Collapsed Trachea meds - YorkieTalk.com Forums

jrsummersill1 · 07-11-2010, 10:48 AM

My yorkie mix, Sunshine, was finally officially diagnosed with collapsed trachea by our new vet. We had always suspected it, but her previous vets never offered to do xrays. Instead, they just treated her symptons. I wanted to know for sure and how bad it was as her coughing had increased recently. Her collapse is in her thoracic region, which I understand to be the worst place for it to be. To boot, it is a fairly long area of collapse. The vet put her on 1/2 Temaril-P twice a day, 1/4 Tussigon 2-3 times a day and 1/2 Aminophylline twice a day. Also, he put her on an antibiotic for a week (Zeniquin). She has been on Temaril-P for a year now anyway to control her itching; however, I had her down to 1/2 a tablet once a day. I know many people do not like to give steroids on a long term basis, but without it she literally itches herself until she bleeds. There have been no negative effects from the Temaril-P and if it keeps her comfortable at her age (approx 10 years old), I don't mind using it. My question, is have any of you had any successes or non-successes with these meds or a combo of them? The meds appear to be helping, even though there are alot of them. She is still coughing a little. She has been on Tussigon before for coughing, but I was not too impressed with it, but I am trying it again. Does anyone else know of a more effective cough medicine? Also, should I have oxygen handy at my house in the event of a severe attack? My worst fear is that she will get an attack that my cause her to suffocate and I won't be able to help her. I thank each of you in advance for any insights you can offer.

beachdog · 07-11-2010, 03:23 PM

My dog Paris who is 10 has also just been diagnosed with CT. He is on Torbutrol a narcotic derived from opium for the cough but it is very expensive. $70 for two weeks. After the two weeks I am hoping my vet can find something less costly to use. Paris is still coughing about 3 or 4 times a day but nowhere near as bad as he was without the medication. I'm not really sure that it isn't Kennel cough myself after looking at the videos. But I have to go with what the doc says.
I would be interested to know how expensive the cough meds you are using are if you don't mind telling. I have also looked up Robutussin dm and will ask about using that.

littlewhip · 07-11-2010, 03:41 PM

Hi, My molly also has a CT in the very same place, she is on hydrocodone for her cough, the steriod meds add weight gain and thats my hardest part, she is not to have any activity and ive cut her food down, no treats

but she still continues to gain

she is also on a sedative for when i leave
I hate this med as well, it makes her out of it for about 5-6 hrs. we go back the 20th for refills and im going to see if they can reduce that med and give her something thats not so strong, she is also on calvimax , she also mention
adding a oxygen, we do have c/a and a fan on her for when she is really having problems. sending you prayers for your babies ~ its really sad

jrsummersill1 · 07-11-2010, 03:45 PM

I bought the Tussigon (the cough medicine) about 9 months ago. I had to buy it through a regular pharmacy and if I remember correctly it cost less then $10 for 25 pills. The Aminophylline is a bronchodilator and it can be bought through Drs. Foster and Smith for less than $0.11 a pill. The Temaril-P (which is anti-itching, anti-cough and anti-inflammatory) is $0.65 a pill through Drs. Foster and Smith. All in all, not too expensive, if they work. As I said, I was not too impressed with the Tussigon by itself, but it appears to be working ok in conjunction with the other meds as the coughing is rather mild and not too often. Sunshine, too, is about 10 years old. We bought her from a rescue organization and they told us that she had a coughing condition that may or may not resolve itself, needless to say that it has not. The collapsed trachea diagnosis has broke my heart and scared me, but I just want her to live out her remaining years in peace as it is apparent that her previous owners were not too good to her.

