High Liver Enzymes and Ultrasound
Submitted by carmiesmommy on May 14, 2013 - 4:44pmJust heard back from my vet that my 13 1/2 year old had a high ALP 884. (Normal is around 150). She suggested doing an ultrasound. My question is even though this test is not invasive and he does not have to be put under to perform this, should I spend the $350 to find out if he has some kind of tumor? If it did show up, at his age, I would not opt for surgery anyway. Why do vets make us feel so guilty for not wanting to spend the money. My Carmine has absolutely no sympthoms of any kind. He is eating and feeling fine. He has the start of some arthritis in his hind legs, but other than that all is good. Looking for some bully support here pretty please......
Confirmation
I guess it is just confirmation that there is indeed a tumor. What treatment, if any, is there if a tumor is confirmed? It really is a personal decision and you certainly should not feel gulity if you opt to not do the ultrasound. Especially if it is a financial burden and the outcome would be the same either way.
My vet suggested trying stem cell treatments for MacKenzie, who is 10. They are expensive and they may or may not work...I opted NO! If he was 2 yrs old and had his whole life ahead of him I might have chosen differently, but experiments on a 10 yr old is just crazy, IMO.
Sometimes you do have to think about the cost involved. I more so now, then before.