Seizures? Liver Shunt? - YorkieTalk.com Forums

bentley2004 · 06-12-2009, 07:18 PM

This is unfortunately my third yorkie with issues and I'm worried.

We suspect Oliver had a little seizure on Wednesday. He's 11 months and always a pocketful of energy. While he has a great appetite, lately I'noticed he drinks an excessive amount of water and pees alot. On Wednesday he was very quiet. He came to work with me as usual and by noon he started trembling and looked a bit strange. I picked him up and noticed he had wet the bed. He wouldn't stand and was a bit listless. We got to the vet and on the way he was drooling. Once there he was pretty much non responsive, he wouldn't stand and when i called his name he looked around, but not at me.

We suspected toxic poisoning and they immediately gave him charcoal. He was under observation until they closed, but they felt well enough for him to come home with me. He was pretty quiet, but by 10pm had a burst of energy and was his old self.

All his preliminary blood tests were normal. No signs of toxicity. His BUN and Creatnine levels were normal. I say that because little Cooper, my other baby died of Renal Dysplacia when he was 17 months old.

On Thursday afternoon he started to tremble again. Fearing the same, I brought him back to the vet but he seemed to be fine. We did a thyroid test and urine test. Those too appeared normal, so the vet suspected a neurological issue for further testing.

This morning we saw a neurologist where we did a bile test for Liver Shunt. We won't know the results till sometime Monday. We want to rule that out before moving forward.

If anyone has had a similar experience I would love to hear about it...

dwerten · 06-12-2009, 08:02 PM

Did you do a full cbc panel and was ALT high at all -- did you do pre and post bile acid test? where i california are you ? I live in california too

dwerten · 06-12-2009, 08:03 PM

what percentage of protein are you feeding in food?

bentley2004 · 06-12-2009, 08:21 PM

I had a copy of the blood test and xrays and unfortunately did not make copies for myself. I gave them to the neurologist this morning. They did a normal blood panel - gave a list of 15-20 different results. I am going to take a look tomorrow, but since both vets agreed there was nothing out of the ordinary and everything was normal I didn't even think to take a copy.

I fasted him last night thinking they would probably do a pre/post bile test, which they did end up doing this morning. I've been reading about this Protein C test, but neither vet made mention of this.

He eats Eukaneba puppy food - little kibbles. Treats are New Balance Turkey. I imagine the protein is high - I will have to take a look.

I'm in Southern California - Santa Monica. I was referred to Dr. Hanson in Tustin, but since I couldn't get there today and wanted some initial workup, I took him to another referral in the valley whose vets were all once part of the California Animal Hospital (they treated both my other babies when they were ill).

Mardelin · 06-12-2009, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bentley2004

I had a copy of the blood test and xrays and unfortunately did not make copies for myself. I gave them to the neurologist this morning. They did a normal blood panel - gave a list of 15-20 different results. I am going to take a look tomorrow, but since both vets agreed there was nothing out of the ordinary and everything was normal I didn't even think to take a copy.

I fasted him last night thinking they would probably do a pre/post bile test, which they did end up doing this morning. I've been reading about this Protein C test, but neither vet made mention of this.

He eats Eukaneba puppy food - little kibbles. Treats are New Balance Turkey. I imagine the protein is high - I will have to take a look.

I'm in Southern California - Santa Monica. I was referred to Dr. Hanson in Tustin, but since I couldn't get there today and wanted some initial workup, I took him to another referral in the valley whose vets were all once part of the California Animal Hospital (they treated both my other babies when they were ill).

One of the best vets in the country is located in Santa Monica. Dr. Jean Dodd. Do a search for her info.

bentley2004 · 06-12-2009, 08:27 PM

Santa Monica? That's great to know...i'll look her up. Thank you.

dwerten · 06-12-2009, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bentley2004

Santa Monica? That's great to know...i'll look her up. Thank you.

she is our vet and she is in garden grove by knotts berry farm - we see her 3-4 times a year and correspond by email- she is awesome that is why i asked where you were

Here is her site Animal Blood Bank and Restore Health Cente -I believe she is out of town right now but pm me and i will give you her email address to set up an appt with Kim her assistant for when she gets back to review all the blood work - wish i knew before as she does the protein c test as well and you could have done everything there at the same time

dwerten · 06-12-2009, 08:34 PM

no more turkey treats as you need to lessen the protein and also i do not like turkey for dogs due to tryptophan (?)

Does he act spaced out after eating, head press on walls, seize, vomit, picky eater as these are all signs of liver shunt - Alt can be normal and still have a shunt

so the bile acids should be back by monday and post results.

Low thyroid has been tested for but did they do 6 panel thyroid? Many things can cause seizures and it does sound like that -- are you sure it was not hypoglycemic? How often are you feeding and how far after eating is he seizing?

Mardelin · 06-12-2009, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwerten

she is our vet and she is in garden grove by knotts berry farm - we see her 3-4 times a year and correspond by email- she is awesome that is why i asked where you were

Here is her site Animal Blood Bank and Restore Health Cente -I believe she is out of town right now but pm me and i will give you her email address to set up an appt with Kim her assistant for when she gets back to review all the blood work - wish i knew before as she does the protein c test as well and you could have done everything there at the same time

If memory serves me correctly, she also has an office in Santa Monica.

dwerten · 06-12-2009, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mardelin

If memory serves me correctly, she also has an office in Santa Monica.

