Elevated Kidney And Liver Functions

[Guest vthounds]

Hi - So my 13.5 year old Katie has been giving us "trouble" for several months now... Since, I'd say about late spring, her eating habits have dramatically changed. My very food-motivated gal no longer wants to eat commercial dog food. It started off where we could get her to eat "doggie McDonalds" (the cheap stuff), and then only canned... and now maybe some kibble if we hide it in something else, but often times not. So basically, we've started cooking for her - which is exhausting and not all that rewarding because the last few days even *that* hasn't been good enough - while we try to figure out what is wrong. She's had bloodwork/urinalysis done, and an ultrasound. Kidney and liver values are too high (not alarmingly so, but still), and her thyroid was too low. Ultrasound showed tumors on her adrenal gland and liver, which did not appear to be cancerous. We upped her thyroid meds and added a combo of milk thistle/dandelion to her pill routine (she's getting a ton), and just did a recheck of bloodwork/urinalysis. Kidney and liver values are a bit higher now but the thyroid seems to be okay. The vet says she's got beginning stages of kidney disease, and we're not sure if that's all it is, or if her kidneys are acting funny because of something else (need to schedule recheck of the ultrasound). Maybe cancer, but they don't think so at this time... Maybe Cushings but she's apparently not showing any signs (I know nothing about Cushings)... Her back legs are getting weaker and weaker for some strange reason - granted, she doesn't like to walk as much as she used to but I think her muscles are getting a little too weak too fast - but she is still a happy girl who gets *really* excited at the prospect of eating (until she sees what's in her bowl) and going for a walk (though she'll only go a half-block).

 

Everyone says you can manage kidney disease with diet, but as her eating is so strange these days, I wonder if we are making it worse? We're basically giving her some sort of protein source (egg, chicken, beef, tuna) with couscous and carrots because that seems to be what we have the most success getting her to eat. Then she takes a Pet Tab, calcium pill, fish oil, glucosamine, Vitamine C and E, thyroid pill, her herbs, and her Chinese herbs which are supposed to keep her neck pain-free (she's also doing accupuncture).

 

Any thoughts? Are we feeding her a kidney-worse diet?!

 

Thanks!

Debbie

[Burpdog]

What exactly are the readings?

 

At her age, I'd feed her whatever she will eat. Most of them seem to want things in spurts: meat, then grain, etc. CORE is a good food because it is higher in protein and low enough in fat.

 

Try chondroitin for the weak legs. The two I recommend are Fresh Factors (prefer) or Cosequin.

[silverfish]

What Chinese herbs is she getting, and who prescribed them? Some Chinese meds will cause kidney/liver damage - but people use them because they are 'natural' or 'herbal'. Well, arsenic is natural, and digitalis is 'herbal' but it will still give you a heart attack if you eat a foxglove.

 

Old greyhounds do often go weak in the back end, and your girl is a very old greyhound. I wouldn't worry too much about that in itself, although it's worth getting a vet to check her for lumbo-sacral stenosis which can be treated, or at least managed. It could just be weakening muscles.

 

Can I ask about the state of her teeth? Sometimes people opt not to put an old dog under anaesthetic for a dental, believing that the risk isn't worth it in terms of health benefits, but the bacteria from a dirty mouth can enter the bloodstream and - yep, you've guessed it - cause liver and kidney values to skyrocket, and eventually damage those organs.

 

Katie maybe has more than one thing going on here, with the tumours on her adrenal glands as well - by the way, one cause of Cushing's is adrenal tumours. Personally, I'd ask if she could be referred to a specialist to try to pinpoint exactly what is going on, and talk through the whole thing with them, Chinese herbs, teeth, tumours, weak back end and everything. There are 'general medicine' experts at the vet schools here, as well as individual specialists, although your vet can advise you on who to see.

 

I would also feed her whatever she will eat. Sometimes variety is the key with older fussy eaters. Try stinky foods too, in case her sense of smell is poor.

 

Good luck with finding out what ails your sweet girl and getting some treatment for her.

