Stage 4 kidney failure

Question

My German Shepherd has lepto. Her creatinine is currently above 800 so she's in stage 4 kidney failure. She is at the vets on IV and antibiotics. Tomorrow we will do another blood test. I'm just curious as to her chances. When they increased her flow today her kidneys couldn't handle it and was starting to get "crackles" when she listened to her heart and breathing. 

What are her chances ??

Abegailann · Answer

The vet replied she said the antibiotic is underdose so she change it to 2.5ml 3 times a day.

Abegailann · Answer

Hi Tony. My dog is getting weak again i dont know what's happening. After increasing the dose of his doxy his WBC decreased from 52 to 34, but then the vet change his antibiotics to co-amoxiclav 312.5mg/dL 0.5mL twice a day (dog is 7kg) saying that my dog is not responding very well to doxy. He was getting better, he always want to go for a walk and play with my cats but after 1week of giving amoxiclav he's back to being a sleepyhead again and do not even want to go for a walk. I texted my vet about this but she did not reply yet. I'm thinking of going to another vet.

Abegailann · Answer

Okay. I'll talk to my vet and i'll give you an update about this. Thank you so much for the response!

Abegailann · Answer

Hello. Could my dog be resistant to doxycycline? 

At the beginning of his medication, I gave him doxycycline for his leptospirosis for a month and stopped for 2days because the vet was not in the city. When she came back she still prescribed doxycycline. After giving doxy for another 2weeks, his WBC did not decrease instead it increased from 44 to 52 and also his neutrophils and lymphocytes. I have also noticed that he now has low platelets which was normal 2weeks ago. The vet still prescribed doxy, saying it is the drug of choice to treat lepto and increased the dose to 3/4 of the tablet instead of 1/2. Is this correct? or should we change the antibiotics?

tonyb286 · Answer

Hi. The yellow colour is caused by high levels of bilirubin. Raised ALT would indicate liver disease, but not necessarily liver damage or jaundice. The important thing right now is to get the lepto treated, which you are doing, so concentrate on that for now. If there is kidney damage or disease, it will need to be properly diagnosed and "staged" after all medications are complete. The medications will cloud any judgement, so diagnosis is virtually impossible right now. It may be acute or chronic, and blood testing will help determine this later. If it's acute, and it has been caught early enough, the kidneys may be able to recover enough to maintain good function.

Tony

Abegailann · Answer

That confuses me since his ALT lvl is normal but he's still yellowish. What causes his yellow color? and Yes,doxycycline is the antibiotic prescribed by the vet and also liverolin (a syrup from India i guess) to protect his liver. I'm also concern about his kidney, is the kidney disease caused by lepto still reversible? Is it chronic or acute? I failed to ask the vet about this.

I just hope he gets better, he's my bestfriend and a very sweet dog too.

Abegailann · Answer

My 2yr old japanese spitz also has leptospirosis. His creatinine lvl is 0.26 (low) and his BUN is 41.8 (high). Im afraid because the color of his gums and eyes are yellow. He's on antibiotics for more than a month now. The vet also said he has kidney failure. He has polyuria and drinks a lot of water. As of yesterday, he started eating his food by himself and does not need to be forced feed. I can also say he walks better now than last week. I just hope he will continue to get better, but i'm still afraid because of his yellow color.

tonyb286 · Answer

Hi. I have only just found this post ... each and every dog is different and therefore it is impossible to say whether your best friend will pull through or not. She is young enough to have the stamina, so that is a plus point. However, the levels are extremely high. Fluids are the best route to getting her through this and it may take several days before there are signs of success, so this is going to be extremely stressful for you, I'm sure. Getting blood pressure under control is another hurdle, as it will impact on the kidneys and other organs. I'm sure your vet is doing all the right things. A group of drugs known as ACEIs are often found to be the best to relief hypertension, as they also reduce dangerous proteinuria.

Let me know how things go. Fingers crossed for a positive outcome.

Tony

ginger899 · Answer

You may find some help and support here:

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Chronic-Kidney-Failure-in-Dogs/show/1809

It is one of the Med Help Groups, on chronic kidney failure in dogs.
Although the cause -with your girl is possibly the Leptospirosis, so her problem would be considered 'acute' more than 'chronic', you still may find some useful info and help on that group.

ginger899 · Answer

I am so sorry she is sick like this. I am also sorry because I have no experience with stage 4 kidney failure, or Leptospirosis.
One of our members, Tonyb, has a good deal of knowledge about canine kidney disease, and I hope he will see your post and be able to comment to give you some support.

I hope your girl pulls through. My kindest thoughts.