BUN (blood urea nitrogen) is a measurement of nitrogen-containing urea compounds that are found in the blood. They are the byproduct of the body's breakdown of large protein molecules that we ingest with our foods. BUN numbers are effected by what we eat and our protein intake. These urea compounds are of no use to the body, and the kidneys are responsible for removing the toxin from our bloodstream. If the kidneys are not functioning as they should, the blood winds up with a build-up of these chemicals. Normal BUN numbers range from 7-27 mg/dL. A number too low can indicate problems with the liver, and a number in the 60s to 80s indicates early kidney failure. This time my number went up from 28 to 34. It's something to watch, but every vet I've seen has told my human that there are anomalies, and this might just be normal and healthy for me. Plus, I've got some mighty fine creatinine and red blood cell readings to keep me in the safe zone.
Creatinine is less dependent on our protein feasts than BUN, even though it is also a protein metabolyte. Normal ranges go from 0.4-1.8 mg/dL. My previous readings were 1.4, but this time I came back with a 0.9. This extremely important reading with regard to kidney function puts me in the low/healthy range. The combination of BUN and Creatinine is the key to catching kidney disease, and so far I seem to be just fine.
Not to mention that my red blood cell count was very good. I show no signs of anemia which can be an indicator of acute renal disease. I am not drinking water excessively (in fact, I hardly drink water from my bowl at all anymore since the BARF diet!) and my hydration is good. I'm an energetic, active boy and plan to stay that way for a long time!
Happy feasting!
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6 hours ago
1 comment:
Hi Stanislaw! =)Yor blog is such a wealth of good info that has been very helpful to me. I have noticed you have labels at the bottom of your entries, which is very handy to be able to just click on a label and get all the posts on that. A suggestion~ add a page element in your sidebar that has labels. =) When you go to page elements, one of the options will be 'labels'. All you do is click on that and voila, there's all the labels in a handy dandy spot! =D
Your fellow barfer blogging friend, Emily
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