jrsummersill1 · 07-11-2010, 03:57 PM

Little whip, it is a sad diagnosis and very scary. Thank goodness, Sunshine is not to the point where I really believe oxygen is necessary, I am just trying to think ahead. If we do need it one day, I want to have it on hand. The Temaril-P only contains 2mg of Prednisolone, so when I give her 1/2 a tablet once a day, I am only really giving her 1mg a day. She was originally prescribed 1 tablet twice a day and I have gradually reduced it. The 1/2 tablet controlls her itching immensely. As a matter of fact, she doesn't itch at all anymore. Without it she is constantly itching, bleeding and scabby. My husband is bad about giving her and my other dogs treats, but with this diagnosis being official, we are cutting that out completely. I don't excercise her either (it brings on episodes), so that doesn't help with the weight gain. You said that you use a fan on her. Just a regular household fan? I had one in our room and she would sleep in front of it, but if she started coughing, I would think that the fan was irritating her and we quit using it. Maybe I was wrong and it actually helps? Does it help Molly?

jrsummersill1 · 07-11-2010, 04:16 PM

Beachdog--About the Robitussin DM, we tried it several times and it really didn't work that well for Sunshine. Hardly no effect at all and it was very messy to give to her. She takes pills much better. However, Benadryl worked a little better, but I think that was because it somewhat sedated her. I gave it to her mostly at bedtime.

jrsummersill1 · 07-11-2010, 04:39 PM

Little whip--The Temaril-P only contains 2mg of Prednisolone and I usually give her 1/2 tablet a day or 1mg of Prednisolone as I have gradually reduced it from the originally prescribed 1 tablet twice a day. The 1/2 tablet once a day controlls her itching to where she almost doesn't itch at all whereas before she itched constantly until her hair fell out and she was bloody and scabby. She has gained a little weight since we've had her, but I attribute that more to the snacks my husband likes to give her and my other dogs. With this diagnosis, however, that is being cut out completely. I also don't excercise her as this causes episodes which also doesn't help with the weight gain. I don't have to sedate her, but would like to have the oxygen on hand in case the need for it ever suddenly arises. Thank goodness, it has never gotten that bad. About the fan, is it just a regular household fan and does that help Molly? We were using a fan in our room and Sunshine had a penchant for sleeping in front of it, but when she would start coughing I thought maybe the fan was irritating her. Maybe I was wrong and it really helps? What is c/a? I hope it works out for you and Molly when you go back to the vet. This is a terrible condition and I just don't understand why there is not more they can do to correct it. If it were a person, they would have figured something out by now.

beachdog · 07-12-2010, 03:06 AM

Paris doesn't cough when being walked or when playing his favorite chase game with the football, he coughs in the morning and around 2 times during the day. The xray the doctor took is posted under the topic New to forum/ct/kennelcough and is marked with a green arrow if you look at it you can see there isn't much difference in his trachea. Maybe it is early on because he just started the coughing about a month ago.
I don't like to take medicine and I sure don't want to keep giving my dog a narcotic if he doesn't really need it. Thanks for the other info I will discuss it with my vet.
It is scarey and I cried for two days but hope I can give Paris a good quality life for as long as he has left.

beachdog · 07-12-2010, 03:09 AM

Yesterday looing around I found Temeral-P at www.allivet.com for 100 count for $50. Is that cheaper than what you are paying now?

littlewhip · 07-12-2010, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrsummersill1

Little whip--The Temaril-P only contains 2mg of Prednisolone and I usually give her 1/2 tablet a day or 1mg of Prednisolone as I have gradually reduced it from the originally prescribed 1 tablet twice a day. The 1/2 tablet once a day controlls her itching to where she almost doesn't itch at all whereas before she itched constantly until her hair fell out and she was bloody and scabby. She has gained a little weight since we've had her, but I attribute that more to the snacks my husband likes to give her and my other dogs. With this diagnosis, however, that is being cut out completely. I also don't excercise her as this causes episodes which also doesn't help with the weight gain. I don't have to sedate her, but would like to have the oxygen on hand in case the need for it ever suddenly arises. Thank goodness, it has never gotten that bad. About the fan, is it just a regular household fan and does that help Molly? We were using a fan in our room and Sunshine had a penchant for sleeping in front of it, but when she would start coughing I thought maybe the fan was irritating her. Maybe I was wrong and it really helps? What is c/a? I hope it works out for you and Molly when you go back to the vet. This is a terrible condition and I just don't understand why there is not more they can do to correct it. If it were a person, they would have figured something out by now.

