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I feel useless because I really don't know anything about kidneys. :( I can tell you however that I have found that nutrition is not something that is focused on at vet school and that the stuff they sell is a revenue stream so they tend to push it. I know you will question your vet and you have the relationship to do it without offending if need be.
Sending strength and love. Kim
Good Tina. I'm glad to hear that you are giving yourself a break. That is essential. I bet I spent days and days reading about cushings when I first heard it in relation to Molly. It consumes you until you can figure it out. I totally get that. :)
The weekend, whew. It was good, it was fun, I didn't get to bed till 4am and then awake at 7:30. It was a work function, a big one and wow, I am so not the girl I was in my 20s that could do that and then keep going the next day!!!!! I tried though :D:D Poor husband, was not feeling 100% and he just gave up on trying to keep up with me at one point, only to find his energy later. (text to me at 3am, "I'm in our room, where are you?" My reply "Room xxx, after party party, come on up, gangs all here") I thought he was going to die but he came up and it was another hour before got back to our room finally and bed. Now..I am going to just curl up and become a vegetable till I can go get Molly and cross fingers that we don't get that nasty freezing rain they are calling for!
Only thing I am doing is checking on here tonight. :)
You hang in there and try to get some good sleep tonight!!
HUGGERS Tina, Belly rubs Jasper!
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Oh Kim, don't ever feel useless. You have been and are so much help and support to me and Jasper. And I know what you mean about the vets selling Hills. My vet has never really pushed it until Jasper needed prescription diet. When she prescribed the i/d, I questioned her about it because I didn't like the ingredients as Jasper had been eating Blue Buffalo. She said she really didn't like Hills, but that she really believed in the science behind their prescription diets and highly recommended them.
A couple of other times I mentioned not liking the ingredients, but had to shut up because Jasper really did much better after we switched him to the low fat i/d, and he tolerated it well. I hate to have to switch him again, but hopefully it will go well with the k/d. I will probably ask her a bit about what I read, but feel I need to be careful since she has already said at least twice that that she feels strongly about the prescription diets.
Sharlene - glad you had a fun weekend. I know what you mean, this old gal ain't what she used to be either, lol!! I love the text from your husband at 3 am, too funny. I hope you don't get that freezing rain either. We lucked out here, it stayed just above freezing here all day so we just got rain and fog. The freezing stuff went just north and east, so we were very lucky. I hope you can get Molly tomorrow as planned, I am sure she misses her Mommy.
Hugs, and Jasper says thank you for the belly rubs. :p
Tina and Jasper
The usual reference range for the UPC is =<5, so I understand your vets concern. My non-cush dog, Bear, has Protein-Losing Nephropathy (PLN) and is on enalapril. The enalapril has really worked well for him as there has been no protein loss since being on this medicine.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tina
My vet also suggested the Hill k/d but since Bear is doing well on his current dog food, I declined. I believe one has to feed their dog a food that the dog does well on and that the dog will eat, so if Jasper eats the Hill k/d and does well on it then I truly think this is the right thing to feed him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tina
The main reason that I joined the Yahoo group was to have access to their files. They have a wealth of information concerning canine kidney disease and I have learned a lot from reading their files.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tina
Anything I can do to help, please do not hesitate to ask, ok?
Love and hugs,
Lori
HI Tina
It is so not fair we have to be worried about kidney problems after all our babies have been through. I am so glad our boy's do not realise the stress they cause their Mum's! Although I am very heartened to read that many dog's do very well once they get on treatment, so remember that when doing the googling!! Sometimes it pays to step away from the computer. I swear I would not have gone ahead with Flynn's surgery if I had relied on all the doom and gloom I read online about adrenalectomy.
Flynn's kidney test is also still high, UPCR 1.5, (meant to be less than 0.5) on Saturday but I was relieved to see only very slight rise from November last year. When I spoke to vet tonight, he said he does not need any treatment until >2.0 but he is going to speak to IMS to confirm this recommendation. I am thinking maybe he should go on something now to prevent it getting worse but will wait and hear the IMS thoughts on this.
