kidney failure going down fast

[2sad2dal]

how long can a yellow lab live without water and food with this condition? My dear Tracy have been not eating or drinking for two weeks! after week and half sick and due to not having money we took her to the vet and was then diagnosed with kidney failure; vet says kidneys are shot down. I am still waiting on some more money do what is right but wonder what is that? i am desperated watching her like this. Cant stop crying out of plain guilt since I have not being as best as i should have and now in front of her inminent lose, i cant even bear thinking of it !
Any help please; knowing what it have to be done is not good enough; she is still alive right now and in her looks she is scare to go; i think she knows what is going on; it is tearing me appart.

[bunter1963sn]

Just lost our 17 year old Yorkshire Terrier, Muffin. Her kidneys were failing and she was deteoreating. I took her the vets this morning and she fell asleep at 11:25am. My partner and I are absolutely heartbroken. I stayed with her and stroked her little head while she was put to sleep. It was all over and at peace within a minute. She had had enough and was ready to go. I kissed her before I left and broke my heart. She was our life. Goodnight God bless Muffin we will never let you leave our hearts xx

[tonyb286]

Whether you are currently caring for a dog that has kidney failure or whether you are an owner that has lost a dog to this dreadful illness, please join the CHRONIC KIDNEY FAILURE IN DOGS User Group. You will get lots of valuable information there about how to improve a dog's quality and longevity of life - and if required, get support from other owners that are going through or have gone through the same thing with their own dogs. I administer this group - and all members there are kindhearted, courageous and well informed about kidney failure.

You can find the group by mousing over the Forum tab and clicking on User Groups, then use the search bar.

Regards

Tony

[missgrant]

Hi lost my soul mate too. Lab/staff/princess Daisy sadly lost her fight last Saturday night and life will never be the same -she was amazing. Daisy was a rescue dog so I don't know her exact age but she was our special princess here for 11 years. Reading about you and Tracey makes me realise that your bond with her is just like ours. I want you to know that I chose to let Daisy go naturally but her death was so horrific I'm still thinking the same as you, Thinking that I let her down by not getting the vet here the day before as I'd been exactly the same as you wondering every day what to do -whilst daisy was getting so poorly old age took over her lovely body. She was on heart meds and had cancer but wanted to stay here so much. Her tail was still wagging she was still giving/recieving love and still catching spiders last week! She sadly started to have some really bad days with diarreah and seizures. she clung to life as long as she possibly could, even at the very end she fought so hard to stay here she loved being here so much. You and i are feeling the same. We each took a different course of action but the heartbreaking outcome is the same we lost our best friends. Wish we could talk. Catherine x

[kpw70445]

Hello 2sad2dal!

You are very privileged to have been chosen to be Tracy's caretaker for all these years! I bet you have given her a life that most pets would dream of having! I have been where you are now three times over the past 3 years. My first two Labs I had for almost 14 years. I had to put both of them down a year apart from each other. Old age just caught up with them. I unexpectedly put down my wonderful Golden Retriever of 10 years, Zekie. I hardly had time to say good bye to him. Luckily he died peacefully. I was with them all when I had to put them to sleep. I would never have let them go on all by themselves. Now I have my Skeeter girl suffering a total kidney shutdown. Vets are convinced she was poisoned with anti-freeze. I highly doubt that. She just has no access to those kinds of things and I do not know anyone who would ever want to harm them. However, the fact remains that as of this moment, she has no working kidneys. It has been one week for her now. I am praying to my awesome God for her recovery. If she ends up going on to be with my Lord well.......there is nobody else I would trust better than He to take care of her, Zekie, Cami and Emily. The Bile speaks of animals being in heaven. Jesus comes back to earth riding on a white hoarse! I am looking forward to being greeted by my loved ones and especially by my furry tail wagers! As sad as I am right now over Zekie, I am happy that God will heal my Skeeter! God has again given me the strength to go out and find another Rescue dog with special needs to be our newest addition to our family. Just as he had me do with Cami, Emily, Zekie and Skeeter.

So, be proud of the great care you took of your wonderful Tracy! She loves you very much! Dogs Love All The Time! Keep her from pain and let her go when the time is right! I had my pets cremated so I could one day be cremated and mixed in with my past pets and spread someplace peaceful. I put their collars, retired toys and brushes in zip lock bags so I could go back to them later on and smell my dogs scent imbedded in their collars and Thunder shirts. I look at pictures of Zekie all the time now. It really helps with the heartache. I actually needed to get some Aprolazam for anxiety that I felt when I had to put my Cami girl down. It helped a lot!

Most of all, be with your Tracy girl through the end and don't be afraid to do it all over again! There are many wonderful pets who need a wonderful caretaker like yourself. They will never be your Tracy girl but they WILL steal your heart just as Tracy did!

Cami, Emily, Zekie and Skeeter's Caretaker and Best Friend,

Me !

[ForTheLuvofBrownie]

Hi,
I am so sorry for what you & Murali are experiencing.  My dog, Brownie is probably close to end stage renal failure.  Your post was over one week ago, so a lot has probably changed in your circumstances by now.  Whatever your situation is today, I wish you much peace and want to express how sorry I am for all the pain both you & Murali have had.  Take care of yourself, and keep us posted here.  

Paulette

[tonyb286]

Hello. Welcome to the forum - but so sorry it's under such difficult circumstances. If Murali has kidney failure (it sounds like that's what you are describing) then no medication will help him survive. However, there are medications that will help him feel more comfortable and that will encourage him to eat and drink. Dogs with kidney failure have a body that is full of toxins (because they cannot be cleared out in the normal way through a healthy kidney), and it's the toxins that cause nausia, which in turn stops a dog from eating and drinking properly. The lack of food causes severe fatigue and miserableness. The lack of water intake leads to severe dehydration. Ask your vet about suitable anti-nausia meds, because if your Murali will eat (even a little) and keep drinking a sip of water every now and then, he will have the energy to feel more at ease and be more lucid.

Nothing can prevent the inevitable, so at some stage euthanasia must be seriously considered - your dog will tell you when the right time has come - the message will be there loud and clear in his eyes. This is a heartwrenching situation for you and for Murali. All you can do is comfort him and prepare for that final helping hand. I am so very sorry I can't give you better advice, but do check the forum for other very useful info about kidney disease. There are lots of us that have been where you are right now, and some of us have learned so much from the experience. Cyber hugs to you and Murali. Tony x

[HotSpar]

I had to put two of my sweet babies to sleep within three weeks of each other.  Zoey had congestive heart failure and her BUN levels were at 135.  She had been diagnosed with kidney disease 8 months earlier.  She had two bad episodes during that time but pulled through.  When the third one happened I thought it was time but then felt horrible guilt thinking maybe she wasn't ready, that she would've perked up again.  With Maki it came to the point that it was difficult for her to lay down because of arthritis. Seemed anxious, was up half the night wanting to drink water and pee.  She had only been diagnosed like 6 weeks prior.  She started with bad diarrhea on Sunday and Tues and Wed had a little blood in it.  On Thurs I called the vet to schedule to be euthanized but wanted to do blood work first.  Results showed her BUN had only increased slightly but it showed high levels for her liver.  She got a sedative and 15 minutes later the vet injected her.  She didn't exhale like my others had done after the injection and he said it was normal when they get a sedative first.  Now I wonder if she was under dosed and might have woke up in the freezer.  This terrifies me and can't imagine the fear particularly with her anxiety issues.  Any reassurance?  Zoey was 14 years old and Maki was 17.