Bile acid test tesults!!! :(
 

Hello everyone i do not know who has been following my threads on Becky and her declining apetite for the past month biut Friday we did bile acod testing and the resultes were in this morning 9 before eating and 129 after eating im so sad :( and my vet sent me off to ultrasound immedetly waiting for those results anyone have experience with this ????? im very lost and confused ....



Aksm4

First of all I am sorry that you are experiencing this. The ultrasound will confirm or rule out liver shunt or MVD. There are a lot of people here with experience that can offer more advice. In the mean time though, check out the link I've listed here for you. I hope you get some answers soon.

Portosystemic Shunt (Hepatic Shunt) in Dogs - Page 1

My Cali has very mild MVD diagnosed with bile acid tests, ultrasound and a liver biopsy during her spay. Her bile acids were the first one 0/42 and the second was 0/87 ish. The liver biopsy comfirmed she had a very mild case of MVD. I just keep her on a low protein diet and she has dine fine. She is now 7 years old,and she has been fine. I hope you get some answers from the ultrasound and Becky is ok.

There is also a liver shunt support group on Yahoo, that you can join.

Do you have the results of the US yet?

BTW where are you in Canada?

Well at least you are getting answers now... looks like she may have a Liver Shunt... a common, congenital defect in Yorkies. It is a very treatable condition... this link will tell you all about them: Portosystemic Shunts FAQ

The Univ of Tenn has researched LS for almost 30 years, much good info on their site.

My Tinkerbell has LS.

In or Near Montreal

Awh Mtl is about 1 hr away from Vermont. Tennessee still the best and not so far I think from her. I know it would be about 11 hours from me in Toronto, but that is where I would hot footing to.:p

i would suggest Uinv of Guelph, which is 7 hrs from her, but I don't know if they have the expertise Tennessee does.

She had trouble getting the dog diagnosed... here's her OT: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...-anorexia.html

What are your thoughts about http://www.medvet.umontreal.ca/chuv/...ogie/index.asp

Guelph is the first place I thought of from your other postings, but it seemed too far...

i dont have any advice but wanted to say i will keep becky in my thoughts for a diagnosis that can be treated. hugs to you.

Hello everyone ,


thank you so much for caring in this time of distress ,

Becky ultrasound was done by board certified radilogist he sees no shunt , so now she was tested for leptosirosis ......please please help me find a good specialist near by tenesse is way too far Vermont was mentioned anyone know anything about them???


if needed i am operating my baby

Shunts can't always be picked up by ultrasound. Have a protein c test done. This will confirm LS. It's a blood test.

i told my vet she does not know what it is ????

When will you know the results of the Leptosporosis test? Other things can cause the BAT to be high.

If you join the LS group: Liver_Shunt_And_MVD_Support : Liver Shunt & MVD/HMD Support

They have a list of vets and can recommend someone close.

Blood is drawn and sent to Cornell University in New York....

Protein C Activity Assay

What dog food do you feed her, and what treats? Is she having regular Bowel Movements? Did she eat well before this all started? How old is Becky?

Your vet can prescribe Lactulose, and you can put her on a low protein diet (15-20% protein). If LS is her problem the Lactulose will help her feel better and her appetite should improve. If LS is not her problem, the Lactulose won't harm her, nor will the Low Protein diet.

Has your vet done a full body xray on her? Dogs with LS typically have small livers for their size. Also a good tool to see what may be going on in her intestines.

I checked here for you... no one is listed for Eastern Canada. Is New York City too far?

Another option is to find Yorkie/small dog rescues in your area and call them for a recommendation, as they use vets alot, sadly.

Or contact a few reputable local Yorkie breeders, they would know of a good Yorkie/snall dog vet.

Did you take her to the Uof Montreal? I would think they would have an Internal Medicine Specialist that could diagnose her. If you haven't gone there, a vet school is really the best bet, bc they have many different speciaties and usually more equipment/diagnostics at their disposal. Most times a specialist will initially cost more that a regular vet, but they can usually get to the root of the problem quicker. If they require a recommendation from your vet, I hope she would be willing to do that for you. Also many teaching clinics do have Emergency Services that do not require a rec from your vet.

Hello kjc,


thank you so much for all your wise words , i got the lepto results negative .....so my vet did contact the dr who did the ultra sound they had a meeting about her and he does not believe its a shunt he thinks more mvd , even though the numbers were a bit higher side ,they did a repeat urine and they found calcium crystals she said to me my vet dogs with shunt usually have amonium crystals , she is eating hill hepatic food dry and wet , on sam -e , so now the dillemma is what food to feed her for her because of her crystals......my vet will be calling hills tomorrow and consult with their nutritionalist on what food to feed her ....and if its ok she stays on her liver food .....she for the first time in weeks went to eat her dry food today on her own the radiologist also sugested to retest her in 1 month for bile acid test and see if it changes if it drops then he does not believe there is a shunt ........i hope they kkep her on her food she seems to like the dry hills prescription , and i asked sbout lactulose and she said Becky was high risk for diabetic and its high in sugar????? so what do you think ???

