kidney failure

[kimtperkins]

This is my first post, so I'm not sure I'm in the right place. Our 9.5 year old boxer did not eat...but drank plenty of water...while we were away from him for a week. By the time we got back and took him immediately to the vet, he was diagnosed with irreversible kidney failure with a creatonine level at an unbelievable high of 27, so we put him to sleep. My question is: What is the likelyhood that his life could have been saved if he had gone to the doc a few days earlier? Or would it have probably been too late anyhow? He had been vomiting for about a week...only at night and not much....right before we left town, but he always had a weak stomach so we did not panic because he was still eating and acting fine. Also, his breath had been increasingly terrible for about the last 6 months, but the vet said to clean his teeth. It was such a shock how fast he went downhill. Any insights out there? Our dog's caregiver...who loved him dearly... feels responsible for not taking him in earlier. Do you think the Creatonine level could have escalated in only a week?

[kandy]

First off, I am sorry for your loss.

I too had a dog pass on from total kidney failure ( Lacey). She was 19 months when she was finally accurately diagnosed, after being ill off and on for a few months. I finally had to insist that my vet do bloodwork to find a cause for her illness and that's when the kidney failure was discovered. In my understanding of the research that I did on kidney issues, unless your dog had been poisoned with antifreeze, no the creatinine levels did not jump in a short time period, but gradually increased. You would've known had your dog been poisoned though, as those symptoms become evident within hours of the poisoning.

I too questioned whether I could've done anything different that may have saved her life, which is why I did major research. Our vet said that her kidney's never developed properly, so it was a birth defect. I did take two things with me from that horrible experience 1) quality of food is very important and 2) periodic blood tests are a good thing and totally worth the money (not to mention convincing your vet that you need them done). I feed a much better food now (not that it would've made any difference in Lacey's case) and I have all my dog's blood tested at least once a year just to monitor levels.

Did your dog have a history of urinary tract infections?

[Love4himies]

I am sorry for your loss.

Kandy is right on. Quality of food and regular bloodwork.

I think your dog may have had kidney failure for a while by the sounds of it. Bad breath is one sign of the kidneys failing. Dogs and cats are super at hiding illnesses until it gets very bad, it protects them in the wild.

[BenMax]

I am sorry for your loss.

If the dog declined so rapidly then do not blame yourselves. If the dog was taken to the vet, maybe it would have extended the life by a few days, weeks or months.

I think everyone can relate to how you and the caregiver feels. We have all had animals that we lost and blame ourselves for not acting faster or doing something different.

[ScottieDog]

Kim, first my sympathies for your tremendous loss. I've been through a roller-coaster ride with my little girl--also kidney problems. Our problem was a build up to toxic levels from a prescribed medication. So our problems were related to a poisoning and she was able to pull through, but it was a very rough time.

Please understand I am not an animal medical professional. From my research I found out there are two types of kidney failure: Chronic renal failure and Acute renal failure. We dealt with Acute failure which is typically brought about quickly via poisoning or an accident. With proper, prompt treatment acute renal failure can be reversed and there may or may not be long-term kidney damage. Chronic failure is something that occurs over a long period of time. It can also occur when the renal system is malformed due to a birth defect. Both acute and chronic are incredibly dangerous.

Typically chronic renal failure is only diagnosed once the kidneys are functioning at less than 75%. By this time the animal is quite sick and supportive, life-extending care is the only treatment. This can include administering subcutaneous fluids to prevent dehydration. What happens is that the kidneys aren't working to eliminate toxins. As the toxins build, the dog tries to drink more and more to help flush the toxins from the body. At a certain point, the dog cannot drink enough--that is when the fluids are administered. Special diets can be prescribed to help diminish the level of toxins produced. Unfortunately, there is no way to repair the damage to the kidneys in chronic renal failure.

In our case, my dog was prescribed a medication that was processed in the liver. In her case, her liver was compromised from abnormal high liver enzymes and hepatitis. This probably lead to the toxic buildup in her kidneys. Within a few days, she got very, very bad. She had some bloody, loose stools, bloody vomiting, complete loss of appetite. I was in constant communication with my vet and was able to get her hospitalized. Her Creatinine level was at 7. After nearly 2 weeks in ICU, the level dropped to 1.7 and she was discharged. We are still in a monitoring phase to determine what level of permanent damage was done. If she has permanent damage, then we will be at a chronic renal failure stage.

My heart goes out to you. Unless there was an obvious poisoning event or a traumatic accident, it is likely that your dog had chronic renal failure and there would have been very little that could be done to help once diagnosed. You might have been able to have done IV rehydration and then sub-Q fluids, but at a certain state, your dog would have had a very limited quality of life. Please don't beat yourself up. I watched my baby go downhill for 3 days while we were treating her for a suspected stomach ulcer--the common side effect from the medication--but it ended up being renal failure. I didn't know either. Your dog was sick--you got him medical care. I am sorry.

[kimtperkins]

Thanks so much for your kind words. I feel a little better knowing there was probably nothing we could have done to prolong his life...or even if for a little while...his quality of life would not have been good. Thanks for your sympathy. Only a pet lover can understand the horrible void of not having our little companions around anymore.

[kimtperkins]

Kandy and others...To answer your question, our dog had no UTI history that we were aware of, and we do not think this could have been acute kidney failure, because he was closely supervised and there was nothing for him to get into that would have poisoned him. I can see now that it must have been chronic and that he just did not show really obvious signs until it was too late. I've learned some things here that I will remember with our next pet: Insist on annual bloodwork and the importance of feeding them better dogfood...two things we did not realize were such significant factors. Thanks everyone. I really appreciate your replies.

[lm9012]

Kim;

I am very sorry for your loss. I can only imagine! Please do not beat yourself up. Our animals are made to hide weakness. So unfortunately, by the time we see that something is wrong..it has gone far too long and it is too late. Like others have mentioned..preventative care and testing are the only way to catch things. Our little guys can't tell us if they are sore, or nauseous or just not feeling well. We were diagnosed with chronic renal failure (CRF) over a year and a half ago. It was found during 'routine' blood work. He was showing no clinical signs of disease. To this day, he's never really looked or acted sick. But the numbers don't lie, and he's lost 75% of his kidney function. Now, we manage it and live with it and he is doing very well. But had we not done that test..no doubt in my mind he'd be gone. And I only did the test because the vet insisted. I almost never went through with it! I really thought it was unecessary!

The creatinine was 27mg?? wow. That poor baby was far too gone by that I'm sure. Unless the failure is acute...like someone mentioned, the creat can spike and then come back down..but if it's chronic..nothing we can do. :sad:

Yes, bad breath is a sign of periodontal disease...which then causes bacteria to leak into the bloodstream affecting the kidneys. My dog's teeth are in really bad shape, when I adopted him 3 years ago we cleaned them and do our best to take care of them but the damage is done..and hence, now his kidneys are compromised.

So a dental hygiene routine is also very crucial for them.

Time heals all wounds..and you can take comfort in knowing now what you didn't know then. You can know pass the knowledge on to a loved one with pets...and when the time comes and you are ready to bring a new furball in your life, you will be prepared.

I wish you the best!

[growler~GateKeeper]

kimtperkins I'm very sorry for your loss

I am also currently dealing with CRF in my cat, who is not showing clinical signs except for a little more drinking & peeing than normal. My grrls' creatinine numbers had recently spiked quite a bit higher than they had been previously but have now dropped though careful homeopathy management & thoroughout this time there was no change in her attitude.

My point in this is they don't usually show their sickness until it is too late, so at the point of 27mg there was likely not much that could've been done for quality of life.

sweet run free at Rainbow Bridge