YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community
Page 1 of 2 1 2
Show 30 post(s) from this thread on one page

YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community (https://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/index.php)
-   Sick & Injured / Emergencies Talk (https://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sick-injured-emergencies-talk/)
-   -   Epilepsy or Liver Shunt? NEED ADVICE?? (https://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sick-injured-emergencies-talk/219921-epilepsy-liver-shunt-need-advice.html)

Yomom 01-07-2011 05:18 PM
Epilepsy or Liver Shunt? NEED ADVICE??
 
:confused:I need advice! My yorkie has started having seizures. A friend told me hers did as well and it is epilepsy. I hold him during the seizure and it lasts about 2 to 5 minutes. His back legs will paddle if I put him down and he shakes and is stiff. I am now reading about liver shunts. How can I tell the difference. This started at about 1 year of age.

jencar98 01-07-2011 05:30 PM
You most likely cannot tell the difference, only a vet could diagnose whether it's liver shunt or epilepsy, seizures are definitely a sign of liver shunt. You need to start with having him seen by a vet and having blood work and/or a bile acids test done. Regardless of whichever this turns out to be, he needs to be seen by a vet. Seizures left untreated may continue with more frequency and severity and can result in death.

OwnedByJezebel 01-07-2011 05:34 PM
A lay person (or even a vet) can't tell what is causing the seizures by reading a desciption on the internet or even seeing them in person. Your pup needs to be seen by a vet and have the appropriate testing done to determine the underlying cause.

Yomom 01-07-2011 05:46 PM
thanks, the appointment is on Monday- I am just really worried

jencar98 01-07-2011 05:59 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yomom (Post 3384916)
thanks, the appointment is on Monday- I am just really worried
Good deal then! And don't worry too much for now, seizures can be treated, liver shunt is likely treatable too with surgery to repair the shunt or if that isn't possible, often times diet can control the disease. I had a 14 year old foster girl that had seizures since she was a pup, due to an injury and oxygen being cut off for a bit in an accident. She took phenobarbital everyday and like I said she was 14 years old.....not a short life for a yorkie.

Good luck and please do come back and update us....I know it's scary but there is much help here to offer in the way of support!

Yomom 01-07-2011 06:07 PM
thank you so much- I just spent some time reading a post about a liver shunt- it is terrifying. I will pray it is just seizures. Otherwise he is so happy and healthy. If, God forbid it is liver shunt, do you have any idea how much the surgery costs?

bchgirl 01-07-2011 06:10 PM
Seizures are a symptom not a diagnosis. There are no tests for epilepsy. Vets rule out all the other possibilities of issues which have tests and if those results are normal...only then would an diagnosis of epilepsy be given.

I know you're worried. Sending prayers for both of you.

jencar98 01-07-2011 07:10 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yomom (Post 3384945)
thank you so much- I just spent some time reading a post about a liver shunt- it is terrifying. I will pray it is just seizures. Otherwise he is so happy and healthy. If, God forbid it is liver shunt, do you have any idea how much the surgery costs?
Read but do not become terrified, equipped with knowledge you will be well prepared to make informed decisions. IDK where in Fl you are located but do know one of the best places to have this surgery is likely not too far from you, the Univ. of Tenn. The surgery isn't inexpensive, I think others have paid in neighborhood of $1500, but don't quote me on that. But as far as surgery and treatable conditions that really isn't all that expensive when you consider orthopedic surgery for LP or broken legs can run $2,000 and up.

Portosystemic Shunts FAQ

Yomom 01-07-2011 07:21 PM
Liver Shunt or Epilepsy?
 
I am in Ft Lauderdale and go to a Country Vet who will no doubt not be be advanced enough to deal with this is it is Liver Shunt. If anyone knows of a great Vet here that would be great.

OwnedByJezebel 01-07-2011 09:18 PM
If you can't go to the University of Tennessee, can you go the Veterinary School in Gainsville?

Ringo1 01-08-2011 05:28 AM
Fingers crossed for your appointment on Monday. Over this week-end, try not to give her any extra beefy treats. Good Luck

bellemarie 01-10-2011 10:19 AM
hi, are there any updates for your baby?

