I have a question.
If a dog was taking furosemide or frusomide? Every day for over a year, should it be protocol for the vets to regularly do urea tests?

I think my dog died of kidney failiure as her urea was 40 and I understand it was supposed to be 6, the sad thing for me now is I can't get my head round why the vets told me that she could take the diuretics forever and be fine. And if I had known or if they had known about her urea being up they could have stopped her passing away because I took her on the Sunday and they gave her a big IV of frusamide then she died on the Monday after they tested her urea. She had been getting IV diuretic injections every couple of months as well as her regular medications.
Part of me wishes I never asked my client who Is a nurse, how urea and diuretics works. But unfortunately I get really interested in medicine.

Xx

So sorry for your loss, may she RIP.

To require diuretics there has to be an excess of fluid going around the body putting a strain on the heart and lungs, this can be heard via a stethescope and seen on Xray, this can't go on hence the medication, diuretics can be given for years but bloods need to be checked to ensure that the much needed electrolytes like sodium and potassium are not being washed away and that the dog wasn't becoming dehydrated, it also checks on the function of the liver and kidneys both vitally important organs.

How old was your dog? You don't say what the dog was diagnosed with initially to require the Furosemide, it must have been something serious to still need it a year later.

I presume she was poorly on Sunday when you took her to the vets, they will have heard the fluid on her chest and treated her with an IV quick acting version of a drug she was used to having, when you say she had a big IV of Furosemide do you mean it was in a large bag or it was a much bigger dose than she normally gets but in a syringe, large doses over 40mgs have to be diluted usually in saline, or she has had an IV infusion over and above the drug, I presume as they expected she started to get better, pass lots of urine and you got to take her home.

You took her back on Monday and when the previous days treatment has failed to keep her well they have done bloods to check for other problems and she was either dehydrated or her kidneys were failing, it can take weeks for this to show up and symptoms put down to her other health problem.

You need to speak to a senior vet who will go into more detail regarding the process/prognosis re her original condition and whether her death was to be expected after 12 months of treatment, if you don't talk it out you will only stew on it. Your friend the nurse should have told you the same, as she is a human nurse then readings for dogs and humans are going to be different, I have been a nurse 40yrs tomorrow but still need blood results for dogs explaining, if we had a temp that is normal in a dog we would be calling out the GP.

Hope you get some closure to this to allow you to grieve for the loss of your much loved dog
{{{{HUGS}}}

Yeah, I should speak with a vet, nala was only 6 and had chronic lung disease for 4 years. She coped on occasional drugs at first, then when it became serious over a year ago she went onto a cocktail of drugs at first, inc frusomide. We were paying over the odds for other meds that weren't working, when we actually fund that diuretic and steroid were settling her te best. When I took her from the vet on Sunday I was disappointed as I was told on te phone she was good to go and when I got there she really didn't look much different, the vets said she had a big dose of diuretic but not sure wether she had drip or a shot, she did have a little bandage on her wrist so it ay have been a drip?

The nurse did explain the process of a diuretic in a human but the thing that bothers me most is that nala never in the full year had a blood test to make sure her kidneys were functioning right.

Xxx

It may have been that her condition/disease was such that it was dealt with by symptom control and putting her through the added stress of blood tests would not have changed her treatment regardless of the results.

Too many times my human patients have been in the same situation and the young Drs wanted to check bloods daily, when I asked them were they going to change the medication or do anything different based on the results they said "No", so bloods were reduced to weekly or stopped altogether if the patient was still in hospital.

Let us know what your vet has to say.