So sorry to hear about Lacy. We will keep her in our thoughts.

I just talked to the Internal Medicine specialist. Lacy will go to A&M to be seen by him for the day on Tuesday. They'll look at her history, bloodwork, and radiograph, and they are going to do a blood ammonia test and ultrasound that day. So...we will see what they have to say then.

:thumbup::thumbup: Sounds like a good plan! Keep us posted.

OMG! Michele, i am just seeing this or i would have said something to you y'day at the meetup. Prayers definitely coming from us!! :hands:
Poor little girl!!! :cry:
I hope everything goes well on Tuesday!! :hands:

Thanks :) I'm sure you saw at the meetup that she's pretty much her normal active self. It's just days here and there that she gets sick. She was running around and barking and having a good time....she and Rylie were pooped that night. I just want to find out what's going on to keep her healthy and so that she doesn't get sicker in the future.

I was so sad when I dropped Lacy off this morning. It's funny how I missed her more today when she was actually much closer in distance than she would have been at home. I bet Rylie didn't know what to think being left home alone all day. They told me they were going to have to shave her abdomen and up the sides...luckily it doesn't look as bad as I thought it would. You can tell, but most of her hair covers it so it's not too bad.

They did a blood ammonia test and that came back normal. And they did the ultrasound and did not find a shunt so that's good news. So they were pretty confident that there is no shunt. However, they did find several spots on her liver that were abnormal in texture. There is no way for them to know what's going on in these areas without a biopsy. They said some possibilities were damage from a toxin (but i couldnt think of anything she could have gotten into), an inflammatory response from an infection, cancerous tissue, or Microvascular Dysplasia. I'm sure there are other possiblities but those were some of the main ones. They did feel like her liver is functioning well at this point so that's great. So I guess we are going to be coordinating a date for a biopsy soon. I'm going to be so nervous on that day :( Hopefully the results will come back that its nothing too serious.

Great news that they found no evidence of a shunt! I'm sure Lacy probably has MVD and will be just fine with a change of diet and some supplements, but I can understand why you want to do the biopsy.

Lacy's case is a wonderful example of why Dr. Center recommends that all Yorkies have BAT's as puppies, so that they won't have to have an invasive procedure like a biopsy later on.

Don't you wish this information was out there when Lacy was a puppy?

From page 22 of Dr. Center's seminar handout. (Note that based upon her research, Dr. Center has changed the recommended age from four months to five months.)

"2: The best approach to avoid "over diagnosis" is to test bile acids in young dogs of highly affected breeds (at 4 mths of age) while they are clinically healthy and before they are adopted into pet homes. Highly affected breeds include: Yorkshire Terrier, Cairn Terrier, Maltese, Tibetan Spaniels as well as many other "terrier" type breeds (Miniature Schnauzer, Lhasa Apso, Shih Tzu, Dachshund, Bichon Frise, Pekingese, Toy and Miniature Poodles, and Havanese and others). Proactive assessment of serum bile acids will limit the awkward circumstance imposed when an MVD dog, with minor health issues, is suddenly recognized to have abnormal bile acids by a pet owner's veterinarian. This circumstance can lead to unnecessary diagnostic confusion and unwarranted invasive tests such as liver biopsy and portovenography."

Oh goodness.
I bet it's MVD but who knows. :(

Ellie's u/s showed mildly increased echogenicity throughout. It sounds a bit different than what is going on with Lacy because she has spots. At the same time, your vet mentioned possible inflammation, so I thought I'd ask, have they brought up fatty liver/steatosis hepatitis/hepatic lipidemia? I'm not even sure if it is a possibility though. The vet would have probably mentioned it. This could have to do with high triglycerides which could cause intermittent gastrointestinal issues and abdominal discomfort.

Also, if she is under anyway and the vet isn't convinced that the GI issues are related to the liver, are you going to consider an intestinal biopsy?

We hope and pray it is something easy that can be fixed with diet. Please keep us posted. We continue to send puppy prayers!! :hands:

No, they haven't brought that up. I'll have to look that up as I don't know much about it. They did a full abdominal ultrasound today and the rest of her organs all looked normal. I think we're pretty sure her symptoms are most likely due to whatever is going on with her liver. For her biopsy, they are going in with a small incision and are supposed to take biopsies from a few of the abnormal areas...I think using a laparoscope. That way they don't have to make a large incision.

Looks like fatty liver is the most common liver disease i cats. I didn't find much info about it for dogs on my quick search, although I'm sure dogs get it too. Looks like that disease would be diagnosed with a liver biopsy as well.