Yomom 01-10-2011 10:29 AM
What I have so far
 
What I have so far is frustrating. The blood test came in that the liver numbers are off; the ALT which should not be over 110 came in at 160. My 7 year old gave the dog a treat this morning not knowing any better and so the Vet did not want to do the Bile until tomorrow. I called everyone today. UF said they do it, but with all tests etc not counting the hotel etc they will be around $3 to 4,000 depending on what is what. Univ of Tenn is closed today due to snow. The person giving details is not there till hopefully tomorrow. We have someone here who is not in today and is calling me back tomorrow. Trying to eat this elephant one bite at a time but quickly. My Vet is starting him on medication "just in case" today, and said yes, thinking liver shunt.

roseslevi 01-10-2011 10:40 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yomom (Post 3388247)
What I have so far is frustrating. The blood test came in that the liver numbers are off; the ALT which should not be over 110 came in at 160. My 7 year old gave the dog a treat this morning not knowing any better and so the Vet did not want to do the Bile until tomorrow. I called everyone today. UF said they do it, but with all tests etc not counting the hotel etc they will be around $3 to 4,000 depending on what is what. Univ of Tenn is closed today due to snow. The person giving details is not there till hopefully tomorrow. We have someone here who is not in today and is calling me back tomorrow. Trying to eat this elephant one bite at a time but quickly. My Vet is starting him on medication "just in case" today, and said yes, thinking liver shunt.
I don't know if you contacted the breeder yet. Or if you have some sort of health guarantee,(check your paper work) you could make the breeder aware of what is going on. The breeder may be required to "help" pay these costs. Also some states have laws...you should check on the law in the state you bought your pup. Make sure the breeder is aware of this possible shunt...it is usually genetic.

Yomom 01-10-2011 10:53 AM
The breeder was very researched and has an excellent reputation. I did go on her site to see that the parents of Barclay have no pups for sale. Because I know I will have answers by weeks end, I have decided that because she has no pups and I don't even think she has Barclay's mother any longer, I will give her the facts once I have them since I will have them shortly. She only allows a Mother to have a small number of litters and then sells the Mother at pet price after the dog is spaid to ensure no over breeding to the female. I know this will flip her out, and it should. I now know more about liver shunts than prob most Vets and know she needs to know. This would have been 2 recessive gene parents. She has several Yorkies and checked us out to death. I have no doubt that if this is confirmed this was not intentional and she will do something about it.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 04:30 AM.
Page 1 of 2 1 2
Show 30 post(s) from this thread on one page

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2003 - 2018 YorkieTalk.com
Privacy Policy - Terms of Use


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607 608 609 610 611 612 613 614 615 616 617 618 619 620 621 622 623 624 625 626 627 628 629 630 631 632 633 634 635 636 637 638 639 640 641 642 643 644 645 646 647 648 649 650 651 652 653 654 655 656 657 658 659 660 661 662 663 664 665 666 667 668 669 670 671 672 673 674 675 676 677 678 679 680 681 682 683 684 685 686 687 688 689 690 691 692 693 694 695 696 697 698 699 700 701 702 703 704 705 706 707 708 709 710 711 712 713 714 715 716 717 718 719 720 721 722 723 724 725 726 727 728 729 730 731 732 733 734 735 736 737 738 739 740 741 742 743 744 745 746 747 748 749 750 751 752 753 754 755 756 757 758 759 760 761 762 763 764 765 766 767 768 769 770 771 772 773 774 775 776 777 778 779 780 781 782 783 784 785 786 787 788 789 790 791 792 793 794 795 796 797 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 819 820 821 822 823 824 825 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836 837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 845 846 847 848 849 850 851 852 853 854 855 856 857 858 859 860 861 862 863 864 865 866 867 868 869 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891 892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 900 901 902 903 904 905 906 907 908 909 910 911 912 913 914 915 916 917 918 919 920 921 922 923 924 925 926 927 928 929 930 931 932 933 934 935 936 937 938 939 940 941 942 943 944 945 946 947 948 949 950 951 952 953 954 955 956 957 958 959 960 961 962 963 964 965 966 967 968 969 970 971 972 973 974 975 976 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 984 985 986 987 988 989 990 991 992 993 994 995 996 997 998 999 1000 1001 1002 1003 1004 1005 1006 1007 1008 1009 1010 1011 1012 1013 1014 1015 1016 1017 1018 1019 1020 1021 1022 1023 1024 1025 1026 1027 1028 1029 1030 1031 1032 1033 1034 1035 1036 1037 1038 1039 1040 1041 1042 1043 1044 1045 1046 1047 1048 1049 1050 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 1061 1062 1063 1064 1065 1066 1067 1068 1069 1070 1071 1072 1073 1074 1075 1076 1077 1078 1079 1080 1081 1082 1083 1084 1085 1086 1087 1088 1089 1090 1091 1092 1093 1094 1095 1096 1097 1098 1099 1100 1101 1102 1103 1104 1105 1106 1107 1108 1109 1110 1111 1112 1113 1114 1115 1116 1117 1118 1119 1120 1121 1122 1123 1124 1125 1126 1127 1128 1129 1130 1131 1132 1133 1134 1135 1136 1137 1138 1139 1140 1141 1142 1143 1144 1145 1146 1147 1148 1149 1150 1151 1152 1153 1154 1155 1156 1157 1158 1159 1160 1161 1162 1163 1164 1165 1166 1167 1168