I am glad to hear Jasper is going to start something to get it under control and lower your stress levels too :) When is he starting, or did I miss that bit? Flynn took the Benzapril for a bit for his surgery before swapping to phenoxybenzamine, it was only for a week or so but he tolerated it well.
I keep waiting to see if your wee green light comes on as it does sometimes at this time of night when your up to let Jasper out, I was going to tell you my new Motto... "Keep Calm and Carry on" haha I think we could both do with doing that, not that I am any good at it either :):)
Monday was busy as heck here, but one day closer to the weekend :D your work sounds like it is going to take a lot of your energy this week, so try and get enough rest and look after yourself Missy!!
Thoughts are most definitely with you, we will get though this!!
Trish xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Im up early sending more hugs because it is important to start your Monday with a hug;););););):D:D:D Info overload can be a not so great state of mind and the vets no nothing about nutrition use to push the prescription diets. For now if Jasper eats the food, maybe leave it as is and deal with the food a bit later. Otherwise you'll be overwhelmed with finding a different food now too.
Baby steps, sweetie, we are holding your hand.
Yay, how about late evening HUGS!! LOL I missed the morning huggies. :)
Yep, awful weather here this morning, but never fear, hubby pulled out the big 4x4 and off through slush, snow and frozen rain we went to get our muffin.
She is just happy as can be to be at home. Didn't seem to miss us so much this time and I think one difference is the new play time they have there. She seemed to really enjoy it, or so I was told. LOL
How are things going today?
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin (back in the saddle again)
How is Jasper and his Mom doing? Hope you got some sleep last night and work wasn't too crazy for you today, plus did you find some clean clothes to wear?? :D:D:D
Thinking of you Tina and hope your feeling a bit calmer about your baby :)
Trish xxxxxxxxxxxx
Thanks for the hugs guys, keep 'em coming! :) Just a quick post since I am up to let Jasper out. Had to work a bit late, and gave the research a rest. The overwhelming feelings of worry come and go. I think I am just overloaded, so really am trying to give it a rest. I have continued to transition him to the Hills k/d diet, he is now on 50/50, so will continue with that for a couple days before advancing it more. Addy, I agree, I am just going to get him transitioned to the kidney diet for now, hope he continues to eat and tolerate it, and worry about that piece later.
Sharlene, glad you got Molly home safely. We had horrible fog here all day and night, and freezing fog in places, but for the most part our temps stayed above freezing. The drive home was a bit dicey, literally couldn't see more than about a car length in front of me, pretty scary.
Yes Trish, I found some clean clothes, Lol!! I did just enough laundry to get by for a couple of days, so will be in trouble again after tomorrow! :rolleyes:
Holy cow, now it is almost 4 am here, better try to get a bit more sleep! I will check in after work. Thanks for the kind words and support, it means a lot.
Tina and Jasper
Awww I was hoping to see you on tonight, glad Jasper likes the food so far. Flynn never used to eat his biscuits on their own, I used to have to put some wet food on it to make it more palatable for him. But he seems to like these new ones so thats good. Also happy you are giving the researching a rest for a bit. I know knowledge is power, but we also have to take time to chill out and just be happy with our babies in the here and now and keep our worrying minds off what the future may bring because who knows really!! Those numbers they quote in the studies are just that, numbers, we have the warm furry friends in our lives and there are many many stories on this board alone of dogs who have beaten the odds and ours are going to join them Tina :D:D:D
Crikey, those weather and driving conditions sound dicey, be safe girls!! So now if I do not hear from you I will worry you have skidded off the road into a ditch or something :eek::eek::eek: See you at the next 4am pitstop :D
Trish xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It is so funny. I wake up and come on here and wonder what you two have been up to in the middle of the night. You just would not believe the big smile it puts on my face to read you two chattering away at 4am!!!! :D:D
Crimey, horrid fog here to last night and this morning. Hope it clears up some before I have to head to the office. It's wet out there with the snow at that should I freeze or melt stage, so you don't know if you are stepping on wet or ice. I no likeee.
