Add Benson to the Gallbladder list

Margi

Margi

Premium Member
First of all, thank you, Sheltie Nation. My vet would NOT have scanned the gallbladder given it was just his ALT numbers that were high! It was my insistence. So here we are, in the sludge with many other shelties.
I had them scan Fillion too--I needed to know!

Below is the email I got from vet today. I had to wait all weekend and yesterday. (Note to self! Never schedule tests that need to be read by someone other than the vet at the end of the week!)

Fillion: VERY mild changes in the liver that may be associated with chronic hepatitis.....no evidence of cancer and gall badder is very normal with a thin wall and mild sludge

Benny: the liver itself appeared normal, but he has a moderately thickened gall bladder with a moderate amount of sludge present
Elevated bile acids due to the inflammation of the gall bladder

Options now: start ursodiol and retest ALT and +/- bile acids n 8 weeks
Or start ursodiol and referral to internal medicine DVM
The ursodiol comes in 250 mg and 300mg and 500mg tablets
His dose is 150mg every 24 hours, given with food.
I assume you know about this drug, but let me know if you dont...

So there we are, I'm trying to find a reasonable price on the ursodiol. Looks like Chewy compounding 150 mg for the win so far. And WTH about Fil and hepatitis???

Any opinions/comments greatly appreciated!
 
I’m so glad you were able to get them both in so quickly to be scanned Margi (even if it was on a Friday lol) although I can imagine how stressful it must’ve been for you having to wait all weekend until today for the results!
I’m going to let those that have been through this to give you advice as they’d have the most experience. I would (if it was me) at the very least get him in to see the internal medicine vet to get his opinion of where exactly Benny is in terms of severity.
I’m keeping you in my thoughts and prayers throughout this!
:hugs:hugs
 
Goodness... no opinions, thanks for the update although not good news. I have been checking to see how your tests went.

So starting with Fillion - what can you do? I had to google it.

And Benny - so you are looking at Ursodiol - too new to see what route you will go?
 
Crapola. I had a feeling. OK here's my experience. Cheapest ursodiol was at Costco, if you are a member. I think it was $40 for a 2 month supply. Eli was taking half of a 250mg tab once daily. He weighs about 23lb. You really need to get the Denamarin as well, Chewy carries it. It is a supplement that is fabulous for liver support. Not a prescription. Take on an EMPTY stomach. These two meds brought Eli's ALT back down to normal. In his case, the bilirubin was normal.

I asked specifically what percentage of the gallbladder was filled. They said 75%. The internal med doc we saw for beaucoup bucks did a more extensive ultrasound, but basically just suggested the drugs plus scanning monthly. This was July 11. The problem is, these cases usually progress even with meds. And then they are older, and maybe getting sick from it. My surgeon said when they got his GB out it was so big and full it would have ruptured in a month or two. She said she rarely gets to see them at the early stage he was at (generally healthy) and that the high mortality rate stats for this surgery are because the majority are already debilitated when they have it.

His surgery was August 7. So if we had waited and kept just scanning, it could have ruptured.

Ann has told me (and I'm sure she will weigh in) that once it gets to 50% full of sludge, it needs to come out.

I'm SO GLAD you insisted. And I'm very sorry it's positive. If you go the surgical route you need a Board Certified surgeon who has done these procedures more than once. It's a complicated surgery. Even with the complication of his duct tearing, Eli's surgeons got the job done and he is FINE today.

And Fillion.... no clue how he could have hepatitis. He would greatly benefit from the Denamarin as well.

Feel free to PM/email me, I am only too glad to help. Sucks big time for your boy.
 
Sharon covered it perfectly. The only difference is that I get Ursidiol from Chewy's pharmacy, it's cheaper than anywhere else I've found. I have my vet prescribe the 250 mg size and I split them for more savings, since I have three on it. Mine get 125 mg per day.

I definitely second the Denamarin recommendation. It has worked wonders when we've had elevated liver values. Available on both Chewy and Amazon.
 
Sharon7 said:
Crapola. I had a feeling. OK here's my experience. Cheapest ursodiol was at Costco, if you are a member. I think it was $40 for a 2 month supply. Eli was taking half of a 250mg tab once daily. He weighs about 23lb. You really need to get the Denamarin as well, Chewy carries it. It is a supplement that is fabulous for liver support. Not a prescription. Take on an EMPTY stomach. These two meds brought Eli's ALT back down to normal. In his case, the bilirubin was normal.

I asked specifically what percentage of the gallbladder was filled. They said 75%. The internal med doc we saw for beaucoup bucks did a more extensive ultrasound, but basically just suggested the drugs plus scanning monthly. This was July 11. The problem is, these cases usually progress even with meds. And then they are older, and maybe getting sick from it. My surgeon said when they got his GB out it was so big and full it would have ruptured in a month or two. She said she rarely gets to see them at the early stage he was at (generally healthy) and that the high mortality rate stats for this surgery are because the majority are already debilitated when they have it.

His surgery was August 7. So if we had waited and kept just scanning, it could have ruptured.

Ann has told me (and I'm sure she will weigh in) that once it gets to 50% full of sludge, it needs to come out.

I'm SO GLAD you insisted. And I'm very sorry it's positive. If you go the surgical route you need a Board Certified surgeon who has done these procedures more than once. It's a complicated surgery. Even with the complication of his duct tearing, Eli's surgeons got the job done and he is FINE today.

And Fillion.... no clue how he could have hepatitis. He would greatly benefit from the Denamarin as well.

Feel free to PM/email me, I am only too glad to help. Sucks big time for your boy.
Click to expand...
Not sure about the US but in Canada anyone can use the Costco pharmacy, you don’t have to be a member.
 
I got the denamarin from amazon I think...and doc likes to pair it with hepato (that's only for vets), so he's been on those since Friday. Chewy order in for 150 mg ursodiol.
Best I can do for now till I get more info re the sludge percentage. If I was a betting gal, I would say this is her first Sheltie Sludge rodeo...
 
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