My Zoey has Chronic Renal Failure

[MikaTallulah]

Originally Posted by kjc

Great news! So glad to hear dhe's feeling better!

Thanks. So am I.

We will keep fighting til she says it is time.

[MikaTallulah]

Zoey had her first F/U visit since diagnosis today. She gained 1/4 pound. True weight gain . Will find out results of CBC and CMP tommorrow. He says she looks good. He said I could continue with Revolution bit to wait til after the blood work comes back to make sure. She will need to be titered in a few months hopefully she will still be with me to find out if she needs any vaccines.

The vet recommends getting Buddy the golden the canine influeinza vaccine as to not risk him getting it from dog park and giving it to her. Said a common complication with canine influenza and with Zoey's poor kidney functions antibiotic treatment would be limited. Should I get It? He gave me in for and said he will talk to me again when I get the lab results back for Zoey.

[MikaTallulah]

Zoey's F/U blood work shows improvement her BUN is 142 and Creatinine is 4.2. Her Phos is up so the Phos binder is getting increased. Her albumin and H/H are down slightly so my vet says to get her to eat egg white but clinically I am doing everything right for her.

Bad news though My vet is having me see an internal medicine and nephro. vet tomorrow afternoon.

My vet thinks Zoey may be sick from treats she ate. She loves these Trail Good Yam dog treats which are sweet potato and with chicken jerky wrapping the potatoe. I haven not feed them too her since she was diagnosised with CRF. She is the only one of my dogs that ate them on daily basis. I rarely gave them to the others. I may have been poisoning my dogs for years I could kill Purina if this is true. Most of the dogs die quickly from it. When problems with jerky treats where first being published a year or so ago I asked my vet about it. He said it was just hype. Now he feels terrible too if she has been poisoned. He just diagnosed another dog with CRF too but this dog passed. The owner called him this week in tears about the Waggin Trail treats and he remember me asking about them before. If this is true Purina is continuing to sell possibly poisonous poduct I will never buy Purina anything again.

[MikaTallulah]

Was at the specialists for 2.5 hrs. They did X-rays, ultrasounds, additional lab work, and BP check. She had yorkies herself . Zoey was hypertensive I think 220/116 which may explain some of her lack of appetite the vet said. The X-ray and ultrasound were negative for other problems other than the kidneys. Her kidneys are enlarged. With CFR she said there should be scaring and shrinkage of the kidneys generally. Zoey has no visible scaring of her kidneys but her kidneys are very inflamed which very well maybe due to poisoning she said. She said she is more concerned over the low albumin than the BUN/Creatine, Phos or H/H levels. She said for me to keep doing what I am doing because it is working for Zoey otherwise. Depending how the additional labs come back she may what to add a medication to prevent protein loss though the kidneys. She said to come back in 5-7 days for BP recheck. If it is still high an antihypertensive med may be added. Hopefully it was so high because Zoey was put thought the ringer today and was very upset. She said they are going to try and come up with a homemade renal diet for Zoey that will be balanced and loaded with foods she likes especially since Zoey hates rice which most call for.

Will keep you all updated. The fight continues.

[kjc]

Wow! This is really sad... but glad you know what happened. So glad to hear she is responding well and feeling better. Praying hard that she makes a full recovery...

I think Purina should be paying the vet bills for all these pups getting sick. This is so sad, and the fact this crap is still on the store shelves is scary.

[MikaTallulah]

Originally Posted by kjc

Wow! This is really sad... but glad you know what happened. So glad to hear she is responding well and feeling better. Praying hard that she makes a full recovery...

I think Purina should be paying the vet bills for all these pups getting sick. This is so sad, and the fact this crap is still on the store shelves is scary.

Thanks for your kind words.

Purina sucks and I am telling everyone I know to tell everyone they know. So far I know of 15 people who are not going to buy another Nestle or Purina product until these death treats are taken off the shelves. I have also emailed and complained in person at Petco, Petvalu, Petsmart, Walmart, etc. If I find these killers on their shelves I tell the managers will not be buying another thing from there establishment. I know it is not doing much but I feel better for the moment at least.

Zoey is not taking 1.25 mg of Enalapril daily. Her next F/U is April 16th unless she starts take a negative turn. I am also having the IV fluids, tubing, and needles delivered to me from Forsters and Smith as +$200 savings compared to if I bought the same amount from the vet.

Zoey just needs to cooperate and pick foods she will eat daily. Right now it is fight to get her to eat. Right now she is obsessed with Goldfish crackers (the company sent my inquiry about phosphorous intake to research). I think she can count she will eat exactly 22 daily or none at all. I am still getting 1/4 cup of the kidney dog food in her daily. If looks could kill I would be dead 100 times over from the looks she gives me. Her stubbornness is her saving grace right now and her worse enemy.

The best news of late is no weight loss. She actually gained 2 ounces. She now weights 5 pounds 6 ounces last weight in. She was 5 pounds at diagnosis.

[kjc]

One of my dogs has liver issues... I can feed her easily digested and clean foods, like egg whites, cottage cheese (2% milkfat), yogurt, noodles, and I added whipped creme, cause it's fun and low fat. I know you're waiting on the vet nutritionist's diet, but check with your GP vet to see if anything I suggested would be okay for a dog with kidney issues. I also supplement with coconut oil, which I have heard is good for the kidneys, too.

