Elevated Liver Enzymes

[papaya]

Hello. About 3 days ago, my 11 year Rottie mix seemed to be sluggish and tired...not himself at all. When this continued into a 2nd day, I brought him into see the vet. It turned out he had a temp of 104! He was given fluids and a complete blood panel was taken. He was given doxycycline and Deramaxx. He was also tested for Lyme disease but that came back negative. The vet called me this morning with the blood test results and said Buddy has elevated liver enzymes (1200!) and his white blood cell count was low. He is now scheduled to go back in for an ultrasound of his liver. The vet told me to discontinue the Deramaxx but continue the Doxycyline. Buddy seems to be much better today but truth be told, I'm soooo worried about the elevated enzymes and what it might be :( Just wondering if anyone has any feedback or experiences to share? Our appointment isn't until later this week for the ultrasound. Thanks in advance.

[molochai2580]

This happened to one of my cats a couple years ago. Never any clue what was wrong with her. She was on medications for 2 months and sliding down fast. My DH and I decided that it was time to let her go, just had to wait for the vet to open. I stopped giving her her medications and within 24 hours she was eating on her own. Within 48 she was moving again. On Xmas eve she jumped into my lap and purred. She continued to get better and is now a healthy cat. Still to this day we have no idea what was wrong with her.

Sorry I can't be of more help, but we never found out what caused her liver to start shutting down, or what caused it to suddenly reverse itself.

[tla0126]

Papaya, I'm so sorry, I'm sure you are very anxious. I'm not sure what it could be, but please keep us updated. Buddy is in our thoughts!

[bliss7373]

Lots of things are associated with elevated liver enzymes. I wish we could help you more- I know you must be worried sick. Sounds like your vet is on target - taking Buddy off the NSAID to avoid additional stress on the liver and scheduling an ultrasound.

Please keep us updated.

[Debbie Ervin]

Some medications cause elevated live enzimes.. I know predisone is one and I am not sure as to the others. Doxycycline is used for lyme disease, sometimes you could have a false reading. Good Luck, Debbie Ervin

[papaya]

Thanks everyone for your kind words. Buddy is now 100% back to his usual self and doing great. I do have an update. The original vet that saw Buddy during his visit was not the same vet who called with the blood test results and who I scheduled the ultrasound with. I received a call today from our original vet that examined Buddy when he was ill and she told me she reviewed the blood test results and that the type of liver enzyme that is elevated is often something they see in older dogs and is not of concern. I can't remember exactly what she said but I think she referred to ALK vs ALT levels? The one she mentioned (that is not elevated) would have been indicative of Cushings Disease or another problem but that did not apply here. Given that information, she said the ultrasound was not needed after all and advised we recheck the enzymes again in a couple of weeks. Buddy has all the pep back in his step again and I am breathing a huge sigh of relief and feeling extremely thankful that he is okay. She did tell me to continue the Doxycyline. I can't tell you what my mind was conjuring up here waiting on that ultrasound :( and now I can breathe again.

[Anne]

My osteosarcoma dog had elevated liver enzymes probably caused by the medications she takes. Her oncologist suggested Milk Thistle tablets. After 3 weeks on these her liver enzymes came down to be within the normal limit, albeit the high end of normal.

We were facing a situation where she would need to stop one of the drugs she takes for her cancer if the liver enzymes stayed at the same high level as the original levels.
We are doing another test in 12 days and hopefully the levels will be lower again.