Was at ER at 2:30am With Marcel, Breathing Issue
 

I thought I was going to lose my little baby last night :(.

About 2:00 am, Marcel started breathing funny - not like his occasional reverse sneezing that sometimes happens in the middle of the night, but something else. It was sort of similar in that it resulted in short breaths, but I couldn't get it to stop, and he was shaking and scared. Plus, it sounded different - more restrictive than reverse sneezing. At first, I wasn't terribly scared bc I thought it would resolve as his other episodes always have, but this was NOT going away - and I started to get scared. On top of this, my husband was OUT OF TOWN :(.

I got out of bed and turned the lights on, checked gums, they looked "okay". But, he didn't look right - he was sort of holding his mouth open a bit, his nose running a bit. Breathing worsened, I'm totally FREAKING now, his breaths are about 1/8th of a second long and I'm thinking these might be my last moments with Marcel, his body is stiffening. I try the Heimlich - nothing. Try it again. Nothing. Again. Nothing. He had so little air in him from his little breaths that there isn't much air to "push" out of him. He's still breathing his little breaths though and totally conscious. His little body was so tense and he was terrified.

I give Nutrical - he can swallow, so I give more. I set him down so I can get dressed and he runs around my feet hunched over - so somehow he's getting enough air to survive. I grab him and run toward our back bulletin board and CANNOT find the piece of paper w/ the ER vet. Have to grab yellow pages and page through.

Breathing worsening and again I think I may be losing him, he really is hardly breathing AT ALL at this point - I start crying and tell him to hold on. I don't know if his trachea is collapsing or what. I'm at a total loss now. I'm calling ERs and finally find one and it takes about 20+ minutes to get there - I'm driving 55-60 mph on regular streets, holding my baby. His breathing, of course, seems to calm a bit on the way. By the time we walk in, I can't even hear the weird breathing. They take him after I fill out a form.

When they bring him out, he's PANTING at this point! And the tech says - "he's stable and can wait with you until the vet is ready to talk with you". So, the vet and me talk and we have NO idea what happened. Here's what we talked about:

1) Collapsed trachea? She didn't think so bc he never tried to "cough" before before the episode or during. Does it sound like CT? I just don't know??? It did sound like he had a closed or almost closed airway. Like he was sucking air through as hard as he could, and could barely get ANY. :(

2) An allergic reaction? Possibly, but not really. He had odd drainage coming out of his nose at the vet which we though was odd, so we were both wondering what that was about. The drainage could indicate some sort of allergic response that went haywire.

3) Foreign Object? Don't know. But where would it come from when he was sleeping at 2am? We talked about it being in the nose (w/ the drainage), but we think he would've pawed at it. It could've been in his throat (and honestly, it SOUNDED like an object to me), but I couldn't dislodge it - and he could swallow after Nutrical, so???

Whatever it was, I swear - I almost lost him he was getting so little oxygen. I'm just grateful for the little air he was able to get, because it saved his life. By the time I talked to the vet, he was all perky and kissy and fine. Still having some runny nose. Occasionally doing a "harder swallow", but breathing totally normal. The vet said to give Benadryl when I get home. She said I can follow up with chest xrays and other things if I want, but she's as stumped as me and she never actually saw his weird breathing.

Omg Ann! I felt panicky just reading your post. I am so glad....your middle of the night vet visit...ended well. Phew....thank God.

Can I throw out another diagnosis? Asthma?

Another thought... my professional opinion of course. :rolleyes: His nose would be draining because he was breathing out of his mouth...when they breath through their nose...the drainage is drawn toward the back of their nasal cavity.

I'm glad Marcel is okay...I'm sure your heart is just now...stopped racing.

Oh, what an awful night! Poor Marcel. I hope everything is okay with your furbaby and his diagnosis is figured out quickly.