Yes its just a house hold fan, I hold her face up to it and it does seem to help. her main attacks are when im not with her, Thats the reason the sedative was added, she has such bad anxiety it takes me a while to calm her upon comming home, but i dont like the way it effects her, but if it helps then i must do it, I believe we will need surgery soon and we have no vets around here that will perform this...she is on 4 meds a day

jrsummersill1 · 07-12-2010, 08:54 AM

Beachdog--Paris' symptons sound just like Sunshine's. She coughs in the morning and a few times throughout the day. So far, the meds she is on now seems to be helping. We started them last Wednesday.

beachdog · 07-12-2010, 09:04 AM

Well it looks like we will journey through this together. Paris started on his meds last Tuesday. He has been coughing for about a month and a half now.
I have a video quicktime of his cough I sent to the vet but don't know if I can post a video here?

littlewhip · 07-16-2010, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beachdog

Well it looks like we will journey through this together. Paris started on his meds last Tuesday. He has been coughing for about a month and a half now.
I have a video quicktime of his cough I sent to the vet but don't know if I can post a video here?

I hope his meds are helping him, and yes you can post a video ~ Ive googled and seen many

and there are support groups as well ~

kjc · 07-16-2010, 05:22 PM

Count me in! I was having a fit paying $40.00 for a month's worth of Torbutrol! Ask your vet about giving you a better price as it is a maintenence drug, or for a script to be filled at a local pharmacy (some do dog meds). I've thought too about having Oxygen on hand, in the mean time I brushed up on my CPR skills.

Seems surgery isn't a long term fix for these guys yet... still looking for answers. Will post back here if I find anything...

Have you ever had Sunshine on Revolution for her itching?

beachdog · 07-18-2010, 03:27 AM

Paris has been on 1/4 tab 1.25mg of Torbutrol for several days now still maintaing his 2 x's a day cough but not as severe. I think it is working at this low dose. But I also think it is kennel cough not Ct. Time will tell. He plays, runs, goes for a walk all without coughing. I am thinking of stopping the Torbutrol after the 2 weeks is up and keeping the rest on hand in case he needs it again. I am still researcing other meds.

07-11-2010, 10:48 AM	#1
jrsummersill1 Yorkie Talker Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Apopka, Florida Posts: 13	Collapsed Trachea meds My yorkie mix, Sunshine, was finally officially diagnosed with collapsed trachea by our new vet. We had always suspected it, but her previous vets never offered to do xrays. Instead, they just treated her symptons. I wanted to know for sure and how bad it was as her coughing had increased recently. Her collapse is in her thoracic region, which I understand to be the worst place for it to be. To boot, it is a fairly long area of collapse. The vet put her on 1/2 Temaril-P twice a day, 1/4 Tussigon 2-3 times a day and 1/2 Aminophylline twice a day. Also, he put her on an antibiotic for a week (Zeniquin). She has been on Temaril-P for a year now anyway to control her itching; however, I had her down to 1/2 a tablet once a day. I know many people do not like to give steroids on a long term basis, but without it she literally itches herself until she bleeds. There have been no negative effects from the Temaril-P and if it keeps her comfortable at her age (approx 10 years old), I don't mind using it. My question, is have any of you had any successes or non-successes with these meds or a combo of them? The meds appear to be helping, even though there are alot of them. She is still coughing a little. She has been on Tussigon before for coughing, but I was not too impressed with it, but I am trying it again. Does anyone else know of a more effective cough medicine? Also, should I have oxygen handy at my house in the event of a severe attack? My worst fear is that she will get an attack that my cause her to suffocate and I won't be able to help her. I thank each of you in advance for any insights you can offer.

