Laci Diagnosed With Kidney Failure

[Jakemedic]

Hello,

Have read this site for years, never really needed to post. My sincere gratitude to the members here for creating such a wonderful place to read about what ails and some fantastic fun stories about our beloved pets. My bride and I have rescued these loving and gentle creatures for better part of 20 years. Our first two, Belle and Luci (sisters from same litter) crossed the rainbow bridge nearly 8 years ago now. After Luci died, my bride came home with Laci. She is a black broken leg girl. I openly admit I wondered why would you bring home another one so quickly after Luci died, but she quickly fit in. After Belle died, Laci became an our dog. She loves her heated blanket in the winter time, her food, her walks and most importantly our love. Recently we noticed that she wasnt eating her hard food (unless prompted with a piece of something else) and had a noticeable drop in weight. We took her into the vet thinking it was time for a dental and she would be good to go again. We recently relocated and were recommended to the vet by my sister in law.

 

The vet was quite familiar with Greyhounds, which is a good thing. We drew bloods and she got her shots updated. We scheduled the dental for Monday, and doc said she would call with her lab results later yesterday afternoon.

 

When she did call, it was not quite what we had expected. It turns out that she has tick borne disease, even though we had treated her in the past for it. The last vet didnt run tests for tick borne diseases, just heart worm. That, looking back at the phone call, was the least of her worrys. The vet said that she has renal failure. In comparing her labs from the previous vet (which were elevated for dogs, but for greyhounds within normal limits) these were off the chart! Vet said we needed to cancel her dental for now and come in today to discuss treatment and to what extent. Our goal is no heroics, (i joked with my bride no doggy dentures), keep her comfortable and happy as much as possible.

 

I spent most of last evening looking here at forum posts from others that went through this. Apparently it is quite common. What I did notice however is that most of the posts were quite old, generally 8-12 years old. I thought I would start a new post regarding kidney failure, and share our experiences and look to the group for ideas, recipes and general words of wisdom. At this point Laci has a HUGE appetite (we went and got her some good canned food earlier in the week. She is experiencing lots of thirst, and quite clear urine though, which appears to be two of the more common symptoms of kidney failure.

 

I apologize for the Hemingway novel for a first post, but would like to draw from the wisdom and experience of others who have found themselves in the same situation. Thank you and may God Bless our wonderful animals.

[cleptogrey]

Felix has kidney disease due to both Lyme and anaplasmosis. He is on a low protein diet and PECID a.c. and zofran(for nausea). If your dog can eat a renal rd diet, go for it! Mine can't since he has chronic pancreatitis as well, so it's boiled chicken and rice. Any low fat kibble with carbs to lower the protein #s seem to result in excessive urination, a sign that his kidneys are stressed. His crit and billiruben are off the charts. This has been going on for nearly a year. Prior to that ph was off and the signs of start of Kidney disease. It took around a year to progress.

 

Due look up IRIS KIDNEY DISEASE CHARTS, a vet friend told me about it. Very informative. It's water, lower protein and from what I have been told raw green tripe as well as renal diets that may help. Felix loved the green tripe, but it affected his pancreas.

 

I have been told me 6-8 months is all he has left. But he is still going....must be the rice which is all water keeping him going . It's all a,matter of quality of life. And I always have use flea/tick prevention. So, don't beat yourself up over that. Good luck

[Jakemedic]

Thank you for your response! We are taking Laci back to the vet this morning. Knowledge is power for sure! The kidney disease charts are much appreciated. We will post her lab values and treatment course once figured out. Thanks again!

[GreytMom]

My angel hound, who had osteosarcoma, was on a very high protein/no carb diet to avoid “feeding” the cancer. Unfortunately, he eventually developed kidney issues and those became higher priority so he was switched to a very low protein diet. Follow your vets advice, obviously, but keep the hope as there are diets which can help the kidney values and function and prolong a good quality of life for your hound for some time.

