Liver problems. Any experiences?

[Balibee]

Long story so I will try and summarise!

My gelding started suffering from persisant scouring. Normal poos but scouring before and after poo. He was well in himself, no weight loss/condition/performance etc just scouring. I wasn't happy so had vets out for a blood test.

It came back slightly low whiteblood cells, high liver enzymes. Normal I have been told is around 80-90. His were 170. The vets sent them off for further tests which showed no significant loss of liver function. I was given a liver supplement and also put him on milk thistle with a further bood test booked for 6 weeks time.

My best friend noticed one day her mare had a very small amount of scouring. Again normal poos. Normally you wouldn't even think anything but with Wally's problem she called the vet and her bloods showed exactly the same so vet thought viral.

Wally's 6 week check showed white cells back to normal but enzymes no different, if anything slightly higher, but again he is so well in himself! Bi Laterals again showed no loss of liver function

My friends mare is having her second bloods done next week so is likely to show the same.

If Wally's next result is the same he will have to go in for Biopsy.

Has anyone on here had anything like this? Did your horse have a biopsy? What were the results?



It is horrible not knowing

Please could you share any of your experiences.

Thankyou

 

[Martymoo]

Hi ya,

I know what you are going through I am having a nightmare with my horse at the minute and has been going on since October !
His blood test results are through the roof and have been going up since october but to look at him you would not think anything was wrong. He is having another blood test tomorrow so fingers crossed they have improved. He had a biopsy just after christmas and its not too bad the vet did it at the yard but it did cost a lot. He has also had a course of steriods which I think brought on Laminitis three weeks ago, its just one thing after another. the vet thinks it is a virus that has caused it and is on supplements and totally rest.
If I can help any more just let me know. Have a look at some loder posts on here there are a couple of really helpful comments.
Fingers crossed every thing will clear up with your horse. fingers crossed for all of us

 

[MrsMagoo]

Very interesting...I to am going through the same thing at the moment with my nearly 2yr old colt. First tested back in Oct/Nov as people mentioned he was very quiet etc so was just meant to be a routine health check. Anyway bloods taken and as above showed very high liver levels and white blood cells etc, after a few further test a biopsy at the vets was done.

This showed some degree of liver disease but also signs that it was regenerating. He was then put onto a liver supplement for approx 2 months. In Jan we an intensive worming programme then a few weeks later a follow up blood test was done, now this showed the levels had gone right down to normal...he had also changed in himself and was more 'normal' and lively!!! Yay you would think....

Soooo now to Mar - did another blood tests just to keep track and this time it has come back sky high again?? Vet was convinced it was wrong so got the lab to re-test again...still really high, prob higher then before. Vet is now thinking it may be an actual gut problem instead now.

We have done another intensive worming session and had bloods taken this morn....so will be interesting to see whether the wormer brings it down??

Its strange now as he's not lathergic (quite the opp) and looks very healthy etc...vet is very confused!! I'm convinced there is something going around.

 

[Balibee]

How Weird mrs Magoo!! Keeping my fingers crossed for you. It is so frustrating!

We are now waiting for my friends mare to have her bloods on tuesday!

It makes you wonder though how many horses out there have probably got high liver counts but you wouldn't think anything was wrong!

 

[Balibee]

Hi ya,

I know what you are going through I am having a nightmare with my horse at the minute and has been going on since October !
His blood test results are through the roof and have been going up since october but to look at him you would not think anything was wrong. He is having another blood test tomorrow so fingers crossed they have improved. He had a biopsy just after christmas and its not too bad the vet did it at the yard but it did cost a lot. He has also had a course of steriods which I think brought on Laminitis three weeks ago, its just one thing after another. the vet thinks it is a virus that has caused it and is on supplements and totally rest.
If I can help any more just let me know. Have a look at some loder posts on here there are a couple of really helpful comments.
Fingers crossed every thing will clear up with your horse. fingers crossed for all of us

Bless you I am keeping my fingers crossed for you too Awful having all those other problems on top of the liver

 

[thundersprite]

i have a year long battle with my mare but shes now made a good recovery and is starting to be brought back in to work,
my mare under went a scope for ulcers as was getting stressy, drinking mad after exercise got very girthy , and would be fine one min then expolde the next and went down then last time i worked her , vet thought behavioural to sttart with as she had a bad start in life then ulcers, but when scoping her stomach was full of bile, she also had scans and a belly tap which showed her liver,
tim brazil was great as it was a while before we found a treatment to help her as her liver wasnt functioning vet described it as just sloshing around in there,
in the time she had antiboitics daily for a month which never changed any thing, 90 steroid tablets a day which also didnt change any thing, she started to loose weight and although a finer welsh cob looked like a tb with a really bad coat
she under went 3 liver biopsys but they never found the cause only that there was no fibrosis but if treatment didnt work soon thats what the vets felt would happen as he also got newmarket vets to look at test results, she was also on yea-sac to help digestion, low dose mag ox milk thistle and vi-sorbin
the thing that got her liver functioning was a human blood pressure tablet that was used to lower her bp to help open up vessels in the hope to help her
hepatosyl 4 tablets a day
and enalapril maleate 22 tablets