liver shunt
 

If my dog gets liver shunt surgery how will it be after ? Will she be on medication or prescription food for the rest of her life?

Are they expected to live out a long life? :confused:

Yes, they can live normal lives after surgery!! Don't give up hope. Many yorkies have had the surgery and lived on to have normal lives. My yorkie's story is a bit different. His liver shunts are intrahepatic (MVD) and could not be repaired, so he has to be on special food, lactulose, and supplements for the rest of his life, but it's really not that hard. I cook for him and my other dog (who has no liver problems), I put the lactulose either in his meals or give it to him right afterwards in some low fat yogurt. And I give him the Denosyl (Sam-E) and milk thistle in the mornings.
He's doing great now!!
I know of a dog that had MVD who lived to 17 yrs. Liver shunt is not a death sentence.

I'm guessing your baby has a liver shunt...Can you tell us a little bit more about his/her condition, what testing has been done, what the vets have told you, and what medicines, foods, supplements your baby is on...
I would love to help you, as we have been dealing with our yorkie's condition for about 3 yrs.

She has had blood test next it will be ultrasound.

Right now I am stressing to see if I can afford the surgery.

I don't think I can:( :(

Did they put her on a low, non-animal protein food yet? And if so, which one? Also, is she on lactulose yet? And Denosyl?

no not yet.

Is she headpressing or having seizures, drooling, running into things, anything like that?

I remember your post from awhile back and she was showing symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy...

She really needs to be on a low protein, vegetarian diet as soon as possible.
There are many options out there...Petco sells Solid Gold Holistique Blendz, Natural Balance Vegetarian...Also, you can feed Avoderm vegetarian.

Every time she ingests protein, it turns to ammonia...In healthy liver, the ammonia is filtered through the liver, but when there's a liver shunt, the ammonia bypasses the liver and enter's your baby's blood and nervous system...causing seizures and all kinds of bad things in the body...
Also, lactulose is necessary for a dog with liver problems...This is the most important thing, in my opinion...It helps push those nasty toxins out of the body. The amount of lactulose should be based on the consistency of the stool. On lactulose, your baby's stool should be formed, but loose. Not firm, and not diarrhea...It should be given with meals or directly after meals.
I'm surprised that your vet has not recommended either of these things.

Please keep us updated on your baby's condition and please do not hesitate to ask any questions...I sent you a pm also.

Yes I posted about this before she was fine for about 3 months and now she started back up again.

She does not have seizures. she is doing the headpressing she will drool but then stop. She has only drool 2 times.

Poor girl! I know how hard it is to see your furbaby go through this....
There are things that you can do for her in the meantime...
1) the special foods I posted above-this is necessary
2) lactulose (ask your vet for a prescription)-this is also necessary
3) Sam-E or Denosyl (must be given whole for it to be effective) for liver function and to prevent further damage
4) Milk Thistle (1/4 of the human dose) to help repair the liver and prevent further damage

I just noticed your avatar, and she is very cute :)

She has the episodes for a day then come out of it. Does this sound like a shunt? Then she is fine for a week.

Sam-E or Denosyl ????

:hands: Faith99 sorry about your baby, prayers are going to your way

Yorkieluv we need more people like you in this world:clapsmile

Can I ask what you cook for them.

Aww, thanks! I'm just trying to help as much as possible. I remember going through this myself and not knowing where to go for more info. Also, many vets are not that educated on this condition, and it worries me.

You can get Denosyl 90mg or S-Adenosyl-100... Denosyl requires a prescription but the S-Adenosyl-100 does not. It's basically the same thing, but the s-adenosyl-100 also contains supplements that are very beneficial to the liver such as sam-e, milk thistle, zinc, l-taurine, b-complex, etc. I give my yorkie the s-adenosyl-100. You can order it from amazon.com or petfoodsdirect.com It helps to prevent further damage to the liver and it helps protect it.

If you give your baby the s-adenosyl-100, then you do not need to give the milk thistle because the milk thistle is already in that pill. BUT if you just give Sam-E or Denosyl, then you could give milk thistle as well as it also helps to repair damage to the liver and keeps it from further damage.

