Wow…I have to say the education Maggie has taught me with first cancer and now
kidney disease is mind boggling to me.
Just a few things to blog about today….
A month or so ago, Maggie refused her food(again) – I had added a supplement in hopes
to help her gurgly stomach. I have read that kidney disease dogs have stomach issues,
which she is no exception, often having a very noisy stomach and also having episodes
of high respirations during these times of gurgly stomach. But after refusing her food, I
had to switch her food because even with NO powdered supplements in it, she was still
hesitant to eat it. So, I have yet to add back in her kidney support powders(Epakitin
and Renal Advanced) for fear of her not wanting to eat again. I have managed to get
back into the food eggshell powder as read that has no taste. Then, this week I decided
to add in Wholistic Pet Digest All powder after listening to her stomach gurgle just
WAY too much. That and some loose stools. The powder is very powerful in that I
only need to add 1/4 tsp. per cup, so figured I could add that with no issues of her not
wanting to eat her food. All’s well..she’s still eating and in fact, her stools have made
a complete turn around and the very next morning, was 100%. I am also listening to
a less gurgly stomach and I have also noticed since starting this she seems RAVENOUS
even more than normal(due to Pred). Well, I just read this on a www.thrivingpets.com
regarding digestive enzymes/probiotics for kidney dogs:
“Pets with kidney disease may have digestive problems. Digestive enzymes help
pets digest their food more easily. Breaking down nutrients is thought to help
decrease the workload on the kidneys. Probiotics are designed to help with
digestion and may be beneficial as an appetite stimulant.”
Well, well….isn’t that intesting! Appetite stimulant….hmmm….!!! New one to me
and it sure seems like Maggie is proving that to be true with her RAVENOUS way
of eating since I’ve been adding it!
Then, on this same website ( www.thrivingpets.com ) I went to order some subQ
fluids from them so I wouldn’t have to get at the vet’s office…and low and behold,
look what they say about IV fluid bags:
“Lactated Ringers comes in 2 different bags- the old style is PVC (Poly-vinyl
Chloride) and contains a chemical, plastic softener called DEHP. DEHP has been
linked to cancer and the FDA requires a written disclosure on products
containing DEHP. The new style of fluid bags are DEHP-Free, Hospira’s brand name
for these bags is VisIV.”
So, I go look at my fluid bags I got from the vet(where I’ve been getting fluids since
April)….and guess what, my fluids have the DEHP in them!! Maybe it doesn’t matter
in the least, given the fact Maggie already has cancer but it’s BEYOND ME as to why
they even make the fluid bags with it?? Think of all the hospitals that I’m SURE use
that type(cheaper than the other without it). WTH!??!?! Ok, so had to vent for a minute..
So, I ordered 24 bags of the DEHP FREE fluids for Maggie. Which cost me .60 cents
LESS per bag AND free shipping vs. getting at the vet’s office(and having to drive 1 hour
one way to go get them).
Sooo…..to anyone else dealing with kidney disease ( or any other of the diseases they
carry meds for) I highly suggest www.thrivingpets.com ! They’ve given me an education
and have good prices.
So, just a few words about Maggie’s health as it stands right now. She seems to be
‘holding her own’ still. Weak and doesn’t do much for exercise – I try to give her a little
bit but it’s like a double edged sword – she’s so weak from her disease but the laying
around and doing nothing just makes her muscles all that more weak. Have upped
the daily fluids amount some in an effort to help with that weakness but I don’t see
much change yet. Her appetite is awesome at present – she’s eating Stella and Chewy’s
raw and Essex Cottage Farms Kidney diet mix cooked up with boneless meat/squash/
egg/oil added. She LOOOOOVES that at the present as that is the most recent addition.
Gina has switched her homeopathic remedy to Merc. Sol 30C, 2 times a day and that
seems to be helping Maggie as well.
Here’s a little video I took of her on Sunday…still showing some “spark” 🙂
Guess that’s all for now…
Tracy & Maggie
Tracy and Maggie! I know the videos we’re seeing are the “spark moments”! But boy oh boy! They are GREAT spark moments!
