[hvtopiwala]

Ok this might be a long post...

background info: my guy is 14 months old, and is fed a raw diet. he is on fluoxetine 30mg and trazadone 100mg. he is also on trifexis. he weights 70 lbs.

my guy had been vomitting randomly for a few days and started losing his appetite last week. by wednesday he refused to eat. he went in for his annual checkout on thursday and during his blood work it revealed his liver levels were completely off the charts and unreadable. they sent it to an outside lab and got the results back on saturday and it was extremely high. the vet gave him 1 treat at the office and within 5 minutes he immediately puked it up. he referred us to a specialty clinic here that performed an ultrasound/xrays. they revealed he has an abnormally small liver and his entire GI track is inflamed. they tested for pancreatitis which came up negative. he spent saturday night at the specialty vets office to control his vomiting, and to give him IV fluids/meds. he has no diarrhea or anything so i was shocked to find out his entire GI track was inflamed.

they are running several tests now including Lepto, Salmonella/other bacteria, Liver Function Test, and more Pancreas tests. they said it will take a few days to get the results back to figure out what is causing the small liver and GI inflammation.

They have him on hills I/D canned food for now, 2 antibiotics, panacur, and an anti-nasuea med. we are also tapering him off the trazadone and fluoxetine just in case that is interfering (but both vets said its highly unlikely).

have you guys seen anything like this? any ideas what the issues could be?

 

[Mary Beth]

If you have any of the raw food you feed him left over, you may want to ask if the vet would like to test that. Is it possible it could be food poisoning.

 

[hvtopiwala]

hmm ok, yeah i still have quite a bit of it left over. can the vet actually test raw meat for contaminants?

i can understand the food poisoning causing the GI inflammation, but what about the small liver problem?

 

[BowWowMeow]

There have been lots of adverse reactions to Triflexis reported. I wonder if this is related.

 

[hvtopiwala]

hmm, didnt know about that and none of the vets mentioned it. is it something that can contribute to the GI tract issue and the liver issue? he receives the 60lb-120lb dose and he is roughly 70lbs.

how can they test to see if the trifexis is contributing to this?

 

[Mary Beth]

To test the food, if the vet thinks that is necessary, it probably would need to be sent to a state or local health lab. If it was raw meat, that can be a source of salmonella. For the trifexis, again your vet would know, and if it would be better if it was stopped and then see if the liver improves.

 

[Twyla]

How long has your pup been on flouxetine? One of the possible side effects of the drug is liver function. Per the vet and other documentation the highest rate of liver issues began in the first 3 - 6 months with the highest around the 3 month mark. Woolf had several blood tests those first few months to monitor for this, now down to yearly.

As a side note; if your boy just recently changed from Reconcile to flouxetine, there is a small possibility since Reconcile isn't what he is currently taking the brand company make pick up some of the cost for treatment.

 

[BowWowMeow]

Why is your dog on the flouxetine?

And the vet would not necessarily pinpoint the triflexis as it is very new.

I think Twyla's got it though: "Dogs on fluoxetine for long-term should have liver and kidney enzymes checked regularly as long-term use can cause damage."

Read more: The Side Effects of Fluoxetine for Dog Behavior Treatment

 

[hvtopiwala]

he is on fluoxetine for si anxiety issues but they are weaning him off just in case that was causing it. he is on it for roughly 2 months now. he is completely off the trazadone as of this post.

the doctor called me today to say the bile test results came in (still waiting for the other 2 tests), and it showed the liver was not function properly. she wanted to do a byopsy of the liver and also wanted to check if he has a liver shunt. she also wants to put him on lactulose to flush out ammonia and also a low protein hills prescription diet food....

what do u guys think of all this?

i dont mind takng him off raw food and putting him on a low protein food but i know there is much better out there than hills prescription food. is she going the right way in this?

 

[Mary Beth]

I would go with the Hills food for now since the issue is the protein content, then if he needs to stay on this type of food, I would look into other choices. Of course, if he turns up his nose at the Hills food, then I would consider other choices right away.

 

[hvtopiwala]

yeah imma put him on the hills food for now, but definitely want to switch to a higher quality food with low protein if thats going to be his new diet..ive been doing reserach though, and there is nothing conclusive about low protein diets in dogs with liver issues.

 

[BowWowMeow]

Are you giving milk thistle, SAMe, anti-oxidants, etc? Supplements would be far more important than a low protein diet because they can reverse liver damage.

In terms of food, you want to choose a high-quality (preferably organic) diet since low-quality food will just make the liver work harder. Here is an example of a home-cooked diet to support the liver (from a highly reputable source): Liver-Friendly Diet

Personally I would use a different oil than canola.

You should pm LisaT She knows a lot about supplements for the liver. Fortunately it is something I haven't had to deal with (yet).

 

[hvtopiwala]

i havent started milk thistle or anything yet, im waiting for the vet to call me tomorrow so we can talk about finding out if he has a liver shunt or some other liver abnormality but i do want to add that into the mix...