Biopsy results in…Lymphangiectasia

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SheltieAgility

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I wrote last week about my Sheltie being sick and needed an u/s and endoscopy done. They were basically expecting IBD or cancer. Good news is it is not cancer! :biggrin2: But he does have Lymphangiectasia. Anyone have any experience with this? Sounds like treatment is still similar to IBD, low-fat diets. small/frequent meals, steroids. So far, he is on a diuretic, Prednisone (7.5mg twice a day) and I am sticking with a mixed diet of chicken, fish, eggs, low fat cottage cheese, oatmeal and a puree of potato and green beans. Plus probiotics and a multi-vitamin. He is back to his normal self and doing very well, thankfully! He did lose lbs and seems to have put 1-2 back on, will weigh tomorrow.
 
Biopsy results in...Lymphangiectasia

The "no cancer" is great news!!! His treatment sounds identical to the treatment our Pixie is on for her IBD. It is amazing how quickly they feel better once on the appropriate treatment. :)

Trini
 
Thank you, I agree!!! The 1st day home, he was kinda out of it and had two accidents which really upset him. Since then, it has been all improvements only! The vet sounded so serious when she called to give me results and sounded surprised he bounced back quickly. But reality is he only had one sick day, so I'm wondering if we just caught it very early. Knowing he had low protein levels (which were discovered at a random blood work check up), then the vomit and heavy breathing, I knew it was something serious and needed quick action.

What do you feed Pixie? Have you discovered certain foods that work better for her than others?
 
Thank you for keeping us posted on your baby's progress, congratulations on the no cancer report, I know that has eased your mind tremendously.
 
Biopsy results in Lymphangiectasia

SheltieAgility said:
Thank you, I agree!!! The 1st day home, he was kinda out of it and had two accidents which really upset him. Since then, it has been all improvements only! The vet sounded so serious when she called to give me results and sounded surprised he bounced back quickly. But reality is he only had one sick day, so I'm wondering if we just caught it very early. Knowing he had low protein levels (which were discovered at a random blood work check up), then the vomit and heavy breathing, I knew it was something serious and needed quick action.

What do you feed Pixie? Have you discovered certain foods that work better for her than others?
Click to expand...

Yes, it sounds like you caught it VERY early and that is really good.

I either home cook for Pixie...mixture of baked skiness chicken breast with all fat removed before baking, cooked green beans, cooked carrots, oatmeal, mashed cooked sweet potato and unsweetened apple sauce....or I use Hill's R/D canned. I had never been a fan of the Hill's diets...but Pixie LOVES the R/D and it is only 6% fat which is critical for her. Our vet wants all her meals to be 6% fat or less. For snacks she loves the mini raw carrots, apple slices (skin and seeds removed), and her favorite snack of all is no-fat cheese which you can get in the single wrapped slices...Kraft makes it and also many large grocery chains have their own no fat cheese products. Pixie also gets psyllium fiber sprinkled on every meal (1/4 teaspoon per meal...3 small meals a day...she only weighs a little over 9 pounds...she is a yorkie). I don't know about Lymphangiectasia, but with IBD mobility in the digestive track can be seriously slowed or even stopped and so the fiber is a critical part of her diet. Before Pixie was started on the fiber she landed in the hospital 3 times, seriously bloated and ill from waste backup...the meds for constipation she had been getting did nothing to help her, but the psyllium works perfectly and she can remain on it for life with no fears of negative side effects.

Trini
 
No advice/experience to report... just wanted to chime in and say that I'm also relieved it isn't cancer! Best of luck, and I hope he continues to improve.
 
Thank you all for the words of support! I am very relieved it is not cancer, and while I am concerned what this diagnosis means for the future, I am determined to do all I can to manage it. So far, he is bouncing back well and almost his normal self. We'll head back to agility class on Friday and that will really tell me if he feels normal or still a bit off.

Love my Sheltie!!!
 
My late pit bull mix, Marla, was diagnosed with Lymphangiectasia when she was about 12 years old. Unclear what caused it, perhaps it was a result of the small intestine adenocarcinoma she had (and had removed). She lost about 6 pounds and had a blood albumin of 1.4, if I recall correctly, when she was first diagnosed. 2.5 was considered "normal".

At any rate, she never required any steroids. I just did an ultra low fat diet and she stayed healthy until I finally euthanized her for other "old age" reasons--estimated she was about 14-15 years old. Her albumin was always around 2.7 or so.

I never have been a fan of the vet prescription diets. The quality of the ingredients always bugged me. So I did a home-prepared diet using a commercially available base.

The Honest Kitchen makes a fruit/veggie blend with vitamins that is designed to be combined with a protein of your source. "Preference" very low fat and the only fat in it comes from dried coconut--rich in medium chain triglycerides which are easier for your dog to absorb.

I used either boiled fat-free turkey or, when that got too expensive, egg whites (Reddi-Egg was a good brand that was fortified but NO onion added). This was her typical diet, which was split into two meals (40lb dog):

1.) 2/3 cup of Preference, rehydrate with hot water and let sit 10 mins.
2.) 2 cups of egg whites (microwaved)
3.) 1/2-1 tsp of coconut oil (omit if your dog is still recovering)
4.) Scoop of Pea Protein powder if she was being more active than usual.
5.) 1-2 cups of white rice depending on activity.
6.) probiotics & digestive enzymes

Mix all together! I found that the rice and pea protein helped keep weight and muscle on her better. You can find Pea Protein powder at most health stores in the protein supplement section. She had totally normal blood protein levels as long as she stayed on this diet. It is a pretty "bulky" diet and your dog will poop a lot. But that's the trade off with the ultra low-fat diets, you have to feed more to get the calories in.

Only chews/treats she got were dehydrated sweat potatoes. It worked for us! The one time I deviated by trying to switch from egg whites to lean raw venison (Primal's frozen venison dinner), she started to backslide and her blood albumin started to drop. I put her back on the egg white diet and she recovered perfectly. Controlling fat is key.
 
My guy's blood work continues to come back good! His blood albumin was 2.4 two weeks after diagnosis and last week was 3.1 (was 1.2 when all this began). He has also gained back 1/2 pound (lost 3lbs total) and he is completely acting himself. We have been weaning off the prednisone and so far so good.

I agree with prescription diets being iffy, and I really don't want to keep him on Royal Canine, but I am also afraid to switch until we really are in the clear since he is doing well on it. In the beginning, when I was cooking for him, we kept having episodes of diarrhea, but now all normal stool for more than 2 weeks. I will make an appointment with a nutritionist, just got a new name to call the other day of someone close to me. I figure a consult can only help, and if I can be told the proper diet to switch to, I will feel more comfortable switching over.

Happy New Year to all!!
 
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