I need a vet knowledgeable person - Update in thread

[Night Elf]

I have an appointment in 2 hours but I've been crying so much today that I was hoping for information now. My dog is 12.5 years old. He had standard senior lab work at his physical and it showed an elevated something for his kidneys. The doctor put him on a renal food which he has been eating with no problems. All of a sudden he stopped eating it. So they switched him to a different brand. Nope, that lasted two days and he stopped eating it. That was last Saturday so I cooked chicken and rice and he ate it with gusto. Monday I took him to the vet to have his mouth and ears checked. He had 5 teeth pulled recently so I was thinking he stopped eating his prescribed diet because it was crunchies and maybe his mouth was hurting. She ran new lab work. Whatever test showed something elevated was even higher. It went from 3.2 to 9.2. She gave me canned food and gave him fluids. Well, he reluctantly ate the canned food last night but it took him a while to do it. He'd eat and walk away and go back later. This morning he flat out refused it. I called the vet and they want to see him today. They're going to give him more fluids and want to teach me how to do it. 

What is going on? What is elevated? She said this was super bad news. Is he on the verge of dying? Will I have to give him fluids every day for the rest of his life? Why? Yes I know to ask her all these questions today but it's driving me batty!! I don't know what to think. They told me this morning not to worry about feeding him but I  just couldn't stop myself. I finally fed him at noon because he was sitting next to me watching me eat every bite of my lunch. He was hungry!! I hope I didn't hurt anything as I gave him the chicken and rice again. I looked up food for dogs who won't eat their prescription food and found a recipe that I printed out and will show my vet. If he won't eat his food, I'll just cook for him. It will be a nuisance but I'd rather do that and he live obviously.

Edited July 13, 2021 by Night Elf

[catz]

This is very much how kidney disease progression went for 2 of my cats.  The vet encouraged me to do fluids daily at home for one and we tried it but it was a HUGE battle every time and I gave up after trying for a week.  Neither lasted super long when they started rejected foods unfortunately.  I do think people who can do fluids at home and have a cooperate animal may find a balance for a while longer.  I did not want to make my sweet kitties last days miserable for both of us.  I'm sorry.  😞 

[Kanin]

I'm very sorry 😞 My cat has kidney disease, and she was prescribed the renal food, too. She haaaated it! So much so that she wouldn't eat, and that caused other issues. I decided that I would give her regular food that she would eat. I did make one change - I switched from dry food to mostly wet (and should probably go exclusively wet) because the wet food has more hydration in it than the dry food.

Good luck at your appt!

[Night Elf]

Yes, my dog will eat table food all day long. He tries to bury the renal stuff! I've been researching online and people have found ways to doctor it up to make it more palatable. I now have 3 types in my home. I have Royal Canin, Purina RX both kibble and canned. The canned went over like a lead balloon. What he did eat he threw up. I'll talk to her about how I can change the kibble to something more palatable by adding something to it. I'd love her approval because I trust her. 

I don't know if he'll fight me on fluids. He's such a laid back dog. He seems to be okay with anything you do to him. I'll ask her about it today though.

[Night Elf]

Update: Marley's kidney's are not working. He's in dire straits. He must have fluids every day in an effort to flush him out to get his kidneys working again. They did teach me but I suffer from anxiety and we all realized that he'd react to my high anxiety so I'll only do it if needed. I'm paying $25/day for them to do it. I bought the bag of saline today, that's why the rest of the week it's only $25/day. I'll take him in every morning at 8:30 am. I told my boss I cannot work the rest of this week. The tech told me Marley could die any time so I have to be really careful with him. I'm going to try to get him back on his original renal food that he loved for so long. I'll be doing a transition using chicken and rice and slowly adding in more crunchies and giving less chicken and rice. He already gets a Pepcid 10 mg daily so I'm to give that to him 30 minutes before he eats. Normally this dog scarfs down anything edible so I have no doubt he'll take the Pepcid with a little chicken. I don't know what to expect from him when he realizes there are crunchies in the rice and chicken and what I'll do if he refuses it. We didn't discuss it. I'll find out tonight when I feed him.

[Catwoman]

I will pray for Marley, Beth!

[Night Elf]

10 minutes ago, Catwoman said:

I will pray for Marley, Beth!

Thank you! It occurred to me I shouldn't have said they have stopped working. That implies they're beyond help but the doctor feels if we flush them out he has a greater chance of living longer. So pray for us making it through this critical week. 🙂

[MercyA]

I am so sorry, Beth. Praying for you and dear Marley. 

[Innisfree]

Holding you and Marley in my thoughts.

[*****]

So sorry, praying for you and Marley.  Will he eat Science Diet Renal? Can you add an egg, fried or scrambled to his food?  If he likes the crunchies, will he tolerate the soft foods, with a little of that mixed in?  I also gave my dog low sodium broth. Might be worth a try. 

[fraidycat]

🙏🏻🙏🏻 Hoping Marley feels and gets better, ASAP.

[Shoeless]

Did they offer hospitalization with iv fluids? A day or two on iv fluids can make a big difference in flushing out the kidneys. Basically, the fluids are diuresis.  The pet will stop eating when the renal values get too high, so you push fluids to flush the "toxins" out, since they kidneys are no longer doing their job. That is what you are seeing with those elevated blood values. 

If you are worried about possibly hurting Marley when giving fluids, please don't. Dogs tolerate fluids under the skin extremely well! (Cats are a whole other story!).  The fluid goes into the scruff on the back of the neck and 99.9% of dogs don't seem to care at all, (the 0.1% that do care won't let anyone touch them for any reason whatsoever, and it doesn't sound like Marley is that kind of dog).  I've given fluids to dogs that are wagging their tails and licking my face, like they haven't a care in the world.  

