Kidney Failure

[MaryJane]

Can you provide the actual lab values for the kidney and liver tests?

 

 

[Guest scottg]

Yup.. Just got them.. They are.. Creat-7.0,BUN/creat ratio-21.

[Guest trevdog]

Hmmmm, that was what we were feeding Dallas before she got so ill. Not that it's a coincidence, but maybe you should have the vet give you some canned K/D and just feed her that and no treats either? a lot of times they will eat the canned even if they don't like the dry stuff. It's good her liver values are better. I'm still hoping she has an infection.

 

Sending your girl lots of good thoughts.

[Guest scottg]

She's at home now sleeping on her favorite chair. She got her under the skin fluids, and I gave her some blood pressure med (they said that it was high), and Azodyl for her kidneys. I just realized that they havent given me any take home antibiotics.. I know that they don't see any infection, but I'll be calling back tomorrow just to make sure - in case I should have them.. I know that she was getting them via IV.

 

She also at a healthy portion of a hamburger with all of her pills. (The vet told me to give her anything that she'd readily eat, just so that she's got some food in her..)

 

Also just looking at her paperwork... Temp 99.2, Heart rate 70bpm, regular with no murmurs. HLEA test - negative. Heartworm, lyme, erlichia, anaplasma status is negative. No protein in the urine.

 

I'll keep everyone updated. Thanks again!

Scott

[Guest trevdog]

Glad to hear she's home and at least ate the hamburger. I bet she'll feel better just being home. Do try and get some canned K/D though, it's better on her kidneys to process.

[Guest Energy11]

Hmmmm, that was what we were feeding Dallas before she got so ill. Not that it's a coincidence, but maybe you should have the vet give you some canned K/D and just feed her that and no treats either? a lot of times they will eat the canned even if they don't like the dry stuff. It's good her liver values are better. I'm still hoping she has an infection.

 

Sending your girl lots of good thoughts.

I am wondering if this was caused somehow by the food??? I mean, look at all the recalls lately! That is why I asked both of you what you were feeding. Remember a few years ago with the Melanine in the foods? A lot of dogs and cats went into Acute Renal Failure.

 

Glad to hear she's home and at least ate the hamburger. I bet she'll feel better just being home. Do try and get some canned K/D though, it's better on her kidneys to process.

Goldie prefers Purina NF or Royal Canin Renal MP. Both are wayyy more palatable than the KD, or at least most dogs think so :-))

 

She's at home now sleeping on her favorite chair. She got her under the skin fluids, and I gave her some blood pressure med (they said that it was high), and Azodyl for her kidneys. I just realized that they havent given me any take home antibiotics.. I know that they don't see any infection, but I'll be calling back tomorrow just to make sure - in case I should have them.. I know that she was getting them via IV.

 

She also at a healthy portion of a hamburger with all of her pills. (The vet told me to give her anything that she'd readily eat, just so that she's got some food in her..)

 

Also just looking at her paperwork... Temp 99.2, Heart rate 70bpm, regular with no murmurs. HLEA test - negative. Heartworm, lyme, erlichia, anaplasma status is negative. No protein in the urine.

 

I'll keep everyone updated. Thanks again!

Scott

Hey Scott! Dee here. I am a retired paramedic and vet assistant. If you need to talk to someone, or need advice over the weekend, PLEASE feel free to call me, day or night, I don't care. Got used to it in the business. My cell is (423) 244-4361. I don't mind posting this at all, as we are all family here.

 

PLEASE call me if you need me, ANYTIME, I mean it! Dee

[Guest SusanP]

How did she do during the night?

[Guest scottg]

Dee and everyone - Thanks so much for all of the support!

 

She did really well overnight. We went out a few times to pee. She's been drinking a fair amound, and I assume that's due to her condition. She had some breakfast along with her kidney meds, no issues there (just about to go to get her some KD or alternate).

 

The vet also just called to say that she is positive for a lepto strain. She said it's not super high, but it's def positive, so I'm going to pick up some ampicillin (I believe that's what she prescribed) right now.

 

I'll keep you updated.. Thanks again so much!

Scott

[duncan41]

Are her kidneys able to concentrate her urine? Is her urine OUTPUT equal to the INPUT? If the answers are "yes", ignore the test results for now and concentrate on supportive care. If she's not on Cerenia, ask for some. It will help with the nausea she's probably experiencing.

 

Having gone through the exact same thing in February (took 4 days before the internist used the word "when" instead of "if" during treatment consults/updates), I can tell you that you may never know what caused this. Suze was in ICU for 5 days was released on day 6. She has no residual effects from her acute renal failure and no known cause despite running every test in the book twice - once in the E-Vet's in-house lab and followed up by outside lab confirmations.

 

I am sending powerful, loving and hopeful prayers.

[Guest Energy11]

Sounds like the found the cause ... the Lepto. At least now, they can treat her for it, and hopefully, everything will turn out well for you both!

 

You guys are in my thoughts!

[tbhounds]

With the Creatinine that high I'm surprised she's eating at all. Cerenia or Ondansatron would help her nausea--I would ask your vet if you should have her on Pepcid too.

With Lepto usually they do recommend IV fluid therapy but, I'm assuming they feel that she might not be a canidate to be hospitalized. I have seen 5 confirmed cases of Lepto just last week It seems to a bad season ---too much rain

[Guest Energy11]

Wow... five confirmed cases!! Mine are not vaccinated for Lepto. I am careful, and in Florida, where I used to live, my vet didn't not offer the vaccine, as there were sooo few cases.

