Experience of anorexic dog? Anyone?

[newbie]

I agree with that. It's surprising how many doctors and vets bristle about a person's personal research though and I think it can blind them to possibilities which is unfortunate.

A US vet did research on using low doses of one of the meds used in the US to treat Addison's. Who wouldn't want to minimize a medication as long as you are getting good control? Well, the answer is that LOTS of vets refuse to consider it and many owners of Addison's dogs end up shopping for a vet willing to look at that research. The researcher vet offers to consult with any other vet for free about it but some will still refuse. Seems crazy to me. I have a great set of vets and the one who diagnosed my dog was a bit nervous and reluctant to try the low dose, but she called the researcher and went along with it. The low dose protocol works fantastically well, saves a dog from being over medicated and saves the owner a lot of money which then reduces the number of people who would have to consider putting their dog down because they can't afford to treat it.

It's a crazy world out there.

Sonya, I would make sure to ask the vet again yourself, just to be sure. Messages can be forgotten or missed or the vet could not like the suggestion coming from an owner, wrong as that would be. It really pays to be a strong advocate.0

 

[Sonya-m]

The vet is calling me tomorrow anyway so I fully intend to bring it up - I just need to find out what is wrong with my pooch as I can't imagine him not being around. It was awful coming home tonight and him not being there greeting me with his wagging tail and slobbery chops!

 

[TeresaT]

I have to agree with Newbie. It is up to us to do as much research as possible regarding our animals. We see them everyday and know what is normal and what is not. We have to be the advocates for our fur babies just like we would be for our human babies. I'm the one that discovered Shredder had Cushing's Disease. I told the vet I wanted her tested. The vet thought I was nuts. After listing my reasons--and the vet offering alternative causes for the symptoms--I said "run the tests anyway." I miss her, but I know I did the right thing for her. The medicine didn't work for her and it came down to quality of life vs quantity of life. Quality of life will, for me, always win over quantity of life. I could not let her continue to suffer just so I could have the pleasure of her company. It is a horribly difficult decision to make, but it is one made out of supreme love for your fur baby. I hope you do not have to make it for another 10 years.

 

[Sonya-m]

Just sent a very precise and to the point email to the hospital so they can read it before they call tomorrow. I just though it may be easier for me to write everything down in an email than trying to remember everything I want to say to them. I've requested that even if they don't believe it to be this that they please test him to rule it out. I will keep you updated

 

[TeresaT]

Good for you Sonya. At least you'll have peace of mind that you are taking an active part in your dog's care. Good luck. I hope it it Addison's so that it can be managed and he'll be around for a long time. Praying for you and Buster that everything turns out well.

 

[Dahila]

Sonya print the email you send and keep beside the phone, when we are upset we tend to forgot asking the right questions. It will help

 

[newbie]

Please keep us updated, Sonya. I hope your boy pulls through whatever this ends up being, with flying colors.

 

[Sonya-m]

They've done the test already apparently and it's not that. He's still not eating either. I just know we're losing him. We're going to see him this afternoon.

 

[TeresaT]

Oh, Sonya. I'm so sorry it's not Addison's. I hope they find out what it is soon.

 

[navigator9]

For what it's worth, you all with kidney animals can ask your vets about phosphorus blockers and other supplements. I use Epakitin on my 18 year old cat's food because at 18 years old, she can eat what the heck ever she darn well wants to eat. I'm less worried about controlling her food at this point than just making sure she eats enough to not lose any more weight. She was an 11-12 pound cat (bit fat, honestly, but...) that now weighs 8.

She also gets Aventi Kidney Support. It's sort of like Azodyl, but is way, way cheaper and doesn't require refrigeration.

So far the combination seems to have stopped her daily vomiting and helped improve her appetite and her kidney numbers are steady enough.

I hope you get through this crisis with your pup Sonya, and I wish the best to everybody else with a renal failure critter (be it acute or chronic)!

Thank you for this Rusti. I have to bring Mimi to the vet soon to check her bloodwork, and I'm going to ask about these.

Sonya, my thoughts are with you and Buster.

 

[Sonya-m]

We've just been to him and to speak to the vet. He talked is through all the results. His kidneys are pretty much damaged beyond repair. It's definitely not Addison's, he had a normal response to the test in that his cortisol levels shot up as expected. He's having IV fluid therapy to flush the waste products from his system but he's very unwell and has lost so much weight. If he doesn't respond soon to the fluids we're going to have to do the right thing for him. It will absolutely break my heart and I can't ever go through this again - no more dogs for me.

 

[TeresaT]

Oh, I'm so sorry.

 

[Cactuslily]

my thoughts and prayers are with you and Buster.

 

[newbie]

Damn! I'm sorry, Sonya. Having to put a dog/pet down is one of the worst experiences, I swear, even if it is clearly the right thing to do.

 

[lionprincess00]

Im also sorry. We put our boy down September of 2013. It was and always is so difficult. I am thinking of you and hope you're ok. I completely understand how hard it is when faced with this...so sorry.

 

[lenarenee]

Sonya, did the dr. tell you his kidney values and what they mean? What stage?

This may only be a crisis event, and not the end. I glad to see fluids being used, because a build up of stuff in the blood causes a lot of discomfort that makes them feel like they have the flu.....hence the loss of appetite, lethargy, etc .

It's common for pets to not eat while styling at the clinic.....too many new sights, sounds, smells, and stress, so you don't necessarily need to take that as being a bad sign.

I'll pray for him to be stabilized and sent home, where then a system of care can be established through trial and error.

It's an exhausting process for you. It was for me too and I almost gave up in the beginning. It was experienced pet owners that showed me that often the bad times can be surviveable and to fight through them if I had the money and energy, and if I believed it was what my cat would have wanted.

I encourage you to try all the avenues you can handle. And I also support any decision you need to make.

 

[Sonya-m]

I know there are different units of measure for BUN and creatinine but whatever the units being used are, he is at 22 BUN and 222 creatinine. From what I've read these aren't critically high. But the scan on his kidneys did show significant degradation.

I so hope you're right and it's a crisis event but I've truly never seen him so miserable and so skinny - I almost wish I'd not seen him like this. It was heartbreaking.

 

[lenarenee]

I know there are different units of measure for BUN and creatinine but whatever the units being used are, he is at 22 BUN and 222 creatinine. From what I've read these aren't critically high. But the scan on his kidneys did show significant degradation.

I so hope you're right and it's a crisis event but I've truly never seen him so miserable and so skinny - I almost wish I'd not seen him like this. It was heartbreaking.

It absolutely is heart-rending, and scary as hell. I'm so sorry.

Cats can live with 75% and more of their kidney function gone. And live comfortably enough.
Each case is different. I knew a cat that had stage 4 (90% gone) and lived more than a year.

Has the vet given a stage? A prognosis? (Which has to be taken with a grain of salt)

Are you getting the sense the vet has the experience to deal with this or just not willing to work with this?

You're in the UK, do you have the option of administering sub q fluids at home?

Plese look at www.felinecrf.org. it's for cats but I'm hoping you'll get a sense for what I'm talking about when I say that there may be hope. Pets can crash until near death, but rebound. It's just the way this thing works.

 

[Sonya-m]

They haven't given us a stage recently but when he was diagnosed 7 weeks ago they said borderline 2-3.

I get the feeling the vet is still of the opinion there's hope because he was talking about 'when Buster comes through this..' But I just find it hard to believe after seeing him today

He did talk about giving sub q fluids using a skin button or something.

 

[Guspuppy]

Aww, I'm so sorry to hear this Sonya. My dog had a bad reaction to Doxycycline (an antibiotic used for Lyme disease) in that his body did not process it like normal, so he got a bad overdose with just three doses. His creatinine was over 1000, literally off the chart, and his kidney tests were also so bad that the vet felt there was surely something else going on and wanted to give him even more drugs. But I refused, had them give him sub-q fluids and took him home to drink as much as he wanted and eat if he felt like it or not. He drank over a gallon of water a day for almost a full week before he started to recover. It was extremely frightening but he DID eventually make a full recovery from the overdose. I hope and pray that your dog will pull through this and go on to lead a long and happy life.