So glad the Lepto was negative... Has your vet sent a stool specimen out to a lab for culture? (I would insist on this test being done)

Super that she's starting to eat again!

Lactulose is a synthetic man-made sugar that is not broken down and very little gets into the bloodsteam. It's looking less like LS though so Lactulose probably won't be needed. A few vets don't believe in using it.
I think it has saved my dog's life!

Data Sheet :

"Lactulose syrup contains galactose and lactose and should be used with caution in diabetics as blood glucose levels may be elevated, usually after extended use."


Lactulose : Enulose® for Cats and Dogs | Drugs & Medications for Cats and Dogs : PetsMD Pet Health :
"HOW IT WORKS:

When your pet takes lactulose, the syrup travels through their digestive tract without being absorbed. There, bacteria can break it down which makes the intestines more acidic. The acidity draws water into the intestine, loosening the stool. These acids also convert toxic ammonia in the colon into ammonium, which is then passed in the stool."

Interesting article about calcium stones:

01 Oxalate Bladder Stones (Canine) - VeterinaryPartner.com - a VIN company!

This article suggests wet food is better... helps with added water content...You can add water to dry food and make sure she's drinking. They also give links to a nutritionist that could develop a home cooked diet specifically for her, if a suitable commercial diet can't be found. They say this could result from a genetic problem... and give treatment options.... very good article.

Sounds like everything is going good... def retest Bile Acids... keep us updated!

Good morning Kjc:)


to answer your question yes she has done a stool culture negative , why ??? could thta show LS?

Good Morning!
No, just thinking of things that would make her go off her feed, like E-coli, campylobacter, etc. These can make pups very sick, so it's great that your vet ruled this out. Most times stools are checked for parasites, and not sent off for culture, although I think it's very important to do when a pup is having issues with not eating, vomiting and/or diarrhea. Been seeing a few cases of the campylobacter on here too so I'm thinking it may be becoming more common in the general population.

Hello there Kjc,

i sent my vet the link for protein c testing she is looking into this , do you think we can ship it from Canada ????

I don't see why not... this page has a number to call for shipping questions at the very bottom:

Animal Health Diagnostic Center and a 'how to package' link on the page.

About the Protein C test: Protein C Activity Assay

ok because i called them this morning and the person on the phone told me my vet has to get intouch with lisa from export ????

here is my e-mail adress aksm4@hotmail.com if you want its easier to tlak through e-mail



xo

I think Lisa's number is on the page I just linked to here:
http://ahdc.vet.cornell.edu/docs/Shi...o_the_AHDC.pdf


"Call Lisa at 607-253-3938 for questions regarding diagnostic specimen re-quirements being sent to our laboratory from outside the United States"

They may have special sample handling instructions for your vet...IDK... but they do accept samples from outside the US and that makes you very close!

thank you so much !!!! i will do everything i can to save my baby it s not her fault if she has a shunt and the breeder does not screen!!!

Okay will do... you should ask to have it removed... sometimes we can get strange people on here!

okie dokie will do :):love:

Actually there is no test to screen for Liver Shunt prior to breeding... the U of Tenn is still working on that. LS can pop up anywhere in breeding Yorkies. I think it's 36% chance of getting a Yorkie with LS.:(

really , wow but whay if she had tested the parents would she not have known , i have called her sand told her of a possible shunt happening and she denies having it her lines and i told her Becky might have this , nowhere did she mention to refund me to help pay for surgery !!!!!! in your opinion do u think mvd with a high number like 129 after eating ???? and protein c will tell the difference between shunt or mvd???

That I'm not sure of, because MVD is just like a shunt, but there is no shunt. So I think the bloodwork may be similar? When the Bile Acid Test is repeated, if her numbers stay above 100, then it is most likely a shunt. I think a Scintigraphy(sp) is more specific, but Tink had her surgery after the U/S bc exploratory surgery is the only way to tell what's really going on, at least is was for her. Tink's BAT was in the 300's pre and post. Plus Gall bladder problems can raise the BAT, but that usually shows up in the bloodwork (liver enzymes) too.

The only way to verify MVD is by doing a liver biopsy. A needle biopsy is not big enough to tell, the sample should be taken during a surgery, either exploratory or sometimes is done during a spay.

Even if the parents are tested and are shunt free, they can still produce a pup or pups with LS. The Univ of Tenn even bred two dogs proven to have LS, and they produced a litter with no shunting. This is why it's so hard to isolate it enough to avoid producing LS pups. They are doing research now on a genetic marker, which will make testing for LS and carriers easy (Hopefully).

I would wait until you get a definite diagnosis on her, right now it's just a possiblity she has a shunt. Plus it's a big blow for a breeder to hear that their dogs produced a LS pup ... give her a little time to digest the info, sometimes they come around and do the right thing and offer to help.

Some of the States have Puppy Lemon Laws... do they have anything like that in Canada?