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  Discussion on Possible Ulcers and/or Kidney Troubles
Author Message
Member:
Belhaven

Posted on Thursday, Mar 6, 2003 - 9:15 pm:

I have a concern about my 5yo OTTB....He arrived in December VERY fat...I reduced his grain to help find his waist line. He is out 20 hours on fairly decent pasture and gets grass hay while stalled. He began DrOpping weight and then became very very thin. I have tried to increase his weight with additional hay and some higher fat products.

2 weeks ago he has appeared colicky-lip curling, parking out, laying flat out looking uncomfortable...the vet suggested Gastroguard and he has appeared more comfortable since that time until yesterday. He had a mild episode of discomfort while a vet was on the property. She pulled blood with the following results:

Urea Nitrogen 28 (norm 6-26)
Creatinine 3.3 (norm 1.0-2.2)
ALT (SGPT) 1 (norm 5-25)
Potassium 4.8 (norm 2.4-4.7)
Chloride 109 (norm 97-106)
Amylase 21

All other numbers were within normal range.

His weight seems to have stabilized but he is very unthrifty-very ribby.

The only other issue has been an abscess on his left rear that recurred a few days ago.

I was just curious about your thoughts. As usual thanks in advance.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Mar 7, 2003 - 6:17 am:

The elevated urea and creatinine are indicative of either dehydration or kidney dysfunction. The low ALT does not mean much to me and the electrolyte abnormalities are mild and nonspecific though consistant with both the disease processes I mention. When a horse has colic he frequently does not drink adequately, particularly with impactions, so dehydration is a real possiblility. Other blood paramaters might help differentiate the two.
DrO
Member:
Belhaven

Posted on Friday, Mar 7, 2003 - 1:14 pm:

The vet mentioned a further blood test and/or urine analysis...would you suggest both or would further blood be sufficient?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Mar 8, 2003 - 4:32 pm:

They may help clarify the problem as you present it. Are you continuing to have signs of colic?
DrO
Member:
Belhaven

Posted on Sunday, Mar 30, 2003 - 6:05 pm:

I wanted to give a follow up on this horse....his signs of colic subsided after the initial trouble.

Just Friday (March28) the vet pulled blood again as a follow up....I don't have the papers in front of me but the message left for me was his kidney levels are still slightly elevated.

He has had no signs of colic this time-the vet was out giving vaccinations and felt it best to do a follow up.

He suggested we monitor his blood again-perhaps every 6-8 weeks to see if the levels change.

I don't really have a question I just thought it would be helpful for others to keep this post updated as we progress.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Mar 31, 2003 - 6:07 am:

Thanks for the update, Leah. Persistant mild elevation of BUN and creatinine is occasionally seen without other signs of disease in some individuals. The question becomes how to pursue it in the healthy horse to be sure there is not some progressive disorder. Inexpensive, and important, is urinalysis.
DrO
Member:
Belhaven

Posted on Monday, Mar 31, 2003 - 7:22 am:

Thank you Dr O--I feared that was the next step-I simply dread playing "drug tester" and patiently waiting for an unknown time (somewhere less than forever but feeling close) to collect the sample!
Member:
Belhaven

Posted on Monday, Mar 31, 2003 - 12:48 pm:

OK-I just got the second blood work results (dated 3/28) faxed to me...the areas out of normal range were.

Urea Nitrogen 30 (range 8-26). It was 28 in early March
Creatinine is 1.5--down from 3.3 and within normal range
Calcium 14.8 (range 10.8-13.5). It was normal before but potassium was out of range.
CPK 343 (range 100-300)

Of course-no real question just updating.
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