Hi everyone. I wanted to give you all an update on Katie's health.
Katie's second stool sample test came back negative. No parasites, no worms. And her blood work showed that she doesn't have any heart problems. Also, 2 different vets were unable to detect a heart murmur anymore. This is good news but still unusual and suspicious. So I am going to randomly bring Katie in once or twice a month to the vet so that he can listen to her heart just to be on the safe side.
But her blood test did show that she has some kidney problems. There were 5 abnormalities in her blood and they are:
1.
Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) [Kidneys] - 68 (Normal 6-25)
2.
Creatinine (CREAT) [Kidneys] - 85 (Normal 4-27)
3.
Lipase (LIP) [Pancreas] - 748 (Normal 650-700)
4.
GGTP - 22 (Normal 1-12)
5.
Calculated Osmoliality - 315 (Normal 277-311)
Dr. Jaffe and Dr. Kaufman's biggest concern right now is the BUN because this can be deadly. Here is a definition of BUN and CREAT:
Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) - BUN is produced by the liver and excreted through the kidneys. Elevated levels can indicate kidney disease, but can also be caused by dehydration or urinary tract obstruction. Low BUN levels are seen in patients with chronic liver disease. Decreased levels are seen with low protein diets, liver insufficiency, and the use of anabolic steroid drug. Increased levels indicate any condition that reduces the kidney's ability to filter body fluids in the body or interferes with protein breakdown.
BUN Creatinine (CREAT) - CREAT is a by-product of muscle metabolism and is excreted by the kidneys. Elevated levels can indicate kidney disease or urinary obstruction, muscle disease, arthritis, hyperthyroidism, and diabetes. An increased BUN and normal creatinine suggest an early or mild problem. An increased creatinine and increased BUN with elevated phosphorus (PHOS - [Electrolytes]) indicate a long standing kidney disease.
So now I have to bring Dr. Jaffe a FRESH urine sample which is a great test for the kidneys. My poor hubby, Jim, has the job of chasing Katie around the house with a spoon to catch the pee pee in! It's SOOOO hard to catch a dog's urine! But we'll keep trying until we do. Also, the vet wants to do a few more blood tests to specifically check the BUN and CREAT. So in 2 weeks, we are going to bring Katie back in for a second blood test. In the meantime, Dr. Jaffe told us not to feed Katie any protein -- chicken, chop meat, jerky strips, etc. -- until we figure out what's wrong with her kidneys. But we can continue to feed her rice, bread, kibble and any other healthy carbs.
The sad news is that there is no surgery to repair the kidneys. If Katie goes into kidney failure, we will lose her.
Dr. Jaffe doesn't think this will happen because she's young and healthy but I can't help but worry. So please keep my little girl in your prayers.