# Post shunt surgery diet



## OzChi (Oct 26, 2011)

HI All,

As some of you will know my Axle had surgery to close off a liver shunt about 2 months ago. Basically the surgery entails putting a band around the shunting vessel which gradually closes over a period of weeks so as not to over stress the liver. While this was happening he was on a low purine diet because a shunting liver can't process purines properly and they cause problems as they collect in the kidneys, bladder and brain.

A few weeks ago he had his final post surgical blood work done and his levels are all now 100% normal. Because of this my vet advised that he can now go back on a normal diet because his liver is now functioning properly.

During the whole liver shunt ordeal I did a lot of reading on the Yorkie shunt forums and they advocate keeping dogs on the low purine diet indefinitely as a precaution despite the fact that most vets say a dog with a correctly repaired shunt can go back to a normal diet. They say most vets don't really know nutrition and they have kept their dogs from having symptoms on the modified diet. 

I'm really torn here because a low purine diet doesn't offer optimal nutrition because it excludes red meat, oily fish and organ meats but I am also terrified of doing anything that risks Axle having any further problems as he's already gone through so much.

He's off the Hills prescription liver diet but I'm just giving him a good kibble made of white fish (Earthborne Coastal Catch) and some cooked chicken or egg as that was what the vet let me give him post surgery. I will get the Earthborne chicken based kibble next time to give a bit of variety. I'm worried this is not a very varied diet compared to what he was on prior to his surgery which was ZP lamb or venison and fish as a topper to raw chicken, pork or turkey and then some egg or salmon about once a week as a treat.

Am I being too much of a worrier? The rational part of my brain says if the test says the shunt is fixed then he should be fine on normal food but I'm just scared that giving him normal food will hurt him.

Does anyone have any experience with a dog that has had a shunt repaired? Do you think a diet long term with no red meat or organ meat will harm him? He's my baby and he's been through a lot so I need to find the lesser of two evils here because I'm planning on him being around to enjoy a long, happy and healthy life with me.


----------



## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

If I was you I would slowly add little things to his diet to see how he reacts and see how you react. Maybe instead of beef use Bison for red meat. Make beef or bison, fish, ZP, etc a treat or food topper just where he gets a little of the nutrional benefit without shocking his system or your emotions. As you see how he does and as you feel comfortable maybe add a little more but I would not go back to his old diet I would try to keep it a little stricter just to make sure he never has this situation again. Try to find a middle ground. I would also ask Brody's Mom to get her take esp with the raw aspect. Just remember no one knows Axle like you do (not the vet etc) so trust your instinct. I am so glad he is doing better!


----------



## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

Oh Sarah! I almost cried when I read this because I soooo know what you're going through!! Lulu's hepatitis cannot COMPARE with what Axel went through, and I would not even suggest that, but I have agonized over a low purine diet, and how to do it without resorting to 1 quality kibble (which is impossible by the average standards quality kibble is rated--amount of protein). Lulu was eating 2 meals a day of ZP venison when she developed hepatitis, so was Gidget (except Gidget ate lamb). Gidget did not get sick. I really don't know if it was the food or not. I understand their two situations are apples and oranges, I'm just saying I understand the amount of time you have put in to education on the subject and the frustration concerning a long-term diet that can offer you peace of mind when docs say, "It's OK to eat the regular diet, but you say to yourself what if it's not and I should err on the side of caution with something so precious in my life." I have a chart of high, moderate, & low purine foods. I will see if I can figure out how to post it (I'm not good with the computer.lol) I have lived by that chart. Lulu has had a lot of egg. It is very hard to cook for her and I don't work, but do have my grandson a lot. I can only imagine what it would be like if I worked. Lulu has put on 2 pounds with all my trying different things we are trying to get that off now. I worried was her portion enough--apparently so. Haha. Anyway, sorry for the long post, I just wanted you to know Axel has always meant so much to me, and I really feel like I know first hand how you feel!


----------



## OzChi (Oct 26, 2011)

Thanks for the kind words Christie and Tina!

It's so hard to even take the try and see option. He never had seizures so it might be hard to see problems if I gradually introduce richer protein sources. His problem was that the purines from his food were collecting in his bladder and forming stones that completely blocked off his flow of urine which takes time to happen but when it does it's an emergency and they need to be cathetered quickly before their kidneys shut down and they go into toxic shock - I wouldn't know for maybe months but if I wasn't there when it happened like I luckily was last time I dread to think what could happen.

Tina how is Lulu doing? What is she eating at the moment? Have you had any luck with getting her to lose any weight? Have you got a routine down for cooking her meals?

Axle put on almost a pound while he was on the prescription diet, he's shaped like a sausage now with no waist and I had to let his harness out! I have been trying to be strict with him but he stayed with my parents for a week while I was overseas on holiday and he put on more weight because my mum kept on giving him the crusts off her buttered toast every morning (I only specified no red meat or organ meat, not no bread) so he was getting grain free kibble supplemented with bread - ridiculous! 

I might join up to the Yorkie forum and ask around a bit rather than just reading other people's posts as I do truly believe we know more about what is right for our dogs than the vets do sometimes.


----------



## Huly (Mar 5, 2012)

Do you have a holistic vet or nutrition center near you? Maybe you can ask one of them too. Can they test his urine after a month if you change hos diet to see if anything is there?


----------

