Aa
Rapid heart beat and shaking
Hi, I am new to this group. Recently, my 14.5 year old poodle had been diagnosed with CKF, His history: ever since he turned 10, I have been religiously taking him to the vet every 6 months to get a blood test done, wanting to make sure that he is healthy. In July 2014, his test results were near perfect. BUN was at 25 and creatinine at 0.8.
In February 2015, after vomiting for 2 days straight, I took him to the vet and his BUN was at 92 and creatinine at 4.3. Immediately, my vet started the drip and we've been heading in and out of the medical center everyday. Diet changed to Hill's KD (mixture of kibbles and canned blended, syringed into his mouth or he wouldn't eat on his own). 10 days of treatment later, his creatinine has dropped to 3.1, BUN at 55 (off the top of my head). The vet was happy that he is showing signs of improvement but wants his levels to drop to to 2 before I can start on the home drip.
His prescription: at the start, it was 1 capsule of Azodyl in the morning, 1 at night, always with a phosphate binder. 10 days in, she upped the kidney supplement to 2 in the morning and 1 at night, phosphate binder remains the same dosage.
In the last 4 days, in the middle of the night, he would wake up whining. When I pick him up, his heart beats really fast and he is shaking all over with teeth chattering. I would give him some of his blended food and wrap him in a towel and it goes away after a while. The vet told me that it could be an imbalance in electrolytes but wasn't able to provide a reason for the rapid heart beat.
I am sorry if this question has been posed before as I am reading this off my phone at the moment and 3G in Singapore isn't the best. I was wondering a) is there anything else I can do to stop the shakes? b) Why is his heart beating so rapidly? Is it normal? c) How can I balance out his electrolytes?
In February 2015, after vomiting for 2 days straight, I took him to the vet and his BUN was at 92 and creatinine at 4.3. Immediately, my vet started the drip and we've been heading in and out of the medical center everyday. Diet changed to Hill's KD (mixture of kibbles and canned blended, syringed into his mouth or he wouldn't eat on his own). 10 days of treatment later, his creatinine has dropped to 3.1, BUN at 55 (off the top of my head). The vet was happy that he is showing signs of improvement but wants his levels to drop to to 2 before I can start on the home drip.
His prescription: at the start, it was 1 capsule of Azodyl in the morning, 1 at night, always with a phosphate binder. 10 days in, she upped the kidney supplement to 2 in the morning and 1 at night, phosphate binder remains the same dosage.
In the last 4 days, in the middle of the night, he would wake up whining. When I pick him up, his heart beats really fast and he is shaking all over with teeth chattering. I would give him some of his blended food and wrap him in a towel and it goes away after a while. The vet told me that it could be an imbalance in electrolytes but wasn't able to provide a reason for the rapid heart beat.
I am sorry if this question has been posed before as I am reading this off my phone at the moment and 3G in Singapore isn't the best. I was wondering a) is there anything else I can do to stop the shakes? b) Why is his heart beating so rapidly? Is it normal? c) How can I balance out his electrolytes?
Hi. You're doing the right things, so try not to worry too much. The phosphorus is still too high and needs reducing. This can only be controlled by diet alone, so read my article again about the best things to help achieve this. Note that - in time - he will probably need a phosphate binder to help things, but without the phosphorus level being within a normal range (it must be within normal values to start a binder), that won't be possible to introduce.
The home fluids are good and doing it at home will a) help flush out toxins daily; and b) reduce the cost of employing the vet's services to undertake it.
90% of CKF dogs get hypertension. The important thing here is to have the blood pressure checked regularly, so he can come off the medication if blood pressure falls back to within normal values. ALL medication causes stress to the kidneys, and that's the last thing the kidneys need right now. It's a Catch-22 scenario - and decisions always have to be made about priorities. Which to treat as most important at any single point in time. The hypertension certainly needs the medication - but withdrawing the medication at the right time would also help the kidneys.
The Alumag-plus is basically an antacid. It treats the acidic symptoms, but not why it is being over-produced in the stomach. In theory, it should improve appetite by not causing your dog to feel sick. All CKF dogs have two forms of food-aversion - one is physical (the toxins cause wreching issues and can produce stomach ulcers) and the other is psychological (food-sickness association). If the Alumag doesn't seem to be working, there are lots of other good antacids to try, so ask if need be.
Also, importantly, try adding a desertspoon of cooked chopped cabbage to the k/d food meal. This is a natural cure for stomach ulcer production and can work wonders. It also has natural phosphate binding qualities, so may help reduce the phosphorus level. It may also help feeding the normal amount of food in smaller quantities more frequently during the day, if that's possible. The smaller amounts will assist the kidneys deal with the toxins that digesting the food produce.
One more thing ... fresh water is essential, but only use filtered water for your dog to drink. This is because tap water contains sodium (salt), which is bad for CKF dogs.
Okay. Enough for now. Keep going, stay strong and let us know how things progress.
Tony
The home fluids are good and doing it at home will a) help flush out toxins daily; and b) reduce the cost of employing the vet's services to undertake it.
