Elevated bile acid test, no physical symptoms My Little Yorkie/Maltese mix Casey is 8 months young. She was recently diagnosed with liver shunts after having a 109 post meal bile acid count and a 18 pre meal count. However, she shows no physical symptoms. She is not underdeveloped, she is not lethargic, no loss of appetite. Anyone know if it is possible it is something other than liver shunt causing the irregular bile acid test results ? |
I'm not sure but think some things can throw off the results. My Cali had Bile acid scores near 100 (92?) and on further testing, ultrasound and liver biopsy she was diagnosed with MVD an internal shunt. She had a very mild case with no symptoms or treatment necessary. She is almost 5 now. I do watch her protein intake. Other should be able to give you some more insight. Maybe retesting in 2 months to see if it is still raised. Hopefully she will be fine. |
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join this group--- Liver_Shunt_And_MVD_Support@yahoogroups.com go to yahoogroups.com put in Liver_Shunt_And_MVD_Support and join they will help you alot to understand it all my dog has mvd and i learned alot from them |
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Portal Scintigraphy in Veterinary Medicine |
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Please explain to us what other tests have been done? Have you seen a specialist yet? |
Thanks everyone for all of you insight and the referrals. I am going to schedule her for a scintigraphy test. What is the difference between liver shunt and MVD? |
MVD is when there are microscopic vessels throughout the liver that are causing some of the blood to bypass the liver and not get filtered though, this is what causes the elevated BA, alot of the time MVD dogs are asymptomatic and live normal lives,some just need a diet change, and there are others that are very affected. Portosytemic Shunt (LS) is when there is one larger vessel that causes all or some of the blood to bypass the liver. LS can also vary in severity but usually there are symptoms, and most cases it needs to be corrected for the dog to live a normal life here is a good link that explains more PSVA and MVD Research Summary and another http://www.yorkieangelpatrol.com/mvd.htm |
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MVD MVD My girls first BAT was Pre: 43 and Post: 100.9 After seeing a specialist, doing more blood work, more BATs and her history and lack of "major" shunt symptoms, her Vet and Specialist feel she has MVD. No surgery is needed and no further testing. We maintain her with a special diet, and supplements and special precautions during Vet visits, etc... Your baby may very well have a shunt, but I think you need to breath, do alittle research online about Liver Shunts, MVD, and all the testing involved, so that when you go to a specialist, you can be on the same page, and not waste time and money ;) |
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Since there are no symptoms, I agree with TLC I think that you should go to a specialist, and then redo the BA test. Then let the specialist guide you through the rest of the testing... It is good to know what other test should be done and be familiar with protocol, but it is better if you are working with a vet who also knows. |
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DODDS-RESUME my friend in cali has a liver shunt survivor and her dog did not have any symptoms until after her dog was 1 years old so just because the dog has no symptoms now does not mean they will not occur later :( |
my friend in cali has a liver shunt survivor and her dog did not have any symptoms until after her dog was 1 years old so just because the dog has no symptoms now does not mean they will not occur later :( This is very true - my dog Daisy was diagnosed with MVD at age 6 only when she became sick. |
the gall bladder can contract during blood draw thus showing higher numbers sometimes. The gall bladder contracting can throw off bile acids altogether. Daisy recently had a pre reading that was higher than her post and it was thought that her gall bladder was contracting rather than a change in her status (upon consideration of all the results of liver functioning) |
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Copper's BA test are all pre 0-10 and post between 100-120, we thought shunt at first. We had the scintigraphy done, no shunt was visibly, and we are not going to do the biopsy. He manages very well on diet change and suplements. |
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Jean dodds is really good at interpreting blood work and she is very conservative and she is only about 1 hr from this person. Vets all over the world consult her for blood work and vaccinations so that is why i drove to her for thyroid panel, titers and bile acids I just wanted to know why my dog was losing the hair on her neck and then wanted bile acids redone - sure enough my dog was hypothyroid and why she was losing hair on her neck :( |
hey guys i adopted an 8 mo old yorkie last month i immediatly before getting her had her ALT enzyme (and other blood work) done and it was perfectly normal. Today i took her to get spayed and the blood test showed a ALT level of > 800. I got her tested for bile acid pro and post fasting were both ABOVE 30. What does that mean? I take her to banfield they want to do ultra sound for her tomorrow but i read this is not the answer to her elevated bile acid test. Help... shes perfectlyh healthy and no symptoms what so ever! |
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Second, I would have her bile acids retested somewhere besides banfield... I personally just dont trust them at all and wonder how often they do this test and whether they truly know how to do the test, especially considering both numbers were similar. If they are still the same, chances are your pup has MVD because 30 isnt that bad as far as high bile acids go. I would not give them the money for an ultrasound tomorrow... that is not going to give you ANY answers and only cost you money. |
Hi I got the ALT test at another vet it gave us a level of 800 THEN took her to banfield to do the bile acid test. i am against banfield but this vet actually cared the only vet at banfield that has had yorkies and is very experienced. I do not know what to do now the value on the paper sai d GREATER than 30 it didn't say 30 exactly or any number what worries me is that post and pre are over 30 could she have just injested a toxin? table food can cause this whats the next step? ultra sound? |
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the problem is an ultrasound isnt going to tell you much of anything... if there was a very large shunt, they MAY see it, more then likely they would not. If it is MVD an ultrasound is going to tell you nothing at all. |
My Teddi is a liver shunt survivor. It's been 2 years since her surgery. I definitely recommend joining the yahoo group that Deb recommended. Also, just because you don't have symptoms doesn't mean they are fine. If you do the sintigraphy test you will be able to find out if they have 1 operable shunt or multiple. If you do nothing your 1 shunt could turn into multiple and then they are not operable. If you have 1 shunt you can have surgery and your dog can live a long normal life. |
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The BAT they did was an in house test and pretty unless. The highest it goes is "above 30" which is a waste, bc you need to know the exact numbers to guide to normal, mvd or liver shunt. That "above 30" could be 35 or 50 or 90 or 120 or 300 I hate it when they waste money, waste putting babies tru a fast and blood draw for the usless in house BAT tests. Please change to a private vet who is familiar with small breeds. |
what dog food do you use? |
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