Sure am glad to hear you have a thorough Vet. I was hoping you just didn't enter everything. Good to hear your Vet ruled out 'Addison's',....that in itself is a sure sign that you have a Great Vet.
As you already know, keeping the digestive system and appetite going is key. Tony's articles are pure gold with guidance. The biggest thing is keeping the diet 'different' with the prescribed kidney food as per safe things you can add. As Tony will tell you,......at some point, they will parallel a bout of gastrointestinal upset with what they are eating if its the 'Same 'Ole' food in the pan.
Hang in there.
Earl
Hello yes everytime my vet runs bloods she does a urine test for protein analysis etc, she is very thorough! i havent got the results to hand but will post them later, they did look at other causes and they said it wasnt text book CKD as his urine was still quite concentrated so did tests for Adisons disease and many others, all returned negative. I did want a full MRI but they seemed to be happy with just a ultrasound.
He is due in next week for another blood and urine run, so should know more then .
Hi. Yes, MedHelp are upsetting us all because they are making changes to the website, and we are all struggling to find rotuine pages, including our User Group link. They tell us they are looking into it and hopefully they will resolcve the problem shortly.
In the meantime, if you go to your MyMedhelp page (top of page buttons) and click on it, you should find yourself on your own page. Click on your Profile button. Then scroll down the page until you see the Communities box - and in there should be the "Chronic Kidney Failure in Dogs" link. All a bit long winded, but it's the only way of getting to it at the moment.
Let me know if this works for you.
Tony
Sorry to hear about your 'Best Friend'. Just wanted to add, that I didn't see where you mentioned whether or not your Vet did Urinalysis? IF NOT, you should request such to see if there is 'Protein Loss' indicated in Urine. A COMPLETE urinalysis will indicate 'Protein Loss',....indicating kidney malfunction,....before......the blood test.
In other words, whenever you are at the Vet for a wellness exam, it is worth every cent out of your pocket to have BOTH, blood and urine exams. A Urine Exam will also 100% indicate a possible hidden 'Urinary Tract Infection' which many times is present with kidney malfunction.
CKD is all about 'Early Detection'.
Also, has your Vet requested to run additional tests to 'Rule Out' other possible causes to the kidney malfunction values?
Good Luck to you and your 'Best Friend'.
Earl
Hi Tony thanks but I cant seem to find that group can you help direct me ?
I see you've already joined ... that's great. Welcome to our group.
Please join our specialist User Group on MedHelp - the Chronic Kidney Failure in Dogs User Group. I administrate this group. It has almost 100 members now and is entirely made up of owners that have had a dog with kidney failure or currently have a dog with kidney failure. There is a wealth of good information and support there.
I would re-post what you have written above once in the User Group to see if people can help (I'm sure they will). In the meantime, a couple of articles written by me might also be useful:
http://www.infobarrel.com/My_10-Point_Plan_for_Dogs_with_Kidney_Failure
http://www.infobarrel.com/How_Diet_Affects_Dogs_with_Chronic_Kidney_Disease
Tony