Need urgent advice!

[lovesonsofthundet]

Hi everyone. I have a 5 month old golden retriever and we recently got his blood work done and found out he has high “Alkaline Phosphatase”

https://imgur.com/HrbcCsP

and today he got a abdomen x-ray (he ate a piece of cloth and we wanted to make sure he completely threw it out ). We sent the x-ray to the vet and he informed us that his liver is a bit enlarged. He has prescribed a medicine but i was wondering what i can do to reduce the ALP levels.
Thanks guys

 

[justdoug]

@lovesonsofthundet What meds was he prescribed? 5 months old sounds incredibly young to have liver issues unless he ate something toxic or was poorly bred

 

[lovesonsofthundet]

@justdoug Udiliv 150 tablet and Mintoliv herbal liver tonic, this has helped decrease the alp value

 

[justdoug]

@lovesonsofthundet Okay I’m not familiar with either of these but it looks like Mintoliv is a supplement which is what I would have recommended, and Udiliv is for gallbladder stones which I guess could increase liver values? I agree with the other comment you should have an ultrasound!

 

[lovesonsofthundet]

@justdoug Alright i will proceed with that and tell that to my vet

 

[blondemom93]

@lovesonsofthundet This is a non-specific value. ALP tends to be high in puppies due to increased osteoblastic activity. Bloodwork shouldn’t be read on a value alone. What was the ALT, more importantly? And how did the vet determine the liver was enlarged? An ultrasound should have been done. A radiograph is a not a good way to determine that.

 

[lovesonsofthundet]

@blondemom93 Heres the report i got from the xray clinic and the blood work -

https://imgur.com/a/vKzXeHT

 

[blondemom93]

@lovesonsofthundet Where are you located? I don’t see ALT on the report, which is much more important to differentiate true liver damage. In puppies, top concerns of liver issues would be a shunt or toxin ingestion. I strongly encourage an ultrasound at this point.

 

[lovesonsofthundet]

@blondemom93 Located in India

 

[terryhueffed]

@blondemom93 SGPT is the same as ALT and its normal here,

 

[lovesonsofthundet]

@terryhueffed So does this mean I shouldn’t worry about it?

 

[terryhueffed]

@lovesonsofthundet I wouldn't worry too much based on these numbers. It's elevated, but not very high (in serious cases its in the thousands) and ALT (sgpt on this report) is more specific to the liver, and it's normal. Plus total bilirubin levels are normal so it's nothing acute with the liver. If I were in your shoes I'd just recheck those liver values in about a month and see how they compare. As others have said, ALP isn't specific to the liver and it might be slightly elevated for a number of reasons.

Please note, I'm a lab tech, not a vet. So I'm only looking at those lab values. Please don't disregard any other clinical symptoms like lethargy, vomitting, or decreased appetite. Those require a vet exam immediately.

Also I just saw they recommended an ultrasound, and that's probably not a bad idea if the liver is slightly enlarged. Best to catch things before they become a problem.

 

[lovesonsofthundet]

@terryhueffed Thanks for the help man! He is def not lethargic and does want to eat everything (including me)
About vomit, we had to take him with us for work (700km drive) and he def puked more than a few times but he never pukes at home

 

[blondemom93]

@terryhueffed Oh, interesting, thanks for the info. I’ve never seen that abbreviation in vet med!

 

[terryhueffed]

@blondemom93 It's an older nomenclature, I only know it from lab tech school. Oddly enough, I've only seen it in some vet clinics, I've never seen it in human medicine in 15 years. And I always have to look up which is alt vs ast (spgt vs sgot).