Elevated liver enzymes?

[Britster]

Jackson's bloodwork prior to his dental had very slightly elevated liver values, she told me she wasn't worried about it at all and it was very common and that dental issues can in fact make those values go up sometimes. He had 6 teeth pulled in November and I haven't been back since then. I'm curious to see what his bloodwork looks like now - he's due for his annual exam in a month or two. He, like Eddie, is still acting exactly the same so I haven't worried about it at all.

[zcb]

Sorry for the delay but I just saw this thread. Scooter had elevated thyroid levels and he's been on Thyro-tabs 0.1 for several months now and his levels are where they should be. He takes one tablet twice a day.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by zcb

Sorry for the delay but I just saw this thread. Scooter had elevated thyroid levels and he's been on Thyro-tabs 0.1 for several months now and his levels are where they should be. He takes one tablet twice a day.

I think you mean his thyroid levels were low, so he is taking Thyro Tabs ...and I think you meant to put this post on the following thread about his skin issues

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...2-pee-yew.html

[zcb]

Sorry, it's been a very busy day. I did mean low not high and sorry for posting in the wrong thread. Hopefully tomorrow will not be so crazy busy.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by zcb

Sorry, it's been a very busy day. I did mean low not high and sorry for posting in the wrong thread. Hopefully tomorrow will not be so crazy busy.

LOL no reason to apologize....I was just letting you know. I SO understand!

[alaskayorkie]

So I’ve had some interesting and positive results. After posting this, I decided to go to an online pet nutritionist to recommend any diet changes. Eddie had been on a high pro diet — Orijen senior — and I’d heard that’s not necessarily good for sick older dogs.

Dr. Remillard saw Eddie’s bloodwork and she came up with a lower protein, lower fat diet and ran it past my vet.

Even more important than the diet — so far — is she had me remove Eddie from all the supplements I had him on — everything. Glucosamine, Dr. Pitcairn’s Healthy Powder, CBD oil and a Canine bee pollen supplement I’d heard of.

I kept him on the Denamarin my Vet had prescribed for his liver.

Flash forward a month and a half and I’ve had mixed results. The new diet hasn’t agreed with him. I suspect either the salmon oil added for healthy fat or the powdered supplement the nutritionist had me adding. Problems ranged from everything from throwup to diarrhea. Vet pulled him off the salmon oil and powdered supplement to see if that helped.

The good news in this long story started out with bad: more nausea sent me to the emergency vet, who decided to do bloodwork to make sure this wasn’t related to his liver enzymes. The bloodwork came back relatively great! Not quite normal yet but his numbers went down for the first time in 2 years!

Since he’s had problems with the diet, I attribute the improvement to the change in supplements. I suspect the bee pollen, but who knows.

[alaskayorkie]

Another update:

So when I last posted, Eddie's liver enzyme levels had dropped back to almost normal. I attributed that to having taken him off some supplements I had him on, including a bee pollen supplement that had been recommended by an Alaska vet.

Our problem now is I can't seem to get him on a diet that agrees with him. He was throwing up on the diet nutritionist Dr. Remillard had given us, and I never figured out what part of the diet was making him sick. It was pretty simple -- rice, chicken, sweet potatoes, a powdered Chef's Canine complete supplement and salmon oil. But I cut out everything but rice, chicken and sweet potatoes, and he was still throwing up.

We had one good week when I returned him to his old kibble (Orijen), along with rice and chicken and later sweet potatoes. His energy picked up dramatically, his stools were firm and there was no throwing up.

But, alas, that lasted only a week. He started throwing up, developed some thin, stringy stools, then constipation and later diarrhea. I took him back to the vet for antibiotics and nausea meds.

Vet put him on a Royal Canin GI canned food that's supposed to be bland. Good news is he's eating it and seems to like it. Bad news, I'll feed him 3 tablespoons and he'll throw up 1 tablespoon. This has been going on for 4 days.

Vet hasn't suggested any more tests. She's treating the symptoms and hoping the bland food and antibiotics straighten him out.

Is this ringing a bell to anyone? Any suggested tests? Is the Acid Bile Test you recommended earlier still viable? His liver enzyme numbers have fallen to almost normal.

Thanks.

[ladyjane]

Hey Mike...so sorry Eddie is having continued issues. A little bell just went off in my head....I wonder if perhaps he has IBD. Has your vet considered that?

As to bile acids, it probably wouldn't hurt but for now I have another suggestion. Ask
your vet if perhaps a trial of Hill's Ultra ZD might be a good idea. I don't recall ... did Dr. Remillard try giving him a protein he had never had in case that could be what is going on?

My Teddy Bear who has MVD (he had a shunt and operation to correct it in 2013) has suspected IBD and has been on ZD for years. He had pancreatitis this past year and was put on a low fat food. He continued to have vomiting and I was SO worried that the pancreatitis was flaring again. One day my vet suggested that perhaps we needed to get him back on the ZD ... bang! the vomiting stopped!!

