Elevated bile acid test, no physical symptoms

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by AmyChristine

I completely agree Copper's symptoms did not show until he was a year old, he was always a quiet, shakey puppy, but then one day it just hit. I just think that if you can find a good vet that is very familiar with all of this that should be first priority, then redo the BA, then scintigraphy. I also have heard of the Protein C test not being as accurate as we would all like it to be.

Copper's BA test are all pre 0-10 and post between 100-120, we thought shunt at first. We had the scintigraphy done, no shunt was visibly, and we are not going to do the biopsy. He manages very well on diet change and suplements.

that is great your pup is doing well

Jean dodds is really good at interpreting blood work and she is very conservative and she is only about 1 hr from this person. Vets all over the world consult her for blood work and vaccinations so that is why i drove to her for thyroid panel, titers and bile acids I just wanted to know why my dog was losing the hair on her neck and then wanted bile acids redone - sure enough my dog was hypothyroid and why she was losing hair on her neck

[cpeanut]

hey guys i adopted an 8 mo old yorkie last month i immediatly before getting her had her ALT enzyme (and other blood work) done and it was perfectly normal.
Today i took her to get spayed and the blood test showed a ALT level of > 800. I got her tested for bile acid pro and post fasting were both ABOVE 30. What does that mean? I take her to banfield they want to do ultra sound for her tomorrow but i read this is not the answer to her elevated bile acid test. Help... shes perfectlyh healthy and no symptoms what so ever!

[ArmaniMan]

Originally Posted by cpeanut

hey guys i adopted an 8 mo old yorkie last month i immediatly before getting her had her ALT enzyme (and other blood work) done and it was perfectly normal.
Today i took her to get spayed and the blood test showed a ALT level of > 800. I got her tested for bile acid pro and post fasting were both ABOVE 30. What does that mean? I take her to banfield they want to do ultra sound for her tomorrow but i read this is not the answer to her elevated bile acid test. Help... shes perfectlyh healthy and no symptoms what so ever!

Hi there... first try and relax, I KNOW its hard!

Second, I would have her bile acids retested somewhere besides banfield... I personally just dont trust them at all and wonder how often they do this test and whether they truly know how to do the test, especially considering both numbers were similar.

If they are still the same, chances are your pup has MVD because 30 isnt that bad as far as high bile acids go.

I would not give them the money for an ultrasound tomorrow... that is not going to give you ANY answers and only cost you money.

[cpeanut]

Hi I got the ALT test at another vet it gave us a level of 800 THEN took her to banfield to do the bile acid test. i am against banfield but this vet actually cared the only vet at banfield that has had yorkies and is very experienced.
I do not know what to do now the value on the paper sai d GREATER than 30 it didn't say 30 exactly or any number what worries me is that post and pre are over 30 could she have just injested a toxin? table food can cause this whats the next step? ultra sound?

[ArmaniMan]

Originally Posted by cpeanut

Hi I got the ALT test at another vet it gave us a level of 800 THEN took her to banfield to do the bile acid test. i am against banfield but this vet actually cared the only vet at banfield that has had yorkies and is very experienced.
I do not know what to do now the value on the paper sai d GREATER than 30 it didn't say 30 exactly or any number what worries me is that post and pre are over 30 could she have just injested a toxin? table food can cause this whats the next step? ultra sound?

I would want to know the exact number, there is a big difference between 31 and 100+.

the problem is an ultrasound isnt going to tell you much of anything... if there was a very large shunt, they MAY see it, more then likely they would not.

If it is MVD an ultrasound is going to tell you nothing at all.

[RONLYNN]

My Teddi is a liver shunt survivor. It's been 2 years since her surgery. I definitely recommend joining the yahoo group that Deb recommended. Also, just because you don't have symptoms doesn't mean they are fine. If you do the sintigraphy test you will be able to find out if they have 1 operable shunt or multiple. If you do nothing your 1 shunt could turn into multiple and then they are not operable. If you have 1 shunt you can have surgery and your dog can live a long normal life.

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by cpeanut

hey guys i adopted an 8 mo old yorkie last month i immediatly before getting her had her ALT enzyme (and other blood work) done and it was perfectly normal.
Today i took her to get spayed and the blood test showed a ALT level of > 800. I got her tested for bile acid pro and post fasting were both ABOVE 30. What does that mean? I take her to banfield they want to do ultra sound for her tomorrow but i read this is not the answer to her elevated bile acid test. Help... shes perfectlyh healthy and no symptoms what so ever!

did she take any meds when alt was done as that seems odd as bats are not that bad or did she get into anything toxic?

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by cpeanut

Hi I got the ALT test at another vet it gave us a level of 800 THEN took her to banfield to do the bile acid test. i am against banfield but this vet actually cared the only vet at banfield that has had yorkies and is very experienced.
I do not know what to do now the value on the paper sai d GREATER than 30 it didn't say 30 exactly or any number what worries me is that post and pre are over 30 could she have just injested a toxin? table food can cause this whats the next step? ultra sound?

well that is a problem the idiots did the in house bat not the lab one so you have to redo the test you always have it sent to a lab on bats as inhouse does not go over 30 so get it redone and sent to lab makes me so mad when they do the inhouse on this total waste of money and stress on the dog if they knew the alt was over 800 they should have sent to lab - go somewhere else that just tells me right there they do not know what the heck they are doing

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by ArmaniMan

I would want to know the exact number, there is a big difference between 31 and 100+.

the problem is an ultrasound isnt going to tell you much of anything... if there was a very large shunt, they MAY see it, more then likely they would not.

If it is MVD an ultrasound is going to tell you nothing at all.

exactly i bet those bats are way higher than 30 if the alt is over 800 i would not let this place touch my dog again they wasted your money and stressed out your dog with two blood draws for NOTHING go somewhere else to an internal medicine specialist and cancel the ultrasound - trust me they do not know what the heck they are doing

[TLC]

Originally Posted by cpeanut

Hi I got the ALT test at another vet it gave us a level of 800 THEN took her to banfield to do the bile acid test. i am against banfield but this vet actually cared the only vet at banfield that has had yorkies and is very experienced.
I do not know what to do now the value on the paper sai d GREATER than 30 it didn't say 30 exactly or any number what worries me is that post and pre are over 30 could she have just injested a toxin? table food can cause this whats the next step? ultra sound?

Banfield is not really a good place, too many horror stories, over vaccinations and unneccesssary testing.

The BAT they did was an in house test and pretty unless. The highest it goes is "above 30" which is a waste, bc you need to know the exact numbers to guide to normal, mvd or liver shunt.

That "above 30" could be 35 or 50 or 90 or 120 or 300
I hate it when they waste money, waste putting babies tru a fast and blood draw for the usless in house BAT tests.

Please change to a private vet who is familiar with small breeds.

[tida]

what dog food do you use?