7/28 Radar - will increase tonights dose - lab results and apt on Wed for dental

Status
Not open for further replies.
Jan Radar (GA)

Jan Radar (GA)

Member Since 2015
yesterday

This morning's dose didn't get increased so we'll do it tonight.

Got a phone call from the vet. Radar has been cleared for his dental on Wednesday next week. :nailbiting:

The blood work we did shows elevated BUN at 43 but other kidney values are in normal range so the vet is not concerned although he says this can be an early sign of kidney issues. The SDMA is 11 which is the highest he's ever been and that makes me feel worried. :nailbiting: Is there something I need to do or not do to help his system? Are there things to ask the vet about? Treatments to possibly put in place? @Marje and Gracie

The 5 Ps report: Radar feels good most of the time and is eating pretty well despite his tooth. The litter box has normal poo although there's a bit more pee in there :( He is grooming and playing normally.
 
Jan Radar said:
yesterday

This morning's dose didn't get increased so we'll do it tonight.

Got a phone call from the vet. Radar has been cleared for his dental on Wednesday next week. :nailbiting:

The blood work we did shows elevated BUN at 43 but other kidney values are in normal range so the vet is not concerned although he says this can be an early sign of kidney issues. The SDMA is 11 which is the highest he's ever been and that makes me feel worried. :nailbiting: Is there something I need to do or not do to help his system? Are there things to ask the vet about? Treatments to possibly put in place? @Marje and Gracie

The 5 Ps report: Radar feels good most of the time and is eating pretty well despite his tooth. The litter box has normal poo although there's a bit more pee in there :( He is grooming and playing normally.
Click to expand...
Jan...we are on our way out right now but I will look at these later today and get back to you. Thanks for your patience and try not to worry. SDMA is still normal and my Tobey.....who is 7 and has great kidney values and USG also has an SDMA of 11.
 
Marje and Gracie said:
Jan. we are on our way out right now but I will look at these later today and get back to you. Thanks for your patience and try not to worry. SDMA is still normal and my Tobey.....who is 7 and has great kidney values and USG also has an SDMA of 11.
Click to expand...
Whenever you have the time to evaluate Radar's labs will be fine with me. I'm so grateful for your knowledge and skills and the willingness to share them. :bighug::bighug: I promise that I will try not to worry about the SDMA. Maybe some of the lab work is elevated due to the bad tooth??
 
Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey said:
I seem to remember seeing somewhere that the BUN can be temporarily elevated, so I'd maybe see about a recheck in six months.

Radar, dosecrease threat on the table! You know what to do!
Click to expand...
Radar is sleeping in his favorite box at the moment contemplating his choices... we'll see what he does next. :rolleyes: It's good to know that the BUN can be a temporary thing. I like the idea of checking it again in 6 months.
 
Thanks is for your patience. I think his labs look really good. :):)

One question...ALP and alkaline phosphatase are the same. You have a "high flag" on the ALP but his number is within normal limits. Did your vet use a lab that has a different range for normal than what is on the SS?

I wouldn't worry about the chloride as it is normal by the range on the SS but even if it were low by the ranges your vet's lab uses, I wouldn't worry too much about one electrolyte being a little low. He's pretty consistent historically.

Platelets are low due to clumping which makes it harder to separate them out and count them individually. This happens very commonly as the platelets can be damaged and caused to clump during the blood draw.

I think he's dehydrated and that's why you are seeing an elevated BUN and elevated HCT and hemoglobin.

There are several things that keep me from worrying about his kidneys right now. First, his SDMA is normal. Second, he's concentrating his urine very nicely. Before the SDMA test, the earliest indicator of early CKD was a USG below 1.035 although concentration does vary through the day. I've seen poorly concentrated urine but a normal creatinine and that tells me that an eye needs to be kept on the kidneys. But with normal SDMA, normal creatinine (and his has varied up to 1.9 and then lower), and good concentration of urine, I am not worried about his kidneys at this point in time.

I don't remember how old he is but I think for an FD cat or a cat over 10 years, labs every six months is reasonable as long as he is clinically doing well.:)

Pls let me know if you have questions.