At least it isn't a cyclone!!
Have a great day. No ditch jaunts!
hugs,
Sharlene
Or sea foam! Check these two out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HyZzpnAZ7c and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quw64ULTohk
This is all foam kicked up by the sea during the storms in Queensland over the last couple of days.
But on a more serious note, Tina, do take some time out from the worry and enjoy some cuddles with Jasper. No point in worrying yourself sick with too much research, I've come to realise that with so many things in life, you only ever hear about what's gone wrong, rarely the successes as we are usually too busy enjoying them to post about it. So give yourself a break, grab a blankie and snuggle on the sofa for a while. :D
Wow Naomi!! You guys have to watch those videos! That car! Holy cow, I had to replay it like 3 times, just came out of no where.
Naomi is right, enjoy some snuggle time! Makes the world seem all better. :)
hugs,
Sharlene
I saw the sea foam video, wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You guys are having crazy weather!!!!:D:D:D:D
Not on the west coast, here it is just hot (93 today, but 100 again by weekend - Fahrenheit that is) and with bush fires. All the wild weather at the moment is in Queensland and New South Wales, I'm beginning to think I would never live on the east coast! The worst part though is some of the floods that have been happeining over there. We get images of people being rescued from roof tops as the flood waters are lapping at the gutters - yep the floods have completely swallowed some of the houses, others with rivers flowing so fast people are being washed away or boats being ripped form moorings. It's a bit scary.
But Alas, I don't want to hijack Tina's thread.
Hos'w Jasper this morning/evening? (Must remember you are opposite to me :D) And how's Mum?
Isn't that sea foam freaky, never seen anything like that here! Wonder what is in the water to make it foam up like that. We saw the car in the foam on the news last night, so bizarre. NZ is the place to be, we are not getting the terrible heat/fires/floods you are in Australia or the freezeing cold storms of North America. So you are all welcome to come for a visit!!! All we have to watch out for are earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.... but it's hard to find the perfect country :D
Now back to you Tina, sorry to chat about the weather but your thread is such a nice friendly place for a catchup!! Hope your day was good, you must be just about due to wake up for Jasper! Hope he still liking his new food, give him some tripe!! :D See you soon xx
Well, Sharlene, here I am at 4 am again! Shoot, meant to be back in bed by now, but have been getting caught up on a few threads. I have been working a lot of extra hours, (poor Jasper and Shelby :( ), and have been wiped out by the time I get home, so haven't posted for a couple of days. But I have been reading along when I can. It is finally Friday, and then one more week with someone else on vacation and then hopefully things will slow down a bit at work!
You guys can talk about the weather anytime on my thread. :D Holy smokes, those sea foam videos were pretty freaky. I have never seen anything like that either. Some similar footage even made our local news here!
Jasper is hanging in there. He was just out a bit ago for his middle of the night potty break. He was pretty speedy due to the frigid temps, and is now wrapped up in a blanket snoring next to me on the couch!
He got his first dose of Enalapril last night, so I have been keeping a close eye on him. I talked to my vet a bit more yesterday, I will post more about that later.
Lori - thank you so much for all of your information and support. I am sure I will have some questions for you in the coming days. I am sorry you have had to go through these issues also. I appreciate your experience, and any help or tips you can offer. I am hoping to have some time to read some of the files on the canine kidney group this weekend.
Hugs,
Tina and Jasper
Hi Tina
You poor thing, working so hard on top of all the Jasper worries, I am pleased to hear he is OK though, and omg those trips outside in the middle of the night in the cold, do you have little shoes for him to wear so he does not get frostbite?? :D
I am sure he will handle the Enalopril well, I think Ro's dog Chey is taking that too, more for BP I think. Looking forward to hearing what else your vet had to say.
