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12-17-2008, 12:33 PM | #1 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: lexington, ky us
Posts: 3
| Help - Possible Liver Shunt I hope you don’t mind me posting on this site, my dog isn’t a yorkie but we are suspecting she could have PSS – and I am trying to look for answers, help or any kind of info that I can find to save my new puppy. I adopted Izzie on November 21st from our local Humane Society. She had been brought in that day along with several other puppies from another shelter. They immediately fixed them and put them up for adoption, I adopted her the night of her surgery. She never seemed to have much energy and three days later I took her for her vet visit and they diagnosed her with Coccidia, we did ten days of Albun and I still didn’t notice any increase in energy. By then her appetite had decreased too, I took her back to the vet and they did another fecal sample which showed nothing, they also did a blood test which among other things it showed elevated WBC. They decided to give her Pancur for worms, the next morning she vomited so I took her back to the vet. They did a Parvo test which came back negative, that evening she crashed and I rushed her to the Vet ER. She was hypoglycemic and her blood sugar level had dropped to around 12. The spent the next 48 hours on Dextrose, Antibiotics, heat support and also had a Oxyglobin transfusion. She slowly became a little better, I took her to my regular vet on Monday morning and they took her off the IV and sent her home with me, she still had her IV port in and they had given me some dextrose to give to her every 4 hours. This seemed to work and the next day I took her back to the vet and they sent her home that evening. Around 5am that morning I awoke to find her very lethargic and having seizures. I called my regular vet and she met me at the office. She gave her more dextrose and slowly she came around, we also did another Parvo test and it was negative. That evening instead of bringing her home I took her to the ER for monitoring, the vet there suggested we do a Ammonia test, which came back negative. They also had some whole blood so they did another transfusion. I have been transporting her back and forth to the vet when I work and she is still on the IV w/ Dextrose. She wasn’t able to fast long enough for the Bile Acid test, but they did a resting one and the results came back at 64.8, which my vet feels was inconclusive. So now she is maintain and seems to be okay as long as she is on the glucose and fed every 3-4 hours. She is currently on antibiotics, a dextrose IV, and steroids. Her appetite is strong and she acts like she is starving every time I feed her. I notice that she kind of collapses when she eats, it only lasts a few seconds or so, and she then goes back to eating. She also seems to use up all her energy when she has a bowel movement. She also eats so rapidly she doesn’t seem to chew and it gets stuck in the roof of her mouth, so I have to take the food away and dig it out of her mouth and let her re-eat that out of my hand and put her food back and do that a few times so she doesn’t get it so compacted that she isn’t getting any food. Thank you if you are still reading!!! Other info: 1. She is eating Wellness Puppy food, I also give her Nutri-Cal a couple of times a day 2. I am giving her Acidophilus to help with her ‘good’ bacteria 3. I have scrambled her an egg a few times and it seems to be a better consistency than the wet food and she doesn’t pack her mouth so full 4. I also boiled liver and have given her a little of that to help build up her iron My personal vet has been wonderful – she has gone out of her way to make this treatment affordable and able for me to maintain at home. I am desperate and spend my days searching the internet for similar situations, or treatments that might help her. Thank you for reading!! Gina |
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12-17-2008, 12:48 PM | #2 |
Donating YT 30K Club Member | It still sounds like a liver issue. I would get a second opinion. I hope she is ok
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12-17-2008, 12:56 PM | #3 |
Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: USA
Posts: 7,178
| Fasting for a bile acid test is not necessary according to the person who invented the Bile Acid Test, Dr. Center. You just need a paired sample. Have them draw blood first thing in the morning, and then feed her...Then have them draw another blood sample two hours after that feeding. Having these numbers will help you and your vet. This should be the first step. Did they do a regular blood panel? If so, what was this dog's ALT, BUN, ALB ?? If your pup does have liver problems, giving her liver is not recommended at all. This is an organ meat and is very bad for a dog with PSS. In fact, any type of red meat or organ meats are not recommended for them. It causes the liver to work incredibly hard. I didn't see you mention the breed of this dog. What kind of dog is your baby? Vegetarian/dairy protein will be easiest on your baby if it is liver problems. How old is your puppy?
