Why did my old dog have vomiting, seizures, and high liver enzymes?

I am so sorry for your loss of Gitane. From looking at the values, her age, and the symptoms, I would be concerned about a bad liver infection or liver cancer. Those liver values and granulocytes are really high which happens most commonly with cancer. Poison is less likely. I hope this helps give you some closure. Hang in there. Hugs!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry for the loss of your dog Nancy! I see the blood work you attached. Her liver values (AST and ALT) and her kidney values were elevated (BUN and creat). I agree that a toxin is most likely the cause in a dog Nancy's age, even if she didn't contact the toxin the day the seizures started. Another possibility is something infectious, like Leptospirosis though they usually do not seizure. I have seen increased liver enzymes secondary to seizure activity (from the elevated body temperature and muscle activity). Again I am sorry for your loss!

I assume when you say liver enzymes you mean ALT? There a few enzymes we look at and elevation in 1 value makes us consider different causes then elevation in another. ALT elevation is caused make liver cell injury and leakage of enzymes in to the bloodstream. As the liver sees all the blood of the body it can be quite a reactive organ. So the question is whether the liver enzyme is up because of something wrong with the liver/vessels to liver themselves (such as an infectious or inflammatory cause (hepatitis) or a shunt (more common in younger dogs)) or something the liver is responding too (toxicity, disease of over organs). Unfortunately all parts of sago palm are toxic to dogs with the seeds (nuts) being most toxic. And it can be quite challenging to know if this is the cause. If it is sago it depends on the degree of ingestion as to how severe the case is. Unfortunately the treatment for this is supportive as you have been doing. The values may continue to increase or hopefully may plateau off and remain mildly elevated or decrease again. Ultrasound will help to rule out other things going on in the abdomen, assess the liver for changes in texture (although a liver can appear normal on an ultrasound and not be functionally normal), and sometimes identify a portosystemic shunt. After the ultrasound then sampling either first by fine needle aspirate or with a biopsy (needed for many cases of hepatitis, some other issues) can be performed. Checking platelets and clotting times should be performed prior to liver sampling in patients whose livers are not normal to decrease the risk of bleeding from sampling. As shunts are more common in younger animals , if this is suspected, additional imaging may be recommended prior to sampling as ultrasound will not identify all shunts. There is also a disorder called microvascular dysplasia that can be found in the liver. This is best diagnosed by liver biopsy and the sample sent to a pathologist who specializes in liver pathology. I hope this has helped and not confused you more. It sounds like your vet has taken the appropriate steps thus far and has recommended the next best steps to try to rule out some other causes. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Charlie. He could have many things going on due to his age. Possibilities include toxin exposure, infection, heart problems, neurologic problems, endocrine/hormone problems, kidney/liver/gallbladder disease, cancer, etc. I would advise taking Charlie to your veterinarian right away to get him assessed. Your vet can gather a history, perform an exam and then advise a diagnostic/treatment plan based on their findings. Possible tests include fecal/blood/urine tests, x-rays/ultrasound. Once a diagnosis is made a treatment plan can be implemented. Good luck with Charlie

I would strongly recommend to have his bile acids ran to see if his liver is functioning properly. I would also recommend to have an abdominal ultrasound with possibly liver biopsies by an experience ultrasonographer or radiologist so you can find out more information about his liver. This could be due to a toxin that you are unaware of, copper storage disease, cancer, a bacterial infection or something else. I think more diagnostics need to be done to determine the cause and therefore the best treatment for him. I hope this helps!

Hello. I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved pet. He, unfortunately, suffered a severe cardio-pulmonary event, either from the presence of heartworms, cancer, or severe cardiomyopathy. He was probably sicker than you realized, & also sicker longer than just the past 6 weeks. We all try to do the best we can for ourselves & our pets & sometimes we just run out of time to do anything. I know you feel bad, but you have to be honest with yourself & know that even if you had the money, he may have been too sick to do much for him. If you loved him with all your heart up to that last day, then he had a very good life. Please accept my condolences on your loss. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I'm sorry to hear that Goldie is feeling so unwell. Thank you for attaching his blood results. They do show signs of liver disease (high ALT, ALP). Low albumin can also be tied to liver disease, as the liver is responsible for making albumin. A low creatinine value is less of a concern than a high value. Some possible causes of elevated liver enzymes may include infection, toxicity, liver shunt, liver mass, or chronic hepatitis. I would suggest an abdominal ultrasound and a bile acids test as a next step. If Goldie is still vomiting and feeling unwell, he may also need to be hospitalized back on IV fluids again to restore his hydration and energy. I hope this helps, and that Goldie is feeling better soon!