lol thanks I did not read further down. Yep then I would go to surgery then as that is indicative of shunt and with symptoms I would skip scintigraphy

Liver shunt dogs can lead a normal great life after surgery so I would go for it and keep us posted and join the liver shunt groups for support too :)

Fudge is still not better and the Vet is now cutting out the possibility of a shunt. They will however to a scintigraphy and CT scan tomorrow. What if it's not a liver shunt? Is this a "death notice" for my little baby??

Is your baby still wobbly ?

Have they done any X-Rays of the neck ? to rule out AAI. Also I'm concerned about Chiari as it can have same symptoms as shunt and can cause liver enzymes to be off.

He is very off-balance and pacing on the same spot the whole time.... No X-ray of the neck was done yet. I am worried that this might be something wrong with his brain and they can't do anything for him!!!

Well I can't see him but it does sound like he may have hydrocephalus. This can be caused by a few diff things, most of witch are treatable but he needs MRI & Spinal tap to diagnose them. I would get him in for a neck X-Ray 1st thing to rule out AAI as if he has this , one wrong move could kill him. Are you happy with the vet you have now ? Does he know about the things yorkies are prone to ? If this were my dog I would see a neurologist ASAP.

Not in that order. I would not let your regular vet do neck X-Ray as they can kill him if they are not familiar with AAI , when they stretch his neck for X-Ray. You just need to get him to a neurologist immediately, I'm talking like last week.

Carina,

His Bile Acid Test was pre 148 and post 182 - That is HIGH and the chances of him having a Liver Shunt are EXTREMELY HIGH. I would bet he has a Liver Shunt OR a severe case of Microvascular Displasia (MVD). Not ruling out anything else, but you are under Vet care and I am sure you will get him better.

It is good the Vet is going to do a Scintigraphy. You read about that here:
Portal Scintigraphy in Veterinary Medicine
Liver Shunt Research

His off-balance and pacing or circling, acting drunk, walking along the walls while his head is off to the side pressing are all Classic symptoms of Hepatic Encephalopathy (a condition where toxins normally removed by the liver accumulate in the blood and impair the function of brain cells). In order to control the Hepatic Encephalopathy (HE for short), low protein diet such as ROYAL CANIN Veterinary Diet® canine HEPATIC LS™ 14 (Dry Kibble) Hill's L/D (wet/canned), and drugs such as Lactulose AND Antibotics Such as metronidazole are given daily to prevent production and absorption of ammonia and other intestinal toxins.

Lactulose, a disaccharide sugar containing galactose and fructose, is used
for the treatment of hepatic encephalopathy in veterinary medicine. The
active ingredient, lactulose, works by reducing the ammonia build up in the
blood. The large number of resident bacteria in the intestine consumes the
unabsorbed lactose as their food and release lactic, acetic, and formic acid
and carbon dioxide gas. These acids draw fluid into the colon, softening the
stool. The acidification of the bowel contents draws ammonia from the
bloodstream and locks it there to be emitted with the stool. This action
aids the prevention of a form of dementia called hepatic encephalopathy.

HEPATIC LS | Royal Canin Veterinary Diet

Please keep us posted. When is he having the Scintigraphy?

i agree it sounds like a shunt to me too with those bats

deb they need to rule out the liver shunt first as these are all signs of liver shunt so once that is ruled out then I agree neurological testing needs to be done but first step is scintigraphy as those bats are high and my guess is liver shunt causing all the symptoms :(

many vets have no clue about liver shunt sadly :( with bats like that you have to first rule it out completely and scintigraphy will do this

Many vet's have no clue about allot of things. I agree about the liver and maybe I misunderstood but I thought I read the vet said they now don't think it is Liver so next step should be Neuro. My worry is they seem to be wasting too much time getting a diagnosis.

You are correct, but what I am gathering is, they did a U/S (which is only about 60% accurate in seeing a shunt), and they changed his diet to low protein. I do not think he is on Antib's or Lactulose. And unfortunately, in most cases, just switching to low protein diet just is NOT enough to control Hepatic Encephalopathy. Also, not sure what the low protein food is, it might be still to high in protein OR he could be eating too much of it at one time. LS or MVD dogs that are really bad, need to be feed small amounts of low protein food approx. 5 to 6 times a day, this way it is not a protein overload on the liver...

