Glad she is doing so much better

That is great that Lacy is doing better!! Did she have a good night and eating better today?? I hope she is back playing again really soon!! When do you hear about the test results?? :hands:

She's been feeling fine since yesterday and has been acting like her normal rotten self LOL. She had a normal poop today too. Today would be the earliest results could be back, but it might be Monday or Tuesday next week

GREAT NEWS! Have a good week-end.

:p Darla

Still hoping and praying for good results...the waiting is very hard. Happy to hear Lacy is feeling more like herself...maybe that's a good sign!!!

Results
 

Apparently Lacy has Hepatic Lipidosis (Fatty Liver). This is a very common liver disease in cats, but it is not usually seen in adult dogs. But I did find an article that said that it is usually toy breed dogs that get it, esp yorkies, chihuahuas and fox terriers. Other than that I just can't find much info for dogs, and her vets didn't have much info about hepatic lipidosis in dogs either.

We also had a GI panel run on her blood to to check and she has diffuse small intestinal disease. Her Cobalamine and Folate levels were low. Cobalamine was 258 which was technically right on the low end of the normal reference range but they really want Cobalamine to be greater than 450. Her folate was 7.4 and normal is over 7.7. They said possiblities are Inflammatory bowel disease, parasites (although none were found on fecal float), allergies, food intolerance, or bacterial overgrowth. We could do an endoscopic intestinal biopsy to find out for sure...but I don't think we are going that route until we try some things first (and she gets sicker).

So I'm going to submit a fecal sample to the GI lab monday so they can run a PCR test for parasites in case any were missed. And she will be treated with Tylan for a month and also Phenbenazol (a dewormer) for any parasites or bacterial overgrowth. And for for both of her conditions we will be changing her diet to a homecooked, low-fat diet. I'm not clear on protein requirements..sent an email to her vet to get clarification. She also wanted her to try a novel protein, but Lacy has eaten almost everything! She's had fish, but some of the recipes suggested include fish, and there is one with bison, and one with crab.

The hepatic lipidosis just confuses me though! It's so uncommon in dogs and I just can't find much info. I found one short article on Hepatic Lipidosis in toy breed dogs. I just don't understand what caused it. She's not overweight and not diabetic. She has been eating Nature's Variety raw medallions for 2 1/2 years and they say MIN 6% fat (which would be MIN 18.75% fat on dry matter basis). The vet was concerned that the true fat content was much higher than their MIN level stated so I'm going to contact NV to ask for exact fat levels if they can give me that. But I have a hard time believing they are higher than any other commercial dog food :confused: Another concern I brought up to her was the Petzlife gel I've been using. It has grain alcohol in it, which the company claims is safe, and I only used small amounts each time I applied it...but alcoholism in humans can lead to fatty liver...so I wondered. I might contact Petzlife to ask as well. Her vet said it's unlikely that Petzlife is the cause but recommended we stop using the product.

So...basically that's what we know right now. I feel good about the results as things could have been much more serious, but I still also have a lot of questions and hope we can get her fatty liver and intestinal disease under control with treatment and diet so it doesn't progress.

Thankyou so much everyone for you concern and advice

she has been feeling good and acting like her normal self :)

I'm glad you know what is going on now. I've been checking back here every day.
I am hoping you find diet fit for Lacy. You are a wonderful yorkie owner, Lacy is very blessed to have you to care for her.
Hugs and snuggles for Lacy, we will be thinking of her!

Did they test Lacy's triglyclerides? One of the Maltese on SM had high triglyclerides and even got fat deposits behind his eyes and the culprit turned out to be the high fat content in Innova's Evo. With a switch in diet Quincy's triglyclerides can back down into the normal range.

She only had fasted bloodwork (both at her first vet visit and before surgery). Her vet suggested doing a cholesterol/trigylceride panel but didn't know if it would be accurate if we've already switched her diet. So I dont know :confused:

I'm sorry to hear Lacy isn't feeling too well and about her elevated BAT.
I'm offering prayers that she will feel better soon.

I'm glad you got some answers now, at least you have a direction to go in. I will be interested to hear what these pet product companies tell you.

This Hepatic Lipidosis does sound confusing -- it also seems like one unusual thing for yorkies to get. I hope you can find more information on this. Is there any possibility that the vet will make a case study out of what Lacy is dealing with?

Glad she is back to herself. Hope the medicine even helps her to feel better.

Interesting diagnosis.
It isn't common in dogs but can happen obviously.
Her u/s results did make me wonder about it.

You may want to test triglycerides anyway. I know Ellie's internist thought it would be good idea too test hers and see if they were high despite being on a low fat diet.

That is actually a scary thought now that you bring it up. The NV is low fat at 18-19% but that is the minimum. So how do we "know" it isn't higher? The same goes for other companies as well. And what about the people who need low protein for their dogs...just because it is a 20% min. or whatever doesn't really mean much.:confused:

The low b12 could also mean PLE I think...hopefully not the case here though.

Did the vet give you a % of fat that you need to stay under?

Petzlife...I just don't know about the stuff. It is full of alcohol and whether it causes damage or not, I don't see no reason to take the chance.

Thanks for the update Michelle! I am so glad that Lacy is doing better. She is in good hands!! You are a great mommy! :hug: