Kidney Disease Help Needed

[whwtfan]

HI all,

I am a long time reader of these forums who seldom posts but I am hoping for some advice.

My beautiful 8 and a half year old west highland white terrier was diagnosed with kidney disease on April 2nd. I (and the vets) thought he had gastro but he didn't respond to the medication and so a blood test was done. I am absolutely devastated and finding it very hard to cope. HIs blood test results were as follows - UREA 29.2 (Healthy range 2.5 - 10.0) and Creatinine - 0.36 (Healthy range 0.05 - 0.15). His USG was 1.016. The vet said that the disease is in its early stages and advised me to put him on the Hills K/D food. He also spent the day at the vets having IV fluids. For the first week, he loved the Hills food and couldn't get enough of it. I was feeding him small meals 4-5 times a day and he was looking really good. He didn't look sick at all. We also started him on some Chinese herbs for the nauseousness. A couple of days after being on the herbs, his appetite started to wane and he started refusing the Hills food and started vomiting again. I took him back to the vet and he gave him a steroid injection to try and boost his appetite and advised me to put give him metomide tablets for the vomiting for a couple of days. He seemed to pick up a bit but was still refusing to eat the K/D food on its own so I started mixing the K/D with small amounts of cooked minced beef or cooked chicken breast and that seemed to help.

However, now he is refusing to eat anything at all and has started vomiting again. We are going back to the vet today but was hoping that someone on here could give me any advice or tips as to how I can get my boy eating again? His stomach makes lots of growling noises and he looked quite uncomfortable last night. This morning he had a drink but vomited it up again. I am getting really worried. BTW, I have not noticed him excessively drinking or urinating at this stage.

Can anyone who has been through this offer me any help or advice? Thanks!

[persephone]

So sorry ... I hope the vet can help - it could be your boy is having problems due to a build up of toxins in his body, now that the kidneys are not filtering as they should... it could be the herbs not agreeing with him , or it could be that he has ,indeed, picked up a tummy bug.

[Florise]

Did the vet actually give the disease a name? I suggest you ask for a referral to a medical specialist vet who has knowledge of internal medicine. An ultrasound would be helpful to identify what the real issue is and whether it is treatable.

In my experience the best thing to do is find out exactly what the issue is and learn as much as you can about it, and from there, the best way to manage your dog's treatment/symptoms.

Edited April 30, 2012 by KaseyC

[Sheridan]

On whose advice did you start the chinese herbs? A dog with kidney disease should be on a very strict diet. Are you still giving him the herbs, particularly given they don't seem to have worked anyway?

[whwtfan]

Thank you, persephone, KaseyC and Sheridan for your replies! I am certainly grateful for any advice you can give me.

Millsy ended up having to stay at the vet to have the IV fluids done again so hopefully that has flushed the toxins out of his system again. He was there for six hours. Since being home he has eaten a small amount of K/D so that's a start. Hopefully, he might eat some more later. They also did another blood test and there was a slight increase. His UREA is now 33.2 and his creatinine is 348 umol/L (reference range is 44 - 159)

persephone, thank you so much for your good wishes! I really appreciate it!

Sheridan, it was the vet's advice to start the Chinese herbs. He also has an interest in Chinese medicine and he thought they could help with the nauseousness. Unfortunately, they didn't appear to have the desired effect so he was only on them for two days and hasn't had any for 2-3 weeks. I went to see the vet again straight away when his appetite decreased and he advised me to stop giving him the herbs. He hasn't had any of them since. I wouldn't give him anything without checking with the vet first. In fact, I have been bombarding the vet with emails and he has been kind enough to answer my questions and address my concerns.

KaseyC, I saw a different vet today as my regular vet wasn't working today. I asked him for a specific name for the illness and he said it is suspected to be 'chronic renal disease'. Thank you for your suggestion to ask for a referral to see an internal medicine specialist. I followed your advice and have now got the contact details for the Melbourne Veterinary Specialist Centre in Glen Waverley. I will ring them tomorrow and make an appointment. The vet said that once I have made an appointment to let them know and they will forward Millsy's medical history to the specialist centre. I am willing to try anything I can to help Millsy. I may be clutching at straws and hoping for a miracle but at least I will know that I have done everything I can for him.

Thanks again for your help!

Edited April 30, 2012 by whwtfan

[Florise]

I still wouldnt be happy with that as a diagnosis, it's very much a blanket term. I think they mean chronic renal failure, which is the term used in people, but your dog is young for that, and there must be a reason for it. Have PMd you.

[whwtfan]

I still wouldnt be happy with that as a diagnosis, it's very much a blanket term. I think they mean chronic renal failure, which is the term used in people, but your dog is young for that, and there must be a reason for it. Have PMd you.

Hi Kasey. Sorry that was my typing error (it's been a long day!). The vet did say chronic renal failure. I also thought Millsy was young to have it but thought that younger dogs must be susceptible to it as well? Actually, the vet that I have been seeing was calling it acute renal failure but today's vet said it was chronic renal failure. Despite doing lots of reading on the internet, I must admit to being a bit confused about the two different terms.

I know I'm hoping for a miracle but I would love for a specialist to say that this is what it actually is and this is how we can treat it to make him better.

Thanks for your PM.

[persephone]

as I understand it ... chronic is something which has crept up, bit by bit and is long lasting....... acute happens quickly ...

I hope the specialist can explain it to you, and keep your little boy comfortable.

Take care .

