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Liver Issues

Posted: Sat May 02, 2015 8:02 am
by Chewskys
We recently adopted a 7 1/2 year old Chow chow, she appears perfectly healthy and happy however when we had her teeth cleaned her liver enzymes were 3 times what they should be. We put her on liver protectants and had her rechecked 2 weeks later to find other levels were up. They are recommending a biopsy but I am worried that the anesthetic will be harder on her already taxed liver. The vet is not thinking cancer but more likely copper storage or damage that occurred prior to our adoption. We thought perhaps putting her on a copper free diet and using milk thistle for a month to see if we can make a change, I can't find any information on Chow Chows having copper storage issues. Any advice?

Re: Liver Issues

Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 9:44 pm
by maikinda
I can't help with info on copper storage in chows but I have a suggestion about milk thistle. You might want to look into Denamarin instead of the milk thistle. It is more expensive but many feel it is more helpful.

Denamarin is a nutritional supplement used to improve your pet's liver function by increasing liver glutathione levels. Glutathione is the liver's major "detoxifying" agent. Denamarin contains SAMe, a potent antioxidant that also helps protect liver cells from cell death and may help cell repair and regeneration. Denamarin also has Silybin, the most active part of an extract from milk thistle, which acts as an antioxidant and stimulates the flow of bile through the liver to aid in the digestion and absorption of nutrients from your dog's diet. Silybin also helps with liver cell regeneration and may enhance levels of glutathione.

Hope your girl does well!

Laura

Re: Liver Issues

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2015 5:24 am
by jmoreton
I hope your girl is doing better. We had our 13 year old girl have the same issues last year. We did a sonogram done and it was liver cancer. I hope that is not the issue. We lost our little girl to it. Hope she is feeling better.