Jeepers hope you got a couple more hours solid sleep before work today!
Trish xx
HI Tina,
Glad the first day on the new meds went well. I can relate to busy at work.. I am hoping Feb. things will get a little better.. busy busy!!
Tina!!! It's the weekend!!!! Yay!!!!
They asked me if I could stay late tonight and after the week this has been there was just no way I was interested in doing that, even for over time.
I need a long soak in a hot bath. So, girls, its the weekend, wine and hot soaks sounds like a plan?
The furbabies can have some good yummy treats while we soak. (I just got molly a local made one, cranberry chia, no wheat, corn or by products, the cinnamon makes it smell so good too)
Hugs all around,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Hi Everyone, and happy Superbowl Sunday!! I just spent the last hour or so reading and getting caught up on everyone's threads. I will have to do some posting later as I have TONS of chores to try to get done before the game.
Jasper has been fully transitioned to the kidney diet Hills k/d since the dinner meal on Friday, and appears to be tolerating it. He had one really soft poop yesterday (got a little nervous :eek: ), but it seems that may have been a one time thing. I am on tight poop patrol now, LOL! He did so well on the low fat GI diet, I am hoping we don't get any problems since the fat content of the k/d is quite a bit more than that was.
As I said he started the Enalapril on 1/31 pm. He is getting 2.5 mg (1/2 tab) once daily for a week, then we will recheck a kidney panel. This dose is half of the dose he will be getting if all goes well. My vet said she wanted to start slow to make sure his kidneys can handle it. The med itself can apparently cause problems with the kidneys, so she is being ultra cautious since Jasper has been so sensitive to everything else. If the kidney bloodwork is still ok after a week on the half dose, then we will double the dose to where it should be.
She said that if the medication makes his kidneys unhappy, then he won't be able to take it and treatment will then be with diet and the fish oil supplement only. (I haven't started that yet, one thing at a time). She said the Enalapril is key to slowing the progression of the disease, and from what I have read, it is our best hope. She said she has had good luck with it with other dogs, so I am hoping for the best even though my Jazzy one has proven to not read the textbooks!
So I am asking for everyone's prayers and positive thoughts that he will be able to tolerate this medication, and that he will be able to continue on it long term to slow the progression of the damage to his poor little kidneys. Thank you everyone, I believe in the power of prayer and positive vibes, and we truly need it now. ;)
My vet said that while this is a progressive disease and can progress quickly :eek:, she has several dogs that she has been treating long term, and one for a couple of years. Although none of those dogs have all the issues that Jasper has had, that gave me a lot of hope. He is certainly due for a break I think! :p
I have not even had a chance to do any reading in the k9 kidneys group, but certainly plan to. I think I have just needed to give my mind a rest, and to be honest, I am a little afraid of what I might read there.
Today he seems to be feeling good, and I am appreciating that. Last night we snuggled in a blanket while watching TV. He wanted to be on my lap most of the night, so that is why there are no posts from me on my usual Saturday night rounds! :D
Thank you everyone, and please keep the prayers coming about the medicine. He goes in on 2/7 for the follow up bloodwork.
Love and hugs,
Tina and Jasper
Yay Tina! Glad to hear from you. I thought you were probably swamped again at work and maybe, just maybe actually getting to enjoy your down time. Wouldn't that be a treat!!
Totally sending you all the good vibes and prayers I can for Jasper to tolerate the kidney medicine well and for it to slow the progression. Now do they look for the numbers to actually decrease while on this med? The ones that sent the world into a tailspin when they came back as high, over 2.0 I believe was when they looked at treatment options.
Jasper is really due for break and so are you. So hoping for great blood work results on 2/7.
How is Shelby doing btw? We'll be needing an update on her thread too. :) :)
Enjoy the super bowl.
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Hi Tina,
Certainly will be praying for your Jasper...to tolerate the meds and that the blood work comes back good and to have Jasper Healthier and Happier.
