Nadir's Chemistry Panel

[4My2Greys]

I had blood sent to Michigan State for a CBC and Chemistry panel to be done. Unfortunately they were unable to do the CBC because the blood clotted. What concerns me is some of the levels in the chem panel. The CK level, which has a reference range of 33-152 came back as 234. From what little I've read this could indicate heart muscle problems. Coincidentally Nadir has been panting very heavy lately, even when at rest which has had me concerned. Couple that with the problems of incontinence, which I believe tbhounds said could possibly be related to a heart issue. The incontinence did stop when I eliminated fish from his diet, however it has started again just recently. How does one go about finding a veterinary heart specialist? Are there other things I should be looking at?

[tbhounds]

Try not to worry- the CK value can change within hours- if your hound was panting, pacing or shaking before the blood draw that would explain the elevation. I would repeat the chem.

Shame the CBC tube clotted--that's the techs fault- it happens.

Edited to add- have you had a urine culture done?? Your hound may have a low grade uti.

Edited May 1, 2012 by tbhounds

[greyhead]

If your pup has never been tested for TBD's, I'd do that. One of our's had intermittent panting and pain (with no discernible cause), incontinence, and thicker-than-normal blood before he was diagnosed and treated for Babesia. All those problems went away after treatment. Later he also tested positive for Lyme, which hadn't been included in the first TBD panel. These things flare up from time to time, and even treatment doesn't guarantee there won't be recurrences, I've now learned. But it sure made a positive difference for this dog, and his blood didn't gunk up the works anymore when it was analyzed.

[4My2Greys]

What concerns me is the unexplained heavy panting. He woke up in the middle of the night last night and started breathing very rapidly. This went on for some time before his breathing seemed to return to normal . This hasn't been the only incidence. He's had these episodes of unexplained rapid breathing in the past, however they seem to be happening quite frequently recently.

 

His amylase level was also on the high side at 1071.

 

He did have a urine culture done and it came back with no bacterial growth.

[tbhounds]

I assume he had a compete exam. Normal water consumption?? Sometimes the urinary incontinence will resolve after finishing an imperial round of antibotics. I know this seems to go against the grain but, antibotics may help even with a recent neg culture. There may be "bugs" deeper within the lining of the bladder not presenting in the urine and antibotics also have an ant inflammatory effect.

The panting etc does explain the ck elevation- the slight rise IMO is rather insignificant but, something to monitor.

The amylase doesn't seem to high either - lipase normal?

As far as the panting- is your hound taking any medications? Soloxine??

[4My2Greys]

He wasn't really doing any panting when they did the blood draw. The reference range given for the CK was 33-152. What would you consider high? I didn't see lipase on the list. Would it be listed some other way? He's not on any medications.

 

Greyhead, he had a tick panel run a few years ago that came back negative for any TBD. That turned out to be his corn problem He did however pick up some ticks around Christmas time 2010, so a new tick panel would probably be a good idea.

[greysmom]

Tick panel. And look into treatment for resistant TBD's, which involves a very longterm course of a specific ABs I believe.

 

And if you want to pursue the cardiologist, then ask your vet for a referral. Most won't take new patients without one. They're usually found at veterinary specialty hospitals or in private practice. This will likely be expensive.

 

Smooches for Nadir! And this for you!

[tbhounds]

I hiave seen ck results over a thousand. The slight elevation your hound had is very very minor.

It would be odd to have an amylase result and not a lipase result- they are both pancreatic enzymes - pretty much go hand in hand.

Panting could be the result of pain or a sign of stress, anxiety..... I'm going to guess cardiac disease would be low on the list.

If you check out Making Sense of GH blood work by either Dr Couto or Dr Bill Feeman (sorry couldn't get the link to work) you'll see where they mention Ghs have slightly elevated ck.

Edited May 1, 2012 by tbhounds

[Batmom]

Your own vet could start the process of checking out the heart. I'd think you could also get a CBC locally.

 

If there are many incidents of panting/rapid breathing for no apparent reason, I would get that CBC and check out heart and abdomen before anything else. A good listen to the heart, blood pressure check, and one or two x-ray views of his torso would give some good preliminary info regarding whether organs including heart are appropriate shape and size. Greyhound hearts are larger but your vet can easily find the info to gauge that.

 

Of course it never hurts to check for tick diseases but horses before zebras, KWIM? None of my dogs who had repeated rapid breathing / inappropriate panting incidents had tick disease. Rather, tumor impinging on the heart, high blood pressure, and cardiac insufficiency were the causes.

[MaryJane]

Have you had a urinalysis (first catch) to check things like the specific gravity and protein in the urine?