High BUN levels???

[143julz]

Hi all, my 14.5yr Julz had a bout w/ pancreatitis 12/2006 we learned she had one working kidney. Put her on k/d diet all seemed fine. She hasn't had her teeth cleaned since 2005, they are horrible....

Presently, before Labor Day she was put on an antiobotic wish i knew the name (Dr suggested we could possible have them cleaned if all checks out w/ numbers and doing other test pre-op)
Well she didn't do good on , made her deathly sick after 2 1/2 days on it, wasn't eating, rear legs collapsing, dehydration, lethargic, we ended up in ER, next day X-R reveals bulging disk, anemia (non regenerative) and HYPO thyrohyoid. She was given RX for robaxin, a pain pill don't know name, soloxine, tagment and iron drops.... went from iron drop to a multi vitamin she loves...after puking up drops..
I only gave her the pain pill for 2 days she was acting even worse, walking into a corner and not finding her way out, slept all day..blah blah

From the start of this (9/9) BUN levels were from 77 to (9/16) 164 and last week (9/20)44, her creatin was high 2.8 but also down to 1.8. This is all after a few rounds of S-Q fluids..She goes back 9/27 for f/u visit....

She has not been her self form the start(9/9) not eating her food, had to do the rice, boiled potatoes, soup, her dog food w/ sprinkled cheese, and any other safe combination i could come w. Cheese in food, not good, made her stomach upset and stools bad...past 2 weeks,stomach day is a good day.
I only give tagament, iron vitamin and soloxine everyday. I've given her robaxin 2x this week the way she walked (to me)indicated her back pain...
I've read alot on here about the meds Prozyme, Calcitriol, Epakitin, Azody, ect....
I'm wondering at what point the Dr. will recommend any of these for her??
I mentioned the Calcitriol but he felt she didn't need it...
I really don't have an exact question, but if anyone has experienced something in the same what we are now, any suggestions would be most appreciated...Thanks and I'll post her update on Tuesday

[Patti]

Poor baby. Maybe a visit to a nephrologist? When my Dixie was diagnosed with congental kidney failure her BUN's were way over 400, I took her to the kidney specialist and he said he had a lot of older yorkies in active treatment for years that did very well. Good luck

[Yorkieluv]

Originally Posted by 143julz

She has not been her self form the start(9/9) not eating her food, had to do the rice, boiled potatoes, soup, her dog food w/ sprinkled cheese, and any other safe combination i could come w. Cheese in food, not good, made her stomach upset and stools bad...past 2 weeks,stomach day is a good day.
I only give tagament, iron vitamin and soloxine everyday. I've given her robaxin 2x this week the way she walked (to me)indicated her back pain...
I've read alot on here about the meds Prozyme, Calcitriol, Epakitin, Azody, ect....
I'm wondering at what point the Dr. will recommend any of these for her??
I mentioned the Calcitriol but he felt she didn't need it...
I really don't have an exact question, but if anyone has experienced something in the same what we are now, any suggestions would be most appreciated...Thanks and I'll post her update on Tuesday

Be careful with giving her white potatoes as they are quite high in potassium which is not recommended for dogs with compromised kidneys.

I can't believe the vet has not suggested any of those supplements.
Azodyl is a supplement that is basically composed of fiber and probiotics that are very beneficial to a dog with kidney problems. In fact, I give this to my liver compromised yorkie and have had great success with it. Maybe you can print out the Azodyl brochure from the Vetoquinol website and give them to your vet.
http://www.vetoquinolusa.com/pages/pdf/AzodylVetBro.pdf

Let him know this is something you may want to try. You shouldn't wait until he suggests it because you may wait forever. Don't be afraid to bring info in for your vet to read. I do it all the time for my liver compromised yorkie, and his vet actually truly appreciates the info/research I print up and bring into her.

[143julz]

Thanks so much for the suggestion, going to just order it today... She just isn't eating what we are trying anymore. In past 2 days she had about 1/3 c chicken broth, teaspoon rice and this morning she did lick a few swipes of her old NUTURE dog food before she went on k/d.....we're trying anything we can think of...

