hiriki
Well-known member
- Oct 19, 2014
- 536
- 738
- Parrots
- (Birdie - Jenday Conure)
(Kiwi - Green Cheek Conure)
(Elby - Lovebird)
(Gorou - Ringneck Dove)
Hey all.
I'm waiting for my vet to call me tomorrow, so I will have an expert opinion soon, but in the meantime I'm quite anxious and don't know how to interpret what might be going on with Elby (my lovebird). Clinically, she is acting totally normal--nothing odd whatsoever in her behavior or eating/drinking patterns. It's just that a few weeks ago during her regular wellness exam, I had her blood drawn... unfortunately, it was the first time in years, since typically the vet would tell me that they were unable to get any blood, or that her behavior was too anxious/squirmy for the draw to be safe, so I didn't have much of a baseline.
It was not a fasted blood draw, and when the panel came back her bile acid was elevated. I don't have the exact number but it was less than 100 at the time. The vet sent me home with some milk thistle extract and asked me to do a fasted recheck in a month.
That was 10 days ago, and when I called today to ask if the results had come back, the tech took a look at the test results and told me that the value was something like 180 for bile acid. Again, I fasted her this time, and it was only about a month between those two tests, and her behavior is still normal! Also, she's been taking milk thistle extract as a supplement for liver function.
I obviously am not a vet, and I am eager to hear how my actual vet interprets these numbers, but it just seems like a drastic change and it has me very nervous. Has anyone experienced something similar? Honestly, this change is so drastic that I truly wonder whether maybe they mishandled the sample?
I'm waiting for my vet to call me tomorrow, so I will have an expert opinion soon, but in the meantime I'm quite anxious and don't know how to interpret what might be going on with Elby (my lovebird). Clinically, she is acting totally normal--nothing odd whatsoever in her behavior or eating/drinking patterns. It's just that a few weeks ago during her regular wellness exam, I had her blood drawn... unfortunately, it was the first time in years, since typically the vet would tell me that they were unable to get any blood, or that her behavior was too anxious/squirmy for the draw to be safe, so I didn't have much of a baseline.
It was not a fasted blood draw, and when the panel came back her bile acid was elevated. I don't have the exact number but it was less than 100 at the time. The vet sent me home with some milk thistle extract and asked me to do a fasted recheck in a month.
That was 10 days ago, and when I called today to ask if the results had come back, the tech took a look at the test results and told me that the value was something like 180 for bile acid. Again, I fasted her this time, and it was only about a month between those two tests, and her behavior is still normal! Also, she's been taking milk thistle extract as a supplement for liver function.
I obviously am not a vet, and I am eager to hear how my actual vet interprets these numbers, but it just seems like a drastic change and it has me very nervous. Has anyone experienced something similar? Honestly, this change is so drastic that I truly wonder whether maybe they mishandled the sample?
