Mabel Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 We can't figure out what's wrong with my (almost) 12 year old greyhound. I took her to the vet 3 weeks ago with diarrhea. Metronidazole 500mg and subcutaneous fluids didn't help. Soon after, she started drinking lots of water and became incontinent. If I don't make her go out every 2 hours (longer at night), she will pee in her bed. After another visit last week, my vet suspected mild azotemia and renal insufficiency. Her specific gravity (refractory) was 1.020; no protein in urine; BUN was 37; and CRE was 2.0. The vet wanted keep her overnight and do an IV fluid diuresis, but I opted for more sub fluids and a home trial of 50 mgs Phenylpropanolamine (Prion) 2 times a day. This hasn't helped - she still has little bladder control. We did change her food to Prescription Diet k/d. This helped a lot as she doesn't have diarrhea anymore. The above values above don't seem high for a greyhound. These problems seemed to have come on suddenly, and I'm wondering if these are kidney problems or something else. Any ideas? I'm going crazy with the diapers, little sleep and washing dog beds! I'd appreciate any advice or opinions :) Melissa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 (edited) Please discontinue the proin. Can not believe your vet started her on that-did they even check your dogs blood pressure first? If she started to drink more water after starting the metronidazole I would stop that too. Metro is not without side effects. Did you happen to run a full urinalysis? K/D is pretty high in fat to make it more palatable so if the diarrhea has resolved while eating that perhaps you can return to your regular food (fat is hard to digest and is often the culprit of soft stools, diarrhea and even pancreatitis). Her bloods don’t look bad-do you you have old results to compare too? One thing you should check..palpate that thyroid region very carefully. One of my girls was pu/pd (excessive urinating and drinking)-found a small thyroid mass. Turned out she had thyroidcarcinoma. Once the tumor was removed the pu/pd immediately stopped. Long shot I know but, it’s easy enough to check. Finally I would have abdominal radiographs done +/- an ultrasound done. Edited December 17, 2019 by tbhounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabel Posted December 17, 2019 Author Share Posted December 17, 2019 (edited) Thank you tbhounds! She finished the metro on Dec 2. I had put her on a home cooked diet, but since we switched her to hills kd over a week ago, her stools have been normal. I palipatated her thyroid but am not sure if I'd notice a lump or not. I will check past kidney values. Along with excessive drinking and urinating, her appetite has been poor and she's been losing weight. She’s also had some fecal incontinance for over a year attributed to back end weakness. While the fi hasn’t gotten worse, her back end weakness seems to have worsened lately. Not sure if that’s related. The vet did a full blood work-up last week too. WBC, LYM, NEU, PLT and MPV were low, and HGB, HCT, and MCH were high, if you know what any of that means (I don’t!). GLOB was 2. I am curious about the Prion. Is it bad for kidney issues? thank you again for your post! Edited December 17, 2019 by Mabel additional info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greysmom Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 Tbhounds is a vet so my opinion means little, but I second stopping the Proin as soon as possible. It has bad results in greyhounds and causes more problems then it helps. Try talking with your vet about a med called D.E.S (It's a five dollar word about 478 characters long, but is shortened to DES). It's helped my girl a lot. At 12 there are a lot of things this could be. Cancer - thyroid, kidney, liver, stomach, even lung - can have a tumor pushing on other organs and causing issues, even if a primary tumor isn't. Kidney failure, spinal stroke or Lumbosacral stenosis. Even a heart problem could be causing some of the issues you describe. If your vet isn't being helpful you may need to see an internal specialist. Try and find one more familiar with Greyhounds. Quote Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora) siggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted December 17, 2019 Share Posted December 17, 2019 (edited) To answer your question regarding proin..it should not be used in dogs with suspected renal disease. It may also increase thirst. I loathe proin. The blood work results you posted appear to be of normal values for greyhounds..low wbc, lower platelet count and elevated rbc. Of course not seeing the actual values may change things. Just want to correct the above post-I’m an LVT not a DVM. ;-) Edited to add link. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&catId=102894&id=4951490 Edited December 17, 2019 by tbhounds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleptogrey Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 So sorry to hear of your gal's decline. Have you discussed quality of life with your vet? Unfortunately many vets push tests, drugs, $$ diets. Decide how you can keep everyone happy and comfortable. Your quality of life is just as important. Scritches to your dog and keep on cooking! Do ask about every drug , test and options and what they will reveal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabel Posted December 18, 2019 Author Share Posted December 18, 2019 Thank you cleptogrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greysmom Posted December 18, 2019 Share Posted December 18, 2019 21 hours ago, tbhounds said: To answer your question regarding proin..it should not be used in dogs with suspected renal disease. It may also increase thirst. I loathe proin. The blood work results you posted appear to be of normal values for greyhounds..low wbc, lower platelet count and elevated rbc. Of course not seeing the actual values may change things. Just want to correct the above post-I’m an LVT not a DVM. ;-) Edited to add link. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&catId=102894&id=4951490 Quote Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora) siggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Was a urine culture ever done? She could have a UTI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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