So...aquitaine Has Pln -- I Want To Hear About Dogs Who Made It A Long

[carronstar]

Just back from seeing the specialist. He has aggressively increased her Enalapril and Amlodipine. We are to go back next week for him to check her BP again and see if it has lowered.

 

When asked about the dental extractions that I have scheduled, he said he would not suggest that right now...

 

When we discussed the 87 day life expectancy found when one researches PLN, he said numbers were not the focus and she is already well past that 87 day mark. I pointed out that we could look at that as a bad thing.

 

He did say that her weight is good, her body is in good shape, and her muscle tone is good.

 

She is only 9.5 years old. I am nowhere near ready to lose her.

 

He is going to set up a plan and speak with my regular vet and for us to manage this. I want to know that we have time ahead of us to manage.

Edited August 21, 2012 by carronstar

[Neighsayer]

I adopted Meeka when she was 11 years old. She had been diagnosed several years before that. She almost made it to her 13th birthday. She missed it by two months. She was on the same two blood pressure meds, as well as low dose aspirin and something for her stomach. She was happy and did not act sick. She did keep losing weight, and had a picky appetite. She was happy and active til the end, but her body just kept wasting away. Don't panic! Hope you have lots of time together.

[robinw]

Carron, that sucks.

 

Please try not to pay attention to life expectancy. Nobody really knows what will happen.

[tbhounds]

Glomerelonephirtis (PLN) is not an uncommon condition with our ghs. May I ask what the UPC was? Also please consider low dose aspirin. When our hounds lose protein in their urine they are also losing in anti-clotting factor-anti thrombin 3. The aspirin will help reduce the chance of a clot/stroke. Please contact Dr Couto at OSU via the consult form for his advice with this (there's no charge).

[seeh2o]

Oh Carron.

Edited August 22, 2012 by seeh2o

[3DogNite]

Last august lazer died from a blood clot..... I revived him!

That is when I found out he had PLN. Please is alive and well today thats 370 + days later!

 

He is on plavix, enalapril, and diltiazem.

He takes a whole host of supplements for his liver, kidney, heart, blood, cellular structure, circulation. and I also slather him with essentiall oils which I believe goes directly to help support his cellular systems.

 

Through the last year I have seen his protein ...the all important albumin,,, level go from a 2.0 up to a 2.8 and is now back to a 2.4 ... his crash happened when the protein level was at in 2.0. The other very important urinalysis, UPratio, is gone from a 6.8 which is very high down to 2.4 and I'm hoping to continue that downward trend, using his supplements oils and medications

 

I have several threads I'm here about lazer and his year of beating death.

He still has a blood clot in his heart that we are monitoring via ultrasound and will continue to run blood work in urinalysis every 4 months or so but laser live each day in the moment he is happy,'smiles for treats, loves to go on walks, he hogs the bed at night, and is a happy happy boy. !!!!!

 

If you give these guys a chance to survive, they will !!!

 

I'm on my cell phone this morning so please forgive the crazy typos. please p m me if you have any questions or need to vent, or want to reinvent the wheel.

 

Lorinda, mom to Lazer, my miracle boy

 

 

[gazehund]

My spooky girl Pearl did well for three years after diagnosis. There is hope.

[carronstar]

Thank you, all.

 

Lorinda, I will PM you. I already bought the essential oils book you mentioned in Lazer's thread which I have followed since last summer.

 

I forgot to say last night that we have also added 1/4 of an 81 mg aspirin daily.

 

Thank you for the reminder to consult with Dr. Couto.

 

I am still waiting for the email with the lab results, when I get them I will post them. Right now I don't know the UPC from the test yesterday. Three weeks ago it was 1.5 down from 3+ when she had her surgery in December.

 

She has lost close to 5 pounds since we checked into the ER the morning before her surgery. However, I have no clue what a larger than softball sized fatty tumor and her spleen would weigh but I am fairly certain that the combined weight would be close to the missing 5 pounds so she is certainly holding her own weight wise.

[RaineysMom]

I have no advice, just hugs and it's good to see so many others did ok with PLN.