[Jakemedic]

Thank you! We went to the vet this morning and the labs were confirmed. We will be confirming her RBC’s Tuesday as it appears she isn’t producing any or much through her bone marrow. We researched out and have started a home made mixture food which she seems to love! We are very blessed that she has an appetite! So many people state that their dogs don’t have much of an appetite with kidney failure. So far, she is happy, hungry and enjoying life.

[Jakemedic]

we joined an online group that is dedicated to kidney disease in dogs. I dont want to list it for fear we upset the moderators here. Message me and I can share that info privately.

Edited February 3, 2019 by Jakemedic

[tbhounds]

Ask your vet if they feel this is Lyme nephritis. Treatment would involve antibiotics and diuresis (In hospital IV fluid therapy).

[Jakemedic]

Thank you! The vet did think it was lymes and put her on an antibiotic for it. Didn’t think fluids were indicated at this point. We are going back Tuesday for some additional bloodwork and I will ask. Again thank you! She continues to have a fantastic appetite and already had her breakfast with her omega 3 (fish oil) and antibiotic this morning.

[macoduck]

Jakemedic, if you are referring to a Facebook group for dogs with kidney disease, that should be OK to post here.

 

You won't be able to send or receive PM's here until your post count reaches 50.

[Remolacha]

Glad she continues to have a good appetite, that is key. I hope this can be managed and you have a long time left with her.

[Jakemedic]

Hello! Never took up Facebook due to my career, although I may now that I’m officially retired. My bride is into that for us. I am referring to k9kidney group on yahoo. We copied Laci’s lab values there last evening. They have lots of folks that went through what we are going through. Maybe able to provide quality information that can keep our girl’s quality of life good.

[EllenEveBaz]

My dear Scout lived with failing kidneys for about 3 years. I made him a low phosphorus diet from readings I did on http://dogaware.com/health/kidney.html His last 5 months were rapidly downhill, with a couple of bouts of acute pancreatitis kicking things off. Azodyl https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/azodyl helped control some of the worst of the symptoms. It's a controversial supplement that does not have any good research backing up its claims, but I am glad he had it.

[JohnF]

K9 Kidneys on Yahoo is a group that I joined and which proved to be very supportive. You have to apply and you need to be able to post test results.

 

I've lost 3 to renal failure over many years. At ages 5,8 and 14. You need to be aware of how well your coping strategies are working and, I think, not let them have to endure the nasty end stage where medications probably can no longer work. My dog who reached 14 had 18 happy months after dx. The others declined more rapidly.

[Jakemedic]

Thanks John! We joined them yesterday and provided lab values. As I have said earlier, it’s about Laci and her quality of life. In December I lost my mom who was in hospice. We are comfortable and understand comfort care and when her quality of life suffers, we let her run free after crossing the rainbow bridge. So far she is happy, hungry, appears to be pain free and being the retired athlete she is. Thanks so much for your words of wisdom, we genuinely appreciate it!

[Jakemedic]

Update on Laci:

I stayed in the living room for most of the night. She seems a bit anxious, but with comfort, love and scratching her ears, she simmered down. Finally went off to bed around 2am. Got up with my bride when she was getting ready for work. She had gone out, came back in and ate which was a good thing. Her fluid intake is okay, getting her to drink with chicken boiled water (cooled of course). my main worry currently is that she is shaking and panting. we were going into the vet tomorrow to confirm her anemia with a lab that got sent out. I am going to change from a lab visit to a vet visit to discuss keeping her comfortable. After looking around here, it appears that she maybe stressed or in some kind of discomfort. She continues to eat her home made food and is always looking around for more :-) Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

[cometdust1]

Ask your vet if they feel this is Lyme nephritis. Treatment would involve antibiotics and diuresis (In hospital IV fluid therapy).

Yes, please have them check for tick born diseases. My dog had Ehrlichiosis and it shut down his bone marrow and affected all his organs. He was constantly panting and lethargic, that's why I brought him to see the vet and that's when i found out about the Ehrlichiosis.

