Delilah recently had her annual exam. In CT the rabies vaccine is mandatory every three years and we also vaccinate for Leptospirosis. This was Delilah’s year for her Rabies booster, and since I don’t like giving multiple vaccines in the same visit, on her initial exam our vet made Delilah ‘legal’ with the rabies and I scheduled her Leptos vaccine for a couple of weeks later. During her exam Dr. Soutter discovered Delilah had a broken tooth on the upper left side of her mouth. We schedule her for a cleaning and tooth extraction next month.
During her second visit we had a blood draw to check her thyroid level (she takes Levothyroxine) heart worm and I asked for a glucose check as she’s been drinking a LOT of water.
When Dr. Soutter called with Delilah’s results I was caught off guard when she said, “Delilah’s blood work is fine, except her liver levels are slightly elevated.”
I’m not surprised at all. I bet your liver levels are elevated too. You do put an awful lot of whiskey in our coffee.
Dr. Soutter explained that Delilah could have an infection in her liver or a bit of inflammation. She said the levels weren’t high enough to prevent her from doing the dental procedure next month, but we still want to lower the levels. She started Delilah on Amoxicillin and Metronidazole for antibiotics as well as Denamarin for liver support.
After I hung up from my vet I did the worst thing possible. I consulted Dr. Google. “What causes elevated liver levels in dogs?”
Words like Hepatitis , Liver disease and Liver Cancer came up and it scared the bejesus out of me. And then I started thinking, what if we treat her with antibiotics and liver support and it turns out to be the wrong treatment?
I placed a call to my vet.
I told her everything. And she told me to stop consulting Dr. Google.
The Denamarin will boost her liver and the antibiotics will take care of any type of infection.
Hepatitis is different in dogs than it is in people. In people Hepatitis is viral, in dogs it’s bacterial. She’s also almost certain it’s not liver cancer, she said typically with liver cancer the levels will be normal or very high and there will be other indicators.
The Denamarin is a combination of SAMe (SAH ME) and Silybin (Milk Thistle).
Here’s what the manufacturer’s of Denamarin have to say, “Administering SAMe (S-Adenosylmethionine), which is found in Denamarin, has been shown to markedly increase liver levels of glutathione,1,2 an important compound for liver health formed when SAMe is metabolized. The SAMe in Denamarin has also been shown to help protect liver cells from cell death3,4 and may help cell repair and regeneration.5
Denamarin also helps support your pet’s liver through the administration of silybin. Silybin is an active part of an extract from milk thistle, known as silymarin, and has been shown to support liver function by helping maintain a healthy oxidative balance.”
We will check her levels again in a month and if they are still elevated we will do an ultrasound.
Animals can’t speak for themselves to tell us when something is wrong. Dogs in particular are very stoic and don’t always show us when they are hurt or not feeling well.
I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to not only have your pet physically examined once a year, but it’s so important to have their blood checked as well. I’m praying it’s a simple (if you can call a liver infection simple) infection that we caught early enough to prevent it from becoming something more sinister.
You’re a worry wart Mama, has anyone ever told you that?
Ohhhhh I sure hope everything is fine, it’s scary to have any elevation in any blood value and not to know why it is that way is the worst. You made a very important point thou that each one should have bloodwork done each year, things can crop up just like that and show no signs so better to catch it early then to late. Praying it is nothing and all goes well with the dental procedure.
Ahhh Dr. Google – always writing a prescription for anxiety. Though, I do the EXACT same thing, so who am I to comment? I hope all turns out to be well with Delilah. Moses went through the full round of exams and blood tests for his tooth extraction a while back, and it was nice to have confirmation that he’s otherwise healthy (relative to Moses).
Feel better soon, baby girl!!
Keep us updated, thinking of you sweetie!!
Your vet sounds amazing!!
Don’t worry, D. The medicine will make you better. You mom needs to be banned from the computer. She scares herself too much.
Love and licks,
Cupcake
Definitely don’t panic. Ping has had high liver levels for years. They raised gradually and she has had an ultrasound showing inflammation and scaring. She takes denamarin and milk thistle and curcumin. She also eats fromm fish and potato which I plan to review soon as it has good ingredients for the liver, her levels where very high now. This has all resulted in her levels stabilizing and returning to normal as of last check, she is due for a recheck. I plan to switch her ffrom demamarin to SAM E and milk thistle since my vet says its the same and its less pricey and she is on it long term.
retro rover
We learned to be careful with Dr. Google too. As long as you trust your vet, I’m sure the medicine with clear up the issues. You should also make sure she isn’t secretly drinking along side you…I know you like to imbibe with the stress of Sampson, perhaps she has secretly been doing the same…we learn from humans you know and alcohol and livers are not a good match 😉 Seriously, I hope you dogs both just get and stay healthy for a long time, enough vet stuff for a while!
Whatever is going on, it’s good that it was caught early by the blood test, and the meds will probably straighten everything out. I’ve heard of this with other dogs too and it all turned out fine.
