Liver Problems HELP

YES YES YES -- been there, DONE it **successfully**. 
 
There's actually another possibility -- the liver can become infected.  My dog actually ate something full of bacteria and he got an infection in his liver.  IT CAN HAPPEN.
 
Don't accept the liver cancer diagnosis unless YOU are absolutely sure.  The liver is the only organ in the body that can regenerate.  IT WILL.
 
If you have any idea that the symptoms just don't add up, then don't be afraid to stick your own 2 cents in.  ASK for an antibiotic -- if it is something infectious it will respond pretty quick.  Feel free to email me.  I'm actually on my way out of the house right now and just caught this -- but I'm glad to help IF I can.
 
Not every liver ailment is an infection.  And even liver 'damage' can sometimes be turned around -- has your dog been on any long term drugs that might cause liver problems??  Could he have gotten into something??  Think your own way thru it -- vets are really prone sometimes to making this sound hopeless and i"m not convinced it always is.  Liver cancer IS relentless -- and no you don't want him to suffer ... BUT give him the best chance you can.
 
Feel free to email me.  Callie at critturs dot com -- leave out the spaces and use the punctuation. 

There was no mass in the liver or in the bile duct. she is mass free. this result and based on the blood test eliminates cancer. the doctor has diagnosed her with hepatitis. hep from a) toxic source or b) immune system. since she didnt eat anything crazy, i must think it was dormant in her immune system. she is now on an anti-biotic, a drug to surpress vomiting, milk thistle, vitamin E, pepcid ac, vitamin K and one other pill i cant remember (im not at home). the vet also put her on special food, but she of course hated that. i go back on wed to run the blood/urine panels again. hopefully they will be back down. i am unsure if lucie will have to be on pills for the rest of her life. i will know more wed. thanks for the help, callie. i hope this thread helped anyone with canine hepatitis questions!

Lucie Update
 
well, after a week on medication (lots) her liver enzymes are down. but her bile level has doubled, and she is more jaundiced now. they are going to do a second ultrasound tomorrow to see if her bile duct is blocked. if they cannot determine that it is blocked (and prescirbe medication for that) they will have to a laproscopy through a hole in her stomach. if that doesnt work, then exploratory surgery. just though id update. looks like the anti-biotic helped with the enzymes, but failed to do anything with the bile problem. she is acting like her normal self. she even bit the plumber. i am sad about all this, it sucks so bad.

Welcome to idog; I'm sorry that her bile level has doubled. I hope they are able to determine whether or not the duct is blocked with the ultrasound so she doesn't need to have surgery.  It is awful when your dog is sick and you're unsure what the outcome is going to be; I've been there too. I'll say a prayer for her; let us know how the ultrasound goes.

thanks so much for writing back. the ultrasound today came back inconclusive, there is nothing wrong. !!!! so the surgery is monday. they are going to do the camera/take a piece of the liver surgery. then they will look at the piece of liver and decide whats wrong. she is still as playful and wiggly as ever. the surgery is the right thing to do, i know, but she is 14 and i hate the idea of anesthesia.  i am scared they will find cancer and we wont be able to treat her because of her hep. i will write
again after surgery, again thanks so much for your support! ps im not new to this board, lucie had a raging skin condition as well as a misdignoses of cancer a while back and this board was very helpful (this was when it was idog) both times!

I'm sorry your girl is having such problems, but isn't she lucky to have you willing to try to help her.  One of my dogs underwent anesthesia at age 14 - she's still here at 17.  Hope your girl does as well as mine did.  Fingers and paws crossed for her here.

hello everyone-
lucies surgical biopsy went well. two small incisions on her outer belly (both sides) now stitched up with a couple of stictches each. she is acting totally normally, spazzing out and ate a bowl of bran like a pig when we got home. lots of tail wagging. now she is sleeping.
 
the surgeon said her liver is too small- and it has nodules. these could be "regenerative nodules" or fibrosis. or cirrhosis. or as diagnosed by the vet, chronic hepatits.
 
i will know friday. thanks for the support. i hope this threat helps someone in the future who has to go through this.
V

I'm glad the biopsy went well and hope the results don't show something too serious. Callie and Jennie know of supplements such as milk thistle that can help the liver; let us know what the biopsy shows.

yes, she was prescribed milk thistle and ive been mixing it in the prescription diet food for the liver. she HATES it, i have to force her to eat it (balling it up and putting it in her mouth) but she is eating. also the doctor put her on ursodiol for the bilirubin. it seems to be working, she is drinking a lot more. the one thing that bummed me out was when i picked her up i asked if she had eaten, and they said "they put it in there, but it didnt look like it".
!!!! for a dog with liver problems, she HAS to eat. and it didnt seem like a big deal to them.  when we got home she was hungry, so im glad it was fine in the end.
i will definitely let you all know what the biopsy shows.
thanks again!

Again I'm going to suggest that you see a vet who does traditional Chinese veterinary medicine -- the herbs that they have for the liver are VERY good (and stronger than any regular Western medicine in this particular case).  The liver CAN regenerate -- you just have to get it treated properly. 
 
I'm not telling you to leave your regular vet nor to argue with them -- just seek extra help for this one issue.  Acupuncture does marvelous things to help support the liver and you can do SO much to help support it.  [linkhttp://www.tcvm.com]http://www.tcvm.com[/link] -- there's a locator on the left that will help you find a TCVM vet that can help you. 
 
When Foxy got sick with his liver problem I had THREE VETS tell me to put him down that it was probably liver failure or liver cancer -- and as it turned out it WAS an infection and we totally cleared it up and the liver regerated and he was FINE from that til the end of his days.  But the TCVM helped SO much.  Now he still saw the regular vet too -- I'm not telling you to walk away from your regular vet.  But truly this can help SO much.
 
Call and make an appt now and when the test results come back give them to the other vet as well -- good luck.

hi. lucies liver biopsy came back with NO INFECTION. it is not cirrhosis or cancer. it is chronic hepatits. she will continue on Vitamin K, E and milk thistle. she will also continue on SAME and the ursadiol for her bilirubin. the doctor is also testing for copper, which apparently is prevalent in terriers to cause hep, but he does not think this is the problem. the problem is not life/death anymore due to the quick move to help and the excellent medical choices the vets made. i contacted two chinese herbalist, neither of whom have called me back. lucie is doing great, she is back to normal but still emaciated. i am working on getting her to eat, but she it is slow going. her favorite foods are crunchy bran flakes and deli ham. go figure! thanks everybody!

I'm glad to hear Lucie is doing good; good luck getting the weight on her. Digestive enzymes, such as Prozyme, help but you should ask your vet before using them.