# Lepto vaccine and liver damage?



## elem8886 (Sep 19, 2012)

Okay, bear with me everyone - this is going to be a bit long and rambling 

Has anyone heard of or had their own dog experience liver damage as a result of the Lepto vaccine? Tika has had some liver troubles that we first noticed about two weeks after her Lepto vaccine that was given last year on September 27. Now, the Lepto vaccine could be a coincidence but we have never found another cause and it is my belief that the two are related - she did get pretty mopey after that vaccine and I did report that to her vet at the time.

October 10, when Tika had her pre-dental blood work done, she had really high liver enzymes (off the top of my head, ALT was about 700 points above normal range) and low platelets/elevated wbc's. She wasn't showing any symptoms of liver problems but given that spoos can be prone to chronic hepatitis her vet and I decided to do an ultrasound (done by a specialist, no abnormalities found), and then a round of antibiotics and Zentonil Advanced (SAM-e and Silymarin).

I was away for the first two weeks of November but when I got back she had more bloodwork done (great improvement, but ALT still elevated by about 150 points) and a liver function test (normal). 

Given that I had never had prior bloodwork done on Tika, thus no baseline to compare to, and that she had never shown any sign of liver problems the vet and I discussed options and Tika has been on milk thistle and Denosyl since. I also did heaps of research on different kinds of liver problems and best practices for treating/living with each. I changed up her kibble (not red meats, not high copper, lower carb, etc), I added probiotics and digestive enzymes, she gets turmeric, ACV, and coconut or olive oil, she gets cartilage/joint support, and I soggy up her food for each of her three meals. (Some of those changes were liver related and some were a result of cancer worries and post-amputation concerns. It's been a nerve-wracking and expensive year but Tika has taken it all in stride and is doing fine. )

Before her amputation surgery this year her ALT was 1-5 points above the normal range but I imagine that the anesthesia and various pain medications before/after surgery could have caused some liver damage. Since she has had no symptoms and, for now, we are only doing bloodwork every six months I won't know her current numbers until mid-September. 

With Tika's liver troubles I'm concerned about her upcoming vaccines - Rabies, and then Bordatella and Lepto. She won't be having the Lepto again - since her amputation we don't go anywhere/do anything where she is likely to be exposed to it so it isn't worth it to me or her, especially if it is related to her liver troubles.

After that long ramble - do you have any experiences with liver damage and Lepto/other vaccines?


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