My dog's pancreas levels are high. Did eating before blood work cause it?

Pancreatitis is a "spectrum disease" meaning that inflammation of the pancrease, which leads to high levels, can cause anywhere from no clinical signs to severe life threatening signs. We treat symptomatically, so if he is having no signs I would just leave him alone and give his normal diet. You can recheck the values in 2-3 weeks to see if they have come down. Good luck with Jeter.

No, pancreatic enzymes in the diet would not elevate AST. AST is usually use as liver disease marker, however elevation in AST can be also seen in heart diseases, pancreatitis, diseases of the muscles, kidney problems, trauma etc. AST of 94 is only a mild elevation, so repeateing the blood test in 2-3 weeks would be a sensible initial approach.

The elevated wbc count is common with both inflammation and infection of damaged tissues and although should be monitored is not abnormal given recent pancreatitis. An ultra low fat but not calorie restricted diet is generally considered best for recovery, liquid recuperation supplements are also very helpful as the gut recovers

Hi, I am sorry to hear Fox is having these problems. If she has had pancreatitis once before, it is a possibility she has it again, as some dogs can get chronic pancreatitis. If her Amylase and Lipase are very high, she can have pancreatitis. If you want to know for sure an abdominal ultrasound is the next step. This can be done at some regular vets, or a speciality facility with the Internal medicine department. If your dog is not acting right, I suggest doing this test. Her hematocrit should be rechecked in 48 hours roughly to see if it is dropping. If it is holding steady, I would be less concerned. If it is dropping, there may be a blood disorder or a cancerous tumor that is bleeding internally. 32 is just on the low end. I strongly suggest rechecking her blood work if she is not getting better and getting an ultrasound. Your vet can tell you how to go about getting this. Good luck, and I hope Fox gets better!

Pancreatic lipase can be falsely positive in case of gastrointestinal problems of different nature than pancreatitis. If the levels are elevated with a snap test you should ideally ask for a quantitative test (which gives you a specific number and it is more reliable to evaluate). My questions would be: why she was tested the first time? what were the signs? and was an ultrasound performed at all? What kind of liver damage she had? No, the stress of the trip to the vet cannot raise CPLI levels. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Just because a Lipase is elevated does not automatically indicate that a dog has pancreatitis. Serum lipase and even amylase can increase with multiple other causes, not just pancreatitis. This is why it is difficult to diagnose pancreatitis based on these levels alone. If Diesel is symptomatic for pancreatitis with these values, I would have additional testing performed to help confirm pancreatitis. I would even consider an abdominal ultrasound if possible. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hello. I assume that you were unable to hospitalize Ceaser, or do any advanced bloodwork past the heartworm test. Did your vet offer to do x-rays? Difficult breathing & sneezing blood is not a good combination of symptoms. This could be an indication of a lung problem ( bacterial, viral or fungal ) of something going on in his sinuses or nasal passages ( infection, inflammation, neoplasia or foreign body ). Try offering him warmed foods, such as FreshPet, or cooked hamburger & chicken. Besides water, try meat based low sodium broths & stocks. Your veterinarian has medications that might help his appetite such as mirtazapine & Entyce. Please consider hospitalization in the hopes that a more thorough work-up will uncover what is affecting Ceaser & then the proper therapies & treatments can be started to get him feeling better. I hope he is well soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.