ETA: two things that could have caused his SDMA to increase. One is that it can vary 15-20% from test to test. Two is that dehydration can also affect it if it affects the glomerular filtration rate. Since we don't test GFR in pets as we do in humans, than I'd take it at face value that since other numbers are showing dehydration, the SDMA could as well. Coincidentally, Tobey's labs are similar....his HCT runs a little high as does his total protein and even his USG. His SDMA was also 11. My vet said these are all indicative of dehydration so I've been adding lots more water to his food.
 
Last edited:
Marje and Gracie said:
Thanks is for your patience. I think his labs look really good. :):)

One question...ALP and alkaline phosphatase are the same. You have a "high flag" on the ALP but his number is within normal limits. Did your vet use a lab that has a different range for normal than what is on the SS?

I wouldn't worry about the chloride as it is normal by the range on the SS but even if it were low by the ranges your vet's lab uses, I wouldn't worry too much about one electrolyte being a little low. He's pretty consistent historically.

Platelets are low due to clumping which makes it harder to separate them out and count them individually. This happens very commonly as the platelets can be damaged and caused to clump during the blood draw.

I think he's dehydrated and that's why you are seeing an elevated BUN and elevated HCT and hemoglobin.

There are several things that keep me from worrying about his kidneys right now. First, his SDMA is normal. Second, he's concentrating his urine very nicely. Before the SDMA test, the earliest indicator of early CKD was a USG below 1.035 although concentration does vary through the day. I've seen poorly concentrated urine but a normal creatinine and that tells me that an eye needs to be kept on the kidneys. But with normal SDMA, normal creatinine (and his has varied up to 1.9 and then lower), and good concentration of urine, I am not worried about his kidneys at this point in time.

I don't remember how old he is but I think for an FD cat or a cat over 10 years, labs every six months is reasonable as long as he is clinically doing well.:)

Pls let me know if you have questions.

ETA: two things that could have caused his SDMA to increase. One is that it can vary 15-20% from test to test. Two is that dehydration can also affect it if it affects the glomerular filtration rate. Since we don't test GFR in pets as we do in humans, than I'd take it at face value that since other numbers are showing dehydration, the SDMA could as well. Coincidentally, Tobey's labs are similar....his HCT runs a little high as does his total protein and even his USG. His SDMA was also 11. My vet said these are all indicative of dehydration so I've been adding lots more water to his food.
Click to expand...
Wow I feel so much better with your clear explanations. Thank you so much. I will be putting more water in his food to try to help him improve the dehydration. I will also get him in for blood work every 6 months from now on so we can keep a closer eye on his condition. I don't think I have any questions right now about the blood.

I am interested to know if you can recommend a good pain killer that maybe Radar could get in a shot?? or a pill to help him make it until Wednesday when the vet will fix his hurting tooth. When he had a dental last summer they gave us bup which was ok but he was pretty loopy on it and I'm wondering if there is something else that people use to control pain... ? thanks in advance for any suggestion you might have. :) and thanks again for your generosity :bighug:
 
Jan Radar said:
Wow I feel so much better with your clear explanations. Thank you so much. I will be putting more water in his food to try to help him improve the dehydration. I will also get him in for blood work every 6 months from now on so we can keep a closer eye on his condition. I don't think I have any questions right now about the blood.

I am interested to know if you can recommend a good pain killer that maybe Radar could get in a shot?? or a pill to help him make it until Wednesday when the vet will fix his hurting tooth. When he had a dental last summer they gave us bup which was ok but he was pretty loopy on it and I'm wondering if there is something else that people use to control pain... ? thanks in advance for any suggestion you might have. :) and thanks again for your generosity :bighug:
Click to expand...
You're welcome!

I like bupe. It has a large dosing range so that means you can even give half of what the vet prescribed. Have you tried a much lower dose that will just take the edge off? When Liv had her surgery, they prescribed 0.1ml bid and I ended up having to give her 0.03ml bid because anything more kept her wide awake and digging in her water bowls :rolleyes: But that little bit seemed to help her.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top