We saw a specialist yesterday
First of all, thank you soooo much for your prayers and good thoughts sent our way. We really appreciate it.
Eevee is doing well. Eating, popping, pering playing etc. she gets diarrhea from lactulose but each time I'm decreasing the dose to find a right one. Vet said I need to Play with it to find the right dose for Eevee. 15ml x 2 was prescribed but even 5ml x 2 seems too much for her. Slowly BM colors are changing from bright yellow to more normal color.
The specialist said she was surprised at how big Eevee was. Since she was the biggest one from her littermates, she thinks Eevee's shunt might be a small one. She said Eevee's symptoms are consistent with post systemic shunt. We need to do ultrasound to confirm and see how many shunts there are, if it's operable etc. but she said there are studies recently published that shows dogs with inoperable shunt can be managed only with diets and medications and live a normal life until they are 10-12 years old. She said "if you came to me a year ago, I would have told you without operation your dog won't live long. But now there are evidences that it's not true. If you opt not to do surgery, I'll be concerned with recurring UTI's IF she has bladder or kidney stones".
Because Eevee had a seizure, before the operation she needs to be on anti seizure medications because the seizures can get worse after surgery until she recovers. She said some dogs will have permanent brain damage if a post op seizure is severe. I told her I'm not comfortable putting Eevee under again after what happened. Plus prognosis is good if Eevee survives post op. So we have decided to not to do surgery. She's happy and symptoms are being managed medically, so I don't want to risk putting her under again which might trigger more severe seizures after the operation which may even cause permanent brain damage.
Instead of 1 meal a day, she's getting Royal Canin hepatic LS14 and Hills l/d split into 3 meals a day with milk thistle, lactulose and metronidazole. I'll be adding more supplements to her diet soon. A human grade probiotic is supposed to do wonders for dogs with liver problems.
So, I'm seeing a faint hopeful light at the end of the tunnel. I'm praying everyday that "Please let Eevee be ok today". The contract from the breeder only said "Health guarantee is void if lepto is ever given". Doesn't specify what the guarantee is anywhere in the contract. We are not sending Eevee back so it doesn't matter. I'm sure she's upset by all this also because she was holding onto Eevee to show her, but she got too big.
Everyday we are playing fetch with a frisbee and going for walks and enjoying this beautiful weather. One day at a time...