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Kidney disease is awful. I've only had one dog with that - a little tiny dog I rescued, she was elderly and had spent a long time in the pound before I took her on. She was immediately unwell and required an urgent dental and I had blood tests done. SHe'd had very dark coloured diarrhea and it turned out she had kidney failure. My vet said she'd only be with me for a few weeks. She went on meds and the special diet and then I contacted the All Natural Vet at Russell Lea who prescribed Chinese herbs.

My own vets couldn't believe the improvement in her, she put weight on, grew a glossy coat and had a settled tum - she lived with me for a year and then there was nothing that could help the kidneys any more.

I would recommend the Chinese herbs to anyone in that position so I'm sorry to hear they aren't working so well for you.

The Chinese herbs vet I used is in Sydney. they didn't prescribe the herbs for the nausea from what I remember. My own vet faxed Pippa's blood tests to them and they prescribed the herbs. They are experts and you could ring them for some assistance - tell them the herbs she has been given already and see what they say. They aren't cheap but I've had incredible results in several cases, Pippa being one of them.

In case it helps, their nos are Tel. 02 9712 5844. fax: 02 9712 5855

I wish you and your baby all the best and hope somethign can be foudn that will help asap.

Edited April 30, 2012 by dogmad

[Ozstar]

I can't offer you any advice but I wish you all the best.

My very first pedigree/show dog was diagnosed with kidney failure at age 7 and past away a few months later (was 15 years ago).

Did you buy your dog from a registered breeder? I only ask as the siblings to my boy all had problems at an early age and it may be something you wish to look into.

Leanne

[dancinbcs]

Westie Club of America

This page has a link to info about kidney problems in Westies. It is interesting the the Westie Club of Vic site doesn't mention it so maybe it is more of a problem in US lines.

[Sheridan]

There are different causes of renal failure though it may be that the vets won't be able to narrow it down. Generally a dog loses around 85% of kidney function before symptoms show. Diet is extremely important in managing kidney disease because keeping your dog eating and drinking will keep him alive.

[whwtfan]

Thanks so much to everyone who has given me advice or sent their best wishes! Millsy hasn't been too bad this week. He is still not keen on eating the tinned K/D food so we have been feeding him some chicken mince. Whilst I know this is not the ideal diet for him, the vet said that it is more important that he eats something and we keep his appetite going. I managed to get him to eat some of the dry K/D food last night and he had some more of it before (probably only about a quarter of a cup on each occasion) but I was pleased that he at least ate some of it.

dogmad, whilst researching canine kidney failure on the internet, I read some of your older posts, about Chinese herbs, with interest. The herbs that my vet gave me are called PING WEI SAN. Can you remember the name of the herbs you were using? I am not sure if the herbs affected Millsy's appetite or if it was just a coincidence. Thank you for the contact details you provided for the Chinese herbs vet.

Leanne, I'm sorry to hear that you also had a dog that went through this ordeal. My boy did come from a registered and highly-regarded breeder. There are absolutely no concerns there but thanks for the suggestion.

We have made an appointment with an internal medicine specialist for Friday (Thanks KaseyC for the suggestion). Fingers crossed that I can get some more information about Millsy's condition and I can gain a better understanding of how to manage it better.

[Burkes]

Hi whwtfan,

My 11yr old Rotty has also just been diagnosed with Kidney disease. Hers was as a result of bloat which she by many miracles survived.

She is on the Eukanuba renal food and really loves it. But, as it is basically cardboard my vet gave me a recipe to make my own food (after a $5000 surgery at the emergency vet I needed it). She absolutely loves it and my other dogs are so jealous that I have to give them a little bit with their dinner as well. He got it out of a veterinary nutrition book.

115g low fat beef mince

2 cups cooked rice

3 slices bread

1 boiled egg

5g calcium carbonate

I actually tripled the recipe and then baked a sweet potato and blended it with water to add to the mix. It is kinda sticky and gross but I rolled it into balls so she thinks it is really special. We also warm it up now it is cold.

My girl also developed high blood pressure as a result of the kidney disease so that might be worth checking as well.

[whwtfan]

Thanks for sharing the recipe Burkes! I will print it out and ask the specialist if it would be suitable for Millsy. We haven't tried the Eukanuba brand yet.

Wishing you all the best with your rotty!

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Unfortunately I can't recall the herbs as the vet puts a blend together and gives you dosage instructions. They were based on the blood test results my own vet faxed across, it was truly an amazing miracle at the time but I've had other amazing results with Chinese herbs in different cases and would say it is worth a shot when things look desperate, if the vet believes they can assist.

[whwtfan]

We had our consultation with the specialist on Friday and are still waiting on some urine test results which I will be able to get on Tuesday. The specialist said that Millsy does not present as a typical chronic renal failure case. She mentioned a disease called glomerulonephritis, which Millsy MAY have. I asked her if it was treatable and she said in some cases it is but in others it leads to renal failure. Has anyone else been through this and can share their experiences or advice?

Also, I read on the internet that to make a definite diagnosis of this disease a kidney biopsy would have to be performed. This scares the life out of me as the specialist made it clear to me that it is not a pleasant process and carries quite a risk. Can anyone share their experiences (both good and bad) with this?

Thanks!

[Sheridan]

I don't know much about this type of kidney disease but I gather it has a wide variety of causes and the treatment depends on the cause, in the human variety at least.

I know, from my own experience, that anaethesitising a dog with renal disease can be dangerous. I would be hesitant given you've said Millsy isn't eating or drinking much.