Wow Ann, that is so scary. Nothing is worse than not knowing what caused a problem. I'm so glad Marcel got enough air to survive and be OK until it stopped. I hope it doesn't happen again.
Keep us informed on how he is doing.

What a scary night the two of you had.
Wonder what could have caused Marcel to react that way?
Thank heavens your baby is fine now. I would be going bonker's
trying to figure out what the cause was. Finger's crossed it never
happens again. Poor little guy must have been so frightened and of course
I know how panicked you must have been.
Always expect the unexpected. Who ever came up with that phase
hit the nail on the head.

Interesting. I didn't think of asthma at all! Neither did the vet. I wonder if the sound would've sounded more "lung based", than "throat based" though? I just don't know...?

Another thought I just had - I wonder if a bug crawled inside his nose/throat or something...???? Temporarily messing with his airway? That doesn't make sense either though, bc I think he would've pawed at his nose...

Do you think maybe a bug could have bitten him while he was sleeping and he had an allergic reaction to it causing his throat to swell temporarily.

Oh my goodness, though,I was panicked, just reading your post. I am so glad he's okay!

Oh man what a scare:( I am so glad he is ok. As for what it could be i have no idea but you are a good mommy getting him in so quick:thumbup: Give him lots of kisses from us:)

holy crap! how scary is that??? I know that frantic feeling and its one I dont wanna ever feel again. Ugggg so sorry u went thru this. ALl I can say is I have expericanced something similar with both of mine and I always think its dust in their airway. and with their airways being so small I bet a piece of lint or dust is HUGE comapred to what it is in ours. I make them get up and make them walk usually outside. something about the fresh air. I hope this never happens again. Oh and Diggy nose runs like CRAZY when it happens. Bellas doesnt. Bella also does this when she sniffs hot laundry right out of the dryer. SO weird but I literally have to keep her off the laundry now.

Happy lil Marcel is ok and your feeling better.

OMG! How scary!

Did the vet recommend following up with any tests to try to figure out what caused this attack and make sure he doesn't have another one?

How scary.. You handled the situation very well, I would have panicked! Glad Marcel is feeling better.

Well in the asthma attacks I've witnessed in children...unless you placed your head on their chest and hear wheezing...the strain sounds like it's coming from their mouth. Soley due to the difficulty breathing.

OR Ramsey does the reverse sneezing thing...a couple of times though...it's gone on longer than normal....I believe she starts panicking to catch her breathe. I place my finger or part of my hand over her nostils...forcing her to breath through her mouth and speak calmly (as calmly as possible...when you're freaking out :rolleyes: )...and she does finally settle down and her breathing returns to normal.

Nix the bug idea...he would've sneezed out a bug I think.

That is terrifying, glad your baby is alright.

This triggered a memory from yesterday. Marcel was downstairs yesterday AFTERNOON for a while, when came back upstairs, he gave me kisses and I said to him "you smell awfully perfume-y, mister!" - and I remember wondering if he had gotten into a dryer sheet. But this was the afternoon! COULD a little piece of dryer sheet maybe have stayed in his throat, and blocked it later??? Maybe. :confused:

That's the thing - she was at a loss too. She said a chest x-ray to rule out some sort of resp. infection (if I wanted). A flouroscopy if we can catch the breathing in action again (if thinking collapsed trachea). Blood work if suspecting infection. But both of us thought "wait and watch" bc nothing diagnostic made any sense right now.

The vet said his lungs sounded perfect - and she did say if it was anything lung related, she should've heard something (just recalling this now) - so even if it was an asthma attack, I'm now thinking some restriction should've remained without treatment and she should've heard something. And yeah, w/ his reverse sneezing - I do the same stuff - cover the nostrils, or make him swallow, make him lick, massage his neck - and it resolves. This was wayyyy different. :confused:

Oh, my goodness, how scary, I just made sure that our emergency number is easy to find. I think this is a good reminder that emergency numbers and hospital directions are posted in an easy to find place because sometimes minutes count. I can't believe the little bugger made you look like you were overreacting, it's almost like show them what you were doing at home, all perky when you get there, I would have had mixed feelings about that. Are there tests you can do for asthma? Glad he's doing better today, must have been a horrible experience for you; sure hope you can find out what caused it, or at least what you could do if it happens again. Don't they have inhalers for asthma, maybe a little tiny one?