The Scintigraphy should shed some insight :)

I agree. Is the regular vet diong this , or specialist? as at this point I don't feel comfortable with this vet . I don't understand what's taking this vet so long to get on the rite track and get the ball rollin. This baby is very sick, how long does vet think he has to play games.

since dealing with radioactive dye it is very specialized as only about 2 places in california that are authorized to do it so I would assume the same there

I took Fudge to a Specialist Clinic (4th opinion). I took all the results of all tests done to them. The next step is scintigraphy & CT scan. I must be honest, I personally think that this is some sort of brain tumor or brain related. If I call him, he battles to move forward and instead walks backwards. He doesn't stand still not even for 5 seconds, he keeps on pacing on the same spot and tries to walk forward but falls over. I hope this Specialist Clinic will eventually be able to tell me what is wrong with Fudge, because I've kinda given up. I can't stand to see my child like this.

is this behavior happening prior to eating or within 2 hrs of eating

I doubt it is a brain tumor that is super rare in this breed - more common things causing this behavior

liver shunt
gme/nme
chiari
hydrocephalus
AAI

many diagnose with a brain tumor for gme/nme and chiari symptoms but with those bats liver related

does your vet have your dog on lactulose and denamarin right now as you need to get the toxins down in the body IMMEDIATELY if your dog is acting this way until the scintigraphy is done. Also you need to be feeding a very low protein diet right now - what are you feeding? Do they have Royal canine hepatic there? If not get natural balance vegetarian and transition NOW.

I am going to post the dr dodds liver cleansing diet if you cannot get the above foods asap you can cook this diet

Carina, Please don't give up . He needs the specialist, they will figure it out. Many vets have never seen patients with these problems, or have seen them and misdiagnosed them. You are doing the rite thing with specialist. If tests come back fine and no shunt then get him to Neuro ASAP. Keep us posted as we are all Praying for him.

This behaviour is there all the time, but a bit worse after eating. He currently is on lactulose and denamarine. The scintigraphy done came back normal. No signs of a liver shunt. He is on Id Liver pellets and tin food. Some brain tests came back and the Vet said that they don't look good (normal) at all. They will take some fluide from his spine today. Please pray with me that this is something that can be cured....

Carina, I will be Praying for you both.:hands:

Carina, have they done an X-Ray of his neck ? and did they do CT or MRI ? Whatever pic they did of his head, did they say if they could see swelling or fluide or a mass or cyst. Can you get a copy of the report ?

He is booked for a MRI today. I will try and obtain a copy of the report.

OK, bad news!!!! The prognoses are not good at all. The spinal fluids tests came back, this is neorogical. The neurologist will visit him later today and will let me know if this can be treated or not, but the specialist is not positive at all. He is currently under sedation.........

:(:(:( I'm so sorry to hear this - try to think positive !! I know it's easier said than done (from personal experience in life) but you may be surprised and it may not be as bad as you think ? We love our pets so I'm sending you positive thoughts for your guy....hang in there !

If the Scintigraphy came back normal, that means probably no single shunt, however with Bile Acids that high, he does have liver issues, probably MVD.

He could have neuro issues as well.

If this is:
gme/nme
chiari
hydrocephalus
AAI / AAS

Please know that there ARE things that can be done to help him ok, please don't make any hasty decisions of putting him to sleep without really looking into what they say is wrong with him.

Please DO NOT GIVE UP :(

PRAYERS ARE COMING FOR YOU AND HIM :)

DO NOT GIVE UP - read the polina thread please :(

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sic...very-sick.html

join this group immediately

NewGMEDogs : NewGMEDogs

they know all about this and they will help you I promise as polina's mom is on there too and her dog has liver issues as well as gme/nme

please join i promise there is hope so please do not give up as you can get her in remission on steroids and chemo if it is GME

Nancy on here has Brooke and she is celebrating I think her 4th bday and she is on that group too and Brooke is in remission. If you search on here below her story is here.

here is brooke's story she is alive today :)

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sic...halitis-3.html

Carina Please don't give up there is hope. There are dogs here with GME, Chiari and AAI and Liver issues. Please keep us posted. Many people here can offer many suggestions for your baby that you can discuss with your vet . So Please Don't give up. We are all praying for Fudge.

The specialist just phoned. The spinal tap will be done over again on Monday as there are blood contamination in the test that was done today. What does that mean???? I will fetch Fudge tomorrow and take him back on Monday. I am so worried!!!

Join the group below as they have all been through the same testing with their dog and they can better advise as i have not been through it just know this group will help you :) Hang in there - was it a neurologist that did the testing?

Yes Dwerten a neurologist did the testing. What is the group again?