I just wanted to say that I will be thinking of Lacy. I am very sorry for all that you guys are having to go through. I can only imagine how hard it is.

Thank you for always being there for people like me when we had questions.

I am so glad to hear that shunt is pretty much ruled out. Please keep us informed and let us know when the biopsy is scheduled. Big hugs.

Oh no Michelle!! I am just now seeing this (haven't been on in awhile) I am so sorry about Lacy but it sounds like you're on it and will get your answers before you know it. I wish I had something intelligent to say but *luckily* I haven't had to deal with liver issues before. Fingers crossed for you and Lacy!

I"m sorry to hear about Lacey! I'm sending prayers to you. I know she'll be in the best hands with Texas A&M.
Sending out prayers and well wishes!

Donna Bird
Brooklynn's Yorkshire Terriers

Thanks everyone :) I should find out tomorrow when her biopsy will be. I'm just hoping whatever they find out gives us a conclusive diagnosis and that it's nothing too serious. Hopefully whatever it is was caught early and any more damage can be prevented. Lacy means the world to me.

I will keep Lacey in my prayers! They are all precious and we love them so much!
Prayers to Lacey!

Michele - I know that Lacy is the world to you. I am so glad they were able to basically rule out the shunt. Praying for you both.

I just wanted to post an update on Lacy's liver biopsy. Right now it looks like it will be done on Wednesday, February 25...so in a week and a half from now.

I will keep Lacy in my prayers!

I will keep Lacy in my prayers, Michele. I know she will be getting the best of care.

Best wishes for a clean bill of health!

Oh dear!

I have been dealing with this same issue since the holidays. My yorkie girl will be two in March. She became sick with vomiting bile and loose bloody stools. Long story short, she was tested and her bile acid count was off the charts----576 the first time. She has had the test repeated 6 times including before and after eating. From one lab, the tests are very high. However, I took my girl to Tufts University for an ultrasound and more blood work. The ultrasound showed no evidence of a liver shunt. The blood work was normal. Follow up blood work by my vet was again in the 5 hundreds!

My yorkie has not shown any symptoms since being put on metronidazole. She is peppy, runs, plays, and eats well. We return to Tufts on Wednesday, 2/18th. She will have another blood test done as the doctor there can't believe the high number my vet's lab ( IDEXX) is getting. We are also thinking about the scintigraphy test but the doctor at Tufts is not too keen on having her "radiated." Right now, she weighs about 5 lbs and he thinks the test might be too much for her. She would have to remain in the hospital for 3 days to be certain all the radiation was flushed out of system. Hopefully, the blood test at Tufts will prove to be normal. He does not think she has a shunt! This whole ordeal is very worrisome.

Should your puppy need sedation as mine did for the ultrasound, beware! Sedation does not allow the eyes to blink. A lubricant was applied to the eyes but somehow my poor baby developed an eye ulcer. It took about month to clear and I had to be vigilant with the antibiotic eye drops and another eye medication. I would caution the doctor to be certain your baby's eyes are completely closed.

Good luck. Your little puppy will be in my prayers. I will keep you posted about my girl's blood test results.

DAB

Wow..I don't think I've ever heard of bile acid results being that high! I'm so sorry...I know that has to really be worrying you. But the bile acid test the university did came back within normal range?? We did a blood ammonia test at Texas A&M too (Lacy's came back normal) but blood ammonia will be high with a shunt. So far as ultrasound, it's only as accurate as the person doing it, and sometimes shunts can be missed. I was confident in the ability of the person doing Lacy's as she is very good with ultrasound, and with her bile acids not being higher and normal bloodpanel and blood ammonia, it made sense that she didn't have a shunt. I think I'd probably consider a scintigraphy if bile acids were as high as your baby's...it's very accurate in finding a shunt.

Michele,
I'm sorry that Lacey is having problems :( I will keeping her in my prayers and checking back to see how the biopsy went.
:hug:
Tammy, Abby and Daisy

My thoughts and prayers go out to you and Lacy...hope all is well.

Oh no...I am just seeing this now :(

I know how you feel. Lacey is in my prayers :)

They called me today and moved her biopsy to Tuesday the 24th

We are really pulling for little Lacy. I hope she is feeling ok during this whole process. How is she doing?

Ahhh....

I am curious about doing the biopsy. Do you want a definite confirmation that she does or doesn't have MVD or do you think it might be something else :confused:

She is in my thoughts :)