sobesmom Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Diana was diagnosed with kidney disease a couple weeks ago. The vet put her on a special prescription (Hlls) dogfood, and asked us to come in for follow-up bloodwork in 3 weeks. What should we expect to see from the follow-up? I've done some research, and petitioned GT for help. I've adjusted her diet. Distilled water instead of our well water, mostly home-cooked per the kidney diet recommendations. Sneaking in some of the prescription nasty dogfood when we can, dry and canned. Also canned Senior food that fits the bill when we can sneak it in. 3 meals per day instead of 2. Fishoil caps, calcium, and vitamins added. BTW- her coat is now gorgeous. She's eating better than she has in many months. She looks great, and her energy is fine, maybe up a bit. Her hind end shaking is gone, and her death-breath mouth-stink is also gone. Am I crazy? Am I just seeing what I want to see? I KNOW kidney disease is fatal. But if the blood tests show no change, or worse, what do I do? My dog is eating better than she was before. Her coat and skin look better. She's happy and apparently feels healthy. What do I do if the blood test show worse, or no better results? I know there's no "fix". I just want my dog to be happy and as healthy as long as she can. If my efforts show bad results - do I do what the vet suggested and give her only the food she hates and won't eat? Do I go to the fluid injections Ive read about? (DH is opposed to that). Or keep on with what seems to be working? My grandma would say "You're borrowing tomorrow's troubles for today" But seriously, I need to have a plan if the blood-tests are bad on Saturday. Honestly - if the blood-test is bad Saturday, I'm leaning toward continuing on the regimen we're now on. Even if the vet disagrees. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFullHouse Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I was able to control Bullitt's kidney disease very well by controlling his high blood pressure with his meds and a kidney diet. He lived for another year and a half before he passed away from something unrelated to his kidney disease. Quote Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Can you provide the lab & urine results that led to the "kidney disease" diagnosis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carronstar Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 (edited) Am I crazy? Am I just seeing what I want to see? I KNOW kidney disease is fatal. But if the blood tests show no change, or worse, what do I do? My dog is eating better than she was before. Her coat and skin look better. She's happy and apparently feels healthy. ... I know there's no "fix". I just want my dog to be happy and as healthy as long as she can. If my efforts show bad results - do I do what the vet suggested and give her only the food she hates and won't eat? Do I go to the fluid injections Ive read about? (DH is opposed to that). Or keep on with what seems to be working? The treatment is pretty darn benign, depending on location, it can be costly but that is mostly the food and the monitoring/testing visits. My girl lasted 3 years past diagnosis (with apparently the lowest albumin level ever recorded in NYC) and I lost her to osteo. Don't look for trouble. If the bloods are good, stay the course. It sure sounds like Diana is doing better which is wonderful news. Edited May 13, 2015 by carronstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 I would wait for the blood work results. Sorry if that's not what you want to hear. Make sure they include a phosphorus level in the blood work every time. Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 If she is on a kidney home-cooked diet that is low enough in protein/phos, then there is no reason to switch to the Hills canned/kibble dogfood. My Larry has been on a home-cooked kidney diet for probably 10+ years now and his values have stayed constant. But, I'm very careful to watch the amount of protein he gets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJNg Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 "Treat the patient, not the lab work." If you're feeding a home-cooked diet that is low in phosphorus, and has lower, high quality protein, the prescription food isn't going to be any better. And there's no need to do the SQ fluids if her appetite is good and she feels good. It's still a good idea to do the bloodwork to assess the progression of the kidney disease, and include electrolytes to see if you need to supplement with anything. Mary Jane, the OP posted Diana's kidney values in this thread. Unfortunately, the values are high enough to indicate true kidney disease, not just greyhound normal: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/313121-kidney-disease-food-suggestions-help-quick/ Quote Jennifer & Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On), Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnF Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 I've had 3 dogs with Kidney failure over many years and yes, it is one of the most infuriatingly difficult diseases to deal with because one thing affects everything else in a bunch of different ways. You can't attack on every front at the same time and instead should concentrate on lessening the amount of work the kidneys have to do and also on keeping the dog from getting a sore stomach and being nauseous. I'd recommend you visit the K9 Kidney Group on Yahoo as this is a high-volume specialist list with plenty of people going through the same issues you are facing and dozens and dozens knowing what worked best for them and their dogs. Knowing what to expect, when to expect it and how to react is so important. Good luck... one week at a time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jenmm Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 Hoping to hear positive news from her vet visit. Sending good thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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