CRF - End stage - What to do or think?

[annaluno]

Hi there,

I stumbled across this group today and am grateful for doing so!

My 8 yr old Corgi Cross, Finn is in renal failure now and the vet said he has little use of his kidneys left.

He has been on fluids at the vet since yesterday but he hasn't eaten anything for 4 days now. I am in Sydney, Australia and after doing some converting of measurements - Finn's creatinine level is 5.7, Urea level (Is that the same as BUN?) is 198. There's also a phosphate measurement but not for Phosphorous. Are they the same? If so his is 15.

When I visited him today he was clearly very unwell but was happy to see me and responded quite well.
He has lost 2kg/4.5pounds, has been lethargic and salivating a lot. Yet even this week he still has bouts of excitement when I suggest a walk or when I come home he gets very excited.

I guess I'm asking if anyone else has been in this situation what should I expect and if you know much about Finn's levels etc.

The vet said he is getting the best care he can get and to wait for few more days of him being on the fluid drip but it's not good at all that he isn't eating any food. He normally is a picky eater which doesn't help.

I think I just need a little reassurance or some words of wisdom from other people who been through the same.

I love the darling thing so much I've been crying since yesterday and the thought living without him taking up all the room on the bed or not hearing him snore breaks my heart ♥

Thank you for listening

Anna

[Ghilly]

I'm so sorry to hear that you are going through this with your beloved pet.  It's so hard watching them grow old and suffer through all that goes along with that.

To answer your questions about kidney values, BUN stands for Blood Urea Nitrogen and creatinine is a chemical waste product that is produced by the body's muscles contracting.  Urea is released by the liver as the body digests and breaks down proteins (both from food and from the muscles themselves).  When the kidneys are functioning correctly, they remove the urea and it is carried from the body by the urine the kidneys produce.  When kidney function is impaired, the urea builds up in the kidneys, hence the elevated values in the bloodwork.  As far as the phosphate levels go, phosphorus is another thing that the kidneys are responsible for removing, so when they are not working or not working correctly, phosphorus builds up and shows up as elevated in the blood tests.  Fifteen is extremely high for a phosphate range, since with anything above 4.5, a phosphorus binder is recommended to help remove the phosphorus from the body.  Creatinine should be under 2.0 and BUN should be less than 20.  This little guy's numbers are off the charts, so he's in pretty serious shape right now.

By forcing fluids in a patient with kidney failure, it often helps the kidneys to get rid of these waste products.  Often it's enough to give the patient subcutaneous fluids (under the skin), as long as enough kidney function remains, to maintain the animal in a fairly comfortable state.  The problem is, animals are SO good at disguising the fact that they don't feel well, by the time they are showing signs of illness, the kidney failure is often pretty well advanced and not a lot can be done.  Only the most vigilant owner notices the VERY early stages of kidney failure and takes the pet to the vet to see what the cause is, since the very early signs can often be attributed to normal, everyday things.  An increase in water intake is often attributed to the warm weather being here or a change in diet that makes the animal thirstier.  It's not uncommon at all for a pet to occasionally turn its nose up at its dinner, and refusal of food is another early sign of the pet not feeling well.  Since in the beginning it may only put them off their feed for a day or two, this is usually attributed to them just being "off their feed", and that can happen to the best of us.  We all have days when we just don't feel like eating much of anything.

While Finn is by no means an old dog, he IS what is considered a senior dog at this point, but I wouldn't give up on him just yet.  Sometimes a few days on an IV drip can kick the kidneys back into action, but depending on how much function has already been lost, it may or may not last.

Again, I am so sorry that you are having to go through this with your Finn.  Please keep us up to date on his condition.

Ghilly

[Jerry_NJ]

My heart goes out to you and all who loved your fine dog.. a real family member and a horrendous loss.

Most here have had similar experiences and thus we read and sympathize with true empathy.

Good bless.