[Love my nicky]

Hi all, we really need your help- were devastated about our almost 12 yr old Yorkie and need to know we're not missing anything. It's a long story, so please bear with us. We were told Nicky has collapsing trachea last year. He's had spurts during allergy season but nothing that wasn't controllable with low doses of prednisone and rarely hydrocodone during very bad spells. A couple of weeks ago when allergy season got bad here In NY, we started Nicky on prednisone and antihistamines for the occasional wheezing. Aside from a few wheezes a day, he was fine.

This Saturday, May 16th, Nicky was doing fine and went in to the vet for his vaccinations. He got the rabies, bordetella, and DHLPC shot. He was fine that night. The next day he started incessantly panting and wheezing. We thought it was just the humidity and allergens and didn't worry too much. We called the vet and he said to up his prednisone to 2.5 mg twice a day and drop the antihistamines as he did not want to over medicate him. Monday it was the same but he ate and drank. That afternoon/early evening it got worse and he was incessantly panting/wheezing and at times gasping. He couldn't lay down as he seemed unable to breathe when laying. So he stayed up and paced all night. First thing Tuesday I took him to the vet. Miraculously at the vet, the wheezing went away but he still was panting but now like a normal healthy dog. The vet confirmed all the meds he was on and said it was allergens triggering his trachea and to keep the ACs on and purifiers etc and gave me terbutaline for emergencies. He also gave him a shot of something that was to open his airways (name is escaping me). He took X-rays and saw that his heart wasn't worse (he was diagnosed with an enlarged heart last year and is on enalapril daily as a preventative) and that his trachea seemed "normal" in the image. He explained the trachea could have been normal just in the second the image was taken. He believed Nicky may have had a secondary bronchitis from all the wheezing and thus prescribed clavamox. He sent us on our way. When I got home, the incessant wheezing and panting returned and he still wouldn't eat-- even tried beef and chicken to entice (24 hours at this point). I rushed him back to the vet, ran bloodwork and found that his white blood cells were elevated and his thyroid was low, he was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and given levothyroxine to compensate for his low thyroid function. The vet believed that once the thyroid medicine entered his system, he would level out. But he didn't, Wednesday (yesterday) I rushed him back and the vet insisted it was not a vaccine reaction (I googled all night before) as he believed Nicky didn't have eosiphinils in his blood. I explained that I read a bad reaction may include difficulty breathing and a rapid heart rate etc, he explained it would have all cleared up with the prednisone/antihistamines he was already on anyway if that was the cause. Nicky was sitting calmly and panting like a normal dog, no wheezing at the vets office AGAIN! He tried to refer me to the city for a fluoroscopy for Nicky, he explained they'd sedate him and determine if it was a polyp (and take it out if it was), an elongated soft pallet, or a collapsed trachea. He explained he didn't believe it was a polyp as the wheezing would not stop at all if it was. Thus if it was a soft pallet issue or trachea, we wouldn't be able to fix it anyway. Professionally, he was referring me just for piece of mind. I didn't go through with the process because I did not want to sedate him simply for my piece of mind. We decided to keep Nicky there and hoped that whatever was triggering him was simply in our home as he didn't wheeze or gasp at the vets, we felt he needed a break to recoup while we found the culprit. We were relieved to know it was an outside irritant and went straight home to determine the cause. Incessant checkins with the vet went fine during the day- Nicky was breathing normal, drank a bit, but still no food. Until last evening, the wheezing/gasping came back. They gave him the same shot and hoped for the best. The vet called me and told me it was now confirmed that it was an anatomical issue with Nicky and not an irritant in our home and that it may be best to prepare for the big decision if this does not cease. we are devastated as he was relatively healthy before all this. Granted he had some issues normal for a senior but he had the personality of a puppy. We need help, does anyone have any idea of what this could be? I don't want him to suffer and will put him out of his misery if there is no cure, but I want to make sure first.




Please help with any comments or suggestions. Thank you in advance and God bless.