Update from LaviniaHyacnth
 

Hey Everyone, I have been away from the site for awhile and wanted to send my friends here an update on Vivi. Last June during a routine exam and testing pryor to spaying, it was discovered that my beloved Yorkie,Vivi, has a congenital liver shunt.She ahd managed to stay symptom free so I had never suspected that she was sick. Her only symptom was not liking dog food so I continued to feed her human baby food and carrots(her favorite) After much research...thank you yt for your resources...an ultrasound reviewed by Dr. TObias in Tennessee and the care of my wonderful vet, it was decided that her situation was inoperable and would eventually prove fatal. However, I didn't tell Vivi that news....she has continued to be her sweet and loving self no matter how awful she feels. Currently, she is taking Lactulose 3 times a day and flagyl...as well as liver boosting homeopathic and herbal supplements...I have been monitoring her diet with much care. Sadly, on Tuesday, Vivi was in much pain and I rushed her to the vet....the night before she was fine and playful...so I was shocked at the sudden onset of these symptoms...it was then discovered that she has developed large stones in both kidneys and a urinary tract infection...all directly related to the liver shunt and her liver's inability to flush toxins.This was inevitable as her disease progresses ...I had just hoped it wouldn't happen until much later. She is on pain meds and antibiotics on top of her other medications and I am feeding her with a syringe. Today she drank water on her own and she is no longer upset to her stomach. She is starting to show some interest in food. I know that the time will come when I will have to say goodbye...I also know she will let me know when she has had enough. At the moment she is still trying so hard and continues to kiss and comfort me. This dog is an angel on earth...she has outlived all the expectations...the vet calls her the Miracle Dog...I will keep you updated on her progress. She continues to sleep peacefully in a patch of sun in my studio...I am trying to keep working but it is hard to focus on the paintings....all I want to do is hold her next to me.

So sorry you are going through this, Vivi is a cutie pie. Glad she has a great mommy like you to care for her and give her lots of love. Hope she is happy and pain free.

OMG I'm so sorry!! I will say a little Prayer for you and litte Vivi :( Coco, Rocco and I send her kisses from far away. She sounds like a strong little girl, a fighter. Please keep us posted.

This is devestating news. I'm so so sorry. You must be an emotional wreck. :( You and Vivi will be in my prayers. Hugs and kisses to Vivi.

im sending prayers to all of you... im hoping she gets better...
im sorry she is so sick, god bless

Im so sorry :( . Thankfully, she is such a strong baby though and she is very lucky to have a mommy like you that takes such good care of her. I hope she feels better and gets her energy back. Vivi we love you! :love:

You said: I can certainly understand why. I'm sorry you both have to go through this. It's heartbreaking and stressful, but she is lucky to have such a wonderful mom as you. Take care and keep us updated.

I am sorry :( Please know we are all thinking about you and your girl :(

Lots of love and hugs

I am so sorry to hear this. Praying for strength for both of you.

thanks for your kind words
 

Thank you so much for all of your kind thoughts....it was so nice to hear from each of you. This afternoon Vivi has shown some improvement...she ate pieces of banana from my hand...her first non forced food since Tuesday...I am so happy to see this step in the right direction......As for me,I am trying really hard to live in the moment and not dwell on the future.

I can understand what you feel . Royce has calcium oxalate kidney stones they are still small, they can do surgery to remove them and i'm waiting for an answer from the vets a purdue university to see if Royce is a god candidate for lithotripsy ( destroying the stones by shock waves )...
what did the vet tell you about the stones?

Vivi has urate stones lodged in both kidneys....they are directly related to her liver shunt and even if removed would come back....she can't have surgery because the anesthesia would kill her....this is due to high pressure in her liver caused by the underdeveloped blood vessels....all of this is due to the liver shunt.....this is such an ugly disease and it is becoming an epidemic in Yorkies, I pray that a way to prevent this is discovered soon so that other yorkies won't suffer.

I'm so sorry you and your precious little sweetie have so much to deal with. Prayers and hugs coming your way. Vivi is very lucky to have such a devoted and loving Mommy and you are lucky to have a baby with so much fight in her. God Bless you both.

Oh nooooooo :( :( :( :( Lavina I'm so very sorry to hear this....

Bless her heart... I'll be hoping for a miracle...You're so right. LS is now an epidemic in Yorkies and it just shouldn't be like this. You PLEASE take care and you have lots of friends here pulling for you and Vivi...I'm just so sorry I don't know what to say....sending you a big hug and one for your little baby....She sounds like she's such a little trooper...how unfair this is for her.:(

Oh no, I am so sorry to hear this. God bless you both, I will be thinking about you.

Royce has calcium oxalate stones and surgery is not an option as it will cause more damage than benebit to the kidneys . Also the vet is suspecting that Royce might have a liver microvascular dysplasia ( the only way to know is to perform a liver biopsy ) and it's very possible that the stones are related to the MVD ...However I think that urate stones can be dissoved by medication and diet ? You should ask the vet

Myriam, I am so sorry to hear that Royce has MVD....I hope that diet will help him. Vivi was already on a diet for both her liver and kidneys....we were aware that kidney troubles were coming....her liver is so small that the kidneys are overworked...Urate chrystals and stones are common with LS...her diet is low in purine as well as protein which is what is needed to help stop the stones from forming...at the moment she is on antibiotics to fight her UTI and another drug to help her kidney stones....the biggest danger is that they will move and block her urethra...sadly that will be fatal because the only solution at that point would be surgery and she can't have it...we have talked to Dr. Tobias in Tennessee...she is a wonderful doctor that has devoted her entire practice to understanding and treating LS and was the surgeon who invented the constrictor surgery that has been so successful. She was amazed that Vivi has lived as long as she has because her numbers are so bad....we have been able to control the seizures with lactulose and diet and close supervision. I am lucky that I can take her to the studio with me each day. It seems that you and Royce are under the care of great doctors and I hope and pray that he will get better soon. Hugs to you both.

Dr. Larry Adams at Purdue University performs lithotripsy ( destroying kidney stones by shock waves ) you might consider that to avoid that the stones
move and block her urethra...

We looked into lithotripsy .... it is also performed at the University of Tennessee. Vivi is not a candidate for the treatment because her stones are too big, they are in both kidneys...they will not do this surgery if both kidneys are involved because of the risk of kidney damage...she also can not have any sedation due to her liver damage. Believe me, I have talked to a lot of vets....I am also a compulsive internet researcher...I would do anything to help this dog...I have been talking to a company that makes an herbal based product for humans that is supposed to dissolve kidney stones...they are trying to find out the dosage for a 5lb dog. I am not a fatalist...in fact I am an optimist..I have just had to accept the fact that this situation is terminal. Vivi and I are trying to enjoy whatever time we have left. I am not going to cut her time shorter than it already is.

It's good that you are an optimist. You would probably be very surprised to know the number of little yorkies that have lived normal life spans in a healthy manner because their mommies wouldn't give up.:D