My 13 yr old just diagnosed

[admin]

Hi Terri – I too am so hoping you get to the bottom of this with this next vet visit. Thinking of you and Koda.

Love and go-get-em hugs! Linda

[admin]

Hi Terri

I’m so glad Koda has seen the specialist already. How is he feeling? Have you seen any change in him with the reduction of his pred/start of amoxicillin? I hope that you have now been able to speak to the specialist and get some more clues as to what they are thinking. What is the next step?

All best wishes,

Mary and Mable x

[admin]

Sounds like you are finally getting the right help & that Koda will start to feel better now – any more news yet?
Sheena xxxxx

[Terri]

Koda seems a little stronger. He can go up and down the deck steps (he goes around the ramp pfft) on his own. He seems to get up a little easier also. He no longer needs assistance, however he still trips over his feet, sleeps all day, seems wobbly as he is standing still (sways) and that right front leg trembles often. The specialist doesn’t have a diagnosis yet. I called for an update this morning regarding the lepto test. I hope to hear back from him sometime today. His appetite is still very good.
Overall, I think he’s better than he was. I just wish I knew what was going on. :(. Next step if the specialist can’t conclude something would be OSU. I’m about out of money though so I hope it doesn’t come to that.
Take care,
Terri and Koda

[admin]

Awe, Terri, please belive us when we say, we all understand totally. It may be that you don’t know the cause, however, treating the symptoms and your continued diligence does seem to be paying off. I swear, what caused Sadie to collapse is a guess at best. I think I know what happened, but who knows. Sadie did not regenerate until the cyclosporine kicked in, which is common. The wait and see is horrible.

Here’s hoping he continues to feel better. I hope, soon, you’re walking around with a big, stupid grin because of even slightest improvement. Keep the faith – you’re going to get through all this. I had to, and still have to, keep reminding myself of that.

Thinking of you both, with love, Linda

[Terri]

I think my frustration is that not having a diagnosis, we don’t know how to treat. He’s still in limbo with no diagnosis. :(. Throwing pred and amoxicillin at the numbers.

If we knew what this was, we could treat with the proper medication and then I could relax and know it’s being treated appropriately. With no answers, I feel like time is being wasted and he hasn’t recieved the proper meds yet. And the kidney disease hasn’t been addressed yet. I don’t know what stage or anything or what I should be giving him for that.
Ill be asking the specialist if I talk to him.
Terri

[Terri]

The specialist says kidney infection/disease. We’re going to wean off the pred and stay on the antibiotic. Recheck in 2 weeks. The Dr. says low protein diet but a lot of controversy about that so I’ll be researching diet and supplements for ckd. I know fish oil and b-12 are 2 for the disease which I’m already doing. I feel better knowing what’s going on. Now I can tackle it. :)

Terri and Koda

[Patrice]

Terri,
I am so grateful that you found a vet who would do the appropriate testing and give you a definitive diagnosis. It was as I suspected, an issue with the kidneys, that was leading to this condition. It wasn’t a big step to test for this and should have been discovered sooner.

You are correct, there is some controversy about how to feed these dogs. It is complex and also easy. The complex part is if you try to research this and find your way on your own. I don’t suggest that!

The easy part is that there is a super support group already on the internet, that I belong to, that can do all the heavy lifting for you. K9kidneys has been helping owners like you since 2000. In doggie years, that is a LONG time. I am a member because Chance’s heart condition began to impact his kidney function (a common side effect of heart drugs.)
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/K9KIDNEYS/info

Please join this group and over time they will help you with this special condition. It can be complex, but also easy, to feed him and I know you CAN DO THIS. You are a good Mom and I don’t doubt you will have great success doing this.

You are welcome to stay here as long as you wish, we love your company. Your experiences have led you on a path of discovery and those things you learn could very well help another owner who will come here in the future. We also would like to follow along with Koda’s treatment so we can cheer him on!
my best
patrice