Flynn 11 y/o Foxie Cross - Right adrenalectomy- Good Bye Flynny We will miss you

Ohh, sales sound nice. My friend just emailed me that she is getting a bunch of girls together to go to Niagara Falls this weekend, because a really awesome outlet store is closing, and everything is 90% off.

Arggghh, what to do. I have a cocktail party on Sunday, which is when they are thinking of going and a memorial service tomorrow I have to attend. Maybe I can figure out something for Sunday, although might want to warn the hubster as he is flying home that day after being gone all week.
Gee the problems a girl has eh.

Oh my, poor Elle, that must have been uncomfortable to have a face like a balloon, well, chin part anyway. Betcha a bee, but who knows. At least no breathing problems. Take more than a bee or spider to keep her down eh. :)

Flynn, Flynn, Flynn. do you think he picked up some fleas from your mom and dads place? hmmm..maybe you've found the guilty parties.
Course, yea the food, did you Want him to lose weight? or are you now trying to put weight back on?
Always something going on with the gang around here.

Well, I bet it would have been tempting for your vet to take some holidays with the anniversary and Labour day all happening. Oh my, did I see you say 3 weeks at Christmas!? Divine! Go for it!

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Hi Trish,
Thanks for you nice messages while I was off the site for awhile. Getting back on the usual schedule here and getting caught up with all the news on the board. It's taking me awhile to get going again. It's good to have a dog so I am getting myself up and out in the morning for our usual walk. It's gotten pretty cold which has been great for Trixie.
Sorry that Flynn has still got the itches. Hopefully more of the fleas will be be dying off. Poor Elle the cat...glad her swollen chin is back to normal!
It's always something with our furry friends!

Barbara

Hi all
Got the results.

UPC now 1.91. Which has dropped from 3.88 so that is good. I really need to google some more, the Cr level in his urine has dropped a lot, as well as Creatinine in his blood which is low at 51 (53-123), we have always thought this is good having low creatinine as with renal failure it goes high. :confused::confused: But I am not sure why his Cr is consistently low low, that is the part of the test that is putting UPC up. The protein level in his urine is the best it has ever been :D For first time his urine is dilute with specific gravity of 1.019 and it has usually been around the 1.040 mark :confused:

Anyway, ALP has shot up to 2097 (0-185)from 1367 seven weeks ago while ALT has gone down to 176 from 342 (0-75), so god knows what is going on in his liver. Well apart form the benign nodules and the past history of liver cancer!!! He is on no liver supplementation. Calcium also high at 3.15 (2.20-3.00). Chloride low at 101 (105-121), Albumin high 46 (26-44).

Anyway I have to shoot back out to parents... will do a bit more researching into these numbers tonight.

Well, I guess I would have to research it as well but it is good the UPC is down

The calcium and albium are just a bit off, dont you think? The specific gravity can bounce around if it is not first catch of the day, they had a bunch of water, etc. I think maybe we wont worry about those things unless we see it next month. What do you think?

Im sure Tina will be by with her thoughts as well.:):)

Hope you are still enjoying your vacation:):)

Hi Addy
Thanks for reply, I am not too worried about the albumin and calcium at this stage, his lab notes state that calcium is 40% bound to albumin and the mild increase seen may occur artefactually or with mild dehydration. Elevated calcium can also be seen with tumours though which does worry me.

The low creatinine could be due to liver disease, the liver metabolises creatine which we get in food and breaks it down for the kidneys to excrete. In some instances if the liver is not functioning properly there is not so much creatinine in blood and urine. It is a little weird if his liver is packing up with that high ALP then why is the ALT which indicateds actual liver cell damage so much improved?? But his creatinine level in his UPC has been trending down over the year. Normal urinary creatinine levels are difficult to interpret as the literature says that is because it fluctuates so much through the day with hydration levels.

Quite concerned about the rise in ALP over seven weeks, during that time his Benzapril was doubled and he also had the IBD flare, started the z/d antiallergy food. Gastrointestinal causes can put up ALP, so maybe???