And thanks to Maggie for educating all of us too! Your posts are always chockfull of info that most of us will probably need someday, especialh with our seniors!
Really glad Maggie is doing well! And she really is Tracy! I mean, this is a senior AND has additional “challenges”….WOW!
YAAAAAAAAAAAY MAGGIE
YYAAAAAAAAAAY TRACY AND DAD! AND GINA TOO!
Maggie, you ARE a tripawd hero and an inspiration to us all! I mean that!
Keep these good posts AMD great videos coming! You are such a joy to watch! Such a pretty girl!
Lots of love,
Sally and Happy Hannah
Maggie’s are just full of educational opportunities!!
Glad Maggie-moo is holding her own.
Karen
Tracy you need to write a book about all that you’ve learned. We learn so much from you, I know others will benefit.
It’s great seen Maggie out in the sunshine. Oh and let us not forget Haley too! Wish we could be there to give her a big hug. Love you guys!
Maggie is giving all of us an education. You never know when we or someone else may need this help.
Glad to hear you’ve got her eating again. She is an inspiration.
Luanne and Shooter
Such a sweet, sweet girl Maggie is. Glad her appetite is holding steady. What a great video and such wonderful information. Thank you for sharing. We all hope to learn something here and we’re always looking for the one extra thing we could incorporate that would help our babies.
Oh Karen….isn’t that the truth of our Maggie’s! Between you and I, we surely could write that book Rene suggests I do! 🙂
Tracy
Love you guys too!
Sally,
I always love and appreciate your comments. You’re so full of wonderful energy and kind comments! 🙂
Shortly after I stopped video taping Maggie, she wanted to get back in the Jeep to lay down. So yes, you are seeing the “spark” moments… those are the moments I hope to hold in my memory bank rather than the other one’s of such things as helping her get up last night as she was just too weak to do it on her own 🙁
Tracy
Hi Maggie and Tracy, It is our first time to your blog and I couldn’t stop reading it. I have a 19 year old tripawd and a 16 year old beautiful little girl who was just diagnosed with kidney failure. The IV fluid for 2 days didn’t really have an effect on her blood work but she has started eating again and only vomited a little the other day (day 5 following IV fluid). We have started feeding her the “homemade kidney diet” I saw you had posted early on (meat, bread, eggs, egg shells and rice). She seems pretty happy with that for now and does take the Science diet treats for dogs with kidney issues. Her main numbers are pretty high – BUN was 119 and following IV now is 104, creatine 5.9 up to 7.1 and phosphorus was 12.5 now 11.9. You have given me a lot of info to process and discuss with my vet tomorrow. I believe in alternative medicine options but I am leery of doing such with my dogs at their age as I don’t really have a lot of knowledge on these options and am somewhat intimidated by all the info out there. I am going to view the sights you have mentioned and try to gain some more info. I look forward to reading about Maggie’s adventures. She is lucky to have such an informed parent.
On the tripawd side, how did that trench coat work? Do you think it was beneficial for your dogs spondylosis? Bailey has arthritis in the tip of his spine and has that same drag on occasion in his back leg that I saw Maggie has with hers. He is restless and sometime whimpers a little (this is new) to get comfortable.
Hello,
I’m so glad that Maggie’s case is helpful for you. One of my goals with Maggie’s blog is to do just that – to help others in need, if they have similar issues as Maggie has had.
I cannot remember without looking back if I have posted this website but if you go to:
http://www.dogaware.com/health/kidney.html it is FULL of information for your CRF dog.
As far as the coat for arthritis issues, I do feel it has helped her. But her mobility is hard to tell now what is arthritis and was is weakness from the anemia from CRF. Here is another link to Mary’s arthritis page that might be helpful for you:
http://www.dogaware.com/health/arthritis.html
Good luck with your CRF dog… If you have any questions at all, feel free to contact me.
Tracy