No her home is in santa monica - she only sees people at her location in garden grove

Mardelin · 06-12-2009, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwerten

No her home is in santa monica - she only sees people at her location in garden grove

HEMOPET
W. Jean Dodds, DVM
938 Stanford Street
Santa Monica, CA 90403
310-828-4804; Fax 310-828-8251

Here's an address I listed for her. Is it no longer current.

dwerten · 06-12-2009, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mardelin

HEMOPET
W. Jean Dodds, DVM
938 Stanford Street
Santa Monica, CA 90403
310-828-4804; Fax 310-828-8251

Here's an address I listed for her. Is it no longer current.

that is her house not her work - she lists her home on the holistic vet site if that is where you are getting it from and the 310# is her home number

dwerten · 06-12-2009, 08:52 PM

Contact

here is her address and email address and let her know debbie and dee dee referred you as we have been working with her for 2 years as my dd is mvd and hypothyroid and severe atopic dermatitis. She does our titers and blood work for all 3 dogs.

bentley2004 · 06-12-2009, 08:52 PM

This one is the first he had and it appears to have been mild. He does not exhibit the most obvious liver shunt symptoms. He's always eaten well and has a hearty appetite, he doesn't bang his head against the wall, not spaced out...vomit...none of those.

I did notice in the last 2-3 weeks that he was heaving a bit - not really vomiting and it did cause some concern, enough that I called the vet but they told me to try and video it and bring him in if it happened again. It hasn't happened since. Happened 2-3 times.

He's a pretty hearty eater and the last couple of days he hasn't eaten much -there is always food available in the bowl. While he was having his seizure, I did look for honey in the office, but we didn't have any. I have Nutrical and have been carrying it with me.

Not sure what kind of thyroid test. Will stop by their office tomorrow to get copy of results.

Yes, I did find Dodd's info on the internet. Will read more over the weekend.

dwerten · 06-12-2009, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwerten

Contact

here is her address and email address and let her know debbie and dee dee referred you as we have been working with her for 2 years as my dd is mvd and hypothyroid and severe atopic dermatitis. She does our titers and blood work for all 3 dogs.

she does respond to email day and night no matter where in the world she is that is the kind of passionate and compassionate person she is

06-12-2009, 07:18 PM	#1
bentley2004 Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Calfiornia Posts: 28	Seizures? Liver Shunt? This is unfortunately my third yorkie with issues and I'm worried. We suspect Oliver had a little seizure on Wednesday. He's 11 months and always a pocketful of energy. While he has a great appetite, lately I'noticed he drinks an excessive amount of water and pees alot. On Wednesday he was very quiet. He came to work with me as usual and by noon he started trembling and looked a bit strange. I picked him up and noticed he had wet the bed. He wouldn't stand and was a bit listless. We got to the vet and on the way he was drooling. Once there he was pretty much non responsive, he wouldn't stand and when i called his name he looked around, but not at me. We suspected toxic poisoning and they immediately gave him charcoal. He was under observation until they closed, but they felt well enough for him to come home with me. He was pretty quiet, but by 10pm had a burst of energy and was his old self. All his preliminary blood tests were normal. No signs of toxicity. His BUN and Creatnine levels were normal. I say that because little Cooper, my other baby died of Renal Dysplacia when he was 17 months old. On Thursday afternoon he started to tremble again. Fearing the same, I brought him back to the vet but he seemed to be fine. We did a thyroid test and urine test. Those too appeared normal, so the vet suspected a neurological issue for further testing. This morning we saw a neurologist where we did a bile test for Liver Shunt. We won't know the results till sometime Monday. We want to rule that out before moving forward. If anyone has had a similar experience I would love to hear about it...

06-12-2009, 08:21 PM	#4
bentley2004 Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Calfiornia Posts: 28	I had a copy of the blood test and xrays and unfortunately did not make copies for myself. I gave them to the neurologist this morning. They did a normal blood panel - gave a list of 15-20 different results. I am going to take a look tomorrow, but since both vets agreed there was nothing out of the ordinary and everything was normal I didn't even think to take a copy. I fasted him last night thinking they would probably do a pre/post bile test, which they did end up doing this morning. I've been reading about this Protein C test, but neither vet made mention of this. He eats Eukaneba puppy food - little kibbles. Treats are New Balance Turkey. I imagine the protein is high - I will have to take a look. I'm in Southern California - Santa Monica. I was referred to Dr. Hanson in Tustin, but since I couldn't get there today and wanted some initial workup, I took him to another referral in the valley whose vets were all once part of the California Animal Hospital (they treated both my other babies when they were ill). Last edited by bentley2004; 06-12-2009 at 08:22 PM.

06-12-2009, 08:02 PM	#2
dwerten BANNED! Join Date: May 2007 Location: USA Posts: 11,073	Did you do a full cbc panel and was ALT high at all -- did you do pre and post bile acid test? where i california are you ? I live in california too

06-12-2009, 08:03 PM	#3
dwerten BANNED! Join Date: May 2007 Location: USA Posts: 11,073	what percentage of protein are you feeding in food?

06-12-2009, 08:27 PM	#6
bentley2004 Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Calfiornia Posts: 28	Santa Monica? That's great to know...i'll look her up. Thank you.

06-12-2009, 08:34 PM	#8
dwerten BANNED! Join Date: May 2007 Location: USA Posts: 11,073	no more turkey treats as you need to lessen the protein and also i do not like turkey for dogs due to tryptophan (?) Does he act spaced out after eating, head press on walls, seize, vomit, picky eater as these are all signs of liver shunt - Alt can be normal and still have a shunt so the bile acids should be back by monday and post results. Low thyroid has been tested for but did they do 6 panel thyroid? Many things can cause seizures and it does sound like that -- are you sure it was not hypoglycemic? How often are you feeding and how far after eating is he seizing?

06-12-2009, 08:52 PM	#13
dwerten BANNED! Join Date: May 2007 Location: USA Posts: 11,073	Contact here is her address and email address and let her know debbie and dee dee referred you as we have been working with her for 2 years as my dd is mvd and hypothyroid and severe atopic dermatitis. She does our titers and blood work for all 3 dogs.