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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Wiley's Liver numbers - very high.
| Hi everyone, Well I got the numbers today and I am in shock. they are so high!!! When we had them tested in July, everything was fine. ALKP 4481 AMYL 5239 LIPA 18685 I started with the liver cleanse diet on Saturday and we have started tapering the meds. I am so worried now. I know the liver can heal itself, but these numbers are so high. Will they numbers start dropping after the meds are stopped or does it take a while to start? Thanks for reading. |
| Lisa CT |
| Lisa, The liver really does heal itself. The numbers will drop when the meds are stopped. I was in your place not long ago. Keep calm. I put Buster on Milk thistle along with diet and he is now off all meds and his liver is looking great, along with everything else! Sometimes the cure causes some nasty side effects, but if that's all we have as a cure, well, we do what we have to do and just pray. Good luck to you both. Ronda and Buster |
| Ronda Illinois |
| Lisa, The very high liver enzyme numbers are an indication that the liver is processing the prednisone. As it does this, cells are destroyed and new cells are made to replace them. These numbers are showing that. No, it isn't necessarily a good thing and my heart aches for you as I know you are very worried. I remember when Chance's alk phos was over 8000. The high normal is around 212. It is pretty scary. And he was very uncomfortable. I never thought he would return to normal. But eventually his numbers came down to the normal range. The liver replaces itself with new cells. Unless there was liver disease of some kind prior to this, most likely you will see the same return to normal. There are no guarantees, and I am not a vet, but it seems to be the case with most of these dogs on high dose prednisone. The essence of milk thistle, silymarin, is the element that assists the liver rebuild new cells. Sam-E is another supplement that also assists this process. When liver enzymes are very high, it is important to get the highest quality of these supplements. Milk thistle esp. can have wildly variable potencies depending on how it was processed by the manufacturer. Thus you will find milk thistle for $1.50 at the dollar store and find the veterinary supplement Marin costing a whole lot more. Denamarin is also a veterinary supplement that combines the essence of milk thistle, silymarin and Sam-E into a potent combination. This is what I used for Chance to assist getting his liver numbers back to normal. At his weight of near 100lbs, it was very expensive but I felt it was worth the cost. my best patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
| Lisa, I should also have noted the high lipase. This is an enzyme often related to the pancreas that can be very high due to the prednisone. It is a good idea that you are going onto a liver cleansing diet. Low fat right now would be very appropriate. Make sure you discuss this with your vet. my best patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
This thread was discussed on 29/11/2010
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