2 1/2 year-old w/ liver problems

[StuartsMom]

The love of my life, Stuart - my 5lb. Yorkie suddenly was nonresponsive the other day. I rushed him to the emergency room where they did all kinds of tests. After he came to, they thought that he might have problems with his liver - I guess all of his liver levels were 3 times what they should be. He is now taking two medicines to try and lower his levels and his blood will be checked again in a month. He is on Denosyl once a day and metronidazole twice a day.
Can anyone offer any information about this problem? Has anyone experienced this before? How have you dealt with it? I heard surgery might be an option but not sure? Also I read that I might need to change his diet to keep his protein levels down. Any truth to this? If so, I really should change as he always gets boiled chicken on his dry food at each meal! (2 times a day!)
Any advice would be much appreciated. I hate to see my baby have to go through this!
Thanks!
Liz

[Lacy's Mom]

Sorry to hear about your baby's illness. here's an article to read on liver shunts. a low protein diet is recommended. they actually make a prescription diet to fit the requirements. i think its LD or KD Prescription Diet - your vet should know. if it is a liver shunt causing the problems i would start on the special diet right away.

http://www.bhejei.com/health-pss.htm

[SandyTXn]

I am so sorry to hear about Stuart. Bless your heart! I know you are worried sick! I don't have any advice, but I just wanted to tell you I'm praying that your little furbaby will be ok. Please keep us posted on how things are going. I hate for both of you to be going through all of this........
Hang in there!

[livingdustmops]

I am so sorry to hear about your little one. Here is a website that is linked through YTNR (Yorkshire Terrier National Rescue).

http://www.livershunt.com/

I hope some of this information will help you.

[Patti]

Cali has a internal liver shunt or MVD but very mild. I am keeping her on a lower protein diet but she does not need meds. It sounds like he is on the right meds for the condition. I hope he gets better fast.

[Mark]

Unfortunately our 15 month old yorkie pasted away last Saturday because of liver problems. She was ill and was taken to 2 vets within 3 weeks. Many days of iv, force feeding and many test did not help. Our last hope was a operatable liver shunt. She died before the results were back. It was not liver shunt. I would recommend seeing if you have an internal medicine vet available, it regret not doing so.

Missing our Roxy

[Olivier]

I am so sorry to hear about the death of your little one . Actually , I have a little one at the hospital and I am not sure that she'll make it .

You are in my prayers .

[whispersmom2]

Liver shunt is a nasty, hateful condition and one that I hope there is a cure found in the very near future. I warn every caller who inquires about puppies to research PSS or LS before they call one more breeder..We can try out hardest and still an occasional case will crop up.. As Pat has posted, it can skip 5 generations then show up in one puppy of a litter..
I am so sorry to hear of your loss, Mark.

[JeanieK]

I am so sorry for all of you who are going thorugh this. I lost one many years ago with a liver problem.

Liz

Welcome to YT. I'm sure there are members here who have gone through this and I wish you the best.

Mark

I'm so sorry that you lost yours. I know you said she was sick. That explains your absence. I's so hard to get over it, but if talking about it helps, there are plenty here that can empathize with you.

Olivier

I hope your little one gets well. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

[megan_kat22]

I'm so sorry Stuart isn't feeling too good!! I have a yorkie who has survived through a liver shunt, so don't ever get discouraged! As a matter of fact, my baby Tucker has been diagnosed for almost 2 years. Yes, it is true they need to be on low protein diets. That is very important, so that will most likely cut out the chicken. Tucker has been on U/D successfully for months now, but it is very high in fat and has almost no protein, which causes him to break down his own body's protein. Because he cannot always have this he was switched to L/D so he would be in good shape for surgery. Dogs can be maintained for an average of 2 years. But there is successful surgery available. Tucker is scheduled to have a liver shunt surgery the first week in June. The vet we we referred to for this is at Gulf Coast Veterinary Hospital in Houston. She gave us a lot of hope and good news. The surgery was not near as expensive as we expected but that does change depending where you are. Please PM me with any questions you have. We have been through almost every stage of this with Tucker and I would love to help you. Liver shunts can be hard to deal with, but he'll be okay!!

[janh7]

Hang in there. Believe me, I know how you are feeling. Things will get better.

[SnowWa]

StuartsMom - You didn't say that your vet diagnosed or supected a liver shunt, so hopefully this may not be your dog's problem.

My dog had an entirely different problem called thrombocytopenia - that required steriods. After being on the steriods for a while, the doctor said that her liver enzymes (tests) were going through the roof - and that we needed to take her off the steriods - which we did, and her liver tests quickly went back to normal.

I am only telling you this so that you know that things other than a liver shunt can cause an increase in liver enzymes.

A lot of medications and other things as well can cause an increase in liver enzymes. And, many health problems (even arthritis or diabetes) --- some serious and some less serious can also cause this increase.

I think for now, (without all our guessing), you need to follow up closely with your vet and have further testing done - There is certainly no way to be sure at this point, but hopefully, your dog's problem can be corrected. I'm sure your vet will want to repeat these studies before long - and, further tests will help him diagnose your dog's problem. Wouldn't it be nice if additional testing shows an improvement?

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best. Good luck!

Carol Jean

[StuartsMom]

Thank you all so much for your messages. Stuart and I are scheduled to go in for testing this Friday (21st) afternoon and I will keep you all posted! Your comments and information have been so helpful and informative - this sight is a true blessing!
Thank you for your prayers and we'll let you know on Friday!
Liz

[megan_kat22]

hoping stuart is okay!!

[red98vett]

Oh wow you must be so scared !! Bless his heart - I hope he'll be ok -

lots of yorkies CAN get thru this and my heart goes out to you....I wish you all the best and people have already offered you some great help so I won't....just read all you can and try to be informed as possible ....

GOOD LUCK at the vet ...

and Mark...I'm so so sorry for your loss. That's really sad to hear.