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Elevated Liver

Foxrider714

Notable member
So Brooke went to the vet yesterday for her shots and a check up and when I got the call back today for her blood results they said that her liver was elevated. I don’t know the number she didn’t say but she wants to do more blood a month from now to see if anything changes and then we will go from there. All I can think about is my poor girl now and just look things up and see what can be done and how to help but I really hope things come back better on her next test. So anybody go through this with there dogs and had a good out come?
 
I don't have any answers for you. I'd ask for a copy of the blood work results, they should be able to email it to you. How old is Brooke? If she had this done as a routine yearly, how do the numbers compare to her other results?
 
Ya I didn’t get the paper work yet she is 16 months old and the dr has blood work from when she was a pup and that’s why she wants to do it again to see if things change before we do anything... it’s just scary cause i don’t want her to have liver failure..
 
@Kaiser2016 Not yet she don’t go back till the 13th I think for another blood check and then we will see what the vet wants to do.. lucky our vet is all about Dobermans she shows them used to breed them and she does the crop and doc.. people from all over NY come to her so I know she knows what is best for us. Brooke has been herself loves her toys and playing frisbee, eats good but I just don’t know what will be our next step if blood don’t come back good 😔
 
Sounds like she is in good hands and you need to stay positive. Sounds like the vet would be familiar with copper storage disease but I would mention it anyway. I found several threads on here that talk about copper so I wonder if it could be dietary too. She's so young, and if she's acting normal, it will hopefully just be an anomaly and the numbers come back normal this time. Fingers crossed!
 
What would be a normal range? When I look it up I see so many different numbers people say are “normal”
 
What would be a normal range? When I look it up I see so many different numbers people say are “normal”
First, deep breath. Don't think the worst until you know the worst. Elevated liver enzymes could be anything and not all bad. Your Vet doesn't seem that concerned or he would have wanted to see her sooner.
I had a rescue girl that was fed an overdose of ibuprofen that nearly killed her. She went into liver and kidney failure but LIVED! And a pretty good life I might add. Keep your thoughts on the good results you are going to get on the 13th. :thumbsup:
From what I learned through my experience with my girl is this will give you a goood idea of the 'normal' range Liver-Diagram-Image-02.png
 
I had a girl years ago who had elevated liver her whole life. (Died of bone cancer at 8) but my vet at the time, who I adored, mentioned that is could be a number of causes, sometimes something simple like a sprain or ache they are experiencing. He recommended Milk Thistle capsules. I was giving her one in the am and one with evening meal, and it brought her levels to a more acceptable range, but they were never normal. She was healthy, had a million tests run, and they found nothing. So I would suggest adding Milk Thistle capsules....try to find the cleanest version, Natures Way has a good one, and I give these from Whole Foods to my kids a week before giving Interceptor (heart worm pill) and a week after to help with liver support. Best of luck, keep us posted
 

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Yes on the Milk Thistle.
Also Dandelion
But only use USDA/ORGANIC

And also these both should be given any time long term meds are used.

Because meds are either metabolized in the Kidneys or Liver.
 