The fluids are important because they will extend his life and keep him comfortable and eating for as long as possible. When their renal values are elevated, the feel nauseated and in severe cases can develop mouth ulcers.  Renal insufficiency and failure is a terminal illness, unfortunately 😞  If he absolutely won't eat the renal diets, then I would feed him anything he is willing to eat.  If he wants chicken and rice, feed him that.  If he will eat regular dog food, feed him that. My philosophy on geriatric pets is to keep them eating and enjoying the best quality of life possible for as long as possible, even if that means the treatment plan is less than perfect.  ❤️ 

Edited July 14, 2021 by MissLemon

[Kela]

I'm so sorry you are going through his. My moms dog had renal failure and it is very difficult. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

[Night Elf]

10 hours ago, MissLemon said:

Did they offer hospitalization with iv fluids? A day or two on iv fluids can make a big difference in flushing out the kidneys. Basically, the fluids are diuresis.  The pet will stop eating when the renal values get too high, so you push fluids to flush the "toxins" out, since they kidneys are no longer doing their job. That is what you are seeing with those elevated blood values. 

If you are worried about possibly hurting Marley when giving fluids, please don't. Dogs tolerate fluids under the skin extremely well! (Cats are a whole other story!).  The fluid goes into the scruff on the back of the neck and 99.9% of dogs don't seem to care at all, (the 0.1% that do care won't let anyone touch them for any reason whatsoever, and it doesn't sound like Marley is that kind of dog).  I've given fluids to dogs that are wagging their tails and licking my face, like they haven't a care in the world.  

The fluids are important because they will extend his life and keep him comfortable and eating for as long as possible. When their renal values are elevated, the feel nauseated and in severe cases can develop mouth ulcers.  Renal insufficiency and failure is a terminal illness, unfortunately 😞  If he absolutely won't eat the renal diets, then I would feed him anything he is willing to eat.  If he wants chicken and rice, feed him that.  If he will eat regular dog food, feed him that. My philosophy on geriatric pets is to keep them eating and enjoying the best quality of life possible for as long as possible, even if that means the treatment plan is less than perfect.  ❤️ 

I take him in every day for them to give him fluids. If he still needs them on the weekend, I will do it and try not to show my anxiety. They did offer to keep him for the week but I didn't want him to be away from family who can comfort him. I figured he'd stress more if he was there all day and night.

[fairfarmhand]

2 hours ago, Night Elf said:

I take him in every day for them to give him fluids. If he still needs them on the weekend, I will do it and try not to show my anxiety. They did offer to keep him for the week but I didn't want him to be away from family who can comfort him. I figured he'd stress more if he was there all day and night.

Why not go in for them to do the fluids and have them stand there and watch you do it. If you do that a few days, you may feel more comfortable going solo over the weekend. Having a backup person right there can help you with the anxiety.

[Night Elf]

6 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

Why not go in for them to do the fluids and have them stand there and watch you do it. If you do that a few days, you may feel more comfortable going solo over the weekend. Having a backup person right there can help you with the anxiety.

Great minds think alike. I called them a little while ago asking that very question. *laugh* She wrote it in my appointment notes so they know I want to come into the building. They're still being covid cautious so most appointments you meet them at the side door or they come get your pet from your car and you stay in the car while they're inside. Yesterday they escorted me in and straight into a room. 

[Shoeless]

9 hours ago, Night Elf said:

I take him in every day for them to give him fluids. If he still needs them on the weekend, I will do it and try not to show my anxiety. They did offer to keep him for the week but I didn't want him to be away from family who can comfort him. I figured he'd stress more if he was there all day and night.

Ok. The IV fluids can do more than what SQ fluids under the skin can do.  It's something to think on if you are really concerned about getting those renal values down asap.  Good luck!    

[Paige]

It wasn't with a dog, but my cat had serious kidney failure. She looked half dead already and I was sure they'd say she needed to be euthanized. The vet did IV fluids a few times and then (after some extortion and a new vet) I was able to give her subq fluids daily and she lived happily for a year past that. When she finally passed it was more peacefully and she went quickly. The subq fluids never bothered her. She sat on my lap and didn't complain. It's easy peasy. I also gave her some supplements- I think phos bind or something, pepcid, and probiotics. We didn't give her the kidney food because she wouldn't eat it, but they also gave her an appetite stimulant. I had to syringe feed her until the meds kicked in. Her recovery with the meds/IV fluids was amazing. She went back to being a normal cat. I hope it goes as well for your dog.

Your lucky they're only charging you $25 to come in. The first vet tried to charge me $75 a day and refused to let me do it at home!

[Shoeless]

20 minutes ago, Paige said:

It wasn't with a dog, but my cat had serious kidney failure. She looked half dead already and I was sure they'd say she needed to be euthanized. The vet did IV fluids a few times and then (after some extortion and a new vet) I was able to give her subq fluids daily and she lived happily for a year past that. When she finally passed it was more peacefully and she went quickly. The subq fluids never bothered her. She sat on my lap and didn't complain. It's easy peasy. I also gave her some supplements- I think phos bind or something, pepcid, and probiotics. We didn't give her the kidney food because she wouldn't eat it, but they also gave her an appetite stimulant. I had to syringe feed her until the meds kicked in. Her recovery with the meds/IV fluids was amazing. She went back to being a normal cat. I hope it goes as well for your dog.

Your lucky they're only charging you $25 to come in. The first vet tried to charge me $75 a day and refused to let me do it at home!

That's so crazy! A big chunk of my job was teaching people how to do sq fluids at home so the didn't have to go through the hassle and expense of bringing their pet in.