4My2Greys Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 (edited) I have a few questions for those who have had or have a dog with liver disease or are knowledgeable about it. As I'm sure many of you know Chase experienced a, what I would think of as severe, episode of rhabdomyolysis two and a half weeks ago. As far as bloodwork goes, his liver enzymes were highly elevated and protein was low. Tbhounds mentioned that I should have him checked for liver disease, which gets me to my first question. What were the physical signs that your grey had that pointed to liver disease? So far, the only thing that I am seeing right now with Chase is increased drinking and urinating. The second question is, for those who had their dogs on Denamarin, how long after starting it did you see an improvement in the physical signs? My reason for asking this is because Chase as I've mentioned has had an increased need to urinate since the rhabdomyolysis episode. I usually come home from work now to find that he has urinated about 3 or 4 times. Anyway about 3-1/2 days ago I started giving him 400mg SAMe and milk thistle twice a day. I know many don't feel it is as good, but right now it is what I had at home. Ellen (Gt'er Ellenevebaz) is generously sending me a package she had for Chase. I'm taking Chase in this Monday for a liver function test and a repeat of his urinalysis to check his kidneys, in which I will have microalbumin and protein/creatinine ratio checked. I am hoping then that I can get my vet to give me a script for the Denamarin so the insurance will help cover it. What I am wondering is is it probable that after only 3-1/2 days taking the SAMe and milk thistle could actually make a change in his physical symptoms? The reason I ask is because today I came home to find that he had only urinated once as opposed to several times. Edited March 12, 2015 by 4My2Greys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I can't answer your second question, but I can tell you that I have been doing a little reading on liver disease in my search to find out what is going on with Zuri and I have read that it is not uncommon to have drinking/peeing as the only sign of liver disease early on. If I remember what I read correctly, you need a large amount of liver damage (I recall reading 80%) to see the more serious symptoms like jaundice. And I did read that until you have that severe permanent damage the liver can often heal itself, although that may pertain more to situations where you have something like a medication causing the disease and you stop the medication. But this was an acute incident so I wouldn't be surprised if you might see him improve. I know this isn't particularly helpful. I found a good bit of helpful info just googling "liver disease in dogs". I always go to the peteducation and petmd sites, and usually check Merck as well, but I found a lot of useful info on canine epilepsy sites because liver disease is often a side effect of the anti-seizure meds. Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyTzu Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Denamarin is OTC and usually available for a reasonable price on eBay. Hope it helps. Quote Wendy and The Whole Wherd. American by birth, Southern by choice. "Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!" ****OxyFresh Vendor ID is 180672239.**** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I think it's a stretch that the milk thistle and SamE are making that much of a difference that quickly. The liver can heal but, it takes time. When is the last time you gave IV/sq fluids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4My2Greys Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 I know this isn't particularly helpful. I found a good bit of helpful info just googling "liver disease in dogs". I always go to the peteducation and petmd sites, and usually check Merck as well, but I found a lot of useful info on canine epilepsy sites because liver disease is often a side effect of the anti-seizure meds. Jen, if you haven't already checked this out it has a lot of good information. http://www.idexx.it/pdf/it_it/smallanimal/vetlab/catalyst/diagnosing-liver-disease.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4My2Greys Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 I think it's a stretch that the milk thistle and SamE are making that much of a difference that quickly. The liver can heal but, it takes time. When is the last time you gave IV/sq fluids? Sunday, March 1st was the last time he had IV fluids, so I don't think I should have still been seeing the frequency and amount of urination I have had. So you wouldn't expect Denamarin to work so quickly? I'll see how today goes, hopefully his liver, if that was what is causing the polydipsia and polyuria, wasn't damaged that badly and those signs are starting to diminish and it just happened to coincide with me giving him the SAMe and milk thistle. He definitely drank less water from yesterday morning to this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieRhea Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 i can't answer most your questions but have to tell you this, i started my GSD on SAM e the other day for her alzheimers. Next day her thirst increased dramatically and she was peeing a lot! I stopped the SAM e and she is not drinking as much. It just was too coincidental to me. Not sure if it is related. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP_the4pack Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 The first greyhound I lost was to liver disease. She developed ascities (bloated belly). Her liver enzymes were fine but when they did the liver function tests they were so far off the charts they were almost unreadable. The only thing I noticed before the ascities set in was that she seems a little tired for a 5 yr compared to her 6 yr old sister. She passed away at 5. (this was 1999) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Had another thought--SamE is also used with people is a mood stabilizer. Wonder if he has been more anxious since the episode and is now feeling more relaxed and in turn is drinking less? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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