[Guest vthounds]

Hi - She is taking Yan Hu Suo Zhi Tong Wan tea pills that her Eastern/Western vet gives us (she is getting accupuncture due to accute neck pain which was actually causing hind-end weakness. But now her neck appears to be feeling better though her legs are getting weaker). As for her "numbers", I'll give you the ones the vet designated as "high." Please keep in mind that I know not what *any* of this means!!

 

Urea Nitrogen is 35 (was 32 on 8/16), Alkaline Phosphatase ws 486 (was 273 last time), Amylase was 1190 (1201 last time), GGTP was 178 (79 last time), Hematocrit was 60.8 (58.4 last time), Urinalysis pH was 60 (I think the vet wrote "914" as the figure last time but that can't be right), Protein 3+ (also 3+ last time), and Microalbuminuna of >30.

 

We're trying to get some weight on her and get her comfortable/stable before winter hits - she had a hard winter last time, and I can't imagine this year will be any easier. Especially that week of -0 days we get in January...

 

Will call tomorrow to schedule her ultrasound to see if her tumors have changed at all...

 

Thanks so much!

Debbie and Katie-the-Old-Lady

 

Oh - I forgot: Teeth actually aren't bad. We had them cleaned earlier in the year, when her fussyness started - the vet thought maybe she wasn't eating because of a toothache, but that wasn't the case. And we're meeting all the local specialists due to Ellie's cancer (Katie now goes to our "normal" vet for Western treatment and Ellie's vet [Eastern/Western] for accupuncture and to either confirm or question what the Western-only vet is saying/doing... Adding the ultrasound specialist is just another layer...

 

Thanks!

Debbie and Katie G

[Burpdog]

What is the creatine?

 

As I said, at 13.5 I'd feed her what ever she wants. You may consider learning how to give her fluids when the time comes. Her BUN doens't look that high for her age.

 

I've had quite a few with 3+ protein and no symptoms of anything. We ignored it.

 

Ask your vet about Quiet Digestion made by Health Concerns. Very good combination of stomach meds.

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

My Kona was diagnosed in partial renal failure after she became progressively more difficult eating. We're working with a renal specialist and dietitian at Angell Memorial. The most important thing is to keep her eating. If possible though, keep the amount of phosphorous low. When she was refusing dog food, I was making her a recipe from the dietitian. It had approx. 10 cups of rice to 1 lb. of meat. It was amazing how much she perked up when we started treatment.

[silverfish]

I've had quite a few with 3+ protein and no symptoms of anything. We ignored it.

 

Renie has proteinuria at the moment. Few weeks ago 3+, now 2+. She seems perfectly healthy and after talking it through with the vet, I'm going to run a kidney profile blood just to be on the safe side, but he's not concerned. If the blood comes back clean, we'll ignore it, too.

[patricia]

Sending our many prayers. Angel Queenie was our renal babe and at times we threw the renal diet to the side and went for Arby's. She adored Arby's and when she refused everything else...we knew that we could get her to eat that.

[Greytlady94]

Sending prayers for Katie.

 

On food and the older ones...whatever works, whatever they will eat.

[feemandvm]

Urine protein sticks have a lot of false positive results in concentrated urine so take the findings with a grain of salt. If you want to know if the urine protein is "significant"... then ask for a urine protein creatinine ratio. A value of >1 is abnormal and should be discussed.

 

 

[Guest vthounds]

Katie's creatin is 1.6 and BUN/creatin ratio is 22. I guess the vet is more concerned about the liver than the kidneys, and most concerned about the protein in the urine. Ultrasound #2 is scheduled for Friday - we'll see if those two tumors have changed shape at all. For now, she's snoozing on her new Old Lady Katie bed (egg crate dog bed)... she didn't eat well today at all, but last night she ate a hamburger plus 2 cups of food... She'll eat - but only if it's what she wants... Grrr!

 

Debbie and Katie G.

[feemandvm]

Ask for a "urine protein creatinine ratio". If the test is <1 then you don't need to worry about the protein in the urine (or the microalbumin). What was the concentration of the urine (urine specific gravity)?