Gallbladder/liver issues

[ChanningsMom]

@tanza I have an excellent Vet who is also a specialist. We are in contact weekly and do regular checkups (we have a treatment plan and will recheck blood work & ultrasound in 30 days after the last appointment) I am just looking for advice and suggestions especially if someone has gone through this or had any similar experiences. Anything I am curious about giving a try, I always run through my vet first. I appreciate all the advice and input from everyone in this group

[ChanningsMom]

@elbrant Yes we have changed his diet to very low fat. He was on quality food before and I have always been very careful about all of his treats and snacks being healthy but we did make some changes

[ChanningsMom]

Thank you everyone for your input thus far! We had one appointment after I made this post (vaccines & ultrasound). My vet stated that he was impressed at how healthy my dog looks, especially given the current situation. He said typically dogs with this issue will loose weight and will have an odor. As of now my dog has a lovely shiny coat, no odor, is appropriately active for his age (loves walks, will play a bit with a friend, loves going to work with me), his weight and body condition is ideal for his his age, and he seems very healthy overall besides this issue.

The sludge has thickened since his last ultrasound 6 months ago (at this point in time it wasn’t a huge concern), if it does not improve he may need his gallbladder removed. I would like to try to avoid surgery if possible (hoping treatment and diet change work!) but this brings me to my next question: has anyone had any experience with gallbladder removal of their dog? I would love any and all information about Sx and post Sx if anyone has experience…

Again, really hoping we can resolve this without Sx but would love some info just incase it gets to that point

[JENGOSMonkey]

@channingsmom I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I wish I had something of value to contribute. For what it’s worth I applaud everything you’re doing. When our dogs are sick the best thing we can do is stay focused. It’s frustrating at times trying to solve the puzzle. Again, my respect for all you are doing.

[Zande]

@channingsmom No I'm sorry. While I have every sympathy for you and your Basenji (!) I have no personal experience of this condition in 40 years of breeding and owning a pack of Basenjis.

However, it would seem that you are in the best possible hands in your Vet. And I'm sure he will take all possible measures to avoid surgery.

Good luck,

[tanza]

@channingsmom - Be interested to hear about his blood work when it is checked. Again, I have not seen this issue other then when one of my Basenjis was found with a tumor on the liver, which was resolved mostly with the surgery. How high was the liver values (over the normal)?

[elbrant]

@elbrant said in Gallbladder/liver issues:
This would be (almost certainly) due to the dog's diet, wouldn't it? Did the Vet suggest any changes in that?
@tanza said in Gallbladder/liver issues:
None of us are Vets here, we can only and should only give advise on possible tests that might further clarify the issue. Not to give "treatment" suggestions....
@zande said in Gallbladder/liver issues:
I don't think it would help us - We are not Vets !

@tanza, @Zande Please note that I asked a question about the relationship between the dogs gallbladder sludge and his diet. It was a question, not advice, no suggestions were made or implied. I merely inquired if diet was included in the Vets treatment plan.

@channingsmom said in Gallbladder/liver issues:

I have changed his diet to be very low fat, and make him food (chicken breast, lots of veggies) to go along with the HSD liver care food (this food has helped a little, & the vet recommended continuing it) I will give the more frequent meals a try!
I am just looking for advice and suggestions especially if someone has gone through this or had any similar experiences.

Thank you @ChanningsMom. I would love to have you keep us up-to-date on Channing's treatment, medical progression, and (hopefully) full recovery from this experience. Just like you did, someone else may come to the forum hoping to find more information about their own dogs Gallbladder/Liver issues. Your contribution could benefit others. (That, and, we all become concerned about the welfare of the Forum pups.)

[JENGOSMonkey]

@zande said in Gallbladder/liver issues:

@jengosmonkey But Greg, doctors licensed to practice medicine on humans are not qualified to work on animals. I am not sure how the law stands if the doctor himself is a dog ?

Can we take it that Logan effected a permanent cure ?

Yes! I'm still amazed by how effective Logan's surgery has turned out. Best part is I'm not a mouth breather anymore.

[Roux]

No experience with gallbladders to add, but I do have a tidbit of info I figured I should mention:
Roux's DNA testing results came back a few weeks ago and she's clear of all 219 genetic issues tested for, which is great news, but it did also find that she inherited a gene variant that may mean her ALT baseline is very low. The recommendation is to alert the vet to her idiosyncrasy because a normal range reading of ALT would mean high for her. I found that really interesting and makes me think about whether other dogs have this variant and the vets and owners just don't know that the testing could be off.

[elbrant]

@roux said in Gallbladder/liver issues:

she inherited a gene variant that may mean her ALT baseline is very low

I never realized something like this could be related to genetics...

[tanza]

@elbrant - You would be surprised Elbrant if you research the breed... but I have never seen this "gene" issue in Basenjis and not sure that I agree with the results.... Basenjis typically have different levels of blood results compared to other breeds, so I would not say this is could be normal for a Basenji.

[Roux]

@elbrant Indeed! It's fascinating! How much of us and our dogs is dictated by DNA!
@tanza You know, I was curious if this was accurate and also paranoid about her health in general, so I had her bloods done (the vet care in Taiwan is very affordable) and low and behold, her reading was below normal at 5! The "normal range" for ALT readings is between 12-120 according to the doc, who also said that this is a common genetic variant in some "old" breeds of dog, like huskies. He has no experience with Bs; I doubt any vet here does, but he was able to explain that she's completely healthy. The low baseline is just a thing to note for future reference so that if she spikes her ALT, it could read as just normal.
Check out this snippet of article: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Association-between-ALT-activity-and-GPT-allele-frequency-by-breed-Mean-lnALT-activity_fig2_287483370 for more info! I just think about how many dogs who have this variant test "normal" or slightly high and then suffer from "mystery" symptoms! Poor pups!

@ChanningsMom sorry for the post hijack! I'll start another thread if people seem to be super interested in the GPT allele thing.

[tanza]

@roux - Just as an FYI, my basenji with blood work have always been low for ALT.... so not sure I would be too concerned about it, I would of course keep an eye on it...

[Roux]

@tanza Might just be that this is normal for Bs! Roux being my first one, I'm learning new things every day!

[tanza]

@roux - Always good to discuss with your Vet... and seems like you have a very good Vet!

[ChanningsMom]

@roux How did you test for this? I lost all of mines paperwork at some point while moving although I don’t think he had as extensive testing either… I would love to test mine for this

[ChanningsMom]

@roux This is helpful, thank you!

[Roux]

@channingsmom I went through Embark actually! They do testing for Basenji specific genetic markers like Fanconi, PRA, PKD, and Spinal Ataxia, but also 215 other possible issues, and also physical traits. Not super expensive considering I was VERY impressed by their kit, ease of use, and website detail. You can even get PDFs or direct send the extensive results to your vet(s) and OFA

Embark [link edited]

[ChanningsMom]

Not much of an update but he didn’t have much appetite. Trying other meds, ran blood again- no change. Since lex adjustments appear tire better - however he’s very very picky and what he will and won’t eat changes. He is getting enough to eat that he hasn’t lost weight

[ChanningsMom]

Since med adjustments*