07-11-2010, 03:41 PM	#3
littlewhip Donating Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: wiith my furbabys Posts: 8,874	Hi, My molly also has a CT in the very same place, she is on hydrocodone for her cough, the steriod meds add weight gain and thats my hardest part, she is not to have any activity and ive cut her food down, no treats but she still continues to gain she is also on a sedative for when i leave I hate this med as well, it makes her out of it for about 5-6 hrs. we go back the 20th for refills and im going to see if they can reduce that med and give her something thats not so strong, she is also on calvimax , she also mention adding a oxygen, we do have c/a and a fan on her for when she is really having problems. sending you prayers for your babies ~ its really sad __________________

07-16-2010, 05:22 PM	#14
kjc I♥PeekTinkySaph&Finny Donating Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Baltimore, Maryland Posts: 18,866	Count me in! I was having a fit paying $40.00 for a month's worth of Torbutrol! Ask your vet about giving you a better price as it is a maintenence drug, or for a script to be filled at a local pharmacy (some do dog meds). I've thought too about having Oxygen on hand, in the mean time I brushed up on my CPR skills. Seems surgery isn't a long term fix for these guys yet... still looking for answers. Will post back here if I find anything... Have you ever had Sunshine on Revolution for her itching? __________________ Kat Chloe Lizzy PeekABooTinkerbell SapphireInfinity Last edited by kjc; 07-16-2010 at 05:25 PM.

07-11-2010, 03:23 PM	#2
beachdog Paris: Always in my ♥ Donating YT Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Neptune Beach, Fl USA Posts: 991 Blog Entries: 1	My dog Paris who is 10 has also just been diagnosed with CT. He is on Torbutrol a narcotic derived from opium for the cough but it is very expensive. $70 for two weeks. After the two weeks I am hoping my vet can find something less costly to use. Paris is still coughing about 3 or 4 times a day but nowhere near as bad as he was without the medication. I'm not really sure that it isn't Kennel cough myself after looking at the videos. But I have to go with what the doc says. I would be interested to know how expensive the cough meds you are using are if you don't mind telling. I have also looked up Robutussin dm and will ask about using that.

07-11-2010, 03:45 PM	#4
jrsummersill1 Yorkie Talker Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Apopka, Florida Posts: 13	I bought the Tussigon (the cough medicine) about 9 months ago. I had to buy it through a regular pharmacy and if I remember correctly it cost less then $10 for 25 pills. The Aminophylline is a bronchodilator and it can be bought through Drs. Foster and Smith for less than $0.11 a pill. The Temaril-P (which is anti-itching, anti-cough and anti-inflammatory) is $0.65 a pill through Drs. Foster and Smith. All in all, not too expensive, if they work. As I said, I was not too impressed with the Tussigon by itself, but it appears to be working ok in conjunction with the other meds as the coughing is rather mild and not too often. Sunshine, too, is about 10 years old. We bought her from a rescue organization and they told us that she had a coughing condition that may or may not resolve itself, needless to say that it has not. The collapsed trachea diagnosis has broke my heart and scared me, but I just want her to live out her remaining years in peace as it is apparent that her previous owners were not too good to her.

07-11-2010, 03:57 PM	#5
jrsummersill1 Yorkie Talker Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Apopka, Florida Posts: 13	Little whip, it is a sad diagnosis and very scary. Thank goodness, Sunshine is not to the point where I really believe oxygen is necessary, I am just trying to think ahead. If we do need it one day, I want to have it on hand. The Temaril-P only contains 2mg of Prednisolone, so when I give her 1/2 a tablet once a day, I am only really giving her 1mg a day. She was originally prescribed 1 tablet twice a day and I have gradually reduced it. The 1/2 tablet controlls her itching immensely. As a matter of fact, she doesn't itch at all anymore. Without it she is constantly itching, bleeding and scabby. My husband is bad about giving her and my other dogs treats, but with this diagnosis being official, we are cutting that out completely. I don't excercise her either (it brings on episodes), so that doesn't help with the weight gain. You said that you use a fan on her. Just a regular household fan? I had one in our room and she would sleep in front of it, but if she started coughing, I would think that the fan was irritating her and we quit using it. Maybe I was wrong and it actually helps? Does it help Molly?

