Thanks
 

I will call vet tomorrow and ask if she did the test then ask her about the protein thing. Thank you, will keep you posted!!

Prayers for you and your baby
 

I know how it is when you are scared for your baby just say aprayer and if its time for him to go then god will take him and if not a miracle will heal him

She would not have automatically done a bile acids test. It is not part of a basic blood panel. You have to request it specially and there is an extra charge for it (under $75).

This article explains the test:

PSVA and MVD Research Summary

I am just concerned because Yorkies are 36 times more likely to have a liver shunt than all other breeds combined. The symptoms your guy is having are indicative of a shunt. He absolutely needs a bile acids test.

I just can't imagine recommending a diet that could be toxic to a puppy with a shunt until it has been ruled out. :confused:

If all his bloodwork was normal, why does she feel he isn't absorbing enough protein?

Teeth
 

2 rows of teeth just means his baby teeth did not fall out and his permanent ones just grew in along with them you can just have them extracted or wait untill he is about one they may fall out but this is minor considering the other issues you are dealing with

You got some good advice and I would too be concerned to start giving high protein until ls was ruled out.

I would call your vet tomorrow and just let her know that you would feel better if you went ahead with a bile acid test now to put your mind at ease.

Let her know you've been reading up on LS and all of sytoms she has been exhibiting up to this point definitely point to that so you are concerned.

Good luck & I wish the best for you & your baby!

Possible Liver Shunt!
 

Hi there!

I was reading all the symptons you stated. Sounds like my lil girl. She had a very high bile acid count and I was sent to a specialist. They did an ultrasound and couldn't see the shunt (if there was one). I will be scheduling a surgery so they can go in and see if she does have one, and fix it at the same time if they do come across one. The ultrasound didn't show a thing, but it doesn't mean there is not one. The vet told me that since she is so small, the shunt could be teeny-tiny and only be found by going in surgically. I am currently giving her AmoxiDrops (twice daily) and have her on a low protein diet (Hill's Presciption Diet l/d - wet). You should request a bile acids test to be done.

By the way...
 

About the second row of teeth? That only means the adult teeth grew in and the baby teeth didn't fall out. They will have to be extracted. I had to have Misty's done. It was funny...the vet was all, "We have a lil shark on our hands!" Her mouth so looked like it too! LoL! It cost me about $450 to do. They even gave me her teeth in a little bottle. EWWW! I gave them back to her. LoL!

What are her Bile Acid numbers????
How old is she? Has she been spayed yet? She could have MVD ~ which is managed thru diet and supplements. Are you sure you want to open her up to explore :(

For those of you who do not know, bile acids are basically toxins that are spread through the blood stream due to the liver not processing protein properly. There is a main vein that connects to the liver from the stomach (or intenstine...can't remember) which is how the liver can process any nutrients from food (people and dogs). Our body creates its own toxins which he liver filters so that it is good for our blood stream. However, in Misty's case (possibly) the vein that connects to the liver has been diverted to go straight into the blood stream. The liver cannot process the toxins sufficiently. So you can only imagine what these toxins can do to a little 3 pound girl. Protein is the main cause for these toxins, that is why she is on her special diet and given AmoxiDrops which is used to help her liver process protein efficiently. I had the bile acids test done and seen the specialist a few motnh ago. I have not scheduled a surgery because since I have had her on the AmoxiDrops and speicla diet food, she has been doing just fine. The ultrasound eased me anyways, and as I said, she is doing wonderful!

She is almost 2 years old (August 3) and yes, she has been spayed. I can't remember the exact number, but it was up in the low 100s.

Below I typed out what I was given after the ultrasound was completed:

"Thank you for bringing Misty to the Las Vegas Veterinary Referral Center. Today we evaluated Misty for elevated bile acid results. We performed an abdominal ultrasound of the abdomen to evaluate the liver and see if there is an obvious aberrant vessel to the liver or past the liver could be found. Misty has a very small liver on ultrasound with decrease vessel amrkings within the tissue. Both of these abnormal findings suggest a prolonged deficiency in blood supply to the liver. The portal vein was difficult to find on ultrasound and appears to be smaller than expected. The vena cava and portal vein should be equal in size as they pass through or past the liver, but in Misty's case the portal vein is smaller than thne vena cava suggesting decreased blood supply as well. We were unable to find any evidence of an aberrant vessel between the portal vein and vena cava and no significant turbulence in the vena cava as we typically see with an extrahepatic shunt. As we already discussed, lack of identification of a shunt on ultrasound may not definitively rule out its presence if it is very small because Misty herself is quite small and ultrasound may not be sensitive enoughto catch a small shunt. We suggest, therefore, that surgery be performed to evaluate the abdomen and definitively prove that there is no abnormal vessel and to take a biopsy of the liver and determien if anything else can be done to prevent damage to the liver down the road. It is possible that the elevation in liver values, if not caused by a small shunt, is secondary to microvascular dysplasia as we already discussed. We spoke with our surgeons about the surgery and they quoted $2000 to $3000 for surgery depending on the extent of the procedure needed. They felt that the current medications you are giving should be sufficient and no additional medications are needed prior to surgery. Our surgeons usually recommend 2 total weeks of medications prior to surgery."

I think you are confused about the difference between bile acids, which are produced by the liver and stored in the gall bladder and help break down fat, and the toxic levels of ammonia that can build up in the blood when the liver isn't functioning properly.

Bile acids are not toxins as you state.

Bile acid - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I was told that by my vet. That the bile acids come from toxins produced by protein.

I'm sure you were overloaded with lots of information at the time and were understandably confused.

Maybe this explains it better than the link I posted above:

Bile Acids:

These series of organic acids circulate almost entirely in the localized blood flow between the intestines and the liver (a.k.a.: the Portal system). The flow is typically from the liver, into the bile duct system, then excretion into the intestines to aid digestion after a meal, to be re- absorbed into the portal system and recycled by the liver. Very little of the bile acids escape form the portal circulation system into the rest of the body. Leakage is considered abnormal and is a sure sign of a liver abnormality. This is one of the most sensitive tests available to diagnose liver disease.


Liver Disease

hi
 

i hope your yorkie is fine take care i wiill pray for him