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Robin Kelly
New Member
Username: robink
Post Number: 1
Registered: 9-2008
| | Posted on Wednesday, Sep 24, 2008 - 11:35 pm: |   |
Filly in renal failure. I am not sure what to do about my yearling filly or how this happened. Starting last Feb 08 she had a mild colic then again in April. Then she just never seemed to feel very good her hair coat was dull and she was/is just kind of depressed.
I have owned her since birth and she has lived on our grass pastures and only eats grass hay. I took her in and had blood work done. Her Creatine was 4.5 (normal range 2.5 is the high end) and her BUN was 65, she was also anemic and her white blood count was high. We did a propac 5 day worming program and followed up 10 days later with a tape wormer.
I also changed her diet www.VitaRoyal.com and started giving her the EPS formula. She gained some weight and her hair started to look better shedding out a bit. I took her back to have her bloodwork done again and her white blood cell count was normal and she was less anemic. But her Creatine was still at 4.5 and her BUN was now 120.
I made a mistake and I thought she was feeling better and I gave her some alfalfa hay the day before the test. My vet did not feel like the prognosis is good. He thinks she has renal disease. Now I don't know what to do. She continues to eat her special food from Vita Royal with relish getting pushy and really gobbling it down. I feed her 2X per day as directed. She still seems to gain weight but progress is slow.
Everything I read makes me feel like crying. Basically that it is just a matter of time before she dies and there is nothing I can do. I guess I am seeking input from anyone with any suggestions or ideas. I don't want to miss out on something I should have tried.
I also don't want her to suffer needlessly. What happens with Renal Failure is she in pain? does she have a headache all the time as is described in human Renal Failure. I don't want to put her down if there is anything that I can do to help her, but I also don't want to be selfish and keep her alive if she suffers.
Any ideas or thoughts would help
Thanks
Robin |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: dro
Post Number: 21427
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Thursday, Sep 25, 2008 - 7:12 am: | |
Welcome Robin,
I am sorry to hear about your ordeal. Renal failure itself is not acutely painful but your feel sick which may include a headache. Neither of these lab values is diagnostic for chronic renal failure and the stable creatinine significant. There does seem to be a problem however. What are your horses vital signs (temp, pulse, respiratory rate)? How much water is the horse consuming daily? What are all the horses chemistries (please include the units and the lab normals).
The critical question that will not be answered by any of the above is why are the kidney's malfunctioning? Until this is known specific treatment and prognosis is difficult to formulate. If history and clinical evaluation do not reveal the cause you should consider ultrasound and biopsy.
DrO |
Robin Kelly
New Member
Username: robink
Post Number: 2
Registered: 9-2008
| | Posted on Friday, Sep 26, 2008 - 2:33 pm: | |
Hello
I am posting my filly's bloodwork results as a pdf document
Thank you
|
Robin Kelly
New Member
Username: robink
Post Number: 3
Registered: 9-2008
| | Posted on Friday, Sep 26, 2008 - 3:03 pm: | |
Hello Dr. Oglesby
Thank you for your response. I tried to create a new posting but I am not sure it worked. I am attaching all the lab work done about 14 days apart.
I just got home from Albuquerque my sister is having a baby and so I will go out and take her vital signs.
She dose not seem to consume a lot of water pretty much normal like all the other horses. But she does seem to dribble urine all the time. And before getting her evening feed she almost always pees.
I had the vet do a urine sample and the specific gravity was 1.5 if I remember correctly and within the range it is suppose to be.
I am heading back to Alb on Monday and I am going to take her there for an ultra sound. Today when I got home her legs look swollen.
I wanted to add after reading Laura's posts that In late Feb she coliced and we treated it with Banamine and Equi-Spaz (www.saratogaproduct.com). Then she coliced again in early April and again I treated it with Banamine and Equi-Spaz.
Then in May my entire herd got the snots and had temps in the 102 range so we put everyone on the SMZ antibiotics. I am not sure if this information is significant but I wanted to let you know.
Thanks for your help and why is the stable creatine significant?
Robin
Here is a photo of her last fall http://www.oceallaighfarm.com/images/Ikandie3months2.jpg |
LL
Member
Username: frances
Post Number: 686
Registered: 3-2004
| | Posted on Friday, Sep 26, 2008 - 3:26 pm: | |
She's lovely Robin and I really hope the ultrasound gives you an explanation for what's going on, and that your sweet filly makes a full recovery soon. |
Robin Kelly
New Member
Username: robink
Post Number: 4
Registered: 9-2008
| | Posted on Friday, Sep 26, 2008 - 4:04 pm: | |
Okay I have more info. Currently my filly's temp is 100.5. I have to read on how to do the temp and pulse but she is not distressed at all she is just depressed.
I called the vet to get better records. The colic dates are incorrect.
She was born May 24, 2007
Oct 30 2007 is when she coliced she was given flunixamine
Then again in January 2008 again she was given flunixamine
Then in may everyone I own was kind of sick with the snots and temps in the 102-103 range so they all got SMZ starting on May 6, 2008. Everyone else got a lot better but she just kind of stayed depressed and her hair coat was not very good and everyone else was shed out by the first of June. For all of June and early July I was supplementing her feed with Omlene 100 to try to get her weight up and get her feeling better.
July 18, 2008 I started her on Gastroguard for 30 days and changed her to the Vita Royal feed program and took away all processed food. I also limited her salt to the white salt block.
8/26/2008 we drew blood and got the first lab results high white blood cell anemic, elevated BUN 63 and Creatine 4.5. Did the five day womer and had a urine analysis done and all levels where good with the specific gravity at 1.5 high being 2.0 and low being below .5.
9/09/2008 again to the vet for fall shots including WNV teeth floated and blood work where there white blood cell count was normal she was less anemic but her BUN was 106 and her creatinine was 4.5. All vital signs at that time where normal.
Today just now I noticed that her hind legs are swollen. I have an appointment at 9:00 Monday to take her in to the vet 3 hours away in Alb. I hope I am not to late.
Robin |
Lilo
Member
Username: lilo
Post Number: 917
Registered: 4-2000
| | Posted on Saturday, Sep 27, 2008 - 9:54 am: | |
Robin - Good luck to you and your filly. I hope you can figure out what is going on and come up with a treatment that works.
Lilo |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: dro
Post Number: 21437
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Saturday, Sep 27, 2008 - 10:00 am: | |
Wow Robin,
Normal urine specific gravity at the first exam throws the diagnosis of chronic renal disease in question. In all species I know of including the horse it is a well established principle that when the kidneys fail they loose their ability to concentrate urine before their ability to remove toxins like urea and creatinine. I think a urine specific gravity needs to be repeated including urinalysis and cytology to confirm they are still concentrating.
Hmmm...it repeating he urinalysis does confirm the kidneys are OK and without signs of post renal urinary obstruction this is possibly a prerenal azotemia: the cause of the rise in urinary toxins is not the kidneys themselves and usually related to impaired blood perfusion of the kidneys. The high ratio of BUN to Cr is consistent with a prerenal cause. Before you make a long trip be sure the veterinary hospital is able to investigate such possibilities with ultrasound of the kidneys and maybe the heart.
DrO |
Ikandie's blood results