YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community - View Single Post - Yorkie has ALT level of 680+ and Dehydrated... Help please!

Madraga · 10-17-2010, 10:17 AM

Hi KJC, sorry for the late reply. I have a new vet now, but I still went to the old vet when they asked me to go back for a check up after her hospitalization. That's how we found out that her ALT levels are back to the normal range. The 2 vets have differing approaches. The old vet said I could start giving her normal food, like chicken and stuff. But the new vet asked me to still continue the rice diet to protect her liver. Since we noticed more coughing, especially after she plays, the new vet told me to continue her Doxycycline meds. And whenever I give her the doxycycline meds her cough is minimized. I dunno why the old vet gave her doxycycline but i think they mentioned that it helps get rid of bacteria and stuff. I read about the doxycyline and ivermectin combination and it is done, I just can't remember the purpose.

So far, the only treatment she's had for her heartworm is Proheart, which the old vet told me was ivermectin. the new vet, however, said it's not ivermectin but a derivative of ivermectin. They did a blood smear a couple of weeks ago, and as I have posted, it was free from larvae infestation. So they're hoping that the Proheart has killed all the baby worms. The first time they did the blood smear, we saw those microfilariae moving about. It was only a little drop. So the vet said she probably has stage 3 heartworm, basing it on the blood smear alone. So we did the Proheart treatment that day. Then she got sick... after that we waited a week or so then tested her again, her alt is back to normal and no more microfilariae. She's also not anemic so her blood work is really good. I just noticed the coughing and the old and new vet said the same thing, that it's probably the microfilariae dying off. So they just said to not stress her too much. They didn't use the heartworm test kit. I don't know why. I did mention about ultra sounds, x-rays etc but they just did blood tests. THe new vet can't do anymore tests coz after the Proheart injection, he said the tests will not be accurate anymore.

She can take exercise pretty well. She gets excited and runs around and jumps and stuff. I have to literally carry her to stop her from doing all these activities coz I don't want her to start coughing. So far her coughing is on and off. I've noticed that she coughs more when I've stopped doxycyline for 3-4 days. She doesn't cough blood though. It's just little coughs, like she's about to throw up.

I was wondering if you've heard of Frontline Plus for ticks and fleas. I wanted to give her that for preventive measures but still have to ask the vet. I just want to know first-hand experience on the treatment so I'd know if it'll be too toxic for her or not.

Thanks again.

10-17-2010, 10:17 AM	#55
Madraga Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Philippines Posts: 36	Hi KJC, sorry for the late reply. I have a new vet now, but I still went to the old vet when they asked me to go back for a check up after her hospitalization. That's how we found out that her ALT levels are back to the normal range. The 2 vets have differing approaches. The old vet said I could start giving her normal food, like chicken and stuff. But the new vet asked me to still continue the rice diet to protect her liver. Since we noticed more coughing, especially after she plays, the new vet told me to continue her Doxycycline meds. And whenever I give her the doxycycline meds her cough is minimized. I dunno why the old vet gave her doxycycline but i think they mentioned that it helps get rid of bacteria and stuff. I read about the doxycyline and ivermectin combination and it is done, I just can't remember the purpose. So far, the only treatment she's had for her heartworm is Proheart, which the old vet told me was ivermectin. the new vet, however, said it's not ivermectin but a derivative of ivermectin. They did a blood smear a couple of weeks ago, and as I have posted, it was free from larvae infestation. So they're hoping that the Proheart has killed all the baby worms. The first time they did the blood smear, we saw those microfilariae moving about. It was only a little drop. So the vet said she probably has stage 3 heartworm, basing it on the blood smear alone. So we did the Proheart treatment that day. Then she got sick... after that we waited a week or so then tested her again, her alt is back to normal and no more microfilariae. She's also not anemic so her blood work is really good. I just noticed the coughing and the old and new vet said the same thing, that it's probably the microfilariae dying off. So they just said to not stress her too much. They didn't use the heartworm test kit. I don't know why. I did mention about ultra sounds, x-rays etc but they just did blood tests. THe new vet can't do anymore tests coz after the Proheart injection, he said the tests will not be accurate anymore. She can take exercise pretty well. She gets excited and runs around and jumps and stuff. I have to literally carry her to stop her from doing all these activities coz I don't want her to start coughing. So far her coughing is on and off. I've noticed that she coughs more when I've stopped doxycyline for 3-4 days. She doesn't cough blood though. It's just little coughs, like she's about to throw up. I was wondering if you've heard of Frontline Plus for ticks and fleas. I wanted to give her that for preventive measures but still have to ask the vet. I just want to know first-hand experience on the treatment so I'd know if it'll be too toxic for her or not. Thanks again.