07-11-2010, 04:16 PM	#6
jrsummersill1 Yorkie Talker Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Apopka, Florida Posts: 13	Beachdog--About the Robitussin DM, we tried it several times and it really didn't work that well for Sunshine. Hardly no effect at all and it was very messy to give to her. She takes pills much better. However, Benadryl worked a little better, but I think that was because it somewhat sedated her. I gave it to her mostly at bedtime.

07-11-2010, 04:39 PM	#7
jrsummersill1 Yorkie Talker Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Apopka, Florida Posts: 13	Little whip--The Temaril-P only contains 2mg of Prednisolone and I usually give her 1/2 tablet a day or 1mg of Prednisolone as I have gradually reduced it from the originally prescribed 1 tablet twice a day. The 1/2 tablet once a day controlls her itching to where she almost doesn't itch at all whereas before she itched constantly until her hair fell out and she was bloody and scabby. She has gained a little weight since we've had her, but I attribute that more to the snacks my husband likes to give her and my other dogs. With this diagnosis, however, that is being cut out completely. I also don't excercise her as this causes episodes which also doesn't help with the weight gain. I don't have to sedate her, but would like to have the oxygen on hand in case the need for it ever suddenly arises. Thank goodness, it has never gotten that bad. About the fan, is it just a regular household fan and does that help Molly? We were using a fan in our room and Sunshine had a penchant for sleeping in front of it, but when she would start coughing I thought maybe the fan was irritating her. Maybe I was wrong and it really helps? What is c/a? I hope it works out for you and Molly when you go back to the vet. This is a terrible condition and I just don't understand why there is not more they can do to correct it. If it were a person, they would have figured something out by now.

07-12-2010, 03:06 AM	#8
beachdog Paris: Always in my ♥ Donating YT Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Neptune Beach, Fl USA Posts: 991 Blog Entries: 1	Paris doesn't cough when being walked or when playing his favorite chase game with the football, he coughs in the morning and around 2 times during the day. The xray the doctor took is posted under the topic New to forum/ct/kennelcough and is marked with a green arrow if you look at it you can see there isn't much difference in his trachea. Maybe it is early on because he just started the coughing about a month ago. I don't like to take medicine and I sure don't want to keep giving my dog a narcotic if he doesn't really need it. Thanks for the other info I will discuss it with my vet. It is scarey and I cried for two days but hope I can give Paris a good quality life for as long as he has left.

07-12-2010, 03:09 AM	#9
beachdog Paris: Always in my ♥ Donating YT Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Neptune Beach, Fl USA Posts: 991 Blog Entries: 1	Yesterday looing around I found Temeral-P at www.allivet.com for 100 count for $50. Is that cheaper than what you are paying now?

07-12-2010, 08:54 AM	#11
jrsummersill1 Yorkie Talker Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Apopka, Florida Posts: 13	Beachdog--Paris' symptons sound just like Sunshine's. She coughs in the morning and a few times throughout the day. So far, the meds she is on now seems to be helping. We started them last Wednesday.

07-12-2010, 09:04 AM	#12
beachdog Paris: Always in my ♥ Donating YT Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Neptune Beach, Fl USA Posts: 991 Blog Entries: 1	Well it looks like we will journey through this together. Paris started on his meds last Tuesday. He has been coughing for about a month and a half now. I have a video quicktime of his cough I sent to the vet but don't know if I can post a video here?

07-18-2010, 03:27 AM	#15
beachdog Paris: Always in my ♥ Donating YT Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Neptune Beach, Fl USA Posts: 991 Blog Entries: 1	Paris has been on 1/4 tab 1.25mg of Torbutrol for several days now still maintaing his 2 x's a day cough but not as severe. I think it is working at this low dose. But I also think it is kennel cough not Ct. Time will tell. He plays, runs, goes for a walk all without coughing. I am thinking of stopping the Torbutrol after the 2 weeks is up and keeping the rest on hand in case he needs it again. I am still researcing other meds.