I just read your last post, the dryer sheet sounds like it could have done it.

Glad that Marcel is ok! Must have been so scary for Marcel and mommy! I wish there was a better way these little fur babies can communicate with us to tell us when something is wrong. Like puppy sign language or something! Anyway, good to hear that he is ok now. :D

I know :eek: - I felt horrible about whatever happened to that ER number - we've always had it on the bulletin board! And, while I was so happy that his breathing eased, it scares me to not know what this is. Like you said, little bugger!

I don't know about the asthma tests - I'm hoping to hear from both people who've maybe dealt w/ asthma or collapsed trachea. I have a stethoscope at home, so I'll get it out and have it ready - so I can immed. listen to his lungs if it happens again.

Here he is just totally normal today (except a little tired from Benadryl, and from being up all night)...

Aww! How scary! I hope you and Marcel do not have this scare again!!!!

Ya know, this really is entirely possible. We do have a down comforter and I wonder if a little piece of down got in his airway - bc those do float around our bed every once in a while. And if a piece of down or fluff made contact with a wet throat, imagine how tough it would be to "move" it out of the pathway...

I mean honestly, it "sounded" like something was in the way - and he was trying to "suck" air past it...but I could not dislodge it. Something soft like a fluff, or piece down makes a lot of sense here!!!

How is the little cutie doing now ?

So glad that he is okay. You had to have been going nuts when this was happening.

Almost totally back to normal - other than being a little tired from being up all night, and from the benadryl - and an occasional bit of a raspier breath, he's totally normal!!! (???)

Wow what a scare you had. I am glad Marcel is doing better now. Hopefully there wont be any more of those episodes

Just read your post about Marcel...OMG what a terrifying experience that must have been for you. I am so glad that he is okay now. You must be exhausted now as well as your little guy! Hope that was the first and last of that!!:)

I was going to mention a feather, or down before I got to the end of the thread, and saw someone else mentioned that. The down would probably get stuck and cause a problem. I certainly hope that you find out the cause and soon, because I know it's driving you crazy. I'm sure that you felt pretty helpless when this was going on. But, girlie, if this happens again, I sincerely hope that you think about breathing for this little baby....your mouth over his little nose and mouth? I'd give that baby mouth to mouth in a heartbeat. Thinking of you this afternoon Ann, and hoping that he does well tonight. So sorry that this happened, and hope it never happens again.

PS: Raspier breath sounds like something might be still in his throat or lungs doesn't it? Or could it just be irritated?

Oh Ann I was at the edge of my seat reading your post... that is BEYOND scary. A similar thing happened to Layla when I gave her a pill that went down the wrong way. I felt like she was able to get air in but coudlnt' get it out... she was gasping almost... it was extremely frightening. I'm so glad he is ok and hope this doesn't happen again!

Woooww, How terribly scary! so sorry you & your baby went through this. I hope it was a one time thing. :thumbup: It does leave you wondering. ; (

Thanks, Denise :). I considered rescue breathing, bc I know how to do it (for both humans and dogs) - and would have if he'd gotten any closer to not breathing. BUT, what I worried about was if there was something sharp lodged in his trachea - would I force it to tear something, or worse? But I know exactly what you're saying, bc I was alllllll ready with my rescue breathing if I absolutely had to. But, I'd already taken the risk with the Heimlich without results - so THEN I was really worried that if something was indeed lodged, it might be *sharp* and stuck, so I was really concerned at that point about a lot of movement in the trachea, so I didn't want to breathe for him if I didn't have to. Scary, huh??? Oh, man.