[tbhounds]

A UPC of 1.5 while still elevated sounds pretty good. It used to be anything over 0.5 was considered proteinuric but, with speaking to Dr Couto recenty he feels that they are now accepting higher values. FYI-my own girls's UPC is 1.5 and Dr Couto's ok with that.

[carronstar]

Thank you for that viewpoint. I like it! I am still waiting for the labs and I don't do waiting particularly well.

 

I learned a lot today about home made diet, treats, etc. I have a busy weekend ahead of me.

 

As soon as I have the labs I will reach out to Dr. Couto.

[tbhounds]

Thank you for that viewpoint. I like it! I am still waiting for the labs and I don't do waiting particularly well.

 

I learned a lot today about home made diet, treats, etc. I have a busy weekend ahead of me.

 

As soon as I have the labs I will reach out to Dr. Couto.

If you are interested in home cooking you can get a recipe designed by Dr Remillard-she's a veterinary nutritionist www.petdiets.com

I cooked for my bridge angel Kate-it was a lot of work (I don't cook so any cooking is considered work too me)-- the recipe was easy to follow and my girl loved it (she had at the time a UPC >9 secondary to an immune disease).

Keep us posted on Dr Couto's response!

Edited August 23, 2012 by tbhounds

[carronstar]

_{I will look into Dr. Remillard's diet. Thank you. Cooking won't be an issue for me...living in a studio apartment with an undercounter refrigerator will, however, present storage issues.}

[mom2four]

We found out our Jamey had PLN right after he had his amputation for osteo. With meds and proper vet care for both conditions he was with us for 27 months after diagnosis! Don't look at that 87 days , IMO it means little. Good luck with Aquitaine!

[Guest Fasave]

Thank you for that viewpoint. I like it! I am still waiting for the labs and I don't do waiting particularly well.

 

I learned a lot today about home made diet, treats, etc. I have a busy weekend ahead of me.

 

As soon as I have the labs I will reach out to Dr. Couto.

If you are interested in home cooking you can get a recipe designed by Dr Remillard-she's a veterinary nutritionist www.petdiets.com

I cooked for my bridge angel Kate-it was a lot of work (I don't cook so any cooking is considered work too me)-- the recipe was easy to follow and my girl loved it (she had at the time a UPC >9 secondary to an immune disease).

Keep us posted on Dr Couto's response!

 

Second this idea. My guy had PLN/PLE/IBD (confirmed through scope). Dr. Remillard designed a diet for him and I believe it extended his life.

[carronstar]

Thank you.

[Guest Downtownhoundz]

Oh gosh, I had no idea ! Hang in there, she'll be here for many more years and live to tell about it! XXOO

[EllenEveBaz]

Hugs to Aquitaine. My Scout was diagnosed at age 10 with glomerelonephritis and made it to age 13, having an active and happy life for most of that time. We managed with a combination of modified home-cooked diet, drugs, supplements, and acupuncture. He tolerated the enalapril well.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Sorry you're dealing with this. Do you remember my old lady Chase? I fostered her last year when she was surrendered very underweight at age 13.5. She had PLN / GN and while getting her to eat was a struggle, she lived to be 14.5 and it was actually her liver that went in the end, not her kidneys. The vet said her kidney values were very stable over time. We also did 1/4 of an 81 mg tablet aspirin per day. We were going to do the Enalapril next but her BP was good so we held off.

 

Regarding the dental extractions, I wouldn't let the kidney values deter you. Chase had a dental when her kidney values first started looking bad, but her whole mouth was rotten so she needed it, and I'm glad I did it. You want those bad teeth gone. If Aquitaine's BP is a concern then that I could understand, get that under control first. Good luck!

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

[3DogNite]

Regarding the dental extractions, I wouldn't let the kidney values deter you. Chase had a dental when her kidney values first started looking bad, but her whole mouth was rotten so she needed it, and I'm glad I did it. You want those bad teeth gone. If Aquitaine's BP is a concern then that I could understand, get that under control first. Good luck!

 

I agree with this!

