Liver enzymes coming down slowly but ..

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flaxen tail

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Liver enzymes coming down slowly and she has started to put weight on and looks so good .Liphook say results still concerning though. Vet said start riding but although she tacked up fine and walked round ok she refused to go near the mounting block and looked worried, she did not want to be ridden. Got Mctimoney Chiro and she said all ok start riding as she thinks she is now over weight! Tacked up ok and walked round ok but again planted and wouldnt go near the mounting block , took it over to her and leant over her back, she put her ears back ,tail swished and moved away. Took off all tack placed my hands on her and jumped up and down ,ears back looked not happy . I did ask the vet if the liver was under the saddle area and she said too far away to worry. Now feeling stuck unless its gut related but had no reaction to girthing and shes fine to groom, so she looks good but something isnt right ,just feel stuck and shes not in season either ,any ideas please anyone , Im thinking vet but not sure what they could do.
 
My grey had a painful liver for a while. She used to lie down with her front end and stand at the back to try to relieve the pain, poor love. My Vet advised that she wasn't ridden at all until she was fully recovered.

I hope your horse improves soon. *vibes*
 
Thank you Faracat, I have asked the vet and the chiro can she be ridden and is she in any pain both said ok to ride but she is telling me no, I cant understand why I can pick up on it and they have not. I have just placed my hands on her withers and jumped up and down by her , no reaction , placed my hands where the pommel would go and tried again boy did her ears flash back and I was only putting light pressure on. I am worried now and will speak to the vet again , she hasnt shown any of the symptoms that your horse did ,hope yours is now back to health mine has been over a year of trying .
 
Yes, she's OK now.

A year is a long time, poor girl. It's worth bearing in mind that you know the horse better than the Vet, so if you are convinced that she is in pain, the Vet should take you seriously.
 
Thank you yes I hope so , vet out on call and will give me a ring tomorrow , luckily horse looks good and very happy and calm also runs around ok , yes a year is a long time trying to get her right ,hopefully almost there and nothing bad going on .
 
All three of mine had high liver enzyme levels for about 12 months, on and off. They were bloodtested every 6 weeks and the results were steadily improving until they were almost normal, and then shot back up.

I changed their grazing and hay; this seems to have done the trick as their last bloods showed they were back to normal.

Mine didn't lose weight - if anything they got even fatter as I didn't ride them at all (they were exhausted after just 10 mins in walk). I started working them again after their bloods came back almost normal, and they were still tired, but we were able to bring the fitness back up faster than the previous time when we started working them too early I think.

what treatment are you having? We had all sorts, and one had a biopsy which didn't show anything. We will never get to the bottom of the cause but I think it was either the hay or the grazing, and possibly the fertilizer/weedkiller that was used on those fields. The last ditch effort would have been steroids but I was so worried about it triggering laminitis that I wanted to hold out for as long as possible before trying it.
 
Hi CBAnglo, mine is on a liver support with milk thistle. I think hers started after we had a lot of rain and we had sheep nearby so think it was liver fluke we she was treated for ,she did lose weight and her coat looked dull over her ribs. We also had a new horse and he had a high worm count so treated him with pramox but as her count was no eggs seen I didnt worm her , looking back I should have wormed for tapes but a few months on I did the saliva test and it was negative , but I then asked for tapes to be checked in a blood test as it was positive. The reason I think she had liver fluke is because her bloods showed her bile ducts were blocked and after treatment are now clear. We almost got to a biopsy but as her enzymes are improving we are going to check her blood again, and like you say biopsys dont always show what the problem is.The hay we get from someone who supplies a livery yard and nothing has been sprayed on our grass and she is now on organic feed plus seabuck thorn and has put weight on in the last few weeks. It sounds like you are on top of it now and on the road to recovery , I dont want to use steroids either because of lami risk. Vet coming next week , its amazing how long it takes to get to the bottom of everthing and get the horse well again.
 
What do the blood treat results look like now? AST/GGT? Mine was hiding PSSM which we didn't pick up as assumed liver was the reason behind high AST.
 
Hi KatPT, her latest blood results shows AST 543 , <420 GGT 363 <49 LDH 1045 <956 GLDH 394 <362 , She is 8 yrs old not sure if PSSM is a possibility? Do these results look anything like yours at all. Im thinking she may have now got a gut problem as pain behind withers /ulcer point and I guess that could push certain enzymes up as well she is at last putting on weight in fact too much!
 
