Update:
It has been about 7 weeks since Odette had her liver shunt operated, and her stomach barely shows any sign of this.
About a week ago we did some more tests, blood levels and a gallbladder-acid-stimulation-test, I just wanted to share these results with you (including my interpretation of them) and what will happen in the next few weeks. If any of you know what these tests tell us, feel free to share this in the comments, I would love to hear different inputs.
Basically, the important blood test results I am focusing on are ALT and ALKP as those two indicate how the liver is doing. First time these were tested at our vet was on September 9th, the second time was November 4th. So two months and one expensive operation later...
ALT is normal from 10-100 U/L, first she had 684 on her second test it was down to 318.
ALKP is normal from 23-212 U/L, first was 328 and the second test showed 253.
These results are (according to the vets) quite good. The liver takes a while to regenerate and it is good that we are seeing this progress. When I first saw it I was shocked because it still seemed so high and I was no longer sure "are these results so good because of the surgery or because of all the medicine and special food she has been getting ?". Anyways, doctors say they are good, so let's just believe that for now.
For her Gallbladder-acid-stimulation-test she had to have blood taken twice. Once on an empty stomach and then again two hours after having eaten, in order to see how her gallbladder would react to the stimulation. The base reading was 12.6 umol/l which is normal (anything below 20 is). After stimulation it was up to 354.4, which seems very high. I could not find what the "normal" range is after stimulation, but 354.4 is definitely above it. However the vet at the university clinic said it was no reason to worry (yet), so we are trying not to.
Our next vet-steps continue on November 26th at which point my father is taking her to Vienna for another eye-checkup. If everything is all right concerning her eyes, they will be operated on the next day and she will no longer be blind. Basically what happens is that they destroy her cloudy lens, suck it out of the eye and insert an artificial lens instead. These cannot get cloudy (so even as she gets old, she will never have this problem again). Update on how this went will follow soon, wish us luck for yet another surgery !
At this point, I would like to give a shout-out to my amazingly supportive parents. When we got this dog, I was telling them (and myself) how I had saved up enough money to support my dog, pay for food and vet costs, ship her over to Europe and buy her toys and treats for about 2 years, without needing a job. I did not take into account that she may have bigger medical issues that might need attention and might need to be taken care of. My parents stepped in and have paid for all these vet costs ever since they started arising and until these issues are dealt with. Without them the only option I would have had at the time would have been to wait until she starts suffering from her liver shunt or glaucoma, or to put her down when she was just an 8 month old puppy. Considering how much money my parents have spent on a dog that isn't even their own, I cannot express my gratitude enough. Vielen, vielen Dank, ich und Odette haben euch lieb !!