Sending Healing vibes of Love and Hugs,
Sharon and Norman
Hi Tina,
Sometimes a dog may do better on a different ACE Inhibitor, maybe ask your vet about Benazepril if the Enalapril doesn't work out.
You and Jasper are in my thoughts and prayers.
Love and hugs,
Lori
Im saying prayers too and hope it will be as Lori said that if one does not work maybe the other med will.
Holding you close, sweetie, as always.
Yay it's Tina!! Always happy when I read your posts to let us know what is going on. I am not paying any attention to that bit about how it can progress quickly la la la la la la fingers in ears! That is not going to happen to our babies!! I have always think a bit of healthy denial can be a good thing!! As long as you are treating appropriately of course :)
Jasper is going to do well on his new enalopril, his new diet and soon his new fish oil pills! That's what I shall be concentrating on and sending a million good kiwi vibes up to you!!! I like the vet is being cautious, I also like the stories about her long term successes!!
So pleased to hear of the snuggle fest on the couch, you so need that with all the hard work you have been doing!
I had a bit of a moment tonight, Dad is laid up with some gout in his foot... gone out in sympathy with his cat who lost her claw I think :D:D so he could not take Flynn for their usual walk today. So when I got home tonight I was a bit knackered and thought it won't hurt for him not to have a walk for a day :rolleyes: But he kept giving me the look and if I walked anywhere near his leash he would get so excited thinking we were about to go, so I had to take him, sigh... so off we went up the beach AND it was so beautiful. Warm night, sun setting and giving off this gorgeous light through some sun showers with a little sprinkle of rain, rainbow out over the ocean. We were walking along and this guy says "Oi you got Basil's (my Dad) dog!" So I replied that actually he is my dog haha. Turned out he was Dad's reflexologist and they also meet up quite often on their walks! So we had quite a chat while his dog who was a young 1 yo and Flynny played. Flynn and Luca romped and chased and rolled and wrestled and were just having the best time, the guy could not believe he was 11 and been through so much lately. I watched them playing with Flynn so happy and thought this is exactly why I fought so hard to get him the treatment and it was totally worth going through what we have to see him enjoying his life like this...so there you are that is my long winded moment Tina! I guess what I am trying to say is to totally enjoy the happy times and try to clear your head from the worry to allow yourself to do that and hopefully we will have many many more moments with our babies to share :D
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx for your 4am pitstop
I can tell you right now, you don't have to read the text book to fluke the exam! :D I have enough kids in my classes that will tell you that, so like Trish, I will stick my fingers in my ears while loudly singing Lalalalalalalala! :D Jasper will do brilliantly, how can he not with all of these good vibes going out to the heavens :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Tina
Tina,
Positive thoughts and prayers sent to Jasper from Texas!!!
Positive thoughts and prayers coming your way from me too
Hi All,
Thank you for all the prayers and positive thoughts. Please keep them coming. :) I just have a minute to post, I haven't meant to be absent, work has just been horridly busy as I expected, but I am on the downhill side now!
We have had a few somewhat minor (I hope) issues with Jasper over the past couple of days. A bit of soft poo, and intermittent poor appetite. The vet said to hold his Enalapril last night, though not sure that is the problem. He goes tonight after work to get his blood drawn for the kidney panel re-check. I hope holding the med won't affect the accuracy of that, the vet said it wouldn't, but my vet was out yesterday so this was a back up vet who doesn't know Jasper. He gets the med in the evening so by time he gets the blood drawn tonight, it will essentially be 2 days without the Enalapril. Hopefully that won't affect the results.
I will post more tonight, just wanted to check in so no one would be worrying. ;)
Hugs,
Tina and Jasper
Still sending out the positive vibes Tina for you and Jasper. Hoepfully it wasn't anything serious causing the poor appetite and soft poos. Molly has that off and on, so maybe it's not the medicine.
Cross fingers for good results on the kidney panel!
yay!! on the downside of the horrid work stuff! Good, maybe you'll get a chance to breath now.
