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Hi Dr. Leigh,
You helped me before with answers about my dog's elevated liver enzymes. On Nov. 1, my dog's AKT was 576 (around there). He has been off metacam, at your suggestion, for 2 months. He takes Marin, samE, dasaquin, and levothyroxine.

I took him yesterday (a little over 2 months after I wrote to you) for a blood text, and unbelievably and distressingly, his ALT is now 1024!

The vet's assistant said the vet wants to keep Robbie all day next week and do periodic blood tests, but she wouldn't tell me what the possible reasons are for this problem. She is a vet student or asst. and works with the dogs a lot, so I think she just didn't want to tell me.

What could the matter be?
Thank you,
Phyllis

Submitted: 321 days and 7 hours ago.

Category: Dog

Value: $9

Status: CLOSED

Age: 11; Male; Breed: Sheltie

Already Tried:
Quit Metacam or any other NSAIDs, use Marin, SamE, PetTabs.

Strict diet of Purina EN dry and canned. Fortiflora (thanks to your recommendation :-) ).

Accepted Answer

Hi Phyllis,

I am sorry to hear that his ALT is 1024. Alt increases when there is damage to liver cells which can be caused by a varitey of things including toxins, infections, inflammation, drug reactions, and cancer to name a few. Did your vet ever get any xrays? It might be that your vet wants to do a bile acid test which measures the function of the liver. With this test the animal needs be fasted overnight then a blood sample is taken then the dog is fed then another sample is taken 2 hours later. Sometimes the only way to get a diagnosis is to do a biopsy of the liver which can be done with an ultrasound. If your vet doesn't have an ultrasound then you could ask for a referral to a specialist that can do an ultrasound and possible biospy.

Please let me know if you have any question and keep me posted on his diagnosis.

Dr Leigh

Accepts:
Expert:	Dr. LeighMP
Pos. Feedback:	100.0 %
Answered:	1/7/2009

Veterinarian

Small Animal Veterinarian for 14 years

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Age: 11; Male; Breed: Sheltie

Already Tried:
Quit Metacam or any other NSAIDs, use Marin, SamE, PetTabs.

Strict diet of Purina EN dry and canned. Fortiflora (thanks to your recommendation :-) ).

Accepted Answer

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Optional Information

Age: 11; Male; Breed: Sheltie Already Tried: Quit Metacam or any other NSAIDs, use Marin, SamE, PetTabs. Strict diet of Purina EN dry and canned. Fortiflora (thanks to your recommendation :-) ).

Accepted Answer

Related Dog Questions

Age: 11; Male; Breed: Sheltie

Already Tried:
Quit Metacam or any other NSAIDs, use Marin, SamE, PetTabs.

Strict diet of Purina EN dry and canned. Fortiflora (thanks to your recommendation :-) ).