 

Sorry to hear about all the cases up there!

[Guest scottg]

It's crazy. My vet had a case last week.. which is why it was one of the first specific tests that she had sent out for Keeper.

 

Just an evening update.. She still seems to be doing ok.. I don't believe that she's any worse... Maybe a bit better. She's been in her chair most of the day (not totally uncommon for her when feeling well). She gets up to eat/drink and to go outside to pee. She's also not sleeping all of the time.. She's washing herself, alert, etc.

 

She had a bit of breakfast, she had a decent lunch and dinner, along with her pills which I wrap in those Kraft singles.

 

She's still eating the chicken and rice.. I've bought her the Science Diet K/D both wet and dry.. She just doesnt want to have anything to do with it.. I figure that I'll try and withhold the chicken and rice tomorrow... I know that the chicken isnt great for her kidneys, but I just want her to have some nourishment.. I figure that it's better than nothing at this point. If anyone has any other suggestions for a good kidney diet (something maybe available at a local grocery, since tomorrow is Sunday), I'll give it a try, too..

 

My concern this evening is that she hasnt had a BM yet today. She did yesterday afternoon at about 1:00p. Nothing since then... I'm not sure if I should be overly concerned yet.. I suppose that she really hasnt had too much in her system over the last few days (with the exception of today), so maybe it's just taking a little longer.. And maybe the rice is binding her a bit.. I'm hoping that she'll go before bed tonight..

 

 

 

 

[Guest Energy11]

Hey Scott! Sounds like Keeper is hanging in there.

 

My Goldie will NOT eat the KD. She will only eat, either the Purina NF,which my vet orders for us, OR the Royal Canin Renal MP. If you vet doesn't carry either, maybe another vet in your area does?

 

Hope you have a good day, and Keeper feels better soon!

[MaryJane]

I have had two dogs on a kidney diet and they still get meat (high quality), just not a lot of it. For my current 85lb greyhound he gets about 2 cups (more or less) of white rice with 1/2 cup veggies, and about 1/4 cup meat for his dinner. I do oatmeal with grits (about 2 cups) and 1/4 cup meat for breakfast. You do have to watch the amount of oatmeal because it has more phospherous than the grits which is one of the minerals that should be watched with kidney issues. I do supplement with calcium (not vitamin D though), fish oil, and multi-vitamins.

 

If you plan to feed homemade for any period you need to get a formulated diet from a nutritionist.

 

Good luck

 

 

 

 

[Guest lat41065]

Grouch had been having soft stools and drinking a lot therefore peeing a lot sometimes 4-5 times a night. labs showed hypothyroid and erlichia as well as decreased kidney function. we have started 400 of Doxy .8 of thyroxine and subbing 1/2 kibble with brown rice to decrease protien. he is home and happy. will retest in one month.

 

if it were me I would take my dog home as many times they decline more rapidly being in an unfamiliar place.

 

Best wishes

 

Lesley

[Guest trevdog]

Any updates?

[Guest scottg]

Hey Guys,

 

Sorry - I've been meaning to update the post So far so good with Keeper.. She's got her appetite back and she seems to be doing well.. She took two nice walks today (still not up to her normal length, though). She was trotting around a bit, so it seems like she's getting her energy back. Her frequent drinking and peeing have gone down a bit, today, too.. She also has not been napping as much as she had over the past few days. While she may be sitting or laying in her chair, a lot of the time she is awake.

 

Praying and crossing my fingers that she continues to improve. I spoke to my vet today and she'd like me to bring Keeper back on Wed for another blood test so that we can see where she's at with her levels. Hopefully they'll be down to somewhat normal levels. She's still getting her anti-nausea, blood pressure, kidney, amoxicillin, and IV fluids.

 

Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers! I'll keep updating!

[Guest Energy11]

Good update! Hope all continues to improve!

[racindog]

Keep gettin' well Keeper!!

[Guest scottg]

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm trying not to overanalyze everything that she does.. She's been laying around a lot today.. I'm not sure if I'm expecting too much.. Each night I think.. "Tomorrow she'll wake up and be her normal self!"... When she wakes up and she's not running and jumping around, I get a little discouraged. I guess I should be happy that she hasnt been going backwards!

 

We'll see what the vet has to say tomorrow. I'm also wondering if any of her medications are playing a part in how she's feeling. She's been on blood pressure meds since Friday.. I know that they can make people feel tired.. I don't know.. We'll see how her BP is tomorrow at the vets office.

 

Thanks again!

Scott

[Guest trevdog]

Glad to hear she's feeling a bit better...it may take her a few days still, all those meds can cause her to be a little off. Hoping for a good vet report!

[duncan41]

Scott, don't get discouraged. It took Suze a full 5 days AFTER the 6 she spent at the Evet to show signs that she was "back". Will pray for encouraging news from the Vet tomorrow!

[Guest scottg]

Thanks! Appt is at 1pm.. I'll send out an update when we get back!

[Guest scottg]

Hi Everyone,

 

Just got back from the vet.. She's very pleased with Keeper's progress. They ran another blood test, said that everything is looking good and that her Creat level is now 2.7, down from 7.0 (Friday). She prescribed another months worth of Amoxicillin, and supplemented that with 2 weeks worth of doxycycline. Her potassium is a little low, so she said that I can cut her sub-q fluids down to once every other day until they run out. (Should be by early next week).

 

We've got a follow up for more bloodwork in a week.

 

Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers - we appreciate it!!