[MikaTallulah]

Originally Posted by kjc

One of my dogs has liver issues... I can feed her easily digested and clean foods, like egg whites, cottage cheese (2% milkfat), yogurt, noodles, and I added whipped creme, cause it's fun and low fat. I know you're waiting on the vet nutritionist's diet, but check with your GP vet to see if anything I suggested would be okay for a dog with kidney issues. I also supplement with coconut oil, which I have heard is good for the kidneys, too.

My regular vet says any food is better than no food just to make sure to try and keep it lower in phosphorus. Zoey has always been a food rebel which was fine when she was healthy but horrible now. She will eat Goldfish crackers with liver and whole milk but this is by no means a balanced diet. Unfortunately, she does not do pasta or most grains. She likes milk period not other milk products now. She will eat 1 egg white but only if covered in butter and/or mayo. Horrible I know but I can't force fed her.

Thanks for the suggestions though.

[MikaTallulah]

Just back from the vets. She was started on Remeron to stimulate her appetiate daily. She lost weight Vet wouldn't tell me how much- He said to focus on Zoey not the scale. Is she finding pleasure in life? Yes- Most of the time except mealtimes. Hopefully this will give her an appetite again. He also want to increase the SQ's to daily at 200ml/day from 150 every other.

He drew blood work and urine for testing again. He said he will probably start her on Erithropotein to stimuli her RBCs and possibly iron based on the results.

Her blood pressure is better 121/88 HR 110 (normal for yorkie) No temp.

Everyone says she seems very content. She loves that is is warm outside now so she can work on her tan

Hopefully the lab work will be okay but I doubt it

She has been on a specialized homemade kidney diet for a few weeks per vet nutritionalist. Based on the below:

She is now eating home cooked meals. Mostly sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, squash, etc. low phosphorous veggies with Altantic Cod, 90% ground beef, or dark meat chicken. I have given up on getting her to eat the kidney food- It was just stress us both out. She is taking he meds still of coarse. The specialist (Red Bank Veterinary) said to try it- She said see spoke with Dr. Weeth links below and to try it to see if she would eat it. So far she is eating it. Hopefully her labs will be stable still

Red Bank Veterinary Hospital | Tinton Falls, NJ | Fresh Food Diets: VetTherapeutic Diets

http://www.raynenutrition.com/(S(2zu...%20Canine2.pdf

Rayne Clinical Nutrition

Red Bank Veterinary Hospital | Tinton Falls, NJ | Staff

She is not sure it would work to custom make a diet for Zoey since she is so picky so we are trying this for the next 2 weeks. Basically, give her what she wants just keep the phosphorous levels of the foods as low as possible.



Please keep us in your prayers.

[chachi]

Aw Im glad to hear you got Zoey eating that is huge news. I hope she continues to do well

[Lil Sis]

Originally Posted by MikaTallulah

Zoey's F/U blood work shows improvement her BUN is 142 and Creatinine is 4.2. Her Phos is up so the Phos binder is getting increased. Her albumin and H/H are down slightly so my vet says to get her to eat egg white but clinically I am doing everything right for her.

Bad news though My vet is having me see an internal medicine and nephro. vet tomorrow afternoon.

My vet thinks Zoey may be sick from treats she ate. She loves these Trail Good Yam dog treats which are sweet potato and with chicken jerky wrapping the potatoe. I haven not feed them too her since she was diagnosised with CRF. She is the only one of my dogs that ate them on daily basis. I rarely gave them to the others. I may have been poisoning my dogs for years I could kill Purina if this is true. Most of the dogs die quickly from it. When problems with jerky treats where first being published a year or so ago I asked my vet about it. He said it was just hype. Now he feels terrible too if she has been poisoned. He just diagnosed another dog with CRF too but this dog passed. The owner called him this week in tears about the Waggin Trail treats and he remember me asking about them before. If this is true Purina is continuing to sell possibly poisonous poduct I will never buy Purina anything again.

That is so sad... and wrong!! There must be a way to Punish Purina!!!

[YazminD]

I'm so sorry Zoey is going through so much. My heart aches for you and your little one. My thoughts are with you and I'm praying that Zoey feels better soon!

[MikaTallulah]

Originally Posted by Lil Sis

That is so sad... and wrong!! There must be a way to Punish Purina!!!

My small part is I tell everyone about it and carry proof that Purina owns this company and the FDA Warning emails.

I refuse to buy any Nestle Purina product and am boycotting them. I will starve before I buy another 1 of their products until they voluntarily recall those treats and stop hiding behind thE FDA.

[kjc]

I don't check this thread everyday, but I think about and pray for Zoey and you everyday. Thank you for the update... happy she is eating better.... praying for some better bloodwork results.

[MikaTallulah]

Originally Posted by kjc

I don't check this thread everyday, but I think about and pray for Zoey and you everyday. Thank you for the update... happy she is eating better.... praying for some better bloodwork results.

Thank you. I never know how often to update so I am planning to just update big things like vet appts and such. Thanks for all your prayers.