Milk thistle and sam-e can be purchased at any drugstore or health food store. They are supplements....Remember, about 1/4 of the human dose. I don't know the size of your girl. But that's generally the rule of thumb

Denosyl can be purchased online with a prescription from your vet.

I cook a special diet for my yorkie that was made up by a vet with extensive experience with liver shunts...If you check your pm, I posted a link in there for a place that would have this recipe. And a bunch of people that can help you through this and give advice. Are they doing a doppler ultrasound or a regular one...Many times a regular ultrasound is inconclusive and they still don't know where the shunt it. I would recommend going somewhere where they can do a scintigraphy...They put a dye in your baby's body so that they can see exactly where the shunt is.

My little Grace has a liver shunt too. She is 4 months old. We are heading to Knoxville in the morning to see Dr Tobias on Tuesday, with possible surgery on Wednesday. Please pray for us!

How accurate is the bile-acid test??? I had my diggy tested after a night of 7 seizures The test showed no shunt. His before fast level was 5 and after a 7. Vet said very low and healthy liver function but low blood sugar therefore leading them to believe hypoglycemia. He was 9 weeks when he had the seizures now at 11 weeks, diet change, constant meals, and nutrical no more episodes at all. I read on here about Liver shunts all the time and it breaks my heart. I go back to seeing those dreadful seizures and become panic stricken all over again. So basically I want to know if bile-acid test is extremely accurate.
Faith...when you feed him foods higher in protein does the baby seem to be worse?
when you said your getting blood test tomorrow, is the blood being tested right htere or does it have to be sent off? I searched and searched for a place that did on site testing. My vet had to send it to Michigan State for results and would take 3-5 days for results....I did not want to wait and with persistance I found a brand new pet hospital that did do the bile-acis testing there. I dropped him off at 9 and had him back in my arms by noon. I guess I just wanted to let you know results can be same day of you search out the right vet, maybe your is immedite results too (i hope) As I am sure you are anxious for an answer. I pray for you and your fur baby. Best of luck and PLEASE keep us posted.......

Good luck and my pryers are also with you! Keep us posted!

Oh, so sorry to hear about your litttle baby. I hope she'll be ok soon. Please stay strong for your baby. My Little Boo-Boo has a liver shunt as well and we are going for surgery tomorrow morning and I know how it is to go out of your mind. But we need to keep positive.(I know...better said than done)
Be safe
Maria

Good luck BOO BOO Diggy, Bella, and I are praying for you! :hands: :hands: :hands: :hands: :hands:

Thank you...that is soooo very sweet.

Financial Assistance
 

There is a Yorkie Liver Shunt foundation that offers financial assistance for afflicted pups. I filled out the application and was going to use them but Henry's liver problems resolved (with the exception of a 40 for the post-bile acid test; pre was normal).

a 40? Im not familar with what the results should be on this test is a 40 high? low? Mine were 5 pre and 7 post the fasting and eating. Is that normal or am I reading this wrong :confused: Is the liver shunt foundation something you can donate to?? I'd like to do that.

bile acids and TSFMLS
 

Normal is 0-20, so yours are fine. Liver shunt puppies usually have ver high levels, pre and post (i.e. over 100).

Yes, they need donations! I am probably going to list the foundation in my will. They are amazing!

LiverShuntHelpNChat@yahoogroups.com
President of the TSFMLS fund
http://tsfannymaelivershunt.com
Klancys Yorkshire Terriers Reg'd
http://www.angelfire.com/pa5/yorkies0/index.html
In memory of our Yorkie Angel Terri Shumsky
Please bile acid test your puppies

For more detailed information on this disease please visit: http://www.vet.utk.edu/clinical/sacs/shunts_faq.shtml and http://www.vet.utk.edu/news/tobias.html, and http://www.tsfannymaelivershunt.com .

If, after reading the information at these websites, you still have questions or concerns, TSFMLS is willing to talk with you and to answer any questions you may have about this disease and how you can protect yourself from having it happen again in future breedings.

You may contact Gloria MacLeod, President of the TSFMLSF at: LiverShuntHelpNChat@yahoogroups.com
President of the TSFMLS fund
http://tsfannymaelivershunt.com

Praying for your baby, Princessgrace!! She will be in good hands at the University of Tennessee.