Renal Failure ... I NEED HELP

[beatman]

Please help!!! I have 5 yr old dog (canine). 5 months ago we had to go the vet, because he had the symptoms (loss of apetite, vomiting etc). The diagnosis: Renal failure. Till now he is given serum 3 times a week. He is taking everyday half a pill of cibacen and half a pill of pepsamar. He is eating rice or spagheti with small pieces of chicken. We were doing fine but he started vomiting again, I'm afraid we have to go for a Zantac injection again... Am I doing something wrong? Is there any better medication for renal failure?
Please help me...
Michael
Athens, Greece

[Jaybay]

Any news on your dog?  In a way, the renal failure will be easier to deal with if your dog has an underlying condition (like Addison's) that can be treated.  What I've learned about renal failure is that it's really difficult to treat because there isn't one "magic pill" that helps.  It means a whole change in diet, and relying on calcium (Tums) or aluminal hydroxide (another antacid) to bond to phosphorus and get it out the dog's system.  It depends largely on how much damage has already been done to the kidneys.  If renal failure is caught early enough, it can be fairly well-managed for some years.  The objective is to keep the kidney damage to a minimum for as long as possible.

[beatman]

Thanx for the advice. I'll ask my vet about the diet you recomended and I followed the link you gave me. Is there any alternative medicine for RF?

[Jaybay]

In a young dog, Addison's or Cushings would be a good thing to test for with renal failure already present.  The objective is to protect the kidneys for as long as possible from further damage.  In my dog's case, she is over 13, and the damage is already widespread.  It wouldn't make any difference to do further testing to determine the cause.  I'm trying to wrap my mind around the fact that she won't be with us much longer.  :-(

[becks715]

I don't know the shot my dog is on (he lives with my parents) but seriously get him back into the vets.  And the symptoms he's showing are ereily (sp?) similar to what Duncan was going through and when we got him into the vet his blood work came back with his potassium through the roof and salt way down.  That lead to another test and then the diagnoises of Addison's disease.  And like I said it took about 2 months to find the right balance of medication and now he's back to normal.

It may just be the kidney function worsening but I would get him looked at for addison's and Cushings (both deal with the adrenal glands that sit on top of the kidneys)  addison's is they stop working and releasing horomones that are essential for life and cushings is the opposite, too much horomones.  

[Jaybay]

I am also dealing with a dog in serious renal failure.  The idea that a low protein diet is necessary for dogs in renal failure is a bit controversial.  What you want to shoot for is more easily digestible protein.  The most important thing is to get rid of phosphorus.  Calcium is a phosphorus binder, so you should be adding some kind of calcium supplement to get rid of that.  A teaspoon of ground up eggshells is a great source of calcium.  If your dog's calcium is already high, look for an aluminum hydroxide antacid product.  Aluminum hydroxide is an excellent phosphorus binder.  You'll need to add a multi-vitamin to help with nutrient deficiency as well.  I was able to find one formulation at PetSmart that did not contain phosphorus: Nutri-Vet Senior Vitality.

Check out this web site for all kinds of information on dogs with kidney disease, and information about dietary foods and supplements.  Printed out, it's about 40 pages of excellent information.

http://www.dogaware.com/kidney.html

My dog was diagnosed only a few days ago, and already her BUN and Creatinine have skyrocketed in spite of the meds.  We were using reglan for nausea, and that worked well until her kidney function worsened.  Reglan is metabolized in the kidneys, and since they couldn't clear it out, she had toxic levels in her blood.  She was shaking and jerking with fast, shallow respirations, and just couldn't get comfortable.  Currently waiting for a return call from the vet to find something else that will help, and I'm glad to hear zofran is an alternative.  I know it's pretty expensive though.

[beatman]

About diet. Our vet recomended this diet. Usually 2-3 small pieces of chicken boiled and a lot of pasta or rice boiled in water - no salt or anything else

[beatman]

yes he is lethargic mostly but when we go out he is happy and he plays a little After he vomits he is very sad and he goes under the chairs and tables to hide. We re trying to decrease the values of bun and creatine very hard. Fluid therapy is helpful. I'm searching for more effective medication desperately

[becks715]

Just to add - get his blood work done for addison's - the adrenal glands sit on top of the kidneys so there could be a problem there too.

It's difficult to diagnoise addison's because often by the time owner's get the dogs in to the vets it's too late.  

Is your dog lethargic? (more than normal i mean) because that combined with vomitting are what happened to my dog.  Just a thought.

[becks715]

Hi,

My dog , almost 6yrs old recently was diagnoised with addisons disease, which is the adrenal glands not working.  Not entirely the same as renal failure but he is also on medication every day and on top of that gets a shot once a month for the horomones he's missing.  It has taken almost 2 months to get him on a combination of medicines that work properly (ie no more symptoms)

My concern with renal failure is If his kidney's aren't working properly then his urine isn't being filtered properly and that will lead to death.  so yes rush him back to the vet.  There may end up nothing you can do, but if all it's going to take are some shots then great run back to the vets.

Um, has he always been on rice and chicken?  Like you are feeding him a natural diet, or is this new?  If it's new that could also be upsetting him - if he is on a natural diet (and has been)  ensure the chicken is FULLY cooked and that you aren't cross contaiminating anything (no raw meat touching anything that he could possible get his sniffer on).

As far as other medications for renal failure - try and post in the ask a vet part as they would know all the details of that.

I wish you luck.