90% of CKF dogs get hypertension. The important thing here is to have the blood pressure checked regularly, so he can come off the medication if blood pressure falls back to within normal values. ALL medication causes stress to the kidneys, and that's the last thing the kidneys need right now. It's a Catch-22 scenario - and decisions always have to be made about priorities. Which to treat as most important at any single point in time. The hypertension certainly needs the medication - but withdrawing the medication at the right time would also help the kidneys.
The Alumag-plus is basically an antacid. It treats the acidic symptoms, but not why it is being over-produced in the stomach. In theory, it should improve appetite by not causing your dog to feel sick. All CKF dogs have two forms of food-aversion - one is physical (the toxins cause wreching issues and can produce stomach ulcers) and the other is psychological (food-sickness association). If the Alumag doesn't seem to be working, there are lots of other good antacids to try, so ask if need be.
Also, importantly, try adding a desertspoon of cooked chopped cabbage to the k/d food meal. This is a natural cure for stomach ulcer production and can work wonders. It also has natural phosphate binding qualities, so may help reduce the phosphorus level. It may also help feeding the normal amount of food in smaller quantities more frequently during the day, if that's possible. The smaller amounts will assist the kidneys deal with the toxins that digesting the food produce.
One more thing ... fresh water is essential, but only use filtered water for your dog to drink. This is because tap water contains sodium (salt), which is bad for CKF dogs.
Okay. Enough for now. Keep going, stay strong and let us know how things progress.
Tony
Hi Tony,
I apologize for the late reply. I have been trying to figure out how to use this forum and realized that my email was not verified.
The latest test results I got back on 24 February: BUN: 32, Phos: 7.0, Creatinine: 2.8
My baby is on Alumag Plus and Azodyl capsules. The vet discovered the kidney failure has caused him to have hypertension so shes prescribed a pill for his blood pressure as well.
As his creatinine levels has dropped, she wants us to do the home drip instead and bring him in to her for a full fluid flush once a week.
I had a look at the link but at the moment, hes actually eating it and we are force feeding water into him every time we feed him. I am a bit hesitant to take him off but i m slowly reducing the kibble and increasing the canned K/D in.
I am not sure what more I need to do. Please advise.
Thank you
Hazel
I apologize for the late reply. I have been trying to figure out how to use this forum and realized that my email was not verified.
The latest test results I got back on 24 February: BUN: 32, Phos: 7.0, Creatinine: 2.8
My baby is on Alumag Plus and Azodyl capsules. The vet discovered the kidney failure has caused him to have hypertension so shes prescribed a pill for his blood pressure as well.
As his creatinine levels has dropped, she wants us to do the home drip instead and bring him in to her for a full fluid flush once a week.
I had a look at the link but at the moment, hes actually eating it and we are force feeding water into him every time we feed him. I am a bit hesitant to take him off but i m slowly reducing the kibble and increasing the canned K/D in.
I am not sure what more I need to do. Please advise.
Thank you
Hazel
Hi. I think your vet is doing all the right things, although you should note that Azodyl is an unproved supplement, not a medication as such. While some dogs improve with it, others sadly don't. The most important thing here is the diet - and the fluids. Try to encourage as much fluid as possible, because this will help flush out the build up of toxins.
As for the tremors ... I think again your vet has it right, it is likely to be abnormal electrolytes and blocked neurological pathways due entirely to the kidney disease. Get the creatinine and BUN under control and the tremors should stop.
I'm not entirely happy with you feeding ANY dry food (kibble), as this further causes dehydration, and that's the last thing your dog needs. But, at this early stage of treatment, if he's eating it and the k/d wet food, that is okay for now.
Don't give any treats. This is important, because controlling both low-quality protein and phosphorus intake is crucial. More info in my article (link) so please read this:
http://www.infobarrel.com/How_Diet_Affects_Dogs_with_Chronic_Kidney_Disease
What phosphate binder has your vet prescribed? And do you have the last set of blood level readings there with you? If so, what was the phosphorous reading? What was the calcium reading?
You might also want to know why I don't like dry foods for CKF dogs ... here's why:
http://www.infobarrel.com/Why_Dry_Dog_Food_Is_Bad_For_Dogs
Let us know how things go.
Tony
As for the tremors ... I think again your vet has it right, it is likely to be abnormal electrolytes and blocked neurological pathways due entirely to the kidney disease. Get the creatinine and BUN under control and the tremors should stop.
I'm not entirely happy with you feeding ANY dry food (kibble), as this further causes dehydration, and that's the last thing your dog needs. But, at this early stage of treatment, if he's eating it and the k/d wet food, that is okay for now.
Don't give any treats. This is important, because controlling both low-quality protein and phosphorus intake is crucial. More info in my article (link) so please read this:
http://www.infobarrel.com/How_Diet_Affects_Dogs_with_Chronic_Kidney_Disease
What phosphate binder has your vet prescribed? And do you have the last set of blood level readings there with you? If so, what was the phosphorous reading? What was the calcium reading?
You might also want to know why I don't like dry foods for CKF dogs ... here's why:
http://www.infobarrel.com/Why_Dry_Dog_Food_Is_Bad_For_Dogs
Let us know how things go.
Tony
You must join this user group in order to participate in this discussion.
You are reading content posted in the Chronic Kidney Failure in Dogs Group
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.
PrEP is used by people with high risk to prevent HIV infection.
