fatty foods (if he gets into something like KFC take him to the vet at once). And finally if possible feed him a home made diet – even my vet said the gastro he was on (for about 6 years) was low fat; however, it still had fat. No fat is best, and I bet if I put Oscar on this cod fish diet right away he may have lived longer.

If you have any questions, please email me – I will try to answer as best that I can from my experience with Oscar. jacalynh@sympatico.ca
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Old 02-04-2009, 03:14 PM   #15
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Well the quest to diagnose spencer continues....as I type this he is barking and playing fetch with my husband, definitely not the picture of poor health! The doctor did another round of blood and urine test yesterday. The blood tests were the same with the only thing on concern his albumin level of 1.7. The urine test however showed a protein loss of +3 instead of the +1 before. The vet said because of this she can't rule out a kidney problem. He is having an ultrasound tomorrow so we should know more then. Please say a prayer for the little guy. The only symptoms we've had were the day of vomiting a couple of weeks ago that went away almost immediately and his low albumin level which has led to ascites or fluid in the abdomen. Best case is this is IBD, Inflammatory bowel disease....worst case it is lymphangiestasia or kidney failure. He is the picture of health so I'm hoping against hope it was a flare up of IBD. Will keep you posted. Thanks so much for all the information and well wishes. Juliet
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