pirate Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 (edited) Has any had experience treating a liver shunt. Bob has elevated levels of protein in his blood has been banging into walls. He is at the vets having some test ran hopefully we will have some answers later today.???????? Edited January 8, 2015 by pirate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 not good. There are threads on it ...let me have a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/254129-possible-liver-shunt/page__view__findpost__p__6370980__hl__%22liver+shunt%22__fromsearch__1 http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/247524-liver-shunts/page__view__findpost__p__6153935__hl__%22liver+shunt%22__fromsearch__1 http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/247524-liver-shunts/page__view__findpost__p__6153935__hl__%22liver+shunt%22__fromsearch__1 http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/242937-liver-shunt/page__view__findpost__p__6000280__hl__%22liver+shunt%22__fromsearch__1 these are a few ...I hope they are some help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Yes I have a dog with multiple liver shunts. What would you like to know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirate Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Everything. How to manage it, diet,warning signs of anything that can go wrong. Went to see him this afternoon looked brighter. Still on a drip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 What tests is Bob having done? If there is a single shunt then surgery is often a good option and the dog goes on to live a fairly normal life. The surgery is not without risks though. If the condition is not operable then you are in a palliative situation just trying to keep the dog as healthy and comfortable as possible. The dog's life span is often quite dramatically reduced but my dog was only given 6 months to live and that was 4 years ago so there is always hope. Diet - the dog must have a diet that does not stress the liver, this means easily digested protein. Eggs & soy are easier to digest for instance than meat. Often the dog also needs a low purine diet and low sodium. I feed prescription feeds. There are also medications that might be needed like metrogyl, which helps with the toxins that can gather in the blood due to the liver not working properly. There are other supplements that can also help like SAMe, St Mary's thistle, lactulose. A warning signs that things are going down hill would be the dog pressing its head into a wall, having a fit, walking with very stiff legs, staring into space. These are all happen when the toxins build up in the brain. Banging into walls is part of this. It is called hepatic encephalopathy. Dogs with liver problems tend to be smaller and are often skinny. They tend to be fussy eaters and some will vomit after eating. You also need to avoid putting chemicals in the dog. So worming and vaccinations need to be avoided as much as possible. A lot of medications are processed through the liver so care needs to be taken there. General anesthetic can also be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirate Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 We have a diagnosis, he has a portosystemic shunt hopefully it is on the outside. The vet is wanting to operate.???????????????? ???????????????????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ptolomy Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 What tests is Bob having done? If there is a single shunt then surgery is often a good option and the dog goes on to live a fairly normal life. The surgery is not without risks though. If the condition is not operable then you are in a palliative situation just trying to keep the dog as healthy and comfortable as possible. The dog's life span is often quite dramatically reduced but my dog was only given 6 months to live and that was 4 years ago so there is always hope. Diet - the dog must have a diet that does not stress the liver, this means easily digested protein. Eggs & soy are easier to digest for instance than meat. Often the dog also needs a low purine diet and low sodium. I feed prescription feeds. There are also medications that might be needed like metrogyl, which helps with the toxins that can gather in the blood due to the liver not working properly. There are other supplements that can also help like SAMe, St Mary's thistle, lactulose. A warning signs that things are going down hill would be the dog pressing its head into a wall, having a fit, walking with very stiff legs, staring into space. These are all happen when the toxins build up in the brain. Banging into walls is part of this. It is called hepatic encephalopathy. Dogs with liver problems tend to be smaller and are often skinny. They tend to be fussy eaters and some will vomit after eating. You also need to avoid putting chemicals in the dog. So worming and vaccinations need to be avoided as much as possible. A lot of medications are processed through the liver so care needs to be taken there. General anesthetic can also be a problem. Well summed up Jules P - I think you covered things very well. I have had a dog with a liver shunt (ended up being pts at 16 months of age, was doing ok on low protein diet and one day the family came home and found him banging its head into walls) and another with liver failure (at 7 years of age and is still with us at 11). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 We have a diagnosis, he has a portosystemic shunt hopefully it is on the outside. The vet is wanting to operate.???????????????? ???????????????????????? Very sorry pirate. Hopefully the op will be successful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Hoping for a successful surgery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirate Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 Bob is home from the vets. He has reorganized everybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 :) bob knows what is in his best interests . Hope recovery goes well . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirate Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 Bob is going to be having an operation in a week or two to see if they can close the shunt, if the can't close it we have decided to let him go. I hope like hell it is accessible and can be closed. Bob is still growing and eating well. The shunt at least explains why he was having problems with puppy food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pirate Posted February 12, 2015 Author Share Posted February 12, 2015 Bob still hasn't had surgery, he has had a CT scan took close to 1500 images. Hopefully we will have an answer in a day or two as to what the problem is. He now weighs 24 kg and is within 3/4 cm of his correct height. He is eating nearly a a kilo and half of food a day and still wants more. He has approx 4 to 600 gr of meat a day boiled barley oats and amarath 800 gr spread over 2 meals. Gradually taking his meat portion up to see where his tolerance is. He is everything that a liver shunt puppy isn't. Growing well, eating, not really sick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Whilst I'm glad Bob is growing and has everyone trained ..I feel for you, still waiting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now