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01-16-2010, 11:01 AM | #1 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Northeast, USA
Posts: 5
| Organic Pet Food and Liver Disease Hello- I just joined this forum today because I am looking for advice and have read previous posts and found them to be very insightful and helpful. I have a three year old male yorkie named toby. Last summer he was diagnosed with liver disease but after an ultrasound guided needle biopsy an exact determination could not be made so my vet is telling me it is most likely a shunt or mycrovascular dysplasia. He currently has a normal liver enzyme level reading (just had blood work done). His post-byle acid level was around a 76 which is three to four times as high as it should be. I just started giving him an Omega three fatty acid supplement and he is on the Royal Canin Hepatic L/S 14 food. I am trying to take a proactive approach to his disease. I have questioned my vet about milk thistle but he seems hesitant since Toby's liver enzymes are still normal. I would also like to find an organic food that is specifically formulated for dog's with liver disease but haven't found any yet. I find myself completely consumed by worrying about my dog (I have no children so he IS my baby!) Can anyone offer any advice? Thank you in advance and sorry to ramble. |
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01-16-2010, 11:25 AM | #2 |
Donating YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: North Carolina
Posts: 8,317
| I would absolutely recommend Milk Thistle and Denosyl (Sam-E) as well. Some vets just aren't that knowledgeable or supportive of holistic alternatives. Here's a good article for you: MILK THISTLE I get both milk thistle (Marin) and Denosyl from Entirely Pets: Marin for Small to Medium Dogs (30 Tablets) Denosyl | Denosyl for Dogs & Cats Lady has liver disease from ten years of phenobarbital for seizures. Pheno is notorious for destroying the liver over time. I have used milk thistle almost from the beginning and added Denosyl a few years ago when her bloodwork showed her liver was finally becoming damaged. I also switched her to a homecooked diet for dogs with liver disease at the same time. Within nine months her liver had regenerated and her bloodwork was normal. I have not seen an organic prescription food for liver dogs, but there are a couple of premium quality low protein foods that people have had good results with. WELLNESS® - Healthy Dog and Cat Food Solid Gold Health Products for Pets - Products This has great information about diet and liver disease. Liver | B-Naturals.Com Newsletter |
01-16-2010, 11:35 AM | #3 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Northeast, USA
Posts: 5
| Thank you! Thanks so much for your advice. I think I will try the milk thistle. I just get nervous administering things to Toby without the support of my vet. |
01-16-2010, 11:51 AM | #4 | |
Donating YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: North Carolina
Posts: 8,317
| Quote:
Of course, now it is part of an accepted protocol for treating dogs with liver disease. | |
01-16-2010, 12:10 PM | #5 | |
YT 2000 Club Member | Quote:
Thank you so much for posting this.. I have a dog on pheno (4 years now) I will definitly look into this..
__________________ Love all 9 of my furrbutts! | |
01-16-2010, 01:09 PM | #6 |
Slave to My Rug-Rats Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Long Island
Posts: 7,247
| I have an MVD dog. Her post numbers range from 60 to 100 I feed her a home made diet, that I purchased from a Pet/Vet Nutritionist at Cornell University. Let me know if you want his contact info. To aid her liver, I use: Hepatosupport-contains milk thistle and B vitamins (substitute for Marin) VetriDMG liquid (substitute for Denosyl) both available at HomeVet© Natural Pet Care I also belong to this Liver Disease support group: DogLiverDisease : Dog Liver Disease They follow Dr. Center's advice and guidelines, etc... |
01-16-2010, 02:30 PM | #7 |
BANNED! Join Date: May 2007 Location: USA
Posts: 11,073
| I have an mvd dog she tested post 76, 54 then on low protein 26 her alt was normal like your dog. She has horrible allergies and is hypothyroid and she is on soloxine twice a day and temarilp every other day and for 3 years has had normal alt even on those drugs with NO SUPPORT of milk thistle or sam-e and no symptoms ever just came up when we were trying a drug atopica so before giving the drug he wanted bats done on her - Has your dog had any symptoms? If not i seriously would not stress. If no symptoms i would put on 22% protein and if symptoms 18% - due to dd allergy issue I cannot supplement - I will say a family member of ours works for NIH in washington dc and she has a liver issue. I told her about milk thistle and sam-e so she did a ton of research for herself and she came up with milk thistle was safe but she does have some question marks due to data about sam-e so she will not take it and this was shocking to me as i usually recommend that in liver dogs but had to say something since she brought it to my attention since she is a researcher at national institute of health in washington dc and knows her stuff and many of her friends are human doctors. The other thing is you have to be careful with sam-e and anti-depressants as well as pain meds and i believe it is tramadol you should not mix with sam-e see link Tramadol |
01-16-2010, 03:31 PM | #8 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Northeast, USA
Posts: 5
| Thanks! Thanks for all of the information. As far as symptoms go, there have been a few. Toby has never had a great appetite but seems to like the Royal Canin Hepatic L/S 14 (although he is still not eating what the company says is a full serving for a 5 pound dog - Toby only eats about 1/4 cup of food a day!). Prior to feeding this food, he would randomly throw up every couple of weeks and would get lethargic from time to time. He would also stop eating all together. He seems better on the food but I am looking for an alternative to the food - something more organic preferably. I am temtped to try the milk thistle (I would really like to try just pure milk thistle not mixed with anything else) just to see if his overall health will improve. Lately I have noticed that his belly seems "tight". It doesn't look bloated but it seems full all the time. My husband disagrees so maybe I am just overreacting. If you don't mind could I ask you what you feed your dog? Based on what your family member researched, I think I will stay away from the sam-e. Do you think if I can find the milk thistle by itself it would be harmful to try it? Again, I really appreciate your advice. |
01-16-2010, 03:36 PM | #9 |
YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Northeast, USA
Posts: 5
| Forgot allergies I forgot to add in my last post that lately Toby has been licking his front paws, rubbing his face on the carpet, and just seems generally itchy. The vet says he thinks he may have allergies. I have read on this forum that Royal Canin food makes some dogs itch. I am not sure how true that is but it gives me a better reason to search for another food. |
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