Last Friday was Maggie’s yearly wellness exam and testing. Maggie is now almost 12 1/2 years old. She has lots of lumps and bumps on her and one on her right shoulder has grown quite fast so I had my vet do a fine needle aspirate on it. The results on that are “friendly” epidermal inclusion cells. Yay!
Had a geriatric blood panel drawn on her. She had some elevated liver and pancreatic enzymes which my vet was a little concerned about but also didn’t indicate liver disease. I, of course, instantly think the cancer might be spreading as I have read that STS goes to the liver and lungs. She prescribed Denamarin for her (silymarin/milk thistle) and recheck blood in a month.
She also found that Maggie has a Grade 2/3 heart murmur. Maggie does cough a little bit now and then and this could be the cause of that. Again, I was instantly thinking lung mets when I would hear her cough. She’s been doing it now all winter. NOT a lot but…
I told her about Maggie’s lack of stamina these days and how a 15-20 minute walk really seems to tire(or sore?) her the next day. She stated she may have the start of arthritis coming. Based on Chloe’s recent update, being a rear leg tripawd too, I am probably sure that is what is going on with Maggie too. I didn’t x-ray her. She also stated that the heart murmur could be part of the cause of less stamina.
Her urinalysis, fecal, heart worm and Lyme tests were all negative. 🙂
So, I left there thinking I need to review all of this with Maggie’s homeopathic vet, Dr. Charlie Loops in NC. So I made an appointment for a phone consult.
Here’s his take (I emailed him Maggie’s test results):
Dr. Loops said Denamarin OK for her liver but in Maggie’s case he feels milk thistle would do just as well and a lot cheaper. And could use Milk thistle long term.
He said her numbers are really not a problem. He said the GGT liver number is even an unreliable measure in people. The ALT number not all that high. I told him the number of last year and year before as a comparison. The one number that is really high is Lipase, which is a pancreatic enzyme. He asked me if she is showing signs of pancreatitis, like vomiting. I said no.
He said if her cough progresses than yes, an issue, but if it isn’t (it is not) than all is OK in his mind. He also isn’t terribly concerned with her heart murmur. He said she is 12 1/2 and things get more constricted in the valves, etc. He did say it would be good to give her CoQ10 to support her heart and to give her 60 mg. per day.
I asked about the Hawthorn berry as I read that is good for the heart. He said it is ok, an herbal diuretc..doesn’t know if she needs it but it won’t hurt her.
I told him about her lack of stamina and not able to handle much for walks anymore(the day after she is mopey and seems maybe a tad sore based on her balance). He says it all sounds normal to him based on her age and her being 3 legged. He did ask me if I had her on a joint product. I said oh yes.. He figured I had but wanted to be sure.
So, he isn’t going to change her cancer homeopathic remedy protocol.
Put her on the Denamarin and recheck blood work in a couple months.
After Denamarin put her on milk thistle long term.
He sees nothing that points toward cancer progression 🙂
I feel better…I have an aging 3 legged dog that just needs less walking, more doting on and a couple new supplements.
Here’s a couple photo’s I took of Maggie….as you can see she’s getting grayer – like the rest of us, I guess!
Tripawds rule!!
Mom, this is MY blog - why is little rug rat sister in MY blog?
Well, that’s all from this neck of the woods…keep on hoppin’…even if just a little slower these days…
