Raindrop--Stroke like symptons

[Mom of 3]

My little Raindrop is experiencing Stroke like symptoms. (falling over, tongue sticking out, head tilted, going in circles, walking along floorboard) She will be 3 years old January 4th. I took her to the Vet's, and he said HE is thinking it is Vestibular Syndrome, but it's older dogs, not young dogs like Raindrop that get it. Also he said it's the worst case he has seen. He gave her a shot, steroid, and she is on Diazepam, twice a day. She is only 4lbs, just a little thing. He said I should see a change in her within 48-72 hours. After one day, she is worse. Strokes in young dogs are rare, I know, but for some reason, I am thinking that is what she has. I am in no way a doctor, but I will feel better when I see improvments. I have her on A/D and she is drinking some on her own. It kinda runs out, so I am giving her water with a syringe. Doc said he could keep her there, but I said no, I want her with me, 24/7 My heart is just broken. I cannot lose her. Thanks for listening. Darlene and Raindrop.

[Sandysbabies]

I am so sorry to hear about your little Raindrop. It is so hard when they are sick and to lose one is a terrible thing to go thru. I hope and pray your baby makes it thru this. They surprise us sometimes just how strong they can be. We had to put our little Mandy down after a seizure with cancer. The vet said the cancer had gone to her brain. I love her and miss her so much but sometimes we have to do the best for them when they are suffering. Hope you don't have to go thru this with your baby. She is so young too. Hang in there little one, we will be praying for you.

[yorkieusa]

I surely have no idea. I'm so sorry your lil one is going through this.

If that is what's going on, then please read the following link. It states that you think they are stroke symptoms. Please keep us updated and let us know how she does. I can imagine how scarey this is for you, but if your vet gave an accurate diagnosis then this should not be but a temporary illness.

What is Canine Vestibular Syndrome: Despite Stroke Like Symptoms,The Dog's Health Prognosis May Be Good

[Mom of 3]

Sorry about your little Mandy. It's just so heart breaking to see our little ones in pain. Hopefully Raindrop will be better in a few days or so. But for now, she is by my side or on my lap, 24/7 Will keep you all up dated. I can use all the prayers I can get. Raindrop and Darlene

[yorkieusa]

Originally Posted by Mom of 3

Sorry about your little Mandy. It's just so heart breaking to see our little ones in pain. Hopefully Raindrop will be better in a few days or so. But for now, she is by my side or on my lap, 24/7 Will keep you all up dated. I can use all the prayers I can get. Raindrop and Darlene

I really hope she will be better soon. I know the article I linked to stated the following:


this canine health problem often resolves completely within a few weeks


Has Raindrop had any past ear infections?

[Mom of 3]

No she hasn't. I saw that too. I have a doggie door that my dogs go out, but they are usually out, and right back in. They are so spoiled. Raindrop follows me around the house. I can't go to the bathroom without her with me. She has not gone to the bathroom since I took her to the Vet's today.
(9am) She drinks some, and I give her water, but nothing so far. No bm either. That is beginning to worry me.

[Patti]

I am sorry Raindrop is sick. I would get her to a specialist possibly a neurologist. I hope she feels better soon.

[yorkieusa]

Originally Posted by Mom of 3

No she hasn't. I saw that too. I have a doggie door that my dogs go out, but they are usually out, and right back in. They are so spoiled. Raindrop follows me around the house. I can't go to the bathroom without her with me. She has not gone to the bathroom since I took her to the Vet's today.
(9am) She drinks some, and I give her water, but nothing so far. No bm either. That is beginning to worry me.

Did you see this comment from the link?


5 years old is young for canine vestibular syndrome but it can happen. In that case I would work closely with your vet to ensure it isn't something else.
Dogs with canine vestibular syndrome are likely to be tired as they are fighting the neurological symptoms. It must be difficult for them to understand what is happening to them-the dizziness, nausea etc. They are eating very little so not getting many calories. Even getting up to go out is a big struggle so they are using up the calories they do get.

