Kidney issues suck

Ruby came to me with underdeveloped kidneys which were found with 3 separate ultrasounds.. however, 5 vets cant fully diagnose exactly what is wrong with her kidneys unless they do a kidney biopsy, which one of the side effects is kidney failure and death. i just cant get myself to have her go thru this procedure, as its too risky.. she has bloodwork done frequently to see what her BUN/Creatinine levels and urea nitrogen levels are..

her bun/creatinine was 33 on 1/05/09
her urea nitrogen was 46 on 01/05/09
urine specific gravity was 1.019 on 01/05/09
her PH was 5.5 on 01/05/09

her bun/creatinine was 39 on 5/01/08
her urea nitrogen was 31 on 5/01/08
urine specific gravity was 1.012 on 4/18/08
PH was 5 on 4/18/08


the normal range for these figures are:

urea nitrogen 6-25 normal range
bun/creatinine 4-27 normal range
PH 5.5 -7.0 normal range
specific gravity 1.015-1.050 normal range

since she is on a raw diet, we also have to have a nutritionalist look at her diet and make sure its compatible for a dog with kidney issues, even though we dont know exactly what type of kidney issues she has ..

this poor pup has had health problem after health problem since the day i got her in April 2008... and she is just a year old..

I wont even go into the cost of her medical bills to date that i have spent...

so next week we are going to discuss with the vet to do a day of sub Q fluids, and to take blood before the fluids to get a reading on her BUN levels and then more blood after the fluids are finished to see if the Sub Q fluids makes a difference, as dogs with kidney issues MUST stay hydrated in order for the kidneys to not strain to work..

Taken from http://www.thrivingpets.com/conditions/Renal.php

Below is a list of the most critical values for kidney patients:-
BUN- Creatinine / CREA- Phosphorus / PHOS / P / Pi- Calcium / Ca- Potassium / Potas / K- Hematocrit / HCT- Parathyroid Hormone / PTH

Tonights dinner

consisted of a turkey wing, ground turkey and bone, flaxseed oil, olive oil, bee pollen and vitamin E.. the itching is at an all time low, its still there, but barely now..

pork n turkey is GOOD!!

So ruby has been getting pork for her food trial, and did turkey as well.. so far, she is doing very well on the pork and turkey.. last night i introduced 2 pieces of beef , so far so good... i also bought 2 humidifiers to put some moisture into the house to see if that helps too, as our heat is forced hot air,which is very dry... last night was minimal itching, but she did chew on her one rear foot for a little bit until i caught her and told her to stop.... she also got just pork, turkey & bone, and beef , no supplements, no oils....

No atopica

so i decided to not do the atopica treatment with ruby right now, due to her malformed kidneys i dont want to take any chances, we are still doing a food trial, tonight she got a turkey wing and pork, no supplements at all.. just good ol' meat... her itching has decreased tremendously since i took her off chicken, and put a gate and table in front of the heating vent down stairs ,as she used to lay right on top of the vent to feel the heat, then scratch like crazy after... we are going to continue the food trial, beef is next on the list. if i can get the scratching down to barely nothing i will be a happy camper..

Atopica Treatment

So i have been researching the Atopica treatment for rubys allergies.. while i know of some folks who are using it on their dogs, i am not yet sure to use it on her.. it is an IMMUNE SUPPRESSANT.. which would weaken her immune system even more then what it is now.. and with her underdeveloped kidneys which are still not developing, i am not sure i want to try the pills...

her BUN and creatinine levels are still high due to her kidneys not developing, so doing any kind of chemical treatment is very questionable

one of the side effects is renal failure/disease so i really dont want to go down that route...

the holistic vet wants to put her on some homeopathic remedies instead, Renafood, renatrophin, renapath and Kidney Tone .. all natural remedies that have no chemicals in them to help boost her kidney functions.. so i am researching them right now.. http://www.standardprocess.com/ has the renafood, renatrophin so i was able to read those ingredients.. the other 2 remedies i am trying to locate a website for them..

pork is good

so far ruby is doing very well on the pork. minimal itching, no hives.. 2 more weeks to go on pork, then we add a different protein.. so far turkey and pork are the best for her.

pork so far so good...

today is day 3 of pork for ruby.. her itching is minimal, and i think alot of it has to do with habit as well.. i am redirecting her every time i see she is going to scratch and trying to keep her busy. she has some loose stools, but i am adding slippery elm pills to help with that and if that doesnt work some turkey wings will be added.. 3 more weeks of pork, then we move on to beef.. I am going to the vet tomorrow to inquire about the atopica treatment as well, to see if its worth it for her or to keep doing what i am doing now..