[pstinard]

Originally Posted by alaskayorkie

... He was throwing up on the diet nutritionist Dr. Remillard had given us, and I never figured out what part of the diet was making him sick. It was pretty simple -- rice, chicken, sweet potatoes, a powdered Chef's Canine complete supplement and salmon oil. But I cut out everything but rice, chicken and sweet potatoes, and he was still throwing up.

Just a quick note for others reading this thread. Cutting out supplements from a home cooked diet might be okay for the short term, but those supplements are there for a reason. If a dog is fed too long without them, they will develop nutrient deficiencies, and/or have a calcium/phosphorus imbalance. Meals created by a veterinary nutritionist are very carefully balanced and intended to be fed as indicated. If you need to make changes, consult the nutritionist.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by pstinard

Just a quick note for others reading this thread. Cutting out supplements from a home cooked diet might be okay for the short term, but those supplements are there for a reason. If a dog is fed too long without them, they will develop nutrient deficiencies, and/or have a calcium/phosphorus imbalance. Meals created by a veterinary nutritionist are very carefully balanced and intended to be fed as indicated. If you need to make changes, consult the nutritionist.

[alaskayorkie]

Originally Posted by pstinard

Just a quick note for others reading this thread. Cutting out supplements from a home cooked diet might be okay for the short term, but those supplements are there for a reason. If a dog is fed too long without them, they will develop nutrient deficiencies, and/or have a calcium/phosphorus imbalance. Meals created by a veterinary nutritionist are very carefully balanced and intended to be fed as indicated. If you need to make changes, consult the nutritionist.

Thanks, and agreed! It was my short-term test on Dr. Remillard's advice to see if I could narrow down what was causing the problem. She didn't think it was the supplement, and I never proved it was.

Ladyjane, thanks for your thoughts. No, Dr. Remillard didn't start Eddie on any protein he had not been getting. Just chicken and beef, which I'd been giving him for some time. The only thing semi-new other than the supplements was the sweet potatoes. He'd had russet and yams for years with no problem, though.

I'll ask the vet about her thoughts on IBD and Hill's Ultra ZD. I just read up on it and it makes sense. THANK YOU.

[alaskayorkie]

Originally Posted by alaskayorkie

Thanks, and agreed! It was my short-term test on Dr. Remillard's advice to see if I could narrow down what was causing the problem. She didn't think it was the supplement, and I never proved it was.

Ladyjane, thanks for your thoughts. No, Dr. Remillard didn't start Eddie on any protein he had not been getting. Just chicken and beef, which I'd been giving him for some time. The only thing semi-new other than the supplements was the sweet potatoes. He'd had russet and yams for years with no problem, though.

I'll ask the vet about her thoughts on IBD and Hill's Ultra ZD. I just read up on it and it makes sense. THANK YOU.

Ladyjane, I take that back about Remillard not introducing a new protein. The supplement has chickpeas. Not sure how much but it was an ingredient.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by alaskayorkie

Thanks, and agreed! It was my short-term test on Dr. Remillard's advice to see if I could narrow down what was causing the problem. She didn't think it was the supplement, and I never proved it was.

Ladyjane, thanks for your thoughts. No, Dr. Remillard didn't start Eddie on any protein he had not been getting. Just chicken and beef, which I'd been giving him for some time. The only thing semi-new other than the supplements was the sweet potatoes. He'd had russet and yams for years with no problem, though.

I'll ask the vet about her thoughts on IBD and Hill's Ultra ZD. I just read up on it and it makes sense. THANK YOU.

I hope it is the answer!

[lilgidget]

Hope you get an answer and solution soon. We worry about out little ones when they are sick and we can't seem to help them.

[alaskayorkie]

5/25 update:
So Eddie woke me up 4 times last night, throwing up. Dropped him off at Vet this morning. They did another ultrasound and found nothing other than a little “sludge” in his gall bladder again. She wasn’t overly concerned at that.

I decided to OK X-Rays, and vet didn’t see anything in those either. Paying extra to have a radiologist examine XRays.

I brought up Ladyjane’s IBD suspicion, and she agreed it’s possible. But she said the only way to diagnose that for sure is a biopsy, and she doesn’t want to put Eddie through such an invasive procedure until she eliminates everything else.

I mentioned Ladyjane’s Hill’s zd suggestion, and she said the low fat Royal Canin gastrointestinal diet she has him on is similar and more palatable. Sure enough, she gave me a zd to try and Eddie wanted nothing to do with it. I went back to the Royal Canin and he hobbled it down. I’ll have to watch to see if he’s still puking.

So how to move forward? She said she could try a low grade steroid but said if he does have liver damage that could make it worse. I paid for another liver enzyme test to give myself some peace of mind before starting steroids.

Vet also told me the Pet Emergency in Anchorage has a board certified internal medicine Vet who visits every two weeks. Unfortunately, he won’t be here for 2 weeks. I’m going to make an appointment in case everything else i’m trying doesn’t work.

Meanwhile, Eddie’s losing some significant weight. He’s always been a slightly pudgy 10 pounder, and he’s now down to 8.1, down nearly a pound since these latest troubles began.

I think my best hope is the board certified specialist. I just wish I didn’t have to wait 2 weeks.