Portosystemic shunt yorkie

[MissLexi]

We adopted a yorkie in March 2012 as a rescue.... We'd only had her 2 days when she began having seizures that would impair her so badly she couldn't walk. We had her to the vet 3 times the first week only to find out she had a PS.
At the time we got her, she was under weight (3.4lbs) very little fur growth, and had seizures daily that would last from 5-35 min. She was NOT a candidate for surgery because of malnutrition, and severity of seizures. (Of course finances are also an obstacle at the present moment) we were informed the surgery would be around $2700 and it would only possible lengthen her life by a year or 2.
I sort of began my own venture into maintaining our little "blessing"! I researched diets, snacks, etc. I have spent the past 9 months in trial and error...
I devised my own diet for Lexi, I've found she can tolerate dried mangos, pineapple, and kiwi as snacks. Breakfast is applesauce with cracker mixture and medicine, I keep a ground up turkey slices and hot dog mixture on hand in the fridge. She gets 1-2 tsp per serving, (3 times per day) Mixed with 2 spoons of crumbled townhouse crackers (with crushed Centrum vitamins and tums smoothies)
Miss Lexi is now up to 4.7 lbs, has more than enough fur, and her last seizure was 8 weeks ago! She's super hyper, and thinks she's a "person"!!
She has learned 3 tricks (shaking paws, speaking, & twirling)
I'm mainly looking to connect with others "doggie mommies" that are dealing with the same problem. Any suggestions on diets, snacks, etc? Our current problem is not making it thru the night without at least 2 trips outside (which is rough for working doggie mommies and daddies"....)

[Verbena]

Hello and welcome to YT. Wow you are really have helped her with your diet plan. And no seizures in 8 weeks. Glad she is doing better.

[107barney]

Did her vet approve this diet? Hot dogs and crackers don't exactly seem very healthy for any yorkie, especially one with PSS. My suggestion is to consult with a vet nutritionist for a balanced appropriate diet.

[MissLexi]

The diet they advised me to put her on in the beginning was rice and boiled chicken. She wouldn't eat it. Period... Then I changed her to turkey slices, chopped up fine. (Vet approved)
After 3 months she stopped eating that as well. So I consulted her vet again. For every container of chopped turkey (I use the oven roasted Hilshire Farms) I add 1 finely chopped hot dog. That container lasts her 7-10 days. So on average she eats a whole hot dog over the course of a week or more.
She was just evaluated last week by her vet, who recommended we "stay the current course" since she's doing so well.
Not that it matters, but I'm also a nurse and I try to stay pretty conscious of her diet and any subtle changes in her as well) I've always heard hot dogs weren't healthy for them either, but its a minimal amount she's consuming. 😊

[kjc]

Hi and Welcome to YT!

Here's a link to LS Info (best on the net): Portosystemic Shunts FAQ

Kudos to you for adopting this little girl!

[MissLexi]

Hi... Thanks for the link.
The original diet recipe I started with came from Univ of Tenn site. My vet gave me a printed copy of it, I hadn't seen the page til now! VERY informative!! 😊
As I've mentioned above though I've had to tweak it a little. (I had to drop the egg and ground beef completely) Lexi would eat everything but the ground beef and once I stopped the eggs, her seizures spanned over weeks instead of days.

[kjc]

Originally Posted by MissLexi

Hi... Thanks for the link.
The original diet recipe I started with came from Univ of Tenn site. My vet gave me a printed copy of it, I hadn't seen the page til now! VERY informative!! ��
As I've mentioned above though I've had to tweak it a little. (I had to drop the egg and ground beef completely) Lexi would eat everything but the ground beef and once I stopped the eggs, her seizures spanned over weeks instead of days.

Is she on Lactulose and Denamarin (liver support)? Has she been checked for any UTIs? (frequent urination) LS dogs can benefit from a course of antibiotics as UTIs are common in these LS dogs. Lactulose can help control her seizures if the toxins from her liver are the cause (hepatic encephalopathy). ABs also help limit the amount of toxins getting into the bloodstream.

[MissLexi]

Yeah, she's on Lactulose and Flagyl, has been since she was diagnosed. She was checked for UTI's in the beginning and again last week.
Seems like she has more trouble in the bowel department than the bladder. Constipation has been a BIG ISSUE. I've found if she has 2-3 dried mangos a day, she goes a little easier. We've increased the Lactulose since she gain a pound, I'm hoping that makes a difference....

[kjc]

Originally Posted by MissLexi

Yeah, she's on Lactulose and Flagyl, has been since she was diagnosed. She was checked for UTI's in the beginning and again last week.
Seems like she has more trouble in the bowel department than the bladder. Constipation has been a BIG ISSUE. I've found if she has 2-3 dried mangos a day, she goes a little easier. We've increased the Lactulose since she gain a pound, I'm hoping that makes a difference....

Green beans (4-5 per meal) and/or plain canned pumpkin (no pumpkin pie mix) help mine have good regular movements. Keeping her cleaned out will be best for the seizure management. The Lactulose should be doing that though, like 1/2 to 1mL 3X Daily. You can give it to her more frequently (like 6X a day for a day or two) till she's cleaned out. Are her stools soft(ish)? You can also give it in an enema during a seizure.

Do you give the mango dried or reconstituted? I think dried would be absorbing fluid from her gut and might be adding to the constipation? although the fiber is good... IDK!

[MissLexi]

The mangos are dried... However she's been more frequent since we started them.
Thanks for the advice... I didn't know about the enemas! How old is your baby? Has she/he had surgery? Or are you managing via meds and diet? How often do yours have seizures?

[kjc]

Originally Posted by MissLexi

The mangos are dried... However she's been more frequent since we started them.
Thanks for the advice... I didn't know about the enemas! How old is your baby? Has she/he had surgery? Or are you managing via meds and diet? How often do yours have seizures?

Tinkerbell just turned 6 years old in September. She had an unsuccessful shunt surgery 1.5 years ago, and has been on a maintenance diet and meds since. She had one bout of Hepatic Encephalopathy shortly before her surgery. The vet had her on a special diet (Hill's L/D), Lactulose and Denamarin prior to that event. She did not get to the point of seizuring, bc when I saw the telltale behavior, I started giving her Lactulose every hour until she had a blowout diarrhea, which effectively and rapidly detoxes them. We adopted her at 2.5 years old. She hasn't had a seizure that I know of since then. I don't know if she had any before then.