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Hoping Jasper's appetite improves along with his loose bowels.
Another thing I did to help with Harley's kidney disease is that I only let him drink distilled water because tap water may contain impurities that might be hard on the kidneys.
Sending healing thoughts, prayers, and love...Lori
Hoping for good tests today!
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Hoping for a good day for you and Jasper!!!
Hi Tina and Jasper
Hope you got a good result from his tests! Lots of hugs for you two xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
HI Tina,
I have been super busy at work all week too. I am so going to enjoy this weekend.
I am sending positive vibes your way as well. We will keep the bad juju away from little Jasper. :D
Amy
Thank you everyone for all the prayers, positive thoughts and hugs, I appreciate it so much! And I feel like it worked because Jasper's kidney values were all in the normal range on his bloodwork from Thursday pm!!! :D :D :D The vet said that the missed doses of the Enalapril would not alter the accuracy of the results. I don't have the numbers because she called with the results, but she said the BUN, creatinine and phosphorous were all in the normal range. I am so relieved, and she seemed pleased also. FINALLY something went the right way for my boy! So the Enalapril is now increased to 1 tablet daily, which is 5 mg daily. At first she said to give it all at once, once a day, but then said to split it and give half a tab bid on the slim chance that it could cause some stomach upset. He will go in to get a follow up renal profile in about a week, on 2/14, to make sure he is tolerating the increased dose.
The labwork he had done on 2/7 was a full chemistry profile and included liver values also, which my vet said were still elevated due to taking the dexamethasone. The concern is that his triglycerides were sky high, she said they were 1735, the normal range according to other lab reports that I have is 41-115 mg/dL, so this is way high. We discussed that he was previously on the low fat i/d food, and the kidney diet he is eating now is significantly higher in fat, so she feels that is causing it to be so high. Jasper has always had elevated triglycerides, even prior to Cushings, I think it is a Schnauzer thing unfortunately. But the highest I think it ever was in the past was 828, so this new value is extremely high. He was on Welactin fish oil supplement in the past to help lower it, and it did make an impact. The Welactin is part of the kidney treatment plan, so hopefully it will help lower the triglycerides this time also. I started him back on that Friday night. And he has to stay on the kidney diet, I just wish it was lower in fat.
Another labwork abnormality that my vet mentioned was his bilirubin was a bit elevated this time. She said she feels it is because the triglycerides were so high. She said that when the sample is lipemic, that this can affect the bilirubin results. So she didn't sound too worried about that.
He still has intermittent decreased appetite or something, walking away from his food a few times while eating, but so far has finished each meal. The poo seems to have normalized for now.
So all in all I am very happy with the kidney lab results, of course. :D My prayers were answered about that. I am not thrilled with the triglycerides as I know that this can lead to pancreatitis, so I just have to pray that this doesn't happen and that they will come down after he has been on the fish oil for a while. I will post the lab values when I get them all.
Ok, so now prayers are focused on tolerating the higher Enalapril dose, I have already started with that. I don't know how to thank you all for your continued support, prayers and love. I believe the power that all of that has is immeasurable. Please keep the prayers coming, I don't want to let my guard down yet!
Love and huge hugs,
Tina and Jasper
So happy for you and sweet Jasper!!!! YAAA!!!
Hypothyroidism can cause elevations in the triglycerides, usually in a blood panel the thyroid level is checked, it is called a T4, what is Jasper's T4 level?
Harley would get an upset tummy from his BP meds so I gave him slippery elm bark to help with that.
You're doing a fantastic job, Tina!!
Love and hugs,
Lori
That was a pretty good report girl!!! Hurray! Yep that is a schnauzer thing but you are all over it so keep doing what you're doing mom! Awesome job - awesome update. Hugs to dear Jasper.. Kim
Tina... I am so HAPPY for you & Jasper. :D:D:D:D:D
Such good news. Enjoy this week & I hope you can rest a little easier. You deserve some worry free time.
YAY!!!!!
Amy