Lymphangiectasia
 

Our yorkie, Dany, has been diagnosed with Lymphangiectasia. The vet is recommending a Hills Prescription diet. My pups are currently on a grain-free diet and I would prefer not to feed Dany the Hills diet food, however, from everything I can research, diet is key in keeping them as healthy as possible with this disease. Anyone out there who has had a pup with Lymphangiectasia and if so, what did/do you feed them?

I found Annamaet LEAN Dog Food. Not sure if it will fit the bill. I plan to go over the ingredients and guaranteed analysis with the vet, but hoping someone has some real world experience. Info on Annamaet below:

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein, min: 30.0%
Crude Fat, min: 8.0%
Crude Fiber, max: 3.5%
Moisture, max: 10.0%
Ash, max: 6.8%

Calorie Content:
Metabolizable Energy, as fed,
3242 kcal/kg = 1471 Kcal/lb = 350 kcal/cup

Ingredient list:
Chicken meal, Potato, Tapioca, Field Peas, Duck Meal, Herring Meal, Natural Flavor, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols (vitamin E)), Menhaden Oil (Preserved with Natural Mixed Tocoperols (Vitamin E)), Flax Seed Meal, Carrots, Celery, Parsley, Lettuce, Watercress, Spinach, Lecithin, DL Methionine, L-Lysine, Cranberries, Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Oligofructose, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Salt, Kelp Meal, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C, Niacin Supplement, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate, L-Carnitine, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Choline Chloride, Potassium Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Betaine Anhydrous, Iron Proteinate, Selenium Yeast, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate.

I don't have any experience with this but several people on here do. I will try and get them to see this.

Thank you! I greatly appreciate it.

LadyJane has her dog Cookie on a home cooked diet for lymphangiectasia. I would recommend you consult with a board certified veterinary nutritionist for other options if you do not wish to feed the hill's. I have worked with Dr Rebecca Remillard for several years for my dogs, her website is PetDiets - VNC putting pets' health first!. Or you can check out American College of Veterinary Nutrition to locate other board certified veterinary nutritionists. Is your dog in the care of a board certified internal medicine specialist? If no, the dog should be.

I seriously doubt that any food you purchase in a store would be appropriate for Dany. The specialists suggested either RC low fat or home cooking for my Cookie. I opted for home cooking. They have a nutritionist on staff there...she also has a website if you are interested: Lenox Veterinary Nutrition Consulting | Clinical solutions for feeding and nutrition in small animals

Here is a link to a thread about Cookie ...

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sic...ia-update.html

It is very true that diet is important for these pups....I believe it is money well spent to consult with a vet nutritionist. Some people think that any nutritionist is ok, but personally I won't use any that are not vets. I have used mine for other pups and she is spot on in keeping them healthy. If you want to find one in your area, you can search on American College of Veterinary Nutrition But, you can do consults without them seeing your pup...they would speak with your vet and get records.

Good advice too from 107barney ... an internal med specialist is invaluable when dealing with illnesses like this.

Good luck and please keep us posted. If I can help in any way, feel free to message me.

I agree with lady jane and Cathy. If you want to cook you MUST get a nutritionist that specializes in pet nutrition.

I have just gone through this very difficult decision process myself. Sam has renal disease. I did a lot of research and at this time I am feeding the hills k/d to him. He likes it and I am not sure if I am ready to take on the precision of cooking for a sick dog.

My vet was so so about homecooking. He supports it but not for sick dogs.. and he made some valid points...one is like Cathy and Linda said, it is important to go to a reliable source

Yes, things must be weighed and measured when home cooking...you cannot simply do a bit of this and a bit of that. And....the diet should be custom for the pup so that optimal weight is maintained.

The proof is in the pudding imho...my Cookie has done well now since Dec. 2011 .. Oh..I do think she would also have done well on the RC Low Fat...I just decided I wanted to home cook. But, bottom line, a vet is who should be advising you about diet...this bunk about vets not knowing nutrition is just that .. bunk. A vet nutritionist is a specialist with vast knowledge about pet nutrition in addition to knowing the illness that is being addressed. I have seen people who are human nutritionists dabble in nutrition for pets...I simply don't see how they could do that without the education. Scares me.

Thank you for the advice. I'm actually kind of afraid to do the homecooking for a sick pup, but we have thought of hiring a vet nutritionist. We just got the diagnosis last night after a few tests, so we're looking into our options. Unfortunately, my husband spoke with the vet and he doesn't know what to ask in terms of food. I don't believe she's an internist. I'll have to ask her when we talk. It's good to know of one diagnosed and living well. My take on this is the rd diet or homecooking then. The food I mentioned won't work? I'll update when I can, I'll be talking to the vet on Monday which is when she's next in the office.