__________________ Miko 's his Mommy |
12-17-2008, 12:56 PM | #4 |
Slave to My Rug-Rats Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Long Island
Posts: 7,247
| Gina, I am so sorry you are going thru this. You are wonderful for rescuing her. Here are a couple of things right off the bat... 1. Redo a correct Bile Acid Test 2. NO LIVER - EVER!!! Organ Meats are extremely dangerous for liver compromised animals and should be avoided 100% 3. Egg in very small quantities is ok, but I would skip it for now. 4. Wellness puppy food is probably too high in protein for a liver compromised dog. Hill l/d wet is recommended and Royal Cain makes an Rx Dry food for liver issues. Also Natural Balance Veggie dry is ok too. Here is a Yahoo Group that deals with Liver Issues. They can Help and Guide you further... DogLiverDisease : Dog Liver Disease -Nicole |
12-17-2008, 03:51 PM | #5 |
And Rylee Finnegan Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Metro Detroit, MI
Posts: 17,928
| As Yorkieluv said, a twelve hour fast is no longer considered mandatory. Paired samples need to be done around a meal at least 1-2 weeks after all meds have been stopped because they can skew the results. A post that high is concerning and with these symptoms, I would make sure the sugar level stays stable but also treat as liver shunt or MVD until diagnosis to be safe.
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12-18-2008, 06:12 AM | #6 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: lexington, ky us
Posts: 3
| Blood Panel Wellness Puppy has a protien amount of around 9%, is that too high? I had read somewhere before that to feed a diet of under 10%. But then I have read so many things it is starting to get confusing. The main problem right now is that she isn't able to maintain her blood sugar unless on the IV. I feed her every 3-4 hours and give her Nutra Call twice daily. It just seems like her body isn't getting the needed nutrients. They have done a serious of blood tests, ALT - 26-32 BUN - 35 - 42 Albumin - .8 - 2.1 As far as a second opinion, she has seen two different Vets at the ER and her regular vet is consulting with a local internal medicine specialist. They are going to cut back on her IV fluids today and monitor her glucose levels. This worries me, I just feel that I am getting to a place where I am going to have to make a choice I am not ready to make. She does okay as long as she is getting the IV fluids, but can't seem to make it without them, I am just not sure how long she can keep going with the IV. I am not sure what her bread is, she is very small but has the coloring of an Australian Shepherd. |
12-18-2008, 04:28 PM | #7 |
Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: USA
Posts: 7,178
| Her ALB was .8???? That's way too low...Her BUN seems a bit high too... Is the wellness that you're talking about canned??? If it is, then it's way too high in protein. You need to convert the protein to a dry matter basis to be able to know exactly how much protein is in it. Take the percentage of protein listed and divide it by (100 minus the percentage of moisture listed)... Example: If it says 9% protein and 80% moisture, take 9/20 = .45 x 100 = 45% protein So, that food that you thought was 9% is actually 45% protein which is dangerously high for a liver shunt dog. If she really has a compromised liver and you're seeing symptoms like this, you need to get her on a vegetarian diet ASAP. Natural Balance makes a vegetarian food.. How often does she have a bowel movement? and is it hard?
__________________ Miko 's his Mommy |
12-19-2008, 05:49 AM | #8 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: lexington, ky us
Posts: 3
| She has had her Albun checked 3 times, first it was 8 that was during her first trip to the Emergency Vet, the next two days it was2.1 & 1.2. Her Bun has been checked three times, 24, 35, 42, 17. Yes, the Wellness is the canned puppy food. I will look into the vegetarian diet and see how that does. They kept her off her iv all day yesterday and I brought her home last night, she did well throughout the night and gums seemed to be pink and everything. I of course didn't get much sleep from feedings, potty breaks and gum checks and just making sure she is breathing it was a long night!! She didn't have much of an appetite and that could be from me trying to feed her every couple of hours!! |
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