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Dog w/Elevated Liver Values & Noticeable Weight Loss

BarbaraB

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My 17 1/2 year old dog Odie, had recent blood work done and showed his ALT at 145 and ALP at 1,317. He has a Meningioma and had SRT last year and he also has a bladder tumor which is currently stable. He's was taking 750 mg Keppra 3 x day and Prednisone 10 mg 1 x day

I'm concerned about his current values and weight loss which has happened in 1 1/2 months. Prior to August he weighed in a 41 lbs and is now 34 lbs. A holistic vet had prescribed him Settle The Yang for the brain and Frankincense Oil applied topically at certain points on the body and Lions Mane. He has been eating grass fed and finished 90/10 beef and chopped, kale, brussel sprouts and broccoli. He's very hungry all the time and gets a good amount of meat. He's also taking Turkey Tail and Hepato Support for the liver.

Last bloodwork done in June showed ALT at 77 and ALP at 1119. He had a seizure on 9/24 and it was the first since March of this year. I stopped all herbs and Frankincense. He's now taking 1250 mg Keppra 3 x day and Prednisone is still 10 mg 1 x day.

I'm worried that the large amount of red meat is compromising his liver even more and creating the weight loss. Can anyone give me some insight on what to do and should I attempt to change his protein to chicken?
 

Dr. Jeff

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Hi Barbara! Welcome to HA! but I'm super sorry to hear about Odie's health challenges.

He sure has a lot going on!

I wouldn't be too concerned about his AL and ALP as the meds. can cause them both to increase.

His weight loss, quality of life/BEAM however are big concerns.

Does he love his food? If not, is there anything he does love?

Promoting his super-happiness and BEAMing is where you may want to focus at this time as they can help him be as good as possible:



Please let us know and perhaps share some pictures or videos of Odie so we can get to know him better.
 

BarbaraB

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Hi Barbara! Welcome to HA! but I'm super sorry to hear about Odie's health challenges.

He sure has a lot going on!

I wouldn't be too concerned about his AL and ALP as the meds. can cause them both to increase.

His weight loss, quality of life/BEAM however are big concerns.

Does he love his food? If not, is there anything he does love?

Promoting his super-happiness and BEAMing is where you may want to focus at this time as they can help him be as good as possible:



Please let us know and perhaps share some pictures or videos of Odie so we can get to know him better.
Hi Dr. Jeff:

Thank you for your response. Odie still has a very major appetite and would eat the refrigerator if I let him. In fact he has a huge food drive. He does appear to have a bit of dementia though but he does wag his tale when he sees friends who stop by and will wag his tail for me when I try to play with him.

Energy level is moderate as he is slow when he walks and takes his time but he is still able to go for walks and quite well. His mood is generally good but his eyesight which is now more compromised in the left since the seizure has made him a bit grumpy at times.

He will still occasionally hang out the window when going for a car ride and will also do the nose rub into carpet and wiggle around sometimes.

Overall for his age and illness/ailments he's doing ok. I know all of the things to be aware of in terms of the "Quality of Life" scale. I'm just more concerned that the liver issues seems to be causing more weakness in the hind leg area and I would like to do everything that I can to help it from continuing to be compromised.

It just appears that with so much red meat there is more damage happening according to the numbers and I'm a little scared to switch to poultry as he developed a horrible skin condition when I tried to switch him to Turkey instead in May of this year.

The weight loss is of great concern. Is there anything I can do Dr. Jeff to help his body with these issues?
 

Dr. Jeff

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Is there anything I can do Dr. Jeff to help his body with these issues?

Definitely!

Tho how he responds will depend on his individuality.

Rather than a primary problem with the meat and/or his liver, it is much more likely that an underlying energetic/physiologic imbalance is causing both the high ALT and rear leg weakness.

Have you tried adding eggs to his diet or using the beef blend from:


You can also blend more veggies or high quality cooked grains like quinoa and amaranth in with the meat to decrease the % of meat (sorry @GinnyW ;) ).

You might also want to consider adding some support to help him heal even better!



 

BarbaraB

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Definitely!

Tho how he responds will depend on his individuality.

Rather than a primary problem with the meat and/or his liver, it is much more likely that an underlying energetic/physiologic imbalance is causing both the high ALT and rear leg weakness.

Have you tried adding eggs to his diet or using the beef blend from:


You can also blend more veggies or high quality cooked grains like quinoa and amaranth in with the meat to decrease the % of meat (sorry @GinnyW ;) ).