Going to read ladyjane's link.

Dany's home now. She seems in good spirits. She has some edema and is peeing frequently because of the steroid. I don't think we can have her sleep with us at least for now. The vet gave the hubs Hills ID because she did so well on it the last three days. Everything I've read said Hills RD. Ugh. I just want to do right by Dany.

I have nothing against Hill's RX foods...they save lives. I just am not sure that I/D is the correct food for lymphangectasia. If you don't want to home cook, I suggest you ask about Royal Canin Low Fat.

I had a couple of people share their stories with me when Cookie was first diagnosed...it gave me hope. I was just so frightened and really thought I was going to lose her.

I will keep you and your Dany in my thoughts and prayers.

Thank you, ladyjane. It is a scary diagnosis. The only reason I don't want to do the Hills is grain product in the food. Royal Canin would have the same issue. But, if we can't homecook for Dany, then I'll feed her what's best for her. If that food happens to be a grain food, so be it. I'm not sure why she put Dany on ID either other than the fact that it's wet food. But then I worry about her teeth. She's lost about seven teeth through dentals.

Dany is a puppy mill survivor and wasn't in the best condition when we adopted her. We worked so hard to make sure she was healthy.

What about treats? Are they no longer allowed? Or would a vet nutritionist make those recommendations as well?

I have had plenty of pups on grains and they did quite well. When you have some time, take a look at the FAQs on this website that is run by a vet nutritionist and pay specific attention to her comments on grains. PetDiets - VNC putting pets' health first!

Yes, my vet nutrionist does advise me on treats! A couple here and there do no harm as long as they are within the guidelines of what is healthy. I don't actually give many treats anyway...but for Cookie, I simply give her a piece of sweet potato for a treat and she loves it. Her basic diet (without supplements) is tilapia and sweet potatoes.

I have a couple of puppy mill survivors...this is nothing you have done! One of mine, Olivia, has a protein losing enteropathy...hers is in her kidneys. Just something that happens. Dany is lucky to have you. :)

Please listen to the posters above. You either need to follow your vets advice and feed what the vet recommended or else consult veterinary nutritionist and follow their advice. Lymphangectasia is very hard to get under control and doesn't have a great prognosis if they don't respond. It is not something to guess at. Columbo has PLE caused by severe IBD. Columbo's vet said that a novel protein (one they hopefully have not been exposed to yet) is a good place to start. He is on Royal Canin Hypoallergenic Select Protein PV (potato venison). He has PLE/severe IBD and almost died from it a month ago. Fortunately, his had not quite progressed to lymphangectasia yet (but was beginning to). If you decide to do a purchased food instead of home cooked, ask your vet about it. It is prescription and comes in canned and kibble. We have both for variety. Also, the canned is good for giving medication and the kibble is good for treats and travel. The food you mentioned was a chicken protein and I would think you should get away from that as the protein source. Regardless, you are correct that the diet is very important, so you definitely need to follow the vet or nutritionists advice.

We are going to follow what our vet says and are looking into seeing a vet nutritionist. I sent a message to Dr. Karen Becker to see if she can personally recommend someone in our area. She writes about species appropriate diets. I also saw that chicken protein should be avoided. The problem with finding a novel protein is that we always switch up the protein. Our pups have had chicken, beef, turkey, fish, venison, duck, rabbit. Those are what I can remember off the top of my head. I don't think she's had bison. If I saw a new protein I put it in rotation to avoid food allergies and stomach upset.

When someone tells us she's lucky to have us, I always respond we're lucky to have her. She's an awesome pup and I'm thankful the people who wanted to adopt her didn't after they found out she wasn't housetrained. :)

Thanks for the link ladyjane. I'm reading it now.

Karen Becker is not a diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition. I only would go with one of the ACVN vets.

Thanks 107barney. I'll search for an ACVN vet then.

There are none in my state. I would have liked to be able to do a face to face, but may just go through petdiets if we're going the homecooked route.

Dany vomited about a teaspoon of her food this morning. I'm going to leave a message with her vet about it since she's not in on Fridays.

I won't be back for awhile. My six month old has a doctor appointment today that includes vaccinations, so he'll probably be a cranky mess this afternoon. Thank you for all the advice. I really appreciate that you have taken time out of your day to help.

I use dr Remillard at petdiets. She works with your vet so you don't need a face to face. She reviews the record and has you give info also and formulates a diet. Same with other veterinary nutritionists.

