Worried about the blood test results

[chimaysmommy]

So Chimay went to the vet for his initial checkup on Monday, and a couple things bothered me and I was hoping that someone here could shed some light on the subject. The vet said that overall, he was a very normal bird but there were a few things on the blood test that raised his eyebrow. 1) High AST (or AFT? I have no idea what that is)...he feels like that could be from the stress of his Georgia-to-Ohio flight. 2) High creatinin (sp?) level. He said that it should be about 350, but his test results came back at about 3100! This really worried me, but he seemed calm about it. I asked the vet tech to explain creatinin in more detail, she said it is a muscle enzyme and the high level could also be related to travel related stress. Finally 3) the vet said that when looking at his red blood cells, there was something ON the cells that could indicate a parasite not occuring in Ohio. However he is optimistic because his red blood cell count was perfectly normal, and if there was a parasite present the RBC count should be low.

 

Help! I don't know if I should be worried, particularly about the creatinin level...that seems like SUCH a huge difference between where he is and what is normal. I thought that maybe if it's a muscle enzyme, that it could be from all of the playing and exploring he's been doing on the new cage, or gripping for dear life to his carrier perch while on the plane.

[judygram]

I wish I could help you but I can't, this is all beyond my grasp but Dave will be along later and he will shed some light on this for you, I am sure it is nothing to be alarmed about especially if your vet wasn't too concerned about it.

 

I can imagine that flight was very stressful for Chimay but he will get over it.

[she]

At a guess I would say it is due to the flight stress.Your vet did not seem too worried so I would be guided by his reaction.Maybe if you are still woried in a few months or you notice something wrong you could have more blood work done but I would not be too concerned.

[Talon]

The creatine is an enzyme that comes from protein. And yes, it is in direct collation to your muscles. (it is needed ti aide in muscle recovery) Your body supplies it, but it can be ingested thru diet. I can't imagine it would be from too much playing, but I don't know about birds. Do you know what his previous diet was?

[Dave007]

I really didn't know what problems creatine would cause in parrots so I called my vet and he finally got back to me. I asked him about high counts and he told me that it usually happens with young birds and he also said that it could be stress related or metabilism of foods. He said that in some situations hypertension can be present. I diidn't ask him whether a long trip could cause it. I didn't ask him if extreme activity could cause it. He already knows that very young birds play to excess. He also said that different vets have different opinions about it. He did say that most of it had to do with muscle tone.

He said that vets are concerned about high counts of creatine in 4 legged animals because it causes lots of problems in dogs and cats and it's a serious problem that concerns kidneys. He said that dogs and cats are closely monitored when the problem shows itself but they're also immediately treated too. He said the usual treatment for high levels of creatine was monitoring a bird but he also said that it's a problem that's not serious with birds the way it is with 4 legged domestic animals. He didn't give me details concerning high or low counts. .

 

"""Help! I don't know if I should be worried, particularly about the creatinine level...""

 

Only your vet can tell you whether you should be worried or not. There are no vets here so giving a medical opinion isn't a good idea. I'm sure your vet told you what he intends to do concerning the problem and if he didn't, you should call him for that info.

You should also ask him about those internal parasites that were discovered and what he intends to do. We also can't answer questions like that. Vets are the ones who deal with those types of problems. If you walked away with no medications or specific procedures that you need to do, I'll assume he wasn't that worried but only he can tell you about that.

 

Many problems that arise from well checks are not even discussed here because many people don't bring them up in a conversation but if they were, the most basic info that can be given is to stay close to your vet especially since my vet told me that different vets treat different problems in different ways. I'm gonna assume that he was referring to the seriousness or advancement of any problems.<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/03/25 18:59

[chimaysmommy]

Thank you!! I just heard back from our vet and the rest of Chimays cultures were normal. Yay! I asked them about what my next steps should be concerning the off-numbers they saw in his blood test, and they said that they would recommend simply following up in a few weeks. So he's scheduled for an appointment mid-April to have those 3 items re-checked.

[chimaysmommy]

Oh and to answer the earlier question about his diet, the breeder said that he's been eating Zupreem fruitblend for parrots/conures, veggies including broccoli, sweet potato, cauliflower, peppers, squash, beans, peas and corn, fruits including apples, grapes, banana, and mandarin oranges. He gets 1 square of birdie bread per day as well. Nuts include pine nuts (he loves those), walnuts, and almonds. I've been really trying to enforce the same diet since he came home and the only thing that I haven't given him is the squash.

[Talon]

Sounds like his has a very healthy diet. I am glad that you heard back from your vet. Seems like watching is the best bet.

 

Thank you Dave, for reminding everyone that we DON"T give medical advice as none of us are vets. All we are doing is giving opinions based on our own experiences and by no means does that make any of us experts. :unsure:

[chimaysmommy]

Thanks for all of the feedback everyone!

 

No worries I totally understand that this is not the place for expert medical opinion, but I really didn't leave the vet's office feeling like I had a conclusive status on my baby's health. I figured that if anyone would have some insight it'd be you guys!

 

They are really really nice, and the vet did the best he could at explaining things but he is from another country and his accent is extremely thick. Made it difficult to understand what he was getting at and how worried/not worried I should be.

 

Other than my being worried about the strange numbers on the blood test, Chimay is doing great! He's very lively and very easy going. I'll get some more pics up as soon as I get a chance. I'm at work now, and it's his first day home alone I wish I had a birdie baby monitor or something! Ha ha

[judygram]

He will be fine so don't worry and I am glad you followed up with your vet about your concerns and thank you Dave for your excellent advice as always.