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Pet Forum / Miscellaneous / Animal Health / November 2004Liver Problems
Hello: I have a chow/retriever mix that is 9 years old. Two weeks ago he stopped eating (which is not like him at all), took him to the vet, the vet did liver panel and came back that one reading was 1200 and the bl was 7.9. They put him on antibiotics and fluids and within 3 days his levels had dropped (266 & 6.8), and they sent him home on meds. That lasted all of 2 days, he stopped eating again, and back to the vet this past Weds. I spoke to the vet this morning, says he looks better, is eating a bit, not throwing up and drinking fine. Here are the question(s): They tell me it can be cancer, a tumor, hepatitis, liver infection, old age(?), or fatty liver disease. Would his levels drop down this low if it is cancer or a tumor? Will he ever recover from the other possibilities? I love him dearly but I don';t want him to suffer and be sick, and I can't exactly afford the 1500.00+ so far and still going. They want to do a biopsy (600.00)....is it going to matter? What are my realistic options? Thanks David > Two weeks ago he stopped eating (which is not like him at all), ........other than that how is he acting? Has your dog been on any medications or have you had a recent flush of mushrooms in the yard or could he have eaten anything else toxic? > They tell me it can be cancer, a tumor, hepatitis, liver infection, old > age(?), or fatty liver disease. > > Would his levels drop down this low if it is cancer or a tumor? ......sounds like he responded to the antibiotics, which I would assume is a good sign and personally I would think they should just keep doing this - could get him over the hump if it's something infectious. Probably ought to be on a special diet though. > Will he ever recover from the other possibilities? ..........yes, you can recover from liver infection, hep and fatty liver disease. > They want to do a biopsy (600.00)....is it going to matter? .........I think biopsy is the only way to definitively say it's hep, and probably cancer, don't know if it would be helpful for infection or fatty liver disease (a problem in cats, but don't know how common it is in dogs). Ultrasound isn't exactly cheap either, but you could at least perhaps see a tumor or see if the liver is enlarged. Perhaps an ultrasound guided biopsy would be the way to go. The only way to make these decisions is to see if actually knowing what is going on will change the treatment. Have the vet outline treatments for the possibilities. I wonder about a test for leptospirosis - some varieties of this bacteria affect the liver more than the kidneys. Might get a urinalysis done and even send the blood off for a test for lepto if there is anything suspicious in the urinalysis. Lepto http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Oct97/lepto.hrs.html http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/51203.htm Here's a few sites that might help: Diagnosing Liver Disease in Dogs: What do the Tests Really Mean?: http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proceedings/PR05000/PR00128.htm Management of Chronic Liver Disease in Dogs: http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proceedings/PR05000/PR00430.htm Dr. Mike on Liver Disease in Dogs: http://www.vetinfo.com/dliver.html The Liver http://b-naturals.com/Mar2003.php ........good luck with your pup...please post back buglady take out the dog beore replying |
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