I can't emphasize enough the need for patience and supportive care. Let them rest as much as possible. Try tempting them with high calorie food treats-cheese, canned cat food or anything they have always really loved-hand fed is worth trying. By hand feeding they don't have to move their head (get dizzy) in the process of eating. Buoillon(the little cubes make a quick source) may be tasty enough to make them drink more.
And support when they do get up to go out. They may be trying to do it on their own but some help with balance will conserve the dog's energy.For everyone who is dealing with a dog with canine vestibular syndrome I hope your pet recovers.

[gemy]

While I hesitate to post this, has Liver Shunt been ruled out?

[Mom of 3]

Is that how they act with liver shunt? Guess I better look it up. Oh God, I hope not.
Vet says wait a couple of days to see if there are any changes. Went to the Vet 9am today.

[Sammy Mommy]

I hope Raindrop is improving and the vet will find out what is wrong. Sending hugs and prayers to you.

[yorkieusa]

This is one link:

What is Liver Shunt?
The symptoms of portacaval liver shunt can start to appear at almost any age. Dogs with a liver shunt are usually very thin dogs who pick at food. They not only have a poor appetite but they can become lethargic, dizzy, and stagger. They may try to climb out of their pen, climb higher on you and cry and throw their head far back after eating, and they may go into convulsions.

Alex's Yorkie Care Frequently Asked Questions. Page 3.

[yorkieusa]

This is one with much more detail:

If I had only known then what I know now. After 3.5 years of going through hell bringing Wendy to tons of vets and ER vets - I finally found an ER vet who actually took the time to listen to Wendy's full history and my concerns. He said the magic words "I think she might have a liver shunt, you should get a bile acid test done on her".

Here are the symptoms of liver shunts:

1. Poor Doer: A puppy/dog that is always getting sick. Because liver shunts cause toxicity in the blood because the dog is not having its blood filtered by the liver. This causes various illnesses to occur often.

2. UTIs: A puppy/dog that has frequent urinary tract infections or looks like it is having a urinary tract infection due to having many accidents all over the house, isn't able to be housebroken or urinating small amounts.

3. BAD ODOR: A puppy/dog that has bad mouth odor and/or bad urine odor. Often, the urine is also a darker color yellow instead of the "barely" yellow of normal healthy urine. (Note: Puppy and young dogs should have good breath. Bad breath is a RED FLAG that something isn't right)

4. Head Pressing: Dogs with liver shunts don't filter their blood which results in ammonia build up in the blood. Ammonia toxicity causes their heads to feel funny - so they rub their heads a lot.

5. CRYSTALS IN URINE: This is from the excess ammonia in their system. Any dog with crystals in the urine should have a bile acid test.

6. Complete Blood Count (CBC): This test is easily given in the vet's office. Liver shunt dogs often have a lower than normal BUN and Creatin count.

7. Depression: Liver shunt dogs are not very active or they may be active for very short periods of time. They are known as "quiet" puppies or "quiet" dogs. A "quiet" puppy usually isn't very normal and all "quiet" puppies should have a bile acid test to make sure they are okay.

8. Low Weight: Puppies with liver shunts look normal with a milk belly, etc. As they grow into dogs it is obvious they are too skinny. Their ribs show, their bones are prominant and they don't develop muscle mass. Not all liver shunt dogs have low weight though, but many do. They tend to have low weight because their liver cannot absorb and process nutrients to bring these liver shunt dogs to their normal weight.

9. Small: Dogs with liver shunts often do not grow as much as their siblings. They have smaller than normal livers and sometimes smaller than normal features. Wendy never developed the strong leg muscles that all greyhound breeds exhibit.

10. Anorexia: Many liver shunt puppies/dogs do not eat normally. They eat very little dog food. They may chow down on a newly introduced canned food or people food - but they invariably resort back to not eating very much. Eating food makes them not feel well because of the higher toxicity they have after a meal - so they tend to shun food.

11. Breed: Any breed can have a liver shunt, but Yorkshire Terriers are famous for having them.

Here is my advice to anyone who has a dog with these symptoms:

FORCE YOUR VET TO DO A BILE ACID TEST IF YOU SUSPECT A LIVER SHUNT AND/OR YOUR DOG IS EXHIBITING SOME OF THE ABOVE SYMPTOMS!!!! Don't take "no" for an answer. Tell them you want to MAKE SURE and cover all of your bases. A bile acid test is about $100.00 and can save your dog's life.

