Just heard from the Vet - Maggie's blood tests from Saturday came back not-so-good.
Several months ago we were happy because her liver test values were in the normal range right across the board!
Then we tried reducing the prednisone, because long-term steroid use causes problems. Like shorter life-spans. Might get 5 years out of her if we have to go back to the old dosages.
Basically, one of her liver function values was 94 before, and 100 is normal. Then we started drawing down the prednisone, it went to 200+, we went back to the old dosage and now it is at 340. Not good. 500 or so is danger-zone and much over that indicates liver failure.
So we will likely put her back on the higher dosage for several months, at the very least. When her monthly blood test is normal for 3 months in a row, we might try to reduce the dosage again. We'll have to see.
BTW - these monthly tests are around $150 per month. Plus her meds are running me about $75/mo. Expensive dog. But I'll pay it as long as she is happy, even if not fully healthy.
