K9 Idiopathic Hepatitis anyone?
- Thread starter boxermom5
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Some info on the disease itself...
I still can't do this without a flood of tears, but since this site is here to help the boxer community with the many things related to our incredibly wonderful and irreplaceable friends, i feel compelled to at least try to put some info on Tenaia's disease out here before the thread is closed in case anyone needs it in the future (and I didn't find anything when I went searching this forum weeks ago).
Idiopathic hepatitis (chronic, in the dog) - this is not anything like hepatitis in a human (A, B, C, etc., all commonly from a viral cause), and of course, idiopathic means they have no idea what causes it, but it is NOT a contagious disease. It is an auto-immune disease affecting the liver, causing serious, permanent fibrosis damage over time, though can be treated if diagnosed prior to significant damage. Basically, a trigger (origin usually unknown) causes the dog's own immune system to launch a misguided attack on the liver as if it were a foreign body. The only way to diagnose this is via a biopsy (ultrasound guided needle biopsy or major surgical invasive biopsy).
The outward signs are unfortunately common in many other diseases as well. In Tenaia's case, I thought her thyroid was off balance and in need of an adjustment to her medication, as she had a dull, flakey coat, was suddenly shedding, and her fur had yet to finish growing back in after having a benign cyst removed in early April (nearly 5 months and most of the hair was still missing). She had also become very restless (pacing and panting), started dragging her hind feet when she was tired, and she was having some balance issues as well as peeing & sleeping much more than normal. Some of the other signs that are on the list (she didn't have any of them) are loss of energy, sudden weight loss, decreased appetite, bloating or pot-bellied appearance, and vomitting. The obvious, and most severe (usually in the latter stage of the disease) is jaundice of the skin and gums - since her treatment failed despite being very early with plenty of healthy liver cells still remaining, she did get really yellow inside her ears and her gums the day before she passed, though she had a great appetite, but then vomitted everything she ate. When I took her for a blood test for the thyroid, her only issue was extremely elevated liver enzymes, so the next step was an x-ray to be sure there were no tumors causing the liver issue, and since that was negative, the biopsy was recommended and subsequently confirmed the hepatitis.
Treatment consists of prednisone & SAM-e (s-adenosyl) and a no-meat diet. Other meds may be added, depending on the individual situation, though usually 2 weeks is needed to determine whether the initial treatment is having a significant affect (Tenaia lost her battle after only 4 days :'( ) and can include antibiotics, ursodiol, lactulose, and potentially diuretics to intravenous plasma transfusions.
So, there it is. Hopefully, no one will need the info, but at least it is here now.
Thank you all for your support ~ it truly is of some comfort & very much appreciated.
~ I love you sweet girl and miss you so very, very much. Life will never be the same ~ 'Til we meet again at the bridge my beautiful
...run with your sister & be there for me when I come ~ Mommy
I still can't do this without a flood of tears, but since this site is here to help the boxer community with the many things related to our incredibly wonderful and irreplaceable friends, i feel compelled to at least try to put some info on Tenaia's disease out here before the thread is closed in case anyone needs it in the future (and I didn't find anything when I went searching this forum weeks ago).
Idiopathic hepatitis (chronic, in the dog) - this is not anything like hepatitis in a human (A, B, C, etc., all commonly from a viral cause), and of course, idiopathic means they have no idea what causes it, but it is NOT a contagious disease. It is an auto-immune disease affecting the liver, causing serious, permanent fibrosis damage over time, though can be treated if diagnosed prior to significant damage. Basically, a trigger (origin usually unknown) causes the dog's own immune system to launch a misguided attack on the liver as if it were a foreign body. The only way to diagnose this is via a biopsy (ultrasound guided needle biopsy or major surgical invasive biopsy).
The outward signs are unfortunately common in many other diseases as well. In Tenaia's case, I thought her thyroid was off balance and in need of an adjustment to her medication, as she had a dull, flakey coat, was suddenly shedding, and her fur had yet to finish growing back in after having a benign cyst removed in early April (nearly 5 months and most of the hair was still missing). She had also become very restless (pacing and panting), started dragging her hind feet when she was tired, and she was having some balance issues as well as peeing & sleeping much more than normal. Some of the other signs that are on the list (she didn't have any of them) are loss of energy, sudden weight loss, decreased appetite, bloating or pot-bellied appearance, and vomitting. The obvious, and most severe (usually in the latter stage of the disease) is jaundice of the skin and gums - since her treatment failed despite being very early with plenty of healthy liver cells still remaining, she did get really yellow inside her ears and her gums the day before she passed, though she had a great appetite, but then vomitted everything she ate. When I took her for a blood test for the thyroid, her only issue was extremely elevated liver enzymes, so the next step was an x-ray to be sure there were no tumors causing the liver issue, and since that was negative, the biopsy was recommended and subsequently confirmed the hepatitis.
Treatment consists of prednisone & SAM-e (s-adenosyl) and a no-meat diet. Other meds may be added, depending on the individual situation, though usually 2 weeks is needed to determine whether the initial treatment is having a significant affect (Tenaia lost her battle after only 4 days :'( ) and can include antibiotics, ursodiol, lactulose, and potentially diuretics to intravenous plasma transfusions.
So, there it is. Hopefully, no one will need the info, but at least it is here now.
Thank you all for your support ~ it truly is of some comfort & very much appreciated.
~ I love you sweet girl and miss you so very, very much. Life will never be the same ~ 'Til we meet again at the bridge my beautiful
...run with your sister & be there for me when I come ~ MommyImportant note, but missed out on edit timing...
I forgot to mention, in April, her pre-surgical full blown lab panels showed no abnormalities or elevations whatsoever (except her thyroid, which was expected as she had been dosed that morning just before going to the vet).
I forgot to mention, in April, her pre-surgical full blown lab panels showed no abnormalities or elevations whatsoever (except her thyroid, which was expected as she had been dosed that morning just before going to the vet).
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