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Photo by @theboxerandthebear
Steve the dog loves rolling in the grass- scratching his back, then his chin, not forgetting a onceover on the booty. He’s just busy being adorable and you’re sighing because you know Steve is an allergy sufferer. When seasons change, there’s an influx of pollens, grasses and other harmless allergens. The liver, already bogged down with daily toxins and free radicals, overreacts to these non-threating intruders to protect itself. Normally, these aren’t worth attacking but the liver is on overdrive trying to filter out foreign bodies. He scratches himself incessantly, pants, and has a greasy coat. Over-the-counter medications have become the norm but because his symptoms are so bad he’s prescribed corticosteroids too.
While Steve’s allergy symptoms have diminished, he’s also been taking these drugs on a daily basis and over an extended period of time which come with their own list of side effects. Steve’s appetite is huge, he’s always thirsty so he urinates more frequently, is restless and agitated at times. He’s even had instances of aggression, which is so unlike him. The side effects of steroids are taking a toll of poor Steve.
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As a concerned pet parent, you and Steve make a return trip to the veterinarian. Because Steve’s body is already trying to process daily toxins and free radicals, the addition of antihistamines and steroids (which we know are hard on the liver) has taken a toll. There is good news though! The liver is outstanding at rejuvenation and even better news, there’s a natural way to help it recover faster. The veterinarian prescribes milk thistle because of its ability to detoxify the liver, repairing the damage that’s already been done and protecting it from future damage by eliminating the accrued toxins. With a repaired and protected liver, Steve’s body can better-process toxins that are introduced to the body (yay, Steve!).
So, Steve feels better, and you feel better about Steve feeling better – all is well. Next allergy season you vow to be prepared. You know Steve was prescribed 225 mg of Milk Thistle daily, so the hunt is on. You find us here at Herbsmith (well done!), start reading and then scroll down to “add to cart” when the feeding instructions catch your eye. You’re thinking… hold the phone, pump the brakes, these cats are crazy! They’re recommending 2,200mg of milk thistle per DAY?! Call the pet police.
Why would we recommend 2,200 mg/day when a veterinarian recommended 220 mg for the same dog? Whyyy?
It’s actually quite simple. Two different forms of milk thistle are being referenced: whole ground seed and concentrated extract powder. When your veterinarian recommends 220mg, he or she is referring to concentrated extract powder, not the whole ground seed which is what our milk thistle product is. Extract is a very concentrated form of the active ingredient, which in milk thistle’s case, is silymarin.
So how exactly does powdered milk thistle extract come to be? Let’s break it down.

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  • Step 1: They start with 5lbs of whole ground milk thistle seed. The whole ground seed is boiled in hot water, 2-3x over. More water is added each time to concentrate the active ingredient, silymarin.
  • Step 2: Then, any cellulose fiber that doesn’t break down is discarded (what a waste).
  • Step 3: A dark soup is leftover which is dehydrated. This makes 1lb of extract powder.
  • Step 4: That extremely concentrated milk thistle powder extract is put into capsules.

This is what you’re buying when the vet recommends 220mg milk thistle extract capsules.
What’s important to remember is you need a lot less powder to get the same amount of active ingredient (silymarin) in extract form. At least five times LESS powder, in fact.
That equates to a 5:1 extract to whole ground seed ratio. Put more simply, Herbsmith’s Milk Thistle has 5x more volume than concentrated extract because the whole seed is utilized. Both have comparable amounts of active ingredient.
Why NOT extract then? As a consumer you may ask, “why choose whole ground seed if there’s the same amount of active ingredient and less powder to give my dog?”
Concentrated extract wastes parts of milk thistle that are still beneficial to Steve and dogs like him. Not using the entire seed omits additional beneficial vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants found in a whole seed. Think about it this way. When you need vitamin C you just eat an orange. A whole orange has other health benefits as well. It provides fiber, A & B vitamins, copper and potassium in addition to the vitamin C. You could also take a vitamin C tablet. Yes, you’re getting the necessary vitamin C from the concentrated tablet but you’re missing out on the other sources of vitamins and minerals a whole orange provides. That’s why we prefer to grind our milk thistle instead of extracting it into a concentrated powder. At Herbsmith, our milk thistle is quite literally ground-up milk thistle seed.
This is Herbsmith’s process start to finish.
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That’s 100% it. Steve not only gets an adequate amount of the active ingredient, silymarin, but he also gets fiber and antioxidants, that just happen to dampen any of the harshness of the active ingredient. It’s a win-win for Steve!
Other Brand’s Milk Thistle:
Concentrated Extract Capsules
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Herbsmith’s Milk Thistle:
Ground Whole Seeds
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Comparing Dosages​

