4My2Greys
-
Posts
3,640 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Gallery
Store
Articles
Posts posted by 4My2Greys
-
-
Such a beautiful girl. I am so sorry for your loss.
-
-
I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this. I know that you want to believe it isn't OS and I pray it isn't, but if it is it is extremely painful and for this reason he should be on something for pain.
-
Please don't apologize for offering information. I appreciate all the help I can get as I try to figure out the damage done and how to best reverse it.
It just so happens that I was reading about this diet on that website earlier today when I was looking up information on liver disease. Is it a diet that your dog like Chase, whose liver appears to have taken a hit from his episode of rhabdo, would remain on or something to use periodically to keep the liver cleansed?
-
I'm going to talk to my vet about putting him on the denamarin.
On a positive note he only got up once after going to bed to go out last night.
-
-
BUN/Creatinine ratio 15 / 12 (4-27)
Both times was midrange, which I would take as good. Water consumption has increased dramatically since that incident. Even when getting fluids he seemed to have an insatiable thirst. I am planning to do a follow up urinalysis this Monday, which will be two weeks from the last one. I'm particularly interested in seeing what the microalbumin level is. From what I was told the test does not record a higher value than what was reported on his last urinalysis. My vet said that his actual value could have been anywhere from 30 to 500. It should have been less than 2.5. I will also ask that a protein/ creatinine ratio be done.
Tracy, thanks for the heads up about possible liver disease. I will also look into further testing for this. I may be remembering incorrectly, but it seems I've read that an episode of rhabdomyolysis can be damaging to both the kidneys and the liver. If the results of his next urinalysis and bloodwork are still raising red flags and his symptoms of increased thirst and urination continue then I will definitely be considering an internal medicine consult. My hesitation with this is the stress the two hour drive and vet visit would put on him.
Neylasmom, I have considered using a renal support supplement. I've already looked at a few. I think I'll start another thread asking peoples' experiences with them. Do you happen to know if something has to be prescribed by your veterinarian in order for HP to pay for it. The reason I ask is not only for the purpose of the renal supplement, but if indeed he has liver disease then I would want to start him on denamarin.
-
Sending lots of love and recuperating thoughts for Charlie. I hope the night passes quickly and he's soon back home again where he belongs.
-
I know you are beyond happy to have your sweet boy back home with you.
-
Thanks for thinking about Chase. While some things are better, others are not. The CPK levels are down within the normal range. However, while it was at 141,532 and he wasn't getting the fluids he should have I'm afraid it has done damage to his kidneys that he is not going to recover from. He has been off fluids since Sunday morning, but still has to constantly urinate. During the day if I am home he goes out about every hour and at night every two hours. When I'm gone to work he can't hold it any more, so I have to put 4 waterproof bed pads across the floor, and even then he manages to go on the floor. His urine also reeks of ammonia. I remember with Nadir's there wasn't much smell to it. When I got home yesterday from work I could smell the urine before I even opened the front door.
Below are the past and current bloodwork levels.
I've only listed those things that were out of range. The first entry is what it was, the second this last bloodwork.
CPK 141,532 / 658 (59-895)
AST 4,242 / 278 (15-66) HI
ALT 252 / 150 (12-118) HI
Glucose 105 / 176 (70_138) HI
Total Protein, Albumin, Calcium and Magnesium went down from within normal range to below normal.
I still can't believe this has happened.
-
I'm on speed dial--will report with any news --stay strong Barb!
Thanks Tracy. I will be checking in for any news, which must all be good by the way.
-
I'm so sorry you've lost your girl.
-
I'm so glad to know the surgery went well and he is already standing. Sending warm wishes for continued healing.
-
-
Sometimes what helps when giving fluids is to make sure his arm is straight. Often the catheter is "positional" -meaning that when the leg is bent the cath won't run. So, after hooking the line up just pull this leg straight making sure his elbow isn't bent--that should allow the fluids to flow freely. Also, make sure you are hanging the bag as high as you can-this is one case where gravity is your friend.
Your doing good-hang in there--hey maybe a technician carrier is in your future?? ;-)
Thanks for that advise. I did try to make sure his leg was relatively straight, but I guess it wasn't straight enough, because when I straightened it out more I finally got the line to flow when hooked to the catheter. Unfortunately I had to unhook him because the leg started swelling again 5 minutes into it running. I spoke with the e-vet clinic and they said I had two options. One, bring him back for them to check it out, which would be added stress for him, or two, stop fluids for now and discuss with our regular vet tomorrow if continued fluids are necessary. He has had 6 liters at this point since Friday. He had 3 Friday, 2 yesterday, and 1 today. The e-vet clinic felt that as long as he has been also drinking it is probably sufficient. For those with experience with this what do you think?
-
I've been having a terrible time with the fluid therapy. Yesterday I ended up having to take him back to the e-vet because I couldn't get the line to flow when I'd hook it to the catheter. Then I couldn't get the line unattached and was going to have to bring him in, line and bag all. Going to the car no matter how careful I tried to be, he stepped on the line and when he did it pulled the catheter out of his leg.
The vet, who was the treating vet when he was brought in last Sunday, was so nice. She came out to the car, so he wouldn't have the added stress of coming in, to put another catheter in. Even that stressed him and he was panting heavily the entire ride back home. I noticed after arriving home, him paying attention to the new catheter. he kept fussing with it whereas the first one he never bothered with. I got one liter bag in him without problem, but when I tried to hook another bag up I had the same problem I had before, the line would run when not attached, but would stop immediately upon being attached to the catheter. This morning I flushed the catheter and managed to get another liter of fluids in him. I gave him about a half hour break to relieve himself and hooked up another bag only to notice his leg, from where the vet wrap was down to his paw, starting to swell. I called the e-vet clinic back and they've advised me to remove the vet wrap, I suspected that, but was afraid I'd somehow mess up the catheter. Anyway I've removed the vet wrap and I'm going to try to get him started back on the last bag I stopped and hopefully there won't be any problems.
