Possible Liver Shunt

[Lolasmom1211]

Originally Posted by sophiesmominva

I know this sounds odd and probably a coincidence, but since starting Sophie on her new low protein diet at 8pm last night along with the lactulose, I see an increase in appetite along with energy level. This morning after she ate, she ran around and played when before she would eat and go right back to sleep.Two hours after her morning meal, I had to give her another small serving of food and when she saw me prepare it, she started doing her tricks I have taught her without me asking -- so cute.

Maybe not a coincidence at all. Put vey simply (becasue I had to have it put simply to me!) when you feed her "normal" food, it's like poison to her. It makes her nauseous and sometimes makes her head hurt, thus the head pressing and seizures. These toxins stay in their little bodies and build up - that is also why they have thin coats. As soon as you start feeding them food that no longer makes them sick, they have more energy and feel better! The lactulose helps rid them of the toxins. She should be having very regular, soft bowel movements on the lactulose...if not, I'd call my vet and inform them that she is not - they may want to increase her dose. The lactulose takes a little while to get the correct dose for each pup! So glad she is feeling better. I think the surgery made a huge, huge difference in Lola's life! I don't think she would have lived as long or as healthy without it!

[sophiesmominva]

Originally Posted by Lolasmom1211

Maybe not a coincidence at all. Put vey simply (becasue I had to have it put simply to me!) when you feed her "normal" food, it's like poison to her. It makes her nauseous and sometimes makes her head hurt, thus the head pressing and seizures. These toxins stay in their little bodies and build up - that is also why they have thin coats. As soon as you start feeding them food that no longer makes them sick, they have more energy and feel better! The lactulose helps rid them of the toxins. She should be having very regular, soft bowel movements on the lactulose...if not, I'd call my vet and inform them that she is not - they may want to increase her dose. The lactulose takes a little while to get the correct dose for each pup! So glad she is feeling better. I think the surgery made a huge, huge difference in Lola's life! I don't think she would have lived as long or as healthy without it!

Would the change over show results that quickly? Great if so! I am not a vet and maybe don't know best but I personally would like her to improve before going in to surgery (and I hope surgeon feels the same way). I hope he recommends another BAT and regular blood panel in a week or two to see if she is a little better. No, the food and meds will not cure her but I would like to see some improvement before surgery and also give her a little time to adjust to new diet, etc. and just generally feel better. I am still going through with surgery no matter what unless all her tests were completely normal (unlikely). I also switched her to 100% filtered water -- I know this does not effect her liver but did so just for overall good health. They said the lactulose would make her stools soft but I have not seen a BM yet to verify. Will call vet if I don't see one today -- perhaps the change in food is stopping her up temporarily. And yes, the vet said I might have to alter the lactulose dose a bit. So glad Lola is healthy and happy now!

[Nalah143]

Originally Posted by sophiesmominva

Thank you for sharing your experience. So, did your baby have or not have the surgery? I have heard of dogs being medically managed without surgery and of course if there are multiple shunts presents (which I pray not), that would be the course of action. Personally, I would like to hold off on surgery for a month or two and get her acid levels down and weight up, etc. Would also give me a little time to come up with the money. I am a single woman who just paid for my daughter's wedding in St. John, USVI ! But I do have a responsibility to my dog and will make it work financially regardless. Worse case scenario for her is that it is not a single shunt and instead multiple shunts or something else that cannot be corrected.

I started Sophie on the L/D food (canned) last night and she also had some this morning. She was barking at me when I was fixing it (mixed some with her old food) this morning because she wanted it so bad. She inhaled it when I gave it to her and could have eaten more but of course I don't want to overfeed her belly then she will throw up for sure. Weird thing is that she has not had a BM for past 2 meals of canned food and you would think this stuff would make her go poo due to it being wet food and an alteration in diet. I'm watching her outside to see if she goes and of course looking in my house for areas she might sneak to, to go poo as she is not house broken yet -- which is another issue but the least of my concerns right now.

No, we did not get the surgery. We chose to medically manage since Nalah's health changed dramatically after we changed her diet--no more seizures or walking along the walls. Perhaps your pup's digestive system is still getting used to the change in diet. We fed Nalah a combo of the wet and dry Hills food. Best of luck!

[sophiesmominva]

Feeding Sophie now AGAIN, third time already today and it's only noon -- have never seen her eat like this ever. And again, while preparing her food she went crazy!!! And yes, careful not to overfeed her...just doing mini meals but she just can't get enough of this food and that is why I am spacing them out. She also needs to gain some weight since vet said she was a little skinny.

[sophiesmominva]

Just a little update regarding Sophie in hope that my experience will help others. 24 hours after switching food and taking two doses of Lactulose -- Sophie is eating A LOT (just can't seem to get enough food), playing like a puppy again and had her first BM with the food (soft but not diarrhea).

