Elevated ALT Levels

CarrotTheFrenchie · May 20, 2017

Has anyone had experience with elevated ALT and ALK levels? We discovered this when she had blood work done for something else. In April, she had the following results:

ALT - 443
ALK - 120

And then last week when we retested her:

ALT - 280
ALK - 168

She seems healthy so the vet recommended starting her on Denamarin. Hoping this helps, but also curious what might be causing this. The levels aren't CRAZY high, but still high enough to cause some concern.

Her diet is fairly simple: 1/2 a cup of Orijen Six fish twice a day and a teaspoon of pumpkin with most meals. This seems to help firm up her poos. Her digestive system hasn't been the same since a long bout of Giardia!

2bullymama · May 21, 2017

Did a little reading... could be a result of the bout with giardia. Does your vet want to do blood again at any point for recheck

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turbodave · May 21, 2017

Denamarin is a " miracle" as far as I'm concerned! We almost lost our Bitty with alt over 2000! We have no idea what caused her problem but she's near normal now a few months later.

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turbodave · May 21, 2017

Oh, and don't forget milk thistle. Powdered milk thistle is an outstanding daily dietary supplement for liver health!!!!

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CarrotTheFrenchie · May 21, 2017

Just started on it today. But, I'd still like to know what is causing it. Did you ever find out what caused it for your dog? And is she still on Denamarin?

turbodave · May 21, 2017

Yes, still on Denamarin, probably will be for life. We never found the cause. I have my suspicions. After some dental work the prescribed some liquid teeth cleaner to add to their drinking water. Weeks later I noticed it contained propelyne glycol. I know it's not the poisenous ethelene glycol, but they are very close cousins.
A far stretch but I have nothing else to point to.

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turbodave · May 21, 2017

She's also been on once a week 200ml fluid injections of lactated ringers to help flush the liver. Next weeks blood test will tell if the injections need to continue.

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CarrotTheFrenchie · May 21, 2017

That's really interesting. I just realized I use EarthBrand Tooth and Gum wipes every night on her teeth. Just checked the ingredients and while it doesn't say propelyne glycol, it does list Phenoxyethanol and Caprylyl Glycol among the ingredients. I wonder if that's similar?

Honeys Owners · May 21, 2017

If you check the cleanlabelproject site, you will see Orijen Six Fish has a lot of contaminants, amongst the ten worst tested,since it is fish based. You should switch to another protein which has less contaminants, turkey was one of the least contaminated proteins for example. Dog and Cat Food - Clean Label Project

Honeys Owners · May 23, 2017

You could probably get her to drink a lot more if you mix her kibble with a lot of water just before you feed it. In the morning I mix some probiotic, salmon oil, turmeric, and acti-flex 4000 in with the dogs food and then add a lot of water, and mix it all up, and then they lap up the water and then eat the kibble which is still solid.

turbodave said:
She's also been on once a week 200ml fluid injections of lactated ringers to help flush the liver. Next weeks blood test will tell if the injections need to continue.

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CarrotTheFrenchie · May 23, 2017

How do you give the Denamarin to Bitty? They say that it needs to be given on an empty stomach an hour before she eats. But it's so hard to do that! She wonders why she isn't getting fed right away!

Just wondering if it's necessary to wait to eat.
Also, did you notice any loose stool when you first started?

turbodave · May 23, 2017

CarrotTheFrenchie said:
How do you give the Denamarin to Bitty? They say that it needs to be given on an empty stomach an hour before she eats. But it's so hard to do that! She wonders why she isn't getting fed right away! Just wondering if it's necessary to wait to eat.
Also, did you notice any loose stool when you first started?

I break the pill in half and as soon as she wakes up I give it to her. I think a whole pill is too big for one bite. I then take note of the time and wait a full hour before they get breakfast.
Yes you Must wait a full hour before food.
While she's getting her pill halves the other two get a few kibble so no one feels left out.
Didn't notice any loose stool. But they get plenty of pumpkin at each meal plus banana with breakfast.

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