My biggest concern is how much permanent renal damage has this incident caused and how soon will I know that the damage is permanent.
-
I'm really sorry to hear this Robin.
I hope the amp and recovery are without complication and you have a lot of quality time left to spend with him. -
A big, big hug
for you and healing thoughts and white light for Cinnibuns. 
-
Adding more healing thoughts for Niles.
-
I took him in this morning and they ran about a liter and a half through him before the sedative they gave him started wearing off and he started trembling. His cathater was left in and I am going to be continuing his fluid therapy at home where he is more comfortable. Blood was drawn again and sent out to check CPK levels. I'll know something Monday on that.
-
I'm just seeing this now. So Sorry I missed your earlier post when this all started. When was the blood drawn for that last set of numbers? That CK is very high. My concern would be that they didn't keep him on fluids long enough and he was still processing myoglobin when you took him home, especially since he had a second episode at that vet. I'm not sure though now if you can do anything but wait it out or if starting fluids again would be warranted. Have you spoken with the emergency vet recently to talk about his continued symptoms?
I hope he turns around soon and there is no permanent damage for your boy. Rhabdo is some scary ** plain and simple.
Oh wait, because the post was edited I was confused about the timeline for this. I thought he came home from the ER 3 days ago, if he just came home I would take him back in. Have them medicate him immediately (in the car if he would handle that better) so he's not stressed out and keep him overnight on non-lactated ringers solution, plus high levels of anti-oxidants and rerun samples in the morning to see where you're at.
They/you can also give Gabapentin for pain if the Tramadol isn't cutting it.
I'm also concerned now that he wasn't kept on fluids long enough. He was given 3 liters of fluids Sunday night at the e-vet and then transported to my regular vet Monday morning where he finished up those fluids and was put on another liter of fluids and sent him home with me. We didn't have the labwork with the CPK levels until yesterday. By that time he was no longer moving stiffly and not having to go out as much so I thought he was getting better. It is probably too late, but I'm going to take him back tomorrow morning and have them run more fluids through him. I know I should probably take him in tonight, but even though I stressed to them that he needed something to calm him, afterall he was put in this medical crisis because of stress, when I picked him up he was panting heavily and a nervous mess. Then to make matters worse they were suppose to call ahead to my vet and have the report faxed over, which they never did. So when I got there they were unprepared for him and he's freaking stressing out from his night at the e-vet and now being brought there.
I had a very healthy dog last weekend and now there is a good chance I'll be losing him due to renal failure because I took him to get a bath.
-
It is terrifying. He seems much better this evening than he was last night so I'm hoping I got him to medical care quickly enough to prevent permanent renal damage. One article I read said studies suggest that there is limited time, as little as 6 hours after rhabdomyolysis occurs to prevent renal damage. We were right on the borderline of that time.
-
I don't understand all the numbers - but my heart is with you
The first number listed is what his level is. The numbers in parentheses is what the numbers should fall within. Particularly concerning are the microalbuminuria, which indicates compromise of the glomerular barrier. We will have to retest in 2 weeks to determine if the results are persistent, which would suggest permanent renal damage.
The other number that is of particular concern is the CPK or creatine phosphokinase. This is one of the measures of the severity of rhabdomolysis.
-
teri_d, thank you for sharing your experiences that Bleu had with rhabdo. I'm sorry you lost your girl at such a young age.
Knowing the potential for renal failure due to rhabdomolysis I requested that my vet check his urine for microalbumin. The results came back today from Antech for the urinalysis and Superchem panel with some very extremely high numbers. I can't post the whole report, but I will list those that are of concern.
From the Urinalysis:
Protein 3+ (NEG)
Bilirubin 3+ (NEG TO 1+)
Blood 3+ (NEG)
Microalbuminuria >30 mg/dL (<2.5)
From the Superchem:
AST (SGOT) 4,242 U/L ( 15-66)
ALT (SGPT) 252 U/L (12-118)
Total Bilirubin 0.8 mg/dL (0.1-0.3)
CPK 141,532 U/L (59-895)
Liver Disease - Questions Concerning
in Health and Medical discussion
Posted · Edited by 4My2Greys
I have a few questions for those who have had or have a dog with liver disease or are knowledgeable about it. As I'm sure many of you know Chase experienced a, what I would think of as severe, episode of rhabdomyolysis two and a half weeks ago. As far as bloodwork goes, his liver enzymes were highly elevated and protein was low. Tbhounds mentioned that I should have him checked for liver disease, which gets me to my first question. What were the physical signs that your grey had that pointed to liver disease? So far, the only thing that I am seeing right now with Chase is increased drinking and urinating.
The second question is, for those who had their dogs on Denamarin, how long after starting it did you see an improvement in the physical signs? My reason for asking this is because Chase as I've mentioned has had an increased need to urinate since the rhabdomyolysis episode. I usually come home from work now to find that he has urinated about 3 or 4 times. Anyway about 3-1/2 days ago I started giving him 400mg SAMe and milk thistle twice a day. I know many don't feel it is as good, but right now it is what I had at home. Ellen (Gt'er Ellenevebaz) is generously sending me a package she had for Chase. I'm taking Chase in this Monday for a liver function test and a repeat of his urinalysis to check his kidneys, in which I will have microalbumin and protein/creatinine ratio checked. I am hoping then that I can get my vet to give me a script for the Denamarin so the insurance will help cover it. What I am wondering is is it probable that after only 3-1/2 days taking the SAMe and milk thistle could actually make a change in his physical symptoms? The reason I ask is because today I came home to find that he had only urinated once as opposed to several times.