Gigi's Bile Acids test came back very high...

[dwerten]

i have heard same-e is good for liver issues as well as zuccini is a liver cleanse - and heard milk thistle is good - food low in protein as well - what is in k/d food

[Patti]

Cali had Bile acid results similat I think 0/92 and the liver biopsy showed a very mild MVD, or internal liver shunt and the surgeon didn;t feel like she needed any meds or diet. I do keep her protein on the lower side though. My surgeon said that usually with results under 100 are MVD and surgery is not an option but diet and meds can allow them to live a normal life. I will keep Gigi in my prayers.

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by Patti

Cali had Bile acid results similat I think 0/92 and the liver biopsy showed a very mild MVD, or internal liver shunt and the surgeon didn;t feel like she needed any meds or diet. I do keep her protein on the lower side though. My surgeon said that usually with results under 100 are MVD and surgery is not an option but diet and meds can allow them to live a normal life. I will keep Gigi in my prayers.

what food do you feed ?

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by gigismom

Gigi seems to be much better these last 2 days. She's got a lot of her spunk back and that little yorkie sparkle in her eye!

She's been eating 3 times a day..... loves all of her supplements and medicines, except the antibiotic. She has been playing and running around.... it's a marked improvement over the past weekend. I joined the yahoo group, and found that the 1 yorkie that my vet has treated with liver shunt prior to Gigi is also a member, and we actually live ~1/2 mile from each other! She just had a breast removed because of breast cancer, and she starts chemo again in 2 weeks, so keep her in your prayers. She made me feel a lot better about the competency of the surgeon in my area.

So my next step is to make some calls to the surgeon and the internist and see if we should just try dietary changes and supplements (barring any symptoms of HE) for a few weeks and then retest or what exactly the next step is.

Jen maybe ask vet about simplecef which my derm said is easier on the tummy than clavamox - it is expensive though so get through petmeds. I paid $35 for 5 pills that i split in 4ths and gave once a day to dd for 20 days for a skin infection

[Yorkieluv]

Originally Posted by gigismom

Twice a day she takes Clovamox (sp?)
3x's per day: eats Hills K/D with milk thistle and lactulose.

I'm going to start the other supplement (begins with D) in about a month.

Denosyl That's good. Are you feeding the canned k/d or the dry? The dry k/d, I believe contains ethoxyquin which is harmful to the liver.

[gigismom]

Originally Posted by Yorkieluv

Denosyl That's good. Are you feeding the canned k/d or the dry? The dry k/d, I believe contains ethoxyquin which is harmful to the liver.

Yes, Denosyl! The ladies in the yahoo group suggested that I want about a month and then start on that supplement. My vet really did not have any suggestions about supplements, so I trust the wise women there! I did ask my vet about continuing the missing link, and while I'm not sure he even knew what it was, he said he did not think it would hurt her.

She is eating the canned K/D, and my vet has ordered the canned L/D food for her. She's picky about it, but she eats the K/D with regularity..... it has to be COLD! I take a couple of spoon fulls and mix the milk thistle and Lactulose (at night I add the missing link), then I have to spoon feed it to her... she won't eat it out of her bowl! After she eats those first couple of spoons, I give her how ever much she will eat spoon by spoon, usually a total of 4, sometimes 5 heaping spoons she will eat at each sitting.

[Yorkieluv]

That's great that she's eating though! And I'm glad it's the canned k/d Yeah, vets don't have a clue about supplements and things regarding the liver sometimes...One vet that I went to didn't even know about milk thistle or marine. As far as the missing link goes, do you give it to her for the omega-3 fatty acids? One of the ingredients of missing link is freeze-dried liver, and organ meats are very high in purines and not food for liver compromised dogs. I don't know if the quantity would affect Gigi or not. I'm not saying that missing link isn't safe for them because I'm not sure, but I know that liver is not good for them. If you decide that you want to try something else....Fish oil will give her the omega-3 fatty acids that she needs.

[Yorkieluv]

Do you give your baby yogurt? That has probiotics that could be helpful. Many of the ladies on the group, including myself, give Stonyfield organic non-fat yogurt.

[dwerten]

what is lactulose and denosyl? my vet and holistic vet recommended milk thistle and sam-e supplements and a nutritionalist said juiced zuccini as it cleanses the liver

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by Yorkieluv

Do you give your baby yogurt? That has probiotics that could be helpful. Many of the ladies on the group, including myself, give Stonyfield organic non-fat yogurt.

I have heard goat yogurt is easiest to digest- have you heard of this? Also if you have a lassens near by ddp plus is a probiotic that many have used on their pups and keeps bacteria down in the gut - doniasea@aol.com is a great nutritionist for animals you may want to email her and call her as she has helped a lot of yorkies on my other chat list - i have been emailing and calling her and she knows her stuff

[Yorkieluv]

Originally Posted by dwerten

what is lactulose and denosyl? my vet and holistic vet recommended milk thistle and sam-e supplements and a nutritionalist said juiced zuccini as it cleanses the liver

Denosyl is Sam-E...They are both s-adenosylmethionine. But you can buy Sam-E at a pharmacy or health store. And Denosyl is the name of Sam-E that you can buy for dogs made my Nutramax Laboratories. They also sell something called s-adenosyl-100 that actually contains the denosyl(sam-e) and milk thistle, zinc, vitamin b-complex, etc. (all good for liver compromised dogs) that is made by Vitality Systems.
I give juiced zucchini to my furbabies every morning

[Yorkieluv]

Originally Posted by dwerten

I have heard goat yogurt is easiest to digest- have you heard of this? Also if you have a lassens near by ddp plus is a probiotic that many have used on their pups and keeps bacteria down in the gut - doniasea@aol.com is a great nutritionist for animals you may want to email her and call her as she has helped a lot of yorkies on my other chat list - i have been emailing and calling her and she knows her stuff

No, I hadn't heard that goat yogurt was easier to digest, but I have heard that low sodium goat cheese with honey is a good way to increase their protein intake. Donia has been recommended by members of another group that I belong to also. Thanks for providing the email address! I might give it a try

[dwerten]

yeah donia told me about the zuccini - she is awesome- my holistic vet dody tyneway in calabasas, CA look up on super pages sells the sam-e in small doses for dogs and she gets really pure supplements - she also sells the milk thistle as well - she was great so i would buy and have her ship to you

[Yorkieluv]

Is there a website to order from?

[Xena'smommy]

Originally Posted by Yorkieluv

Denosyl is Sam-E...They are both s-adenosylmethionine. But you can buy Sam-E at a pharmacy or health store. And Denosyl is the name of Sam-E that you can buy for dogs made my Nutramax Laboratories. They also sell something called s-adenosyl-100 that actually contains the denosyl(sam-e) and milk thistle, zinc, vitamin b-complex, etc. (all good for liver compromised dogs) that is made by Vitality Systems.
I give juiced zucchini to my furbabies every morning

Where can you get this (s-adenosyl-100 that actually contains the denosyl(sam-e) and milk thistle, zinc, vitamin b-complex, etc. (all good for liver compromised dogs) that is made by Vitality Systems.)- any online places?