You might also want to consider adding some support to help him heal even better!




I have not tried adding any poultry because of the Turkey allergy issue he had in May. I know dogs can allergic to Turkey or chicken but I've been so hesitant to upset his system even more.

I do want to try the chicken as I now home cook the beef and add shredded kale, broccoli and brussel sprouts to his meals. He was raw fed for many years on Answers Beef but I did not notice him ever having an issue with chicken as I used to give him a cooked egg for treats sometimes.

How much chicken would you suggest I give him for each day?

He is already taking two capsules a day of Hepato Support for his liver. What other supplements for the liver besides Denamarin can I give? He doesn't do well on Denamarin.

Thank you again for your feedback.
 

Dr. Jeff

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For introducing chicken, turkey, eggs or any new food you may want to start very slowly, e.g. just a tsp./meal.

Great that he already gets Hepato Support! However, it doesn't contain a methyl donor like DMG.

This one does contain a methyl donor source however (in addition to having a different form of milk thistle as well as an energy source):

 

BarbaraB

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For introducing chicken, turkey, eggs or any new food you may want to start very slowly, e.g. jut a tsp./meal.

Great that he already gets Hepato Support! However, it doesn't contain a methyl donor like DMG.

This one does contain a methyl donor source however (in addition to having a different form of milk thistle as well as an energy source):

That helps so much Dr. Jeff and I will start by adding chicken. I will also go ahead and purchase the Hepato Support with DMG. I will let you know how it goes and thank you so much.?:)
 

Dr. Jeff

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You're so welcome Barbara!

I really appreciate your asking about and implementing these actions that help support Odie by working with his body.
 

BarbaraB

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@Dr. Jeff, @Dr. Christina, @Dr. Sara,
Odie seems to have lost a bit more weight and seems more weak and I'm worried that the chicken diet is not giving him enough supplementation in his diet. I have had him on Kure Chicken Chubs (Raw diet) with some Kefir milk and with the question about whether the company will continue, I started to make chicken breast meat, chicken hearts and liver with cruciferous vegetables and Kefir Milk.

I'm unsure of what to do at this point as I feel he does not have enough of a nutritional balance and needs more. He still has what appears to be a bit of blood at the end of his urine stream but this does not seem to happen every time he urinates. I'm perplexed as to what to do for him now. Because of his age diagnostics and anesthesia are not possible. He is currently taking 1250 mg Keppra for the Meningioma and 10 mg Prednisone. I switched him in August from beef to chicken because his liver values had increased.

Odie's BEAM is somewhat ok as his behavior has not truly changed but his energy is a little less meaning he does sleep a little more, his appetite is definitely not a problem as he wants to eat everything all day long and his mood is neutral meaning he doesn't really get excited too much unless he knows he's getting food. When he greets other people he will give them a little wag of the tail but that has slowed. I'm assuming it's also because of his eyesight know as we believe he probably only sees shadows.

Odie does a lot of pacing when he's inside the house and usually it's because he wants more food. He still does go for walks and has done pretty good so he does get exercise.

Please let me know what I can do to help him nutritionally or what additional supplementation I can provide. I'm very worried.
 
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BarbaraB

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Update to yesterday's question. Odie did have more of a bloody urine stream this morning. The last time I spoke with his vet about the blood in the urine, she noted it could possibly be problem in his prostate. He has no problem urinating as it flows very well and no problem having a bowel movement. I did feed him some cooked salmon last night and don't know if this mat have caused an issue.

His last ultrasound in late July showed the tumor in the bladder was stable and he was clear in all other places but the blood in the urine continues to be very concerning and I would love to know if anyone has any clear thoughts on what I should do. He is not in pain as far as I can see. He also seems to be having a large amount of gas with the cooked chicken.
 

Dr. Jeff

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Barbara, I'm sorry to hear about Odie's weight loss, symptoms and especially his lower BEAM.

Do you have a holistically (and energetically) oriented vet on your vet care team?

I ask because all of your answers and the key to Odie's happiness and return to balance is found in his dynamic energy balance. An energetically-oriented vet could help you with this.

Here's a bit more about the path back to his balance and health:


And here's more about building a vet care team for Odie:


What is his happiest thing to do??

Whatever it is, perhaps focus today on doing more of it and get back to us with what you see with his symptoms.
 

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