I am bad about consulting Dr. Google too….it’s almost like I just can’t help myself wanting to know more about what might be going on. I try to focus on the good things I read though, not the bad (easier said than done).
Our vet has started recommending yearly wellness blood tests for our senior dogs, and I think it is a great idea. We had it done for Sheba this last time and so far so good.
Aw, poor Delilah! But she will be fine. And broken teeth happen now and then. She’s a strong girl, she’ll pull through it. It’s her worry-wart Mama I worry about. You know I’m here for you, my friend.
OUR mom and dad will not let us get more than ONE Vaccination in a week either…
We know all about how Mom’s FREAK OUT when somethingy scary gets said about us… it is just a MOM thingy…. butt we LOVE ’em anyway. Right Dee?
PeeS…. BLOGGER is not working and playing NICE with others right now. We can’t get to everyone’s Blogs…
Good ol doctor google!
He has made me think myself, my kids, and my pets are all dying, more times then once!
Damn you google!!!
Keep us updated when you get her liver checked out again.
It is definitely super impawtant to have a regular check up at the vet!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Oh Jodi…I hope it turns out to be a simple bacterial infection, or something else easily fixable. I’m very guilty of consulting Dr. Google too often, and ending up worrying myself sick. I really SHOULD vow not to look things up, but realistically, I know that will never be the case. If my animals, or myself for that matter, have something going on, I want to know as much as I can about it, so I can monitor the situation properly and watch for any telltale symptoms of a worsening condition. I have a feeling you are the same way! So I’m not going to say “Don’t worry” cause I’m sure you will. But I will say, how often HAVE you worried, and it turned out to be nothing serious at all? I bet a lot of times, and I’ll keep my fingers crossed that this is just another one of those times. 🙂
My thoughts are with you. I was going to suggest Milk Thistle, then you mentioned it is the active ingredient in the medication she is taking.
Dr. Google is so evil – I’m glad your vet got you off the ledge 🙂 I hope Delilah’s levels are back to normal at the next check – hugs!!
I’m glad you called your vet about it and he was able to answer your questions. If you really need a second opinion – while it isn’t quick – you could always go to A Vet’s Guide to Life blog. He is a vet that will answer questions – not always right away – he obviously gives the great advice that we should all be consulting our own vets but can clarify some things based on his years of experience in his practice. I actually emailed him after my dog Shadow had been diagnosed with a nasty cancer in her mouth. I had some thoughts on possibly being responsible for it and he really set my mind at ease. I suppose I could have asked my own vet the same question – but I really wanted a third party perspective.
My burning question about Delilah is – how did she get the (possible) liver infection? I’d want to know what causes that – is it random? something in her diet? a medication she’s on? did another dog have it in its poo and she sniffed it and that’s how it happened? I have a sickness – it’s called “needtoknowwhyitis”. 😉
Someone should probably sue Dr. Google for malpractice.
You have a smarty pants vet. Our holistic vet put Agatha on SAM-e for her liver and it worked very well for her. Hopefully Delilah’s levels will be back to normal soon and you can decrease the amount of whiskey in your coffee.
Are you beginning to wonder if the dogs are just trying to worry you to death so they can inherit your fortune? 🙂
Whiskey makes ’em frisky, doncha know. It’s the coffee that’s bad. 😉 Delilah is right. You worry. She’s gonna be just fine, mama.
It is impossible to not worry when anyone we love is not feeling well. But, children and dogs, oh my how we moms worry. We are their advocates and it is our responsibility to make sure they are getting the best care. Because, deep down, we don’t always trust that the doctor or vet is taking everything in consideration. I don’t know if you heard about the “trusted” vet that kept a dog for months that was supposed to be euthanized, as a blood donor. But, when we hear things like that, it pays to check out all avenues of care.
It sound like you have a very caring vet, and a very logical one at that. Her explanation indicates that she has taken all of the possibilities into consideration and is treating
Delilah appropriately. After all, that is all you wanted to know!
Delilah is very fortunate to have you for her Mama! She is sooo cute!
Gus’ Mom
That’s so great that you noticed a slight change in her habits and informed the vet about it. I get extremely worried if Maya and Pierson don’t want to eat, but they always have plenty of water so I’m not sure I’d notice if they were drinking a lot of it unless it really was a lot. I’m glad Delilah’s okay, thanks to Dr Soutter and not Dr Google. 😉
Because if its function, the liver values are quite sensitive to many things going on in the body. This may or may not be related to the liver directly. What to think of it also depends on which enzymes are elevated.
ALT/AST does mean the liver is hurting/liver cell destruction (such as from toxins, liver damage …)
ALP, on the other hand can go up for a number of reasons, including chronic irritant, bile backup, steroids or Cushing’s, hypothyroidism …
I know you will take such good care of Delilah and she will be fine. Its a good thing that you had her checked. I think that for older dogs it is a good idea to have blood work done periodically.