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Old September 30th, 2013, 09:51 AM
Skyegy Skyegy is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 3
Unhappy My dog has Chronic Kidney Disease.

Okay, I need to know what to expect now.

A year ago on August 15, 2012, I lost one of my shih tzus to kidney failure.she was 12 years old at the time. Not much meds were given to her because when we had her checked to the vet, they said she needs 3days IV fluids. It was that severe. She had to be confined in the hospital. So we made the decision to allow it, could have probably been the worst decision I have made since it made her sad. And the 3rd day when I was allowed to take her home, on my way to the vet, the hospital told me she went unconscious. After minutes of trying to bring her back, she passed. And it broke my heart, because she died without me beside her.

So the real purpose of this thread though is because of my other shih tzu dog, he was the mate of the one that passed a year ago. Last August, he showed signs of stiffness and could not move for days and we sent him to the hospital. The vet said he'll be fine, but in between the bones of his spine, the fluids are depleting, due to old age. They could not give him steriods because of a problem with his heart. The vet suggested therapy. We did not go through with that because his spine healed by itself. He can now run around the house!

Along with the xray, he had an echocardiogram to get his heart checked, it was because his heart had murmurs and it had an abnormal shape from the xray. He had findings there of a heart disease, something with an enlarged ventricle. And he is not allowed to get tired, the vet suggested that his heart problem is still manageable without the medicine. So, he will not prescribe any at that point.

The vet also carried out a blood test. Unknown to us all, the blood test came out fine except for that one thing, his kidney was below normal, and the vet suggested to let him drink more water. 2 weeks after, his kidney function starts falling exponentially, he had to be given nefrotec. 4 weeks after that, he had to be given subcutaneous fluids every other day, unfortunately though, 2 weeks after that, the vet said his kidney is failing and one of the things they suggested is to have him on IV fluids for 3 days just like our previous shih tzu, but they wont do it because he has heart problems which might cause even bigger problems. So subqs were prescribed on a daily basis instead. He is also on a renal diet. Along with a prescription of an antacid and nefrotec.

by the way, he is being taken care of by a group of 3 doctors.

Earlier, I had problem administering the subq fluids. And it broke my heart because before, i would not have problems with giving him the shots. Right now it seems that he does not want to get better anymore. He ate very little, but would still take his meds. I have read around the internet that he might already be on a stage 4, ending stage and we cant do much about it anymore.

I have accepted that he wont be with us for long. he has the same situation as our previous shih tzu. And she died without any signs of pain, she just dropped dead. I am afraid he might just do the same for the next few days. 12 years of my life was full of love from them afterall.

So I was thinking earlier, are subqs really helpful for them? Am I right into thinking that he might not live long enough? Should I stop the subqs instead because it is stressing him out? Would it be more comfortable for him? I want him to live the rest of his remaining life without the thought of hospital and needles, and stress. I want him to play around the house instead. i just want to know how you guys, vets and dog owners alike, would handle this situation. sorry for the long post, i just thought maybe you guys should know the entire story.
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