Over this time span I have also noted a few non specific things like:

• Whites of eyes a little red at times, definitely not yellow/jaundice
• Less energy especially in mornings, better as day goes on but generally not as perky
• Runs slower on walk, still beats me though!
• He has always been a trembly terrier but noted he is twitching/jerking more, even at rest. I took this video at 3am this morning to show the vet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88pHI...eature=mh_lolz
• Panting more with exercise/stress
• Of course, his ongoing itch
• Lost weight 800g, but that might be my fault and on yesterdays trip to get meds, his weight up 300g from Tuesday and since he has been back eating his normal food and stopping the z/d

So a few things going on, I have not spoken to the vet as he has got the long weekend off,I had to pick up his meds yesterday and asked the nurse to print me out the results. So I will put all this together and send him an email for when he is back next week and then we can organise a trip to the IMS and ultrasound hopefully next week or so.

My main questions for vet are:
Sudden deterioration in ALP. ?Cause
Recent IBD flare
Liver deterioration like increasing size benign nodules, tumour recurrence
Tramadol
Recent diet changes and weight loss
Need to start liver supplement
Need to do full liver screen include AST, GGT etc
How can ALP worsen but ALT improve by 50%??
Increased Benzapril ?effect on liver?
Low urinary and serum Creatinine
Relation to liver pathology
Impact on UPC

That's all I can think of for now! xx

Sharlene, the coconut pie was yummo. I think I should have cooked it a little longer though as the base was soft. Got gobbled up though!

Hope you get to Niagara Falls, shopping is very therapeutic :D:D

Hi Barbara, lovely to see you posting :D Hope the weekend is gorgeous in NYC!

xx

Hi Trish, I think that is what happens with pies that make their own crust, it's different from if you have an actual pie crust. Softer, etc. yea, it went pretty fast in our house too. Since it's an easy one to make, I'd make it again, but it's definitely not like a regular pie.

That is a lot of twitching in that video! Although Flynn is still so adorable sleeping. Maybe the vet will have some ideas on that.

I know they say the ALP isn't as much to worry about as the ALT, but still there has to be a reason for it to jump that high, that fast.

I did some checking around and Gastrointestinal inflammation, gall bladder, kidney and some medications can lead to higher levels of ALP in the blood. I couldn't find a definite that listed Benzapril as a culprit but I think it might be a possibility. I ended up going through some human sites looking rather than canine as there was more information. Also interesting is the different types of ALP, 1, 2 and 3 from different parts of the body.

What I am thinking, is that you will feel better, over all, after you have his next ultrasound and can put your mind to rest about the liver nodules, see what the kidneys look like. It's the nature of the beast that we worry about the little buggers. :)

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Thanks Sharlene, you are a gem looking that up :D

I had looked at Benzapril too, it can cause liver problems, rarely but it still can happen and like you I have been looking at the adult sites.

Could very well be GI issues causing it, or maybe just a mixture of a few things.

I am not too worried about the low Specific Gravity for now, it was not a first pee catch but he had brekky and drunk. So I will make sure the next one is first thing.

Yes, ultrasound will be good... most likely it will have the usual long list of things wrong with him but it will be good to know that nothing like tumours causing it. But then it is nearly November, that is Flynny's worst month when we have found out about both his cancers. It is always November :(

I have spent a day in the garden, doing all the things I had promised myself I would do over my week off, well here we are and tomorrow is my last day :eek: time to get busy today!! Out for dinner soon so better go get myself presentable! Thanks again, it is reassuring to hear a voice of reason when your mind starts thinking the worst! xx

Just stopping by to say hi and give hugs. Not sure what to think about the liver values but still want to give you a hug.:):)

Hello you

Sorry I have been a stranger work has been nuts, I have been following along mind so I haven't abandoned you completely. Any word back from your vet?

How you doing? Ok I hope

Big hug, bum scratches to the wee man

Mel
Xxxxxx