Knowing that whole ground milk thistle seed has more health benefits than concentrated extract (why we use all of it), and that using the entire seed means there’s more volume, it makes the dosage recommendations much less intimidating, especially when daily dosages are compared side-to-side. It’s much more evident, in fact, that there’s simply a 5:1 extract to whole ground seed ratio.
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A 30lb dog, for instance, would receive 1100 mg of our whole ground seed per day. That would equal 220 mg of the other brand’s extract because there is a 5:1 extract to whole ground seed ratio. Both still contain 34 mg of the active ingredient, silymarin.
For those self-proclaimed math geeks curious about how we reached these numbers, this is how we calculate the amount of active ingredient in our whole ground milk thistle seed.
Silymarin Math
Put more simply, and so you have a quick point of reference:
¼ teaspoon = 550mg of ground milk thistle = 16.5mg of silymarin

The processes, tables, and math aside, the key takeaways are really quite simple.
  • Herbsmith’s Milk Thistle has 5x more volume than concentrated extract because it’s a whole ground seed but still has a comparable amount of the active ingredient.
  • Whole ground milk thistle seeds have more health benefits than the concentrated extract, including vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. That’s why we prefer to offer whole ground milk thistle at Herbsmith.
Really, whether using whole ground seed or concentrated extract (though you know which one we prefer), milk thistle is going to benefit your dog!



Herbsmith Milk Thistle

Milk thistle helps to maintain normal, healthy liver function by supporting the body from exposure to heavy metals or environmental toxins. Milk thistle also helps with healthy waste elimination from the body and supports normal hepatic function. It has also been shown to support the metabolic functioning of the liver and normal cleansing of the liver from impurities.
 
Hey sorry took so long to get back but after we went back her more blood everything checked out good and in range! I’m so happy but wish I new what it was and just to be sure the vet is going to have us come
back to do a check up in like 3 months to see how things are going.
 
I wonder if it is something young pups go through but more people don't notice because younger pups don't often get such detailed bloodwork done? :scratch:Just speculating. It would annoy me to not know as well, but another check in 3 months is a great idea.
 
So Brooke went back for her yearly check up with shots and blood work and what do you know her levels are HIGH again and I mean really high.. so she went beginning of April of last year and it was high if you guys remember us talking about it but they came back down after about a month and what do you know it is the same for this April again.. so my vet who works with Dobermans is very well know around here and I trust her but she thinks it could be the time of year for allergies or something with her cycles cause she just came out of it… we are going to do more blood work soon to see if they are going to go down again but i think I might start to put her on some medicine.. here are the levels and would love some feed back from you all and as always @strykerdobe
 

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Again, I'm not much help, but WBC being high I thought was related to fighting infections. The high ALT is would concern me too. I looked back to see if you said how high it was a year ago when you were concerned, but I don't see where you posted that. I could see the WBC being related to allergies, but not the ALT. But I'm guessing. How long does the vet want to wait to run it again for comparisons? Hoping those numbers go right back down!
 
Wow that ALT is really out of range. It will be interesting to see if they do link it to something this time of year.
 
So Brooke went back for her yearly check up with shots and blood work and what do you know her levels are HIGH again and I mean really high.. so she went beginning of April of last year and it was high if you guys remember us talking about it but they came back down after about a month and what do you know it is the same for this April again.. so my vet who works with Dobermans is very well know around here and I trust her but she thinks it could be the time of year for allergies or something with her cycles cause she just came out of it… we are going to do more blood work soon to see if they are going to go down again but i think I might start to put her on some medicine.. here are the levels and would love some feed back from you all and as always @strykerdobe

Sorry to hear they are back up. Are you giving the Milk Thistle again and Dandelion? Other than that eating ok, poop ok

There are many things that can cause Elevated Enzymes.
Also the High WBC count.
Since Dobermans are known for Copper Storage, Hepatitis
Maybe an Ultrasound is in order? Also there are so many Panels they can run.

Sorry I don't know everything. This is getting out of my pay grade.
At this point also I always say to myself its always a good idea to get a second opinion like an Internal Medicine Specialist.

Please keep us updated.
 

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