It's so hard to know isn't it? Highest GGT mine had was 600 I think, AST went up to nearly 1000 and was consistently over 600 even when GGT dropped.

Interestingly, after his PSSM diagnosis (I don't know what type, we just did an exercise test with bloods before and post exercise) and I added something called acetyl l carnitine (ALCAR) to his diet, the blood test 3 weeks later not only showed AST massively reduced but also GGT down from 117 to 51. I've now lost control of the pssm for a couple of weeks and whilst his muscle enzymes (AST and CK) have risen massively (AST over 800, CK nearly 600 at rest) his GGT liver marker has also gone up to 66.

It might just be worth discussing with your vet. Mine started napping, bucking, rearing and pinning ears when asked to trot. Id thought it was his sacroiliac hurting but vets said it was fine whilst bloods have changed for the worse.
 
Looking at her blood results again and the ony thing that has changed is the GGT which has come down from 702 to 362 all the others are much the same. I dont think she has any pssm symptoms tying up but at the beginning of all this she was reluctant to go forward planting and feeling tense. Hope you get your horse back on track , I wasnt going to get another blood test until she had finished her supplement but as the vet is coming anyway on Wednesday maybe get one to see where we are.Feel sick with fear sometimes about it. At the moment if I had a liver marker of 66 like you I would probably be pleased although I know its on the high side !
 
Yeah, after his 2 year history of stupidly high levels, 66 GGT is nothing!

Just a note, my horse has never shown any signs of tying up, never thought there was anything wrong. He had a weak canter and would pin his ears in canter, that's all I could look back on and say was odd. Mine is 10 now, had him for 6/7 years. Tension and reluctance to move forwards are big PSSM symptoms so I'd at least ask your vet and see what they say -and don't let them assume that just because yours hasn't tied up it couldn't have it.
 
Ah thanks so it is something to consider then ,got me wondering now ,will ask the vet and can then rule it in or out , I must say nothing seems to go smoothly with her always something , one of her blood results /high enzyme cant remember which one did indicate possible muscle damage , lucky I love her so so much ..
 
Probably AST it shows up for both muscle and liver issues. That's why my vets never picked up the pssm previously as we assumed the liver was the reason it was high. If your vet can rule it out then at least you'll know it's one less thing to worry about! My points AST was way higher than my friends pony who had an infected bile duct. Her ponys liver was worse but his AST was no where near the 800-1000 that mine is.
 
Mine was diagnosed with fatal liver failure 2 years ago... her readings were all higher than yours, they withdrew all treatment and said to just enjoy her until she said she had had enough. I was told she probably had 6 months to live. Happy to share her bloods with you, we tried ever treatment under the sun over 2 years of suffering and in the end like i say everyone said give up gracefully..

She also didnt like being ridden in saddle but she was fine bare back so maybe give that a try?

Roll forward 2 years, i moved yards and despite no further treatment her readings are now back to normal and she is back from the dead...! in full work and competing etc. Amazing recovery they think she was being poisoned at the old yard!

Good luck - let me know if you want any info...
 
Thank you both for your imput and replies. have been trying to think if her symptoms are like pssm and googling . It s possible as somewhere along the line I feel my mare is metabolic but not entirely sure if that falls in with ppsm, she will readily pick up her hinds but they are so heavy , she snatches her front away and wont keep them up long. She has been reluctant to do much under saddle but hoolies around in the field at times. Maybe as I keep her on low sugar feeds and soaked hay and only some grass turnout pssm has been slower to show up,again all these symptoms along with the tight muscles could be ulcers though. Just want to come through this and out the other side like you have done. I think my world would fall apart if prognosis not good but as you have both proved there is hope of a good outcome.Maybe switch the horse there was something in the grazing that didnt suit your horse at the old yard hopefully not a poisoning! I have vet tomorrow fingers crossed !!
 
Well vet has said her back is very sore and tight from her right shoulder to her pelvis so glad I didnt ride her. I have to do non ridden exercise 30 mins a day for 4 weeks and she has to lose weight ! then physio and retest bloods. Dont know why this has happened she hasnt been ridden since last year.
 
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