[143julz]

Took her a new Dr on Mon (9/6) for a second opinion. i was nervous b/c all her 14 yrs she has always seen the same one.
Giving him her background, copies of her lab work from 3 wks ago, him taking another blood sample, this is what we discovered. Her BUN was 99 creatine 3.2---Since she had a bout w/ pancreatitis in 12/06 he felt strongly that' s what we were dealing w/ now. He said her teeth were the cause of her white blood cells to be over 20, 000..
Since she only has one kidney she hasn't has her teeth cleaned in years.....so our options were

1-do nothing she would live another 2-3 weeks or
2-make a heartwrenching decision and a crap shoot to go forward and put her under, get her teeth taken care of. this would allow her a chance at recovery and known, peace of mind we have tried all we can do.

We went with 2!!!! left her there since Monday, yesterday she went under, came out great was sitting up in her cage last night and this afternoon they run her blood, if BUN and creatine levels low she comes home in time for Survivor tonight at 8 p.m.

I cried from Monday afternoon until i got the call yesterday that it was over and she was awake...she is not a 100% cleared. She still has kidney issues, HYPOthyroid, anemia and a bout of pancreatitis. Hopefully with yesterday's procedure the bacteria & toxins will be gone and hopefully that was the cause of everything.

Lesson folks.....dental for dogs is VERY VERY important. I have been lead to believe that since she had one kidney she could never be put under, WRONG! Oh and the YORKIE breed comes in second for most susceptible breed for pancreatitis, Schnauzers are first.
If your dog will not eat, walks hunched, vomits allot of yellow bile, lethargic and depressed, those are some signs, get them to the vet, untreated they can die from it, it's something they will be prone to get again in their life once present.

[143julz]

She has started SQ therapy and Careafate for a littel over a week now. She is eating and seems fine, back to normal i would say. Her f/u blood work was taken Sat (10/25/08).
The Dr. called and the results are not good. Her BUN is up to 210, from 99. Creatinine is 3.6 from 2.8 and her Phosphorus is 16.8 from 6.?....
So i can't understand why THESE results....She is (appears) fine, the inside is just a mess. So I'm told to increase her SQ to every day and i have ordered Powered Alum. hydroxide (phosp. binder) to go along with her treatments. The words used...to make her as comfortable and keep her hydrated her what she has left.
I'm a complete basket case. She is almost 15 yr and i know what is expected.
I just wanted to share b/c since i joined this site i've become addicted and have been reading as much as possible in case i find another new suggeestion or someone else's experiences. Thanks

[Yorkieluv]

I'm sorry that you are seeing those numbers...Anesthesia causes some toxic build-up, so millk thistle is highly recommended after surgery to help detoxify.

Odds and Ends
Milk Thistle given before and after surgery may also help protect the liver from any effects of anesthesia.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Azodyl is an excellent supplement for dogs with kidney issues because it helps normalize the urea cycle and lower the BUN by helping control the toxic build-up.

Vetoquinol Azodyl™
Azodyl administered orally on a daily basis has the potential to decrease BUN and creatinine levels...

[143julz]

I brought the print out with me to the vet a few weeks ago along with info on Epak....There are 2 ingredients he questioned in both and how they would effect her becasue of her other medical issues. I belive one was calcium, not sure and that's when he gave us the Carafate...
I sometimes second guess in my own mind of just giving her both of those but then i come down to planet reality and say I'm not a doctor, they are. leave one to wonder WHAT IF????

[Yorkieluv]

I'm so sorry you are dealing with all of those medical issues with your baby...I know how tough it is to try to figure out with the vet what your baby actually needs and what will help. We've been through this as well.

The Epatikin contains calcium carbonate, and it should *only* be used in dogs with normal calcium...That may be why he didn't like it for your baby...

The azodyl only contains probiotics and fiber, nothing else.

I hope you know I'm only trying to help...I've just seen so many dogs with kidney and even liver disease, including my own, benefit from this supplement (azodyl). A friend of mine runs a rescue and takes in a lot of kidney and liver compromised dogs. She uses this on them with great success.

I hope you and your vet can find a way to get her numbers down to normal. Prayers for your baby!!

[143julz]

I know your suggestion was to help and I appreciate it.
Yeah, her calcium is elevated too, it would have helped if i mentioned that too, you name it, chances are it's elevated or too low in our situation..Thanks