What would you do? Worried owner alert...!

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Sarah1

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Hi Guys

Need to pick your brains!

My boy was blood tested at Christmas and it showed slightly raised liver enzymes (tested as precautionary measure for something unrelated). Enzymes (GGT I think) were at 28 and top of normal level is 24 so by no means sky high. So vet advised to give him a liver tonic, worm him & see how he was & retest in 3 months time, which I did. They retested him at the beginning of this month and they had gone up 5 points. This time vet advised course of 5 day panacur guard, equitape & a week rest and the Equicell supplement which had worked for some of their other liver patients.
He was retested again yesterday and again they have gone up 5 points (they are now 38)!?!
Vet had mentioned sending him to Rossdales for them to scan etc but when he rang me to give me results he said he's already spoken to Rossdales liver expert who said she didn't need to see him at this point. She felt that as his enzymes, albeit on the increase, are still so low it would be a waste of money so has advised for him to stay on the Equicell and to be retested in 6 months time to see where we are then.
I'm not happy as I want to know what's causing this - vet has said could be viral or toxins or a number of things but to carry on working him as normal & just keep an eye out for any changes in him.
He is showing no clinical signs & is well in himself.
So I don't know what to do! I'm not really sure what I'm asking as obv it would be silly to go against vets advice & Rossdales don't thin it's necessary to see him at the moment.
Can anyone help/suggest anything that might put my mind at rest & convince me I'm doiong the right thing by following my vets advice?
I think I just feel like I'm not in control & really just want to make him better, patience in these situations is not one of my virtues!
I thought about getting a 2nd opinion but it's not like it's just my vet that is advising we leave it - one of the top animal hospitals is too! Also I can't see how a 2nd opinion will help at this stage as his enzymes are still relatively low...

Thanks - aero bubbles for anyone who made it to the end of all that lot!
 
What was it that made you have the blood test done at Christmas? Just interested as one of my horses was tested for something similar, when she has a patch of mudfever on her white sock that would not go away (vet thought it was photosensitivity caused by liver problem). Luckily her test came back clear.

Back onto your subject. If your horse is happy, sound and pain free I would follow the vets advice. But if the horse starts to show any symptoms, or discomfort be ready to get the vet back out. You have essentially had 2 opinions already, so I would follow their advice and see how you go.
 
Thanks for the reply charlimouse - at CHristmas I had the vet out to a swollen sheath but that turned out to be nothing more than him being a dirty boy!!!!
I've been watching for signs of him being sensitive to sunlight etc but he's showing no signs at all at the moment it's just his blinking blood!
 
Having been in a similar situation with one of my mares being tested for something different and liver enzymes being up (but very up). The specialist she saw put her on a very long very high dose of Enrofloxacin (Baytril) its a antibiotic. She had a intial course of three weeks and then another for a week. It cost a small fortune but she has been fine since. (I generally get a full blood profile done every 12-18months now).

If you want to know any more just shout.
 
ok, liver enzymes are the bain of my exam life............... they go up down left right circles, loops you name it! stupid enzymes

sometimes it is significant (but this is often, like the lady from rossdales says, when they are extreme increases!) but sometimes they go up because you looked at ur pet the wrong way! (not just horses, evrey animal!) so Id say if your horse is happy in itself and happy to work etc then carry on and keep supplementing if you feel it will help and just keep your vet up to date incase anything changes.
 
Hellspells - thanks for that, with the enzymes being so low we're trying to aviod drugs at the moment but I think they might be the way to go in the end as the other alternative is 6 months rest & I think that would drive us both mad!!!!
Lucy_Nottingham - thanks for your reply, you managed to put my mind at rest & make me laugh!
 
Lab results can show real variability day-to-day between a single horse and across a variety of horses. There is nothing to say, for example, that you have a slightly unique horse whose natural mean enzyme level is early 30's and you have just co-incidentally tested on days where he has shown low and high results witthin his specific normal range.

That said, one thing I would just keep in the back of your mind, is if you are insured the clock will essentially start from the date this was first flagged, and if it does turn out tto be something needing ££ spent on referrals then you will need to do that before 12 months is up.

In your situation, and assuming you are insured, I would continue to take 2 monthly bloods. If they show a conttinual rise then I would want a referral at the 8-10 month mark.

If you aren't insured then I would just follow your vets advise.

Also worth considering is feeding Milk Thistle, check with your vet first
 
ihatework - thanks for your reply. He is insured but as yet I haven't claimed as I didn't want exclusions applying to the policy if it was going to be a matter of a few hundred £ but I think I will claim in case any further work is necessary in 6 months time.
I thought about giving him milk thistle & also trying the global herbs ragaid in addition to the Equicell that he been having?
 
My horse has slight liver problems, I have always been told with her not to worm her unless I have supported her liver with a weeks worth of milk thistle and nettle tea and then to carry this on a week after worming. Worming a horse puts a lot of strain on the liver beacause of the chemicals. I maintain my mare by giving her milk thistle and nettle tea every other day and everyday a week before and after worming and so far so good.
 
My vet says one of the banes of his life are owners who insist on having something done to hurry things up because they want to do something and aren't happy unless they are, when all it genuinely needs is time for things to settle.
Both vets that have been consulted say give the horse some time which only costs your patience. Would you be happier if they gave you something that could cost a fortune and still won't give you any better results but you would feel better for being seen to be doing something?
Sometimes, time is the most precious commodity you can give.
 
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i agree milk thistle can be a good supplement to help the liver......... no idea why but it seems to help!!

Also, glad I made u laugh! always nice to put a smile on someones face!
 
Sarah1 said:
ihatework - thanks for your reply. He is insured but as yet I haven't claimed as I didn't want exclusions applying to the policy if it was going to be a matter of a few hundred £ but I think I will claim in case any further work is necessary in 6 months time.
I thought about giving him milk thistle & also trying the global herbs ragaid in addition to the Equicell that he been having?
Click to expand...

Sadly it doesn't matter if you've claimed or not at this point - the clock has already started ticking as far as insurance is concerned - not a reason to go full sail ahead with drugs and further tests though but it is something to keep in mind.

Not claiming doesn't mean you can avoid exclusions btw, everytime you renew your insurance you are asked if there has been any non routine vet incidents/visits and if you don't declare them you will probably be found out and your claim refused at a later date because one of the questions that vets are asked when they fill out a claim for is "Has the horse had anything like this and or treatment for this condition in the past".

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news :( but I know so many people who have been caught out by this. Nothing worse then thinking that you're insured and it turns out that you're not.
 
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