My baby suddenly started having seizures
 

I'm hoping somebody else out there has had or has heard of the following problems my 6-mo old Delilah is having. Approximately a week ago today, she had her first seizure. After that she had one each day, usually when she became excited or running in the yard thru Monday. I took her to the vet on Wednesday and HIS blood glucose indicated she was hypoglycemic and he also found a heart murmur, which had not been discovered earlier and he indicated was progressive. After sending a blood test off, the vet called today and explained that the lab's glucose indicated her blood sugar was fine, however her white blood count was extremely high. She had another seizure last night (somewhat worse than the others). I'm somewhat confused about the seizures. If her glucose is normal, what else would cause the seizures? HELP!

Sometimes seizures are tricky to diagnose. My dog started having seizures when she was a year old. They could never find a cause so they just say its epilepsy. My previous dog started having seizures at age 7, same thing they could not find a clinical cause. She also was diagnosed with epilepsy. Both of them only had seizures about every 2-3 months. Since your baby is having seizures more often, did the vet put her on anti-seizure meds?

I have heard seizures can come from many things, hypoglycemia, parasites, infections, food allergies, thyroid problems, and the list goes on. I hope your vet is a good diagnostician and can help you find the cause.

So sorry your little yorkie is having seizures. This must be so scary. Is the vet going to perform more tests? Ot is he just going to began treating the seizures? Something is obviously causing this, and the vet has to find out. If he is unwilling to further investigate, he needs to give you a referral. Your baby should not be suffering needlessly.

did you have a full blood panel and were her alt high as she may have liver shunt which runs in yorkie breed and not many vets are aware of liver shunt. You need to have a pre and post bile acid test and protein c test done immediately as she could have liver shunt at her young age and the surgery is very successful if you go to dr tobias at university of tennessee -I would only trust her with that surgery and no one else. Dr center's is the internal medicine specialist at cornell that has done a lot of research on this as well. Dr tobias is the surgeon - only trust them and have vet run the tests

fast her for 12 hrs pull blood feed wait exactly two hrs on dot then pull blood and that is a pre and post bile acid test. The fact that your vet did not recommend this immediately on her being a yorkie i would get to an internal medicine specialist and as your vet who is the best in area and go this person to run the tests for liver shunt

is she a picky eater, head press against wall, acts spaced out after eating? These are signs of liver shunt. Vomitting after eating? What is protein % on food as you may need to get protein count down to 18% but first get the bile acids and protein test done immediately as my gut is this is what is causing the seizures in such a young dog. I think she is too young to have epilepsy

was the breeder you got her from reputable :(

How far are you from Tustin, CA - what county are you in - in california?

Seizures in a dog under one year old are usually a symptom of an underlying condition, not epilepsy. In Yorkies, the #1 reason in a puppy older than 12 weeks (hypoglycemia) is a liver shunt.

Did you know that Yorkies are thirty-six times more likely to be born with a liver shunt than all other breeds combined? Did your breeder bile acid test her parents?

Delilah needs to have a bile acids test herself. Here is a great explanation from Dr. Center, its developer.

PSVA and MVD Research Summary

My sister's Cairn Terrier had seizures like that and after much testing it turned out he had Cushings.

I was too late to save her
 

My baby died this last Tuesday at the vets office while getting an xray. Unfortunately, after treating her for the many, many seizures with meds, I think it only doomed her faster. By the time I got her to the vet, she was very swollen with liquid and was barely eating, only drinking massive amounts of water. The vet says she had liver shunt. While it will take me a very long time to come to grips with this, I am also very angry with the breeder I bought her from. She acts as if it's something we did (or didn't do) and that none of her other dogs exhibit symptoms like Delilah. How do I make sure these people do not sell anymore dogs to unsuspecting owners like myself? I would hate for anyone else to experience this. Any ideas, suggestions or advice you could give me would be helpful and appreciated.:cry:

I am so sorry. :(

Unfortunately most breeders do not clear their adults of liver shunt and MVD by bile acids testing and don't know their lines well enough. It can't be totally prevented, but with proper testing the number of dogs with LS could be cut down dramatically.

I am so, so sorry for your loss and the pain you are experiencing.

i am so sorry i tried to help before this happened :( i feel so bad for you

I can not even imagine the pain you are feeling...I am sorry...but you really did all you could do for your baby.

I am so very sorry. Did you have a contract against genetic conditions? LS is genetic.

I am so sorry for your loss.

I am so sorry for your loss. These babies are a part of our family not just pets, I pray time will ease your pain:aimeeyork