Thursday 1 October 2020
Chester's progress and health monitoring has been closely logged and documented. This helped Dr Ly and us, to keep Chester happy in his final months. So we decided to start a progressive log.
a) Weight Gain/Loss Log
The first log was his weight. We had to monitor and maintain Chester to a healthy weight range, between 12.0kg ~ 14.0kg. His FINAL weight recorded was 12.0kg, on the morning of his passing.
This log was important as it was the first confirmation, that although Chester had an appetite loss, his weight could increase. This was how we initially noticed that he had a bulging abdomen, and alerted Dr Ly quickly.
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| Photo 1: Chester's Weight Log |
Since May 2020, Chester had exhibited signs of kidney failure. Initial blood work done showed elevated values for BUN and CRE.
BUN or "Blood Urea Nitrogen" is defined as urea is produced in the liver when protein is broken down, which is subsequently excreted by the kidneys. Changes in BUN levels may indicate liver and/or kidney diseases.
CRE or "Creatinine" is an end product of muscle breakdown, which is excreted by the kidneys. It is thought to be an indicator of kidney function and diseases should be suspected with increased levels of creatinine.
PCV or "Packed Cell Volume" or hematocrit (HCT). These tests are often performed as part of a complete blood cell count (CBC). In a normal dog, 35% to 55% of the blood will be red blood cells. If the PCV is below 35%, the dog is generally considered anemic.
To get the values back down, Dr Ly wanted to put Chester on a series of DMSO (Dimethyl sulphoxide) therapies. Each session would consist of 1 set of 3 consecutive days, and the maximum of 4 sets. Chester did 3 sets of DMSO and kept 1 set as a reserve in case Chester needs to do the DSMO again.
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| Photo 2: DMSO Treatment Log |
Notice that the BUN and CRE values, drops after every DMSO treatment.
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| Photo 3: BUN Readings |
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| Photo 4: BUN CRE PCV Readings |
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