Liver Shunt? Maybe? I don't know what to to!

JLSOhio51 said:
On another note, BarbV, if I am following the various threads correctly, you have a dog named Indy. When you have time, I would love to know why/how you chose that name.
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Side note....I didn't name Indy....I got him when he was 10 months old and was already named. His registered name is Sharrow Homespun Top Gear. But, Indy he is.

Bacca got his name from Chewbacca first (because he chewed all the time), then it got changed to Bacca (Greek god of wine is Bacchus and the state of euphoria (i.e. zoomies) arising from over-indulging is something like Bacchia.) It just seemed to fit! LOL!
 
Sent all the med files to the new vet today. Odd thing is that when I read the files, the files talk about gall stones and gall bladder, but the vets keep talking to me about liver shunts??????? (with a side note of gall stones) What did I miss?

If it is galls stones, then I know for sure its an expensive surgery, but at least I think that its curable once dealt with. Anyone with experience with gall bladder or gall stone issues????
 
BarbV said:
Side note....I didn't name Indy....I got him when he was 10 months old and was already named. His registered name is Sharrow Homespun Top Gear. But, Indy he is.
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Thanks. The reason for my interest is because I lived in the Indianapolis, IN metro area for many years and I wondered if there was a link to your Indy. I happened to stumble onto your explanation of Bacca's name in another thread, but I didn't see anything about Indy's name.

I hope my next comment isn't too personal, but I have also followed this thread with great interest. Like several others, I would likely be less than civil and controlled in my behavior should one of the situations described here befall a companion of mine. In the advent that I behaved poorly (even though I would probably feel justified at the time), I would hope that I would show the grace and maturity that you seem to be displaying in the face of all you are dealing with. Owning up to when you have erred, then moving on is extremely classy. I am truly enjoying each of your posts.
 
Well, thanks so much for that! I'm sure my vet's don't agree, but I guess they can't always imagine the stress that we have when it comes to our companion pets. Or if they looked at the 1,000s I've spent on my poor boy already. I don't begrudge the money, but at some point you just want someone to tell you that's its really going to lead him to a long and healthy life.

In my heart, I just know that sometime in the next few months, I'm going to have to decide whether to spend $5,000-6,000 in surgery. This may or may not prolong his life substantially. Or doing nothing may also still lead to a good life too. If only the vets would be clear as to whether its liver shunt or gall stones. It would surely help. The first is a chronic condition which may or may not be successful.. The galls stones are different. He cannot live comfortably with those for long, if indeed this is what he has.

So now I'm waiting for a 2nd opinion. Stay tuned.
 
BarbV said:
Well, thanks so much for that! I'm sure my vet's don't agree, but I guess they can't always imagine the stress that we have when it comes to our companion pets. Or if they looked at the 1,000s I've spent on my poor boy already. I don't begrudge the money, but at some point you just want someone to tell you that's its really going to lead him to a long and healthy life.

In my heart, I just know that sometime in the next few months, I'm going to have to decide whether to spend $5,000-6,000 in surgery. This may or may not prolong his life substantially. Or doing nothing may also still lead to a good life too. If only the vets would be clear as to whether its liver shunt or gall stones. It would surely help. The first is a chronic condition which may or may not be successful.. The galls stones are different. He cannot live comfortably with those for long, if indeed this is what he has.

So now I'm waiting for a 2nd opinion. Stay tuned.
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I told you a long time ago gallstones:wink2:!!! Vets seem to skim over gallbladder issues because they have not yet come to the realization that Shelties within the past 10+ year or so have become notorious for gallbladder issues, So much so that the ASSA has addressed it here . Its frustrating to know why your dog is ill and yet the vet wont accept it because it cant possible be they are sick for another reason...
If they have excessive sludge (which seems to be a precursor) they are put on urisidol and a low fat diet...which seems to hold things for awhile, some do however need their gallbladder out and while it seems daunting $5000 is wayyyyy over priced...I think I was quoted around $1000 or so, check around with Penny she'll know.
 
If it's a liver shunt, would a cardiovascular stimulant help? Even if it's not a long-term solution, in the short-run it might help you determine whether that's the problem. My thought is that increasing the rate of circulation would bring the shunted blood back to the liver more quickly. Ignore me if I'm being obtuse, but that's something that just sprang to mind.
 
Since our shelties have gall bladder issues, I bet it might just be gall bladder. When Seamus had liver problems, his gall bladder was compromised as well. We will never know which came first, the gall bladder or the liver issues or what caused either and trying to figure that out after the fact, can be daunting with no resolutions. As you might recall Seamus had hepatitis first, we may never know where he got hep either.

Feeding a diet lower in fat and protein is what I do now for Harper.

Will stayed tuned to your channel for updates.

Best,

Kate
 
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