@
sailnbyu
Let me introduce myself to you. My name is Bev and 9 days ago I lost my Abby to renal failure, she was 13 months old. My sweetie head was born with a condition called Bilateral Renal Dysplasia.. both of her kidneys were deformed and broken, she was a baby in kidney failure. The day she was diagnosed, her numbers were so out of control that I was told to take her home and say goodbye. My Abby lived another 10 months thanks to a homemade diet, supplements, subQ fluids and the love and support that I found here in the amazing people at EBN. She was, in every sense of the word...
our little miracle.
When she was diagnosed at 3 months old, she had already lost 75% of her kidney function. That's the thing with this horrible disease, symptoms don't appear until 75% or more of kidney function is lost. Kidneys are one of the few organs in the body that cannot repair themselves, once the nephrons are gone they are gone. The only way to tell for 100% sure how much function is lost is by doing a biopsy. The problems with biopsies are 1) it subjects the animal to stress, 2) it requires anesthesia that the kidneys can't filter out properly and 3) the organs are already operating at reduced capacity. To remove more nephrons only causes more function to be lost. The best, safest way to determine the extent of the disease is by ultrasound. Blood tests are very accurate and are recommended often.
Stages of renal disease are based on creatinine levels, this is why it is so important for you test often and to keep copies of all test results. The normal range for CREA is between 0.3 and 1.4. This reference range varies between labs but those are the baselines that my lab used. Your lab might use different ranges so you can scale up from here. It looks like this...
1.5 - 3.0 is mild or 1st stage renal disease
3.1-6.0 is moderate or 2nd stage renal disease
6.1 - 20 is severe or 3rd or end stage renal failure
Your vet isn't telling you much because he or she probably doesn't know much. Vets aren't trained for this just like they aren't trained in nutrition. You need a specialist. You asked how progressive it is? That depends on how quickly you start treatment. There is no cure for this and I'm sorry there is no easy way to say this but she may probably die from it. You cannot stop this disease. All you can do is slow its progression. At least 3/4 of her kidney function is already lost. The kidneys job is to filter out the water and toxins from food, drugs and naturally produced urea (nitrogen) from the blood and excrete it through the urine. The less kidney function there is, the more of these toxins and nitrogen products stay in the bloodstream. In time, they will cause damage to other organs. Your vet is right tho. Most dogs can live for several months or even years if diagnosed early and treatments are started immediately. This is why I was so adamant in my first response to you about starting subQ fluids and phosphorous binders right away.
But please realize something. Even if you do everything right from here on in, follow the instructions to the letter.. proper diet and supplements, measure and calculate every morsel of food that goes into her... no matter how far above and beyond you go.. nephrons are dying. That is the very definition of kidney disease, nephrons are dying. Hopefully they more slowly than without treatment, but they are still dying and there is nothing that we can do to stop that. As hard as it is for me to say (especially right now, so soon after Abby) and as hard as it is for you to read/hear... we will eventually lose this battle.
A large percentage of kidney failure happens due to old age. A smaller percentage is due to poisoning or other toxin exposure and smaller still are the babies born with it. Nephrons get damaged over time because of overuse, poor circulation or high levels of bacteria such as from an untreated UTI. You probably did NOTHING wrong. This just happened. I'm sorry and I know that it sucks (believe me I know!) but it isn't your fault. The fact that you are so upset about it proves that you are a good bully mom. Don't question that.
You can start your own research at dogaware.com. That would be a good place to start. Be careful of the websites that try to sell you miracle cures. I can tell you that there are no miracle cures. The miracle is in the time that you get to spend with her. Don't get angry right now, there is time for that later. Today you have a lot of learning to do. I can help you if you'd like. I don't want to flood your inbox with links and things that you may not want just yet, but I have them if you would like them. I know that feeling of drowning after you hear the words "kidney failure". It sucks all the air out of the room and you can't breathe.
It's a roller coaster ride. There will be good days and there will be bad days. You can rant, rave, scream and cry all you need to. We are here for you.