Once your dog has been diagnosed with a liver shunt, you can then begin the process of determining treatment. In the meantime, ask the vet for Lactulose which may cause diarrhea at first but will immediately help to greatly detoxify your dog. Also, immediately put your dog on Hill's L/D diet which is low protein. Do not give your dog any people food that has protein! Protein promotes toxicity in liver shunt dogs.

There are several treatment options. You may want to have a scintigraphy done to find out if the shunt is intrahepatic or extrahepatic. Usually the liver shunt is extrahepatic (outside the liver) which is easily operable. Intrahepatic shunts (inside the liver) are much more difficult to operate on and are usually found in larger breed dogs. Your vet can recommend whether to operate or not. Usually, it is recommended to medically manage your dog rather than operate with intrahepatic shunts.

Surgery: One of the best and cheapest places to have the surgery performed is at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, TN. And I do mean the BEST and the cheapest. They specialize in liver shunt surgery. I wouldn't have trusted Wendy to any other surgeon for treatment. In addition, UTK utilizes a surgical method for extrahepatic shunts that cannot be surpassed by mere ligation.

Puppies in in the uterous of their momma dog get nutrients from momma through a portal vein. At birth, this vein is supposed to close up. In liver shunt dogs, it doesn't close up. Instead, this portal vein acts as a "bypass" and most of the blood bypasses the liver. The liver is what cleans the blood. The liver also performs thousands of other vital functions!!! 94% of Wendy's blood bypassed her liver!!!

The classical surgical method has been to ligate the portal vein (close it off, shut it down, get rid of it....). Unfortunately, the ligation method can throw the body into shock and kill the dog because there is a halt to the circulatory system! UTK developed a much better and much safer method. A metal ring is coated with a substance that expands upon contact with moisture. It expands SLOWLY (it takes a month or so for it to fully expand). This ring, called an ameroid constrictor, is placed AROUND the portal vein. The ameroid constrictor closes slowly over time until the vein is closed. This not only helps the body from going into shock, but it also helps to prevent infection that is caused by ligation! The liver is able to slowly accept more and more blood as the constrictor does its job. There is no shock to the liver or the circulatory system.

I HIGHLY recommend the surgery with an ameroid constrictor - you can research all of this on the net to make your decision. The UTK program includes a scinitigraphy to locate the shunt, surgery, hospital stay, AND A BIOPSY OF THE LIVER for about $1,600 (2007). They do a great job!

What to Expect Post Op: Your dog will be in some pain for a few days after the surgery. Fortunately, there is not a lot of pain because the only cutting involved is the skin on the belly and for the biopsy. There is usually no cutting done for placing the ameroid constrictor.

Over the next 4 months, you will notice the following: weight gain, muscle development, loss of puppy fur (if your dog retained its puppy fur), improvement in general appearance (shinier), LOTS more ENERGY and no more head rubbing.

At 4 months, you will need to redo the bile acid test to check on how the ameroid constrictor is operating. Wendy had 0s on her follow up bile acid test!!! After 4 months, if the bile acid test comes back normal, you can put your dog back on regular food!!!!

I can't tell you how glad I was that I was able to have Wendy surgically corrected.

Article Source: Shannon Riggerou - EzineArticles.com Expert Author

[Mom of 3]

Wow, Thanks for the great info. Another thing she is doing in panting. I have her on my lap right now, and she pants, stops, then starts up again. I put her on the pee pad (don't want her to go out right now) but she stands still. I just sat her down, and she went to get a drink.
She IS drinking alot...........
She drank, I swear for 2 minutes straight. Another symptom of Liver Shunt.....Oh God.

[yorkieusa]

Originally Posted by Mom of 3

Wow, Thanks for the great info. Another thing she is doing in panting. I have her on my lap right now, and she pants, stops, then starts up again. I put her on the pee pad (don't want her to go out right now) but she stands still. I just sat her down, and she went to get a drink.
She IS drinking alot...........
She drank, I swear for 2 minutes straight. Another symptom of Liver Shunt.....Oh God.

Steroids can cause panting and probably the drinking as well. Don't jump to conclusions.

OK. Just read that they can cause increased drinking.