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Originally Posted by kjc  Hi. I've been following this thread, but didn't feel the need to post till now.
Just wanted to say that first: I hope and pray that Daisy is doing well and feeling better.
Second: Don't get too freaked out about those numbers. My LS dog ingested rancid cooking grease (amt unknown) and puked for 2-3 days. I was suspicious of Pancreatitis, so took her in to be checked. Her ALT was 433 and AST 230, no Pancreatitis. Recheck in one month ALT=544, AST=299. All I learned was that ALT generally means liver cell death. She is on Denamarin which protects the cells and supports liver cell regeneration. It is normal for the AST to increase concurrently with the ALT. It took 3 months for her values to drop. And they increased the first month!
4doggiesmama's Chipper's ALT was 1830, and had slightly elevated BATS. Due to be retested... need to check for an update.
Question: Daisy had crystals in her urine in the beginning of June? UTI and crystals can be frequent occurence in dogs with LS/MVD.
She was put on pain meds for limping? Tramadol? Maybe combination of Tramadol (in her system) with the Doxy caused liver problem? Just a thought. Or Phenobarbitol (barbiturate) will affect liver enzymes... don't know how close to Tramidol (opiate agonists) that is or effect on liver enzymes.
A small liver on xray can be indicative of LS, but for a 6 year old IDK, thought it would have been discovered before now. Any Xrays previously
taken to compare with? Even from different vet? Years ago?
Just some thoughts... also, many times the exact reason(s) for elevated ALT is never found, just providing liver support seems to eventually help the liver to heal itself over time.
Hope this has helped... Praying for sweet Daisy.. 
My 13 YO Peek a Boo's life was saved when he contracted pneumonia... vet put him on Doxy.(for a month) |
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Originally Posted by spiritwings1202 yes Daisy had crystals in her urine and was prescribed trimadol but I only gave her two pills bc it made her too spaced out and I figured I would only use it when she was in severe pain.
Daisy has only had 2 UTI in her life once when she was 2 and another one when she was 5. Daisy developed crystals in june Daisy is 6 1/2. Okay this is good.
If the liver is small my question is why? Can it heal itself or is it sadly too late. I have racked my brains at what went wrong but I have to say I have always been pretty careful with Daisy and what I fed her and what vacinations she got. They always have to give Daisy a shot of benydral beofre a vacintaion bc she has horrible reactions. I take Daisy to get one shot at a time. Many dogs are just born with small livers. It can regenerate, to an extent, depending on what is wrong. A functioning liver will regenerate for the life of the dog. It's what they do. The small liver may be part of her problem with handling vaccines. You may be able to get a medical release to not vaccinate her due to adverse reactions... ask your vet about this. Nothing you have done caused the problems she's having now.
I don't know what went wrong and I wish I could rewind the tape of life and fix whatever did go wrong but I can't and I am heart sick that this has happend and I will blame myself forever if she doesn't pull through bc I did NOT research the doxycycline.  |
This is really no fault of yours. You couldn't have prevented it no matter what you would/could have done. And, all drugs have side effects, some bad, some not so bad. These types of situations are impossible to predict, even for your vet, without doing thousands of dollars worth of testing, for no apparent reasons. There is no way you could have researched Doxycycline and taken into account all the variables to come up with forseeing this outcome. In short, almost all liver disease is treated the same way: usually protein restricted diet (less junk for the liver to remove), and homeopathic therapy (liver support: Denamarin or similar medication), and time to allow the liver to heal itself. The Denamarim prevents free-radicals from causing cell death, and helps the liver in cell regeneration. Quote:
Originally Posted by spiritwings1202 Her ALP is still high
ALT was 1800 now 600 Super!
ALP was 1900 now 1600 it had dropped to 1400 but jumped back up to 1600 Hmm. See remarks below.
GGT was 68 and now is 44 Super!
Who was the person here on YT that had a dog with liver disease? my brain is so mixed up from all the information that I have had to research and yesterday my son called and I thought it was Friday night 
I am forgetting where I put things sometimes I think I am losing my mind. |
Did they do a CBC? Were any microcytic cells noted?
Your vet really needs to interpret these results, because certain combinations of these liver enzymes being elevated and how far elevated is what they look at. It is very good that the ALT has dropped considerably. My understanding is that the liver is clearing whatever is affecting it (possible toxin= anything that does not agree with and causes harm to the liver cells).
Something you need to understand: The liver, pancreas, and gall bladder all work closely together. These liver enzymes can indicate a problem in any one of these organs, depending on the combination and elevations. So this can be a major factor in the difficulty of narrowing down the exact cause.
Another thing: toxic plants and steroids (pills or topically applies creams) can affect the ALP.
Has the vet done an ultrasound? This may help to see what's happening with the gall bladder, as stones can cause a blockage and increase ALP, and other organs.
And the big 'C'. We all think about this and no one likes to talk about it, but Please remember that tumors can be benign, and may cause changes which may be detected on an ultrasound.
Secondary hyperparathyroidism can also raise the ALP.
I hope I haven't confused you further. I am still researching alot of this stuff in relation to my own dog, who has LS.
I do know exactly how you are feeling. I was wracking my brain for weeks, maybe months, trying to figure things out, and thinking I hurt my dog by feeding her the wrong food/treats/supplements/not watching her close enough...etc. Panic mode, basically. It's a scary place to be, and no one gives you the answers you are looking for. I even paid the 'Ask-A-Vet' online service!
Please relax a little. I know how these lab numbers can freak a person out. The most you can do, you're doing it. Proper food and meds for liver support.
Liver disease/problems are slow to be diagnosed... it's more a process, where most tests tell you right off what's wrong, like high white cell count means an infection, or specific tests for other disease like Lymes or heartworm, you know right away. Liver stuff is more complicated, and takes a combination of a few different tests, and repeated bloodwork to narrow things down.
And realize too, this may end up as something that needs to be managed, like MVD, where there is no cure, per say, but with proper care, diet, meds, you can maintain a quality and quantity of life. I think this was my major frustration. Tell me what it is so we can fix it. Just know, some things can't be fixed, but you learn how to live with them.
When my Mom visits, she always asks,"Which one is the sick one?" And, so far, I've always been able to say "It's that one, the one running around like a nut, jumping up, wanting to give kisses, bringing the toys out to play, and barking like a maniac!" And she says "Are you sure?"