Kidney Infection

by **pipersmom** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 5:40 pm

So Piper is currently hospitalized with a Kidney Infection. Yesterday when we woke up, Piper wouldn't eat her breakfast. She was acting very lethargic, wouldn't play with our other dog, and wasn't even interested in playing tug. I made a vet appointment for her first thing in the morning. When we got to the vet, she was shaking really bad. As soon as the vet saw her, she said Pip was in alot of pain. She wanted to run bloodwork, do xrays, and get her on pain meds so I would have to leave her. They called me a couple hours later to say that her bloodwork looked okay(low protien & calcium but nothing to be concerned about) xrays were fine but her white blood cell count is elevated(21,000 i think) She said whatever it is, looks like we caught it early. Her urine was very cloudy so they were waiting on the results. Vet thought it was more than a bladder infection considering the amount of pain piper was in. She put her 2 strong broad spektrum anitibiotics, pain meds, and fluids. When I went up to visit Piper later, the vet told me it was a kidney infection. She called it something that started with a P, I can't remember what she said exactly. I talked to vet earlier and they said Piper is doing better but they want to keep her another night. Also that she is going to have to be on prescription food and a food with a low ash content. Just curious if anyone else has had this happen to their dogs? Any food recomendations for after she gets off the prescription food?

by **AllisonPibbleLvr** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 6:12 pm

The word he used was probably "pyelonephritis" the technical term for a kidney infection.

How old is Piper? Has she had any history of urinary issues?

I've never heard of a vet switching to a prescription diet after one bout of pyelonephritis.

by **pipersmom** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 6:19 pm

Piper is 3. She has never had any urinary issues.

by **AllisonPibbleLvr** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 8:47 pm

Do you know which diet they were switching her to?

by **MarMar** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 8:53 pm

I hope she gets better soon! I don't know much about this in dogs, but I've had pyelonephritis and omg the PAIN...good thing you got her in as soon as possible!

by **pipersmom** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 8:56 pm

I believe he said KD. Does that sound right? Then he also mentioned something about needing to be on a low ash food. I plan on asking more questions about the food switch tomorrow when Piper is supposed to be released. They wanted to keep her one more night to keep giving her fluids. The vet mentioned the food switch when my husband went up to the clinic to see Piper so I'm not sure if he just wanted to feed prescription food while she is healing up or if it is a permanent switch. My hubby doesn't always listen properly lol

I currently feed Wellness Core fyi. It's the only food I have found that works with her sensitive tummy.

by **Misskiwi67** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 1:55 pm

Was there any change to renal values on the bloodwork? I don't see any reason to switch foods unless there is evidence of renal damage.

If there is evidence there may have been long-term damage to kidneys, then she should be on K/D or an equivalent (royal canin has a nice formula) for life.

by **AllisonPibbleLvr** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 2:15 pm

MarMar wrote:I hope she gets better soon! I don't know much about this in dogs, but I've had pyelonephritis and omg the PAIN...good thing you got her in as soon as possible!

Srsly! I've been hospitalized with it twice. The second time I couldn't stand upright and the pain from my spasming kidney caused me to vomit.

Hope Piper is feeling better soon!

by **pipersmom** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 4:24 pm

Thanks everybody! Just got back from picking Piper us. She is on clavamox & baytril for the next 10 days. She also has tramadol for the next 3 days. Vet says he wants her on KD for the month, just to make sure everything is ok and to give her kidneys a rest. After that we can switch her back to normal food.

Miss Kiwi - I don't believe there was any change to renal values. Dr. said everything looked good. He also said it was a very good thing we caught it so early.

by **Misskiwi67** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:18 am

pipersmom wrote:Thanks everybody! Just got back from picking Piper us. She is on clavamox & baytril for the next 10 days. She also has tramadol for the next 3 days. Vet says he wants her on KD for the month, just to make sure everything is ok and to give her kidneys a rest. After that we can switch her back to normal food.

Miss Kiwi - I don't believe there was any change to renal values. Dr. said everything looked good. He also said it was a very good thing we caught it so early.

The one month plan sounds very reasonable so long as her tummy does well on it. Glad to hear she's doing better!!

by **Sarah** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:38 am

My Tess had a really serious kidney infection a couple years ago. Hospitalized for 3 days, she was a really sick little girl. She bounced back okay, but while her kidney values recovered to normal, I think she may have some residual kidney damage. I eventually found that I had to switch her to a lower protein food (she had been on a 32% protein kibble, now 24%).

It's very scary! I hope your girl is fully recovered soon!

by **pipersmom** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 8:08 pm

What food do you feed now Sarah? It is very scary! The vet told me like 4 times he was glad that we caught it early. Piper is still not feeling good but I'm glad that she is back at home and on the mend. Glad your sweet girl pulled through ok!

by **Sarah** » Fri Jul 20, 2012 10:49 pm

I'm feeding the grain-free from Costco, which would not be everybody's choice due to the Diamond recalls, but it fits my budget, and my dogs do well on it. I'm on the west coast, so the food I buy is almost certainly from the California plant, not the one that's had the recalls.

Your girl might well be able to stay on the food you're feeding, though, since you caught the kidney infection early.

by **pipersmom** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 6:15 pm

So Piper was feeling better until yesterday. She has been finished with antibiotics for about 4 days. I had to take her back to the vet yesterday because when I let her out of her kennel she was whimpering and didn't want to walk. When I felt around her hip area she started whimpering again. Off to the vet we go. Once we get to the vets office, she is not acting like she is in pain. They do another chem panel. Her bloodwork looks good and her white blood cell count is good (13 i believe) Doc gave me another round of baytril and metacam for pain. We are thinking kidney infection is not gone and she is having lower back pain. They did another urinalysis today and she had protein, ketones, bilirubin, and calcium crystals in her urine. So I'm not sure if that means she still has a kideny infection? Vet also aspirated her lymphnodes because she said they were very swollen and she was concerned. Won't have the results until thursday. When I went home for lunch Piper was in pain in the same area again, whimpering and acting unlike herself. I gave her a dose of metacam. Doctor said if she is not acting better tomorrow, they may take her off of metacam and pur her on steriods. I am so worried about my girl. The doctor seemed very concerned about her lymphnodes, even mentioned Lymphoma but said most likely not since Piper is only 3.

by **AllisonPibbleLvr** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 6:17 pm

Oh I hope it's nothing. Sending healing wishes for Piper girl.