Edited February 4, 2019 by cometdust1

[Jakemedic]

Thank you for your post! Laci does have Lyme's Disease. She currently is being treated with antibiotic and has been at least "exposed" to other forms of tick borne illnesses. I am starting my list to discuss with the vet tomorrow. I will add Erlichiosis to my growing list of things to discuss. We have ordered a phosphorus binder online which will be here hopefully by Wednesday. Her phosphorus level is off the charts! She is still eating her home made meals, and drinking reasonably well with "chicken water". Thank you so very much, we greatly appreciate your time and effort to post.

[macoduck]

my main worry currently is that she is shaking and panting

 

Could be a sign of pain or a side effect of her medicines. Make that another question for your vet.

Edited February 4, 2019 by macoduck

[Jakemedic]

Thank you! It is number one on my list. She continues to eat AMAZINGLY well, seems to calm her down. Appreciate your post!!!!

[Jakemedic]

Laci has gotten incredibly sick. She vomited so violently last evening and this morning. She has quit drinking and only ate her breakfast of egg whites after much coaching. Now it could be from the antibiotic they gave her to help her lymes disease, or it could be the advancement of her kidney failure. John, your advice above is quite accurate. We contacted a vet through the lady who facilitated Laci’s adoption. Her advice was to “ set her free”, and we really don’t disagree. Anything further would be selfish on our parts. Time to spend some time with her before the vet visit. Will write more later.

[Remolacha]

I am so sorry

[JohnF]

I am so very sorry to read that sad news. It may be that the mix of medications is making her violently ill because they aren't (can't be) being metabolized and cleared properly. In the case of my last dog Angel, it was Tramadol that had built up too high and sent her heart rate far too high. I only noticed it when I petted her side and then took her direct to the emergency vet. It was stabilized OK but she only lasted about 3 weeks after that before her misery became obvious and we let her go. My other two dogs in Renal failure declined very fast indeed, one over no more than 10 days.

 

I think one of the problems we face is being so tied up in the coping process that we can't see the wood for the trees. Now it may be that Laci has had a bad day and tomorrow may be better. I don't know your dog like you do, but with Angel after the sickness couldn't be controlled well she would just turn her dish over so as to make it obvious to me that she would never eat again. Soon after, she started not wanting a proper amount of water. That, I decided was her time. Looking back I should have acted when the dish upturning happened. She was a very intelligent dog.

 

I wish you and Laci well in whatever path you decide to take, whether it's today, tomorrow or later, your compassion will not let you down.

[Jakemedic]

Hello,

Ann and I brought our little girl to the vet this afternoon. What is ironic is our last two girls had to be carried into the vet. Laci with her pink coat on, walked in on her own.....tail between her legs of course. We had a lengthly discussion with our vet. She had tick borne illnesses which she was being treated for with antibiotics. The one essentially shut down her production of red blood cells from her bone marrow and put her into kidney failure. She wasn't drinking and had to be coached to eat. This happened very quickly (essentially yesterday). After the discussion with the vet, we decided to let her "run free" and cross the rainbow bridge. I was at her side on the floor when she took her last breath. She died knowing her mom and dad cherished and loved her very much. She gifted us with 6 years of joy, unconditional love and memories of being an "our" greyhound.

 

Ann and I encourage all greyhound parents to have your grey checked for tick borne illnesses at your next check up. EVEN THOUGH you may not live in an area of the world where ticks are common. We treated Laci since we adopted her. She possibly was exposed while racing in Florida. We will never know.

 

May God Bless your grey and the people who love them.

 

 

PS I tried to add pictures of our little girl to this post, but apparently I can't add from google photos.

Edited February 5, 2019 by Jakemedic

[macoduck]

Jake, you have done all you can for your girl, including the gift of a goodbye. I will add Laci's name to the list of Bridge Angels for February in the Remembrance section. She will be in good company.

 

You can post pictures from Facebook easily from your PC.

[cleptogrey]

damn tick borne diseases, your a good person not letting her suffer. time for you to heal and remember that you did the most humane option- hugs.