Now prior to all this she was not 'sickly' but was not eating much and sleeping a lot. I have seen a big change in her already and can tell she feels so much better.

I know this is not a cure and we are not out of the woods but it is nice to see Sophie feeling better and back to her puppy antics.

Thank you again for your support!

[GracieJane]

[ladyjane]

So happy to hear this! She is lucky to have such a wonderful mom!

[MauiGirl]

Happy to hear she is moving in a positive direction.

[connie3dogs]

Just been reading this post today... My little Suki has been very timid, sleepy and just not 'right' the past 5 days.She has hardly eaten very much . I took her to my vet last Friday. He took some bloods and started her on antibiotics. I did happen to mention to him that I was worried that it may be a liver shunt. Anyway the blood results came back and showed a slight neutropenia, I also commented on her bile salts levels which were high..One other observation is her coat is quite thin. She follows my hubby around everywhere and her behaviour is a bit odd.


My conclusions are that she does have a shunt . She is very lethargic during the day and if I go near her she runs away. She only eats a little bit food . I believe she is toxic at these times .


My vet is going to do a BAT next week.


I don't mean to hijack this thread but should she be started on the Hills canned food and lactulose now. I am so stressed with it all with her not eating enough and to top it all I am having surgery on knee tomorrow ( only in hospital for the day).


Shirl

[sophiesmominva]

Sorry to hear about your baby and no, you are not hijacking this thread. From reading your post, it appears 'you', not the vet suspect a liver shunt? Just having elevated liver enzymes does not mean so and could indicate another problem. What my vet told me was it was the combination of liver enzymes (especially the ALT), low cholesterol and couple other his or lows in my Sophie's blood panel results that made the vet think it was possibly a liver shunt. A BAT still won't confirm a shunt but the results will help determine the next step.

My advice to you, is that after the BAT results come back and they indicate possibly a shunt (post meal 100+); I would inquire to your vet about lactulose and Hills Rx L/D diet. Then go see an internal medicine Vet. All I can tell you is that there was a huge change in my baby's behavior after changing her diet and giving her the lactulose which the internal medicine vet prescribed, not my normal vet. We are still waiting to see the surgeon for a consult. I also stress that the diet and medication is not a cure, but something to help until we know why Sophie's bile acids are high and then once we find that out through a biopsy; we fix the shunt or 'medically manage' if multiple shunts or something else that cannot be corrected via surgery.

Is your dog showing other symptoms like drinking more water, itching, etc.?

[Lili]

Hello! This is the second edition of this booklet written by Dr. Karen Tobias which has a lot of new information. It was just released a few days ago.

Help! My Dog was Diagnosed with a Liver Problem!
https://vetmed.tennessee.edu/vmc/Dow...D-Brochure.pdf

[sophiesmominva]

We had our surgery consult this morning and were notified of the risks of liver shunt surgery, etc. First an MRI must be done and if no liver shunt seen, they will do a biopsy which would be way less invasive then opening her up. Vet 80% sure it is a shunt. I asked her prognosis if no surgery done and he said very well she should live to 10 years old but the L/D diet is not meant for long term and dogs need their protein to be healthy. The risks for infections, siezures is 10% which is very high in my opinion but I feel I have not choice. Waiting on MRI and surgery which must be done within a week of each other until probably December or January -- this is so I can get my finances in order to pay for it. She is not in any distress right now nor shows any symptoms of liver disease which is good. The vet was okay with waiting until then as long as her health remains good. Obviously, if she starts shows symptoms; we will have to get the surgery done sooner and of course better to do surgery on a healthy dog versus a sick one. For those wondering the cost: the MRI is $850 and the surgery is $2400 to $2800 which includes follow-up visits, etc.

[GracieJane]

You will be in our thoughts in the next few months. It is great that your baby is doing well in the meantime--it isn't easy with a sick pup. Just think about spring when she will be in great shape and tearing up her world!

[Riley04]

hello i find your post interesting, my nine month old female just had routing blood test with bile acid,, her fast# was2 her post number is 43,, my vet just based on number says it's MVD,, my puppy acts 100% normal and he says this is an accidental finding, they sugges i do nothing not even a diet change since she has no symptoms - had we not done a complete physical we would not have known but i feel unsettled, they said its not needed right now to spend money on all kinds of ultrasounds etc. rather watch her and repeat blood in 6 months

[sophiesmominva]

Sorry to hear this. I believe MVD is medically managed through diet and meds. Even though your pup has no symptoms; I would highly suggest a 2nd opinion regarding change in diet and meds. In other words, you don't want to wait until your pup starts showing symptoms to start treating the MVD. But again your vet is speculating and is not certain as I believe only an ultrasound would confirm this. Hopefully other posters whose dog has MVD can offer up some suggestions. Good luck to you!