Blood work "abnormal"

I took Turbo for his annual checkup. They recommended blood work. He had blood work once before when I first brought him home in October 2010. The vet called and left a message on my voice mail and asked me to call back "sometime this week" which makes me think it can't be too serious, but she said "blood work came back with some abnormalities." What could it be? I'm stressing out and can't call until tomorrow when they come into the office.

Turbo is a big gentle giant of a pug. There is nothing different about him. He sleeps the same and plays the same. He looks great and the vet even said during his checkup that he is "the perfect example of how a pug should look."

Should I be worried all night?

I'd tell you not to worry before you need to, but you're going to worry anyway. It could be anything, and it may be as simple as a level at the low end of the normal range and they want to retest in 3 or 6 months. Try not to worry too much and let us know when you call tomorrow!

akc0104 wrote:I'd tell you not to worry before you need to, but you're going to worry anyway. It could be anything, and it may be as simple as a level at the low end of the normal range and they want to retest in 3 or 6 months. Try not to worry too much and let us know when you call tomorrow!

Yep, just what I was thinking.

If she said to call later this week, that makes me think it is not an emergency.

I know you'll be calling first thing tomorrow though! Good for you on getting his bloodwork done. Can't believe how many people never do this for their dogs.

All my animals--young and old--dog and cat, get annual blood work and annual fecals. And sometimes things come back off. I no longer freak out cause sometimes things just do come back wonky and it doesn't necessarily mean anything, but is something I keep an eye on and sometimes retest in a few months to see if it's still off or has changed.

Blood work covers a ton of things, Tarrington and so it could be almost anything. So I can't speculate on what it could be.

Here are some good links on understanding canine blood work:

http://www.hshv.org/documents/Understanding_Bloodwork.pdf

http://www.bichonfriseusa.com/caninebloodwork.htm

I had a dog once whose bloodwork disclosed a liver problem. She had to be on a restricted/special diet, but lived for 10 more years after it was picked up. I hate hearing anything problematic about medical tests (for me/family/pets - doesn't matter, I hate it) but usually it isn't anything terrible. Hope you get some answers and that you can rest a bit easier once you get them!

I am a huge freak out person... that's just the way some of us are!! Its OK, you will do what you need to...let us know so we can support you

ocnside wrote:I am a huge freak out person... that's just the way some of us are!! Its OK, you will do what you need to...let us know so we can support you

Yup, that would be me! I freak out on the inside - nobody can tell that I'm freaking out though - I am the epitome of calm to the world. My mind always goes to the worst possible scenario and I have to use every skill that I have to unravel it to the rational thought. Ugh!

So I called first thing this morning and spoke with my vet (that I have had for almost 2 years consistently and really getting to understand her style, which I like). So here is what came back:

UREA - BUN: slightly elevated. Normal tops up at 9.8 and Turbo's is 10.3. The Creatinine is "normal" and she said this may be nothing or the start of something, but nothing to worry about. We will test again in 2 to 3 months.

Potassium: Turbo's is 0.4. She didn't tell me what normal is but said that 0.4 is slightly elevated. Again, will test in 2 to 3 months.

Overall, the vet said that Turbo could just be slightly dehydrated and this could have caused it all.

The good news is that CBC, liver and Electrolytes are all normal.

I love that beast of a dog! I took this picture of him yesterday sleeping. His ears crack me up.

Yeah--those are all only marginally outside the high end of normal so I wouldn't be freaking on that at all. I've learned that blood work, while useful, needs to be read with a cautious but skeptical eye. So many things can change blood work including vaccines happening within a few weeks of blood work, time of day, when they ate, what they ate, etc, etc.

Could be a touch dehydrated, could be nothing. I'm with Blanche, the barely abnormal highs don't scare me (too much). That being said, I know how the word "abnormal" can raise a pugmom's pulse rate by about 100 beats per minute. Take a deep breath, give Turbo a hug from me, and then give yourself a hug from me.

I agree with the others, it could easily be nothing. If I remember right, I remember one of my vets saying a diet high in protein can cause elevated BUN. My best friend's dog had a slightly elevated BUN and it was perfectly fine a month later.

My doctor likes to remind clients that bloodwork is simply a snapshot in time.