If the BP is decent. If Aquitaine tolerating her other meds. and is basically healthy --- do the dental now! don't wait.

make sure they give the IV fluids throughout the dental and know that the nasty bacteria will be gone!!!

i'd give anything to get Lazer in for a dental. His heart clot is my biggest worry -- all the time. His BP is good, his kidney values are actually ok,, the clot is just a time bomb that when you introduce anesthesia --- well, i just don't want to go there.

 

keeping my fingers crossed for good results from this latest round of testing.

L-

[JJNg]

I honestly don't think that 87 day prognosis is consistent what what we see in clinical practice. Not sure where that info came from, but I wonder if the data was from a single study that collected data at a vet school or referral center where the more serious and advances cases are seen. My most recent patient was a pomeranian who was diagnosed with chronic renal failure, PLN, hypertension, and mitral valve disease at 12 years old. She made it more than 2 years after diagnosis on medication and SQ fluids.

[carronstar]

Thank you all so much! You are helping MY blood pressure to go down a bit.

 

Both the specialist and the dental surgeon are at the same facility. I made the dental surgeon aware of the current situation. He is only there one day a week and has a packed schedule and a long lead time for appointments. Hopefully, after he and the specialist talk, we can schedule something. As of this past Tuesday, the specialist did not recommend the surgery right now. I love the dental surgeon. He is board certified, the anesthesiologist is from OSU and has worked with Dr. Couto (they told me last time that they knew that would make me feel better) and he removed 24 teeth 2 years ago with no issues so once it is approved, I will schedule it. Meanwhile, we brush, put the Biodent or OxyFresh rinse in her water and muddle on.

 

I am going to make changes gradually to her diet. She has been on kidney kibble and canned since January and I will be phasing out the kibble and adding more fresh meat and home made meals.

 

I am adding more supplements as well as the essential oils that Lorinda uses.

 

Would really like to see the labs from this week so I have a baseline and know what we are working toward. We go back next Tuesday to have her BP checked and her blood tested to see how she is doing with the increased Enalapril.

[tbhounds]

As far as adding in home cooked--make sure you incorporate enough calcium to balance out the phosphorus. Dr Remillard will be able to help in that department :-)

Lucky you to have an OSU approved dentist-you'll be in greyt hands!

[Guest Adrianne]

I am just seeing this, and I'm sorry to hear Aquitaine is having trouble. More good thoughts coming to you from me, and Chevy sends his love to his half-sister.

[carronstar]

Thanks, Adrianne. Hugs to Chevy from his halfsie.

 

I now have renal panel results as of Tuesday:

 

Test Result Reference Range

ALBUMIN 2.2 2.5 - 4.0 g/dL LOW

TOTAL PROTEIN 4.7 5.1 - 7.8 g/dL LOW

GLOBULIN 2.5 2.1 - 4.5 g/dL

BUN 25 7 - 27 mg/dL

CREATININE 3.1 0.4 - 1.8 mg/dL HIGH

CHOLESTEROL 285 112 - 328 mg/dL

CALCIUM 8.2 8.2 - 12.4 mg/dL

PHOSPHORUS 3.3 2.1 - 6.3 mg/dL

TCO2 (BICARBONATE) 24 17 - 24 mEq/L

CHLORIDE 112 105 - 115 mEq/L

POTASSIUM 5.0 4.0 - 5.6 mEq/L

SODIUM 147 141 - 156 mEq/L

A/G RATIO 0.9 0.6 - 1.6

B/C RATIO 8.1

NA/K RATIO 29 27 - 40

HEMOLYSIS INDEX (1) N

LIPEMIA INDEX (2) N

ANION GAP 16 12 - 24 mEq/L

 

Comments:

 

(1) Index of N,+,++ exhibits no significant effect on chemistry values.

(2) Index of N,+,++ exhibits no significant effect on chemistry values.

 

What terrified me was that her BP has been 230 last week and 280 on Tuesday. It was 170 the day of her surgery in December and then leveled off to 140 through March and THAT was high. Her Amlodipine and Enalapril have been increased.