Kidney Disease

[CHA]

Hi everyone,

My 12 year old dog has been diagnosed with kidney disease due to being on meloxicam for a degenerative disc issue. He is on the kidney diet now and has actually perked up some. He is due for his heartguard tablet today and I'm wondering if it would be best if I didn't given it to him? Do you know if these would affect his kidney function at all? Im also wondering about vaccinations which I think will be coming up soon....

thanks :)

[kayla1]

I don't like to vaccinate my older dogs, especially if they have health issues. Kayla hasn't been vaccinated for a few years now and she won't be vaccinated again.

Not sure about heartguard, whether it affects the kidneys. Personally I wouldn't because I'd be worried about adding further stress to a dog that's already unwell, but then in my area heartworm is very rarely seen so not a high risk.

How is his disc problem, is he still on meloxicam?

[CHA]

Thanks for your response Kayla, I'm also thinking I won't worry about putting any extra load on his kidneys at this stage, he has a few problems which we are managing, and I want him to be as happy and healthy as he can while he is here with us, for however long that may be...

Unfortunately he is still on the Meloxicam. I've tried decreasing the dose but his quality of life was not at all good, and that's what is keeping him going. As it is, he gets himself around the house and out to the garden, eats well, our walks consist of us mainly carrying him (lucky he is not a big dog), and now on the kidney diet he has started to perk up and gently kill a few fluffy toys left round the place :)

Charlie also was getting round scabby sores all over his body and his coat was greasy and thin - on the kidney diet his sores seem to have cleared up (fingers crossed - because he doesn't have any at the moment) and I believe his coat is looking better too. The vet also wants to test for thyroid, so I'll take him back for that in a couple of weeks.

Our old puppies are so special and such a worry!

[Jumabaar]

Thanks for your response Kayla, I'm also thinking I won't worry about putting any extra load on his kidneys at this stage, he has a few problems which we are managing, and I want him to be as happy and healthy as he can while he is here with us, for however long that may be...

Unfortunately he is still on the Meloxicam. I've tried decreasing the dose but his quality of life was not at all good, and that's what is keeping him going. As it is, he gets himself around the house and out to the garden, eats well, our walks consist of us mainly carrying him (lucky he is not a big dog), and now on the kidney diet he has started to perk up and gently kill a few fluffy toys left round the place :)

Charlie also was getting round scabby sores all over his body and his coat was greasy and thin - on the kidney diet his sores seem to have cleared up (fingers crossed - because he doesn't have any at the moment) and I believe his coat is looking better too. The vet also wants to test for thyroid, so I'll take him back for that in a couple of weeks.

Our old puppies are so special and such a worry!

Can you look around for veterinary acupuncture? Also there are some other pain medications that you could use in combination to reduce the dose required for the Meloxicam and still have good pain control.

I do agree that quality of life is ultimately the most important factor.

[CHA]

The accupuncture is a good idea I will look into that. We did go to the chiro for a while, but Charlie started yelping with the manipulations and he is such a stoic dog that never yelps I couldn't bring myself to take him back again.

With the pain medications do you think there would be ones that would be less invasive to his kidneys? I should ask the vet this - but we have been through so many differing pain medications that the vet did tell me that after this one, there isn't anything left we can try. I'm also going to look into massage for him.

I'm also a little bit wary about changing his pain medication and maybe not getting him back up to the level of relief that he currently has.....

[Jumabaar]

The accupuncture is a good idea I will look into that. We did go to the chiro for a while, but Charlie started yelping with the manipulations and he is such a stoic dog that never yelps I couldn't bring myself to take him back again.

With the pain medications do you think there would be ones that would be less invasive to his kidneys? I should ask the vet this - but we have been through so many differing pain medications that the vet did tell me that after this one, there isn't anything left we can try. I'm also going to look into massage for him.

I'm also a little bit wary about changing his pain medication and maybe not getting him back up to the level of relief that he currently has.....

I was more suggesting adding in pain meds rather than removing the Meloxicam altogether. It means you might be able the same result over all by targeting different areas of the pain pathway but perhaps be able to lower the dose of Meloxicam that you need each day, or you might not need to increase the dose to keep him going.

Using a variety of different treatments is called 'multimodal' pain therapy. If you find someone that does acupuncture they would probably have a good idea of other options to try. I wouldnt recommend anything specifically over the internet- because each dog is unique.

It's more to check that your vet has considered the option since some of the drugs are relatively new, so they may need to do some research to know about them. And then once again decide if in your case its appropriate.

[CHA]

The accupuncture is a good idea I will look into that. We did go to the chiro for a while, but Charlie started yelping with the manipulations and he is such a stoic dog that never yelps I couldn't bring myself to take him back again.

With the pain medications do you think there would be ones that would be less invasive to his kidneys? I should ask the vet this - but we have been through so many differing pain medications that the vet did tell me that after this one, there isn't anything left we can try. I'm also going to look into massage for him.

I'm also a little bit wary about changing his pain medication and maybe not getting him back up to the level of relief that he currently has.....

I was more suggesting adding in pain meds rather than removing the Meloxicam altogether. It means you might be able the same result over all by targeting different areas of the pain pathway but perhaps be able to lower the dose of Meloxicam that you need each day, or you might not need to increase the dose to keep him going.

Using a variety of different treatments is called 'multimodal' pain therapy. If you find someone that does acupuncture they would probably have a good idea of other options to try. I wouldnt recommend anything specifically over the internet- because each dog is unique.

It's more to check that your vet has considered the option since some of the drugs are relatively new, so they may need to do some research to know about them. And then once again decide if in your case its appropriate.

Ah yes I see what you're saying, thank you so much for this. It's given me something to go on. :)