Elevated BUN,need input please As many of you know my Scooter had a heart defect that we learned about when he was 10 weeks old. At that time the cardiologist put him on lasix (furosemide ) which is a diuretic. When he had been on it for 11 days, the surgeon did pre-op blood work and it showed that his BUN=34,ALP=223, calcium=11.2, phoshorus=6.2 and BUN/creatinine ratio=49. The surgeon said it was probably due to the lasix and went ahead with the surgery. Scooter did very well and his latest cardiac echo showed complete resolution of his cardiac problem. So now he is cleared to be neutered and also needs some baby teeth removed. He is almost 7 months old. I took him in to the vet this morning for his neutering and the vet called me back with Scooter's bloodwork. ALP=183, ALT=27, BUN=38, creatinine=0.6. This reflects being OFF the lasix for 1 week. The vet called to tell me about these new lab values and when I mentioned that they had been higher 3 months ago he seemed surprised and THEN checked the records and said "Oh yes, I see that." He said that he would like to give subQ fluids before he would do the surgery and I said OK. Then I thought about it and called them back as I was concerned that this extra fluid would be OK for his heart. When he got on the phone he told me that the extra fluid would help the heart with the anesthesia (which makes sense) but then he said "He will probably be OK but it depends upon how bad you want the surgery done". I'm thinking WHAT??? Of course I want it done but not if you think he will "probably be alright". I don't know if this was from the medication , since the numbers are getting better once we stopped it, or if his being without water last night makes any difference. We agreed to try and get a urine sample first and go from there. An hour later (11:30) I called back, they had given him alittle water and had not gotten a uring sample yet. He said this could be pre-renal or something else but we won't know until the urine is tested. I asked if a change in his diet might be of help and he said "No, probably not" but when I asked "what do you think it might be?" he said we need to get the urine first. Hey, you can't give me some idea what you're thinking???? I went and picked him up and brought him home. They had given him alittle sedation for the bloodwork/pending surgery so he is alittle tired now. The plan is to get a urine sample in a few days . This vet also never told me about the options for Scooter's heart murmur or mentioned about getting an echo and seeing a cardiologist. I mentioned it to him . I am beginning to lose confidence in this vet who I have seen for years but I think he might be good for the basics but am thinking of switching vets. I made a new appt with a different vet for tomorrow. So, before I see the new vet: Does anyone have any suggestions, thoughts, concerns that you can share with me. Am I over reacting? Without having the urine results yet, and what bloodwork we do have,what are the possible problems that I might be looking at? Renal, liver??? Scooter usually has no problem eating, drinking, no vomiting, and has tons of energy. I don't NEED to have him neutered but he is starting to mark in the house and he has baby teeth that have not come out and new ones are coming in. The other option is to get Kay T spayed as soon as a vet will do it. She is 5 months old. |
Well, I guess I would not be happy that he was sedated for blood work. Unless the vet gave me a very good reason, that is out of the question. 99.9% of the time a dog can be restrained and no chemicals need to be used. BUN can be up if the dog is dehydrated or just ate a high protein meal. I would probably rerun the blood work later. I would hold off on the neuter until you find a vet that you like and he/she can give you an explanation of the BUN being up and whoever does it needs to be comfortable dealing with his health issues. |
I can't say exactly that he was sedated for the bloodwork alone. I think it was because they were also planning on doing the Sub Q fluids and then the surgery. I also don't know if they had difficulty getting the blood because he was "dehydrated." and I don't know why he would be dehydrated either. He drinks and pees just fine. I agree that I will get the bloodwork redrawn at a later date without him being water restricted prior to that. Same with the urine test. |
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Definitely get a urine sample and then re-do bloodwork in a couple of weeks... |
Thanks Crystal. That's one of the reasons why I am losing confidence with this vet. I hope the new vet gives me more confidence. Does anybody else have any thoughts on this? What would you do? What if I can't get a urine sample? Any tricks to getting this? He doesn't want to pee withme standing over him. |
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Your vet should be able to get a clean sample. In fact, I always have them take the sample so that I know it's not contaminated and that the results are not skewed. |
We are on our way to meet the new vet. I sure hope I feel more confident with him. |
Good luck! |
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Wish us luck!!!! |
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