HIGH CHOLESTEROL - Need help with food please!!

A people problem I could help with....I just didn't want to see you hanging in the wind without a response!

BTmomma

The BUN count was normal but creatine was slightly out of tolerance level by .2 points. ... He said I need to get her on a low protein, low fat diet.  

With a normal BUN and a lightly elevated creatine why does he want her on a low protein diet??  With high BUN, high creatine, and high phosphorus a dog with kidney problems needs to be on a low phosphorus diet, not a low protein diet.  Low protein can easily lead to malnutrition.

Protein does not cause kidney damage, but dogs with advanced kidney disease have trouble processing phosphorus so the diet needs to have low phosphorus proteins in order to keep the dog more comfortable.  See this site:  http://www.dogaware.com/health/kidney.html 

Here is a site discussing the causes of high cholesterol in dogs:  http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/endocrine/c_multi_hyperlipidemia

Have you had a full thyroid panel run recently?

Honestly, I would just wait and retest him in a month or so. That cholesterol level seems like some sort of lab error.  And, with the creatine only 2 points over I really would just keep an eye on it at this point. 

Don't forget -- this is a DOG not a human. 

I'm not being snarky -- high cholesterol with ALL OTHER VALUES OK -- it a non-event!  Truly -- it does *not* mean what it means in humnas!!  Only if certain other values are elevated - -and then it can be a pre-sign of kidney trouble.  But if everything else is fine -- it is a NON-EVENT.  Truly.

calliecritturs

!  Truly -- it does *not* mean what it means in humnas!!  Only if certain

      I usually agree with Callie, but where his cholesterol was so high it couldn't register on the test, I'd be concerned.  One of the causes for high cholesterol is hyperlipidemia.  The way to diagnose it is to test cholesterol and triglycerides after fasting for several hours. Did they check his triglycerides? Is he on a high fat diet?  If he has hyperlipidemia, a low fat diet and fish oil supplements are recommended; fish oil helps lower the triglycerides. Causes of hyperlipidemia include hypothyroidism,  some kidney diseases,  Cushing's, pancreatitis, diabetes, and liver disease. Jessie has chronic pancreatitis, and elevated triglycerides were a contributing factor. Low fat diets are recommended for dogs when the gall bladder has been removed because the gall bladder helps digest fats.

  Janet Rose is right about protein and phosphorus, but you should know that an elevated creatine is a more reliable indicator of kidney problems that an elevated BUN.

jessies_mom

    I usually agree with Callie, but where his cholesterol was so high it couldn't register on the test, I'd be concerned.  One of the causes for high cholesterol is hyperlipidemia

I was going on the basis that nothing else was high (and the test my vet gets -- if it *shows* cholesterol I think it also shows triglycerides if memory serves) -- high cholesterol is typically only problematic when something *else* is off too -- and the something else can be several things, but typically as a standalone value it's not a big deal if it's high.  HOwever -- if it's whacked out high I'd do some thinking about whether the dog had gotten into something it should not have, or if the test itself was invalid. 

calliecritturs

and the test my vet gets -- if it *shows* cholesterol I think it also shows triglycerides if memory serves)

   For a few years before Jessie developed chronic pancreatitis, her cholesterol was elevated in her annual blood work, but not off the charts high like Bailey's. Triglycerides weren't part of the test.  My vet said the same thing as your vet, that it wasn't anything to worry about. Jessie had a pancreatitis attack in late April of '09, and she went to Purdue in August. They ran a standard blood test, but also a separate test to check her triglycerides. It was 132, with the upper limit of normal being 120, and she had been on a low fat (4%) diet for a few months, so they were probably higher at the time of her attack. I can't say for certain, but I believe the elevated cholesterol was a warning sign in her case of a problem metabolizing fat which eventually led to pancreatitis. Since Bailey's cholesterol is so high, I think it could indicate a problem.

YOU definitely are the "bomb" when it comes to pancreatitis (and I know that's not somehting you set out to do any more than I set out to become the Queen of Mange LOL) -- this is where *your* particular experience is really helpful.  I assumed triglycerides were tested but you may be danged well right.