The first vet nutritionist I used was at Texas A&M .. I never did meet with him. I have met with the one I use now because she works at the specialty hospital that I use for my sick pups. As 107barney said, you really do not need a face to face meeting. They review the records and have you and your vet complete information and then make their recommendations. If you decide to homecook, then they will formulate a diet for your pups.

I have bad news. While I was getting myself and my baby ready to leave for his doctor appointment upstairs, Dany threw up several times. She's now back at the vet and will be at a minimum of overnight. She was shaking too. The vet will call tomorrow. We're going to discuss changing her to r/d. I think she did well on the I/D because it was better for her than what we were feeding her, but not what's best for her. My husband isn't sure he's comfortable with homecooking because of the precision needed. He's really worried about not doing it right. But, he's willing to discuss it with the vet to see what she thinks about working with a vet nutritionist.

Oh, I am so sorry she is sick. :( Is there someone at the vet around the clock? If she is not doing well, I would strongly consider having her checked out by a board certified internal med specialist. They do cost a bit more, but I find that often they are quicker to resolve things so the cost is not as bad as if you mess around with a regular vet for days on end....no disrespect to general practice vets because I love mine. It is not something they deal with every day...specialists just see more of this stuff. Keep us posted on Dany...she is in my thoughts and prayers as are you and your husband.

And, as for home cooking...it really is quite simple; but if you are not comfortable I would ask about Royal Canin Low Fat.

They do have someone around the clock. I didn't even know vets did that, so I had asked why it would be better for her to be there and it's because they have someone there who can give fluids, etc. We're not terribly worried about cost at this place. They actually don't charge as much as they could. The vet who opened the practice doesn't really change her prices and she's on call all the time. The emergency line is her cell phone. She once offered to drive back to the clinic after having closed shop for our sick cat. At any rate, asking about a specialist wouldn't be a bad idea.

Thank you for the thoughts and prayers. I'm hopeful we get some news we can use tomorrow and get a gameplan together that works for Dany. Boy, I'm glad we let her sleep with us last night even though she was leaky. The thought of her in a cage makes me want to cry. I don't put her in one because of her puppy mill experience. I know it's different, but I didn't want her to look around and see cage walls and tonight is the third night this week that she will.

We'll ask about Royal Fanin Low Fat too.

Royal Canin. I'm posting on my phone and can't catch all my mistakes.

Keeping Dany in my prayers.

How did your vet come up with the diagnosis of lymphangectasia? Did Dany have an endoscopy?

No endoscopy. Our vet feels putting Dany under would not be in her best interest, and we're going to go with her recommendation. She did an x-ray, blood work, and complete urinalysis. Based on the test results, she said Dany has lymphangiectasia. From what I could gather from my own research, it makes sense. I actually told my husband I thought it was this before we even had a confirmed diagnosis. Unfortunately, that seems to be the case.

The vomiting from yesterday is believed to be from too much water. he steroid she's on causes excess thirst. We now have to limit her water access/intake. She had no vomiting overnight, but did have a bowel movement. She's back home and seems to be doing fine.

The vet who diagnosed her wasn't in today, so I'm planning to call Monday to discuss food and a vet nutritionist. I'd like to give her a heads up so she knows someone may be in contact with her. I feel better about this today since the vomiting from too much water makes sense. The vomit had a lot of water in it, so I feel the vet is right in this case. She's doing okay on the I/D, but I do want to make sure she's on the best diet for her needs, and I don't think I/D is that diet.

We realize this isn't a progressive disease, so as long was we can maintain her levels with diet and medicine, we can give her the nice, cushy, long life like we planned when we adopted her. I'm feeling better about it today; I feel we can keep her as healthy as possible once we establish a good diet for her.

Thank you for all the help, especially LadyJane. It's tough when you get a diagnosis that you can't fix. This is the fourth time we've had a pet diagnosed with a disease. At least this one doesn't have to be fatal. I'll update when I can, but for now we're going to concentrate on getting her the proper diet through the help of those who are trained to do so.

So happy to hear that the vomiting was not a serious setback!

I am also happy to hear that you are in such a positive frame of mind regarding her diagnosis. :) I so remember being so terrified when Cookie was diagnosed and now it is but a memory that seems so long ago. I pray daily that she will be like this for many, many years to come. Wishing the same for you and your sweet Dany! :)

Please keep us updated! I really want to hear how things work out.

I too hope and pray for many happy years for Cookie and Dany! It was rough getting the diagnosis, but it is one she can live with. I'll post updates when I can. She's done great today. No vomiting and she ate her dinner well. The swelling in her abdomen is also gone. Thank you!!! :)

Yay!! Indeed a great day! :)