Stomach water.

[remus]

Guys, my parents Yorkie is 7. Happiest dog alive, but last few month they had to take her in to get her stomach drained. Water builds up in her stomach and she doesnt want to eat, very low energy.
Blood tests show that she has a low protein disease. Doctor gave her Prednisone to take but its doesnt look like its working. She lost a ton of weight and Im afraid her days are numbered.

Anyone ever dealt with this? Any cure? remedies?

Thank you in advance.

[KatysMom]

Hi Rocky,

So sorry Gus is having serious issues.

I've not dealt with "low protein disease." It sounds like this is what PetMD calls, "Intestinal Protein Loss..."

[Wylie's Mom]

Does he have PLN or PLI...? They are extremely serious issues and without treatment and without discovering the actual correlating diseases, survival would not be achievable. I'm so sorry to have to tell you that.


Gus should be on several other meds for this, if he's being treated properly - he's only on pred...?


In addition, those abdominocentesis procedures he has to drain the belly - those alone are extremely tough on dogs to recover from - those in and of themselves can result in death; Vets do them very sparingly bc of how devastating it is to an entire body to recover from removing huge amounts of fluid - it's devastating for the body to recover fluid balance.

[remus]

She has PLE. Been going on for a month now. Went from one doctor to another.
They gave her a steroid shot, drained fluid and prescribed prednisone.

She gets a but better after draining fluid, but the solution is temporary. We dont want to pull the plug without exploring all other options, but doctors are either clueless, or are just milking it with every visit.

My parents are devastated. I got them this little girl 8 years ago as a gift.

They have fed her nothing but the best meals, organic chicken, salmon, veggies , kibble. She was always in tip top shape and very lively.

[KatysMom]

So sorry you, your family and Gus are going through this.

Are you able to share more about the tests the vet(s) have run?

While I have not had experience with PLE, I have had experience with abdominal bloating in a yorkie, albeit a senior yorkie with cardiac issues. She was treated, but NOT by draining the fluid. Her vet told us that draining would cause more problems than would be solved. I wish I could recall the specifics, vet indicated there was no way to only drain the problem fluid--so that it would also drain essentials that the little one would not be able to replace quickly enough.

Wylie's Mom--far more knowledgeable than I am about many of these things--wrote above about "discovering the actual correlating diseases." See the section "Disease associated with protein-losing enteropathy" in Pet Health Network article by Dr. Justine A. Lee, "Protein-Losing Enteropathy (PLE) in Dogs."

"...get to your veterinarian immediately for a physical examination and potential blood work. Preliminary diagnosis of PLE is made based on low albumin and protein levels on the blood work. A prompt, complete work-up is necessary to rule out certain diseases associated with PLE--"

Article continues, listing 10 or so conditions to be ruled out by the "complete work-up":

*Intestinal lymphangiectasia
*Cancer (e.g., lymphosarcoma) of the intestinal tract
*Inflammatory bowel disease (e.g., lymphoplasmacytic enteritis)
*Food allergies
*Gastroenteritis (from viral, fungal, or bacterial infections)
*Stomach ulcers
*Severe chronic starvation
*Granulomatous infiltration of the intestines (secondary to fungal infections)
*Abnormalities of the intestines (from a chronic foreign body, intestinal parasites, an intussusception, hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, etc.)
*Ulcerative gastroenteritis

There are several articles on YorkieTalk about PLE that may be helpful to you.

2015, "PLE.......lymphasia"
2015, "Lacey girl with Newly dx PLE."
2014, "My Yorkie has PLE"
2013, "PLE (protein losing enteropathy)"
2010, "My Yorkie was diagnosed with PLE."
2007, "Intestinal Lymphangiectasia: A Protein-Losing Enteropathy (PLE)"

When I was knee-high to a grasshopper, my family had a beloved beagle named Gus. I'll be pullin' and prayin' doubly hard for your Gus! --Katy's Mom

[KatysMom]

I see ladyjane posted some very good information in 2013 about PLE. Click here.

You might PM her.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by remus

She has PLE. Been going on for a month now. Went from one doctor to another.
They gave her a steroid shot, drained fluid and prescribed prednisone.

She gets a but better after draining fluid, but the solution is temporary. We dont want to pull the plug without exploring all other options, but doctors are either clueless, or are just milking it with every visit.

My parents are devastated. I got them this little girl 8 years ago as a gift.

They have fed her nothing but the best meals, organic chicken, salmon, veggies , kibble. She was always in tip top shape and very lively.

So sorry to hear of the PLE (which was what I meant above, my typo was PLI). Yes, the abdominocentesis will only be temporary...and are very tough on them.

The only way to possibly save her is to find the actual correlating diseases related to PLE.

Have they done advanced diagnostics with her...? Without doing that, the Vets cannot know what to treat in her and the PLE will continue unabated.

[ladyjane]

Just seeing this thread after responding to your PM. I hope some of what I said will help.

As Wylie's Mom said ideally it is good to know the cause of the PLE but IF a person cannot afford scoping and/or if the pup is too ill for a scope, it can be treated! In yorkies, most of the time it is lymphangectasia. My Cookie had lymphangectasia and IBD. We had a YTer years ago who had a pup with an intestinal fungal infection. That would probably be unlikely in NYC as it comes from soil and usually is found in the Southwest. I like the following link for information:

Protein-Losing Enteropathy (PLE) in Dogs

In reading this thread I see your parents have been to a few vets....tell them to STOP that because it will cost more money in the long run. A specialist is not cheap, but they are SO much more familiar with this illness unless you find a really well informed vet. The specialists are more likely to know new treatments as well as just seeing more of it and knowing more about how to treat it. They can find one at: American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine > Home There is a search engine to find a specialist closest to them. Tell them to look for Internal Medicine ... for Small Animals Up front, the initial exam is usually around $150 .. they will need to have their vet refer them and send all of her records.

--------------------- below is my message I sent in response to your PM which kind of covers basics....


I am so sorry to hear this. I always hate when I hear of a PLE dog that isn't responding to treatments. It is not curable, but is treatable and can be managed in some cases. My Cookie lived with it for years before ending up getting lymphoma which is what took her.

Is a specialist weighing in on her treatment? They could possibly have some ideas beyond what she is being treated with.

Diet is ultra important (low fat)....and yes, getting them to eat is always a huge challenge. Have they tried any appetite stimulants? I have always used Mirtazapine but there is another med being used now called Entyce. Vets are happy with the results! My DIL's dog was recently in ICU with liver issues and they put her on it and she did start eating. She had not eaten for four days and they were discussing a feeding tube prior to putting her on the meds and she ate.

If she is filling up with fluid, I imagine her albumin and protein levels must be very low. I have seen plasma turn that around....has that been tried?

If your parents can, it might be wise to get her into an internal med specialist and even perhaps hospitalize her for intensive treatment.

Hope this helps a bit. Feel free to message me any time.

[ladyjane]

Here is the link to the thread about my beloved Cookie. Not a day goes by that I don't wish I had her back. She fought this illness like a little bear and I was blessed to have her in my life from her diagnosis in 2012 until March 6, 2017 when I lost her to cancer. She suddenly developed a tumor behind her eye and was gone in days....so the PLE did not take her. There is hope with these pups, but it does take a lot to turn them around sometimes. I hope your parents' girl will respond to treatment.

https://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/si...ia-update.html

[ladyjane]

Looking for an update....hope this baby is ok.