My little baby Candy is going to leave me - what am I going to do.!!!!

[Katie7075]

HI There,

She does not have any renal problems that I know of, I am sure my vet would have said so when showing me her x-rays of her enlarged heart. A few days ago when she was with the vet she said that her heart was not too bad at the moment and that her problems lay with her Trachea right now.

Thanks for the tip of antidespressants I will mention this to my vet.

Katie7075

[ladyjane]

Has he done blood testing? That would show the kidney values.

[Rhetts_mama]

I don't have any experience with CT, but wanted to express my sympathy for what you are going through.

[chandracz]

CT is such a hard thing to have to watch. I lost my little Gizmo to it. We tried everything to save him, but he just couldn't take it. I'll keep you and Candy in my prayers!

[lisaly]

Last night when I read your first post I kept wondering if your baby was on Lasix, and I just looked up that Furosemide is the sane thing. I has three yorkies, all with the same father, that were within a year of each other. Ashley and Gracie's sister Kiwi went into congestive heart failure and was given enalapril and furosemide. Ashley had no problems with taking enalapril, but Kiwi , who years of treating terrible allergies was harmful to her so was probably not as healthy, could not tolerate it. Within a few days, it started to damage her kidneys, and we had to take her off of it. She had gone days without eating. Her doctor kept telling me to try to get a little baby food into her, but it was nearly impossible. She was also on furosemide, which definitely interferes with them wanting to eat. We were able to pull her out of heart failure and flushed her kidneys daily with sub-q fluids for a few weeks. Kiwi and I had a nice daily drive for an hour round trip. It was such a special time, especially after almost losing her. She went into heart failure again a few weeks later because she couldn't take the heart medicine and we were trying to build up her strength before starting herbal remedies for her heart. The furosemide definitely made her not want to eat, and Kiwi was my best eater, who savored every bite. I cooked all of her favorite foods, and she still wouldn't eat. She lost weight much too quickly, which was a problem. Ashley went several times when she had stomach bugs where she went five or six days without eating, and her doctor told me not to worry. He didn't tell me to give her baby food. He said the food thing was fine, as long as she was drinking. It was always the first question he asked when she was having the gas pockets and when I questioned him to make sure I was doing the right thing for her by prolonging her life. When she was sixteen, she developed doggy Alzheimer's, and while we would have done anything to keep her here with us, we wanted to make sure we were doing what was best for her. He assured me that Ashley had an excellent quality of life. She went six days in February not eating and bounced back soon after, ready to go for her long walks. The walks helped her gas pockets and the anxiety caused from Alzheimer's, and it was always something she loved to do. She would have been 17 on July 5th and she died in June. I'm so happy that your little girl is doing better today. I agree with Lady Jane about having the bloodwork done. I'm so glad you are here. So many people here want to help, and we understand how you feel about your baby. I know how precious each day is with her; enjoy them. Don't ever give up hope. I kept thinking like you as Ashley got older each time she got sick, but she continued to stay fairly healthy and had a long and wonderful life. There is no way to prepare yourself for the day when you have to say goodbye, but they are always with you, even if it's not physically. I really hope your little baby gets better and better. If I can help, please let me know.

[Lizzie07]

Originally Posted by Katie7075

HI There,

She does not have any renal problems that I know of, I am sure my vet would have said so when showing me her x-rays of her enlarged heart. A few days ago when she was with the vet she said that her heart was not too bad at the moment and that her problems lay with her Trachea right now.

Thanks for the tip of antidespressants I will mention this to my vet.

Katie7075

Except for the prednisone Opal is getting the same medications for her heart, plus vetmedin and digoxin. She isn't having the same side effects, although she sleeps alot, but all the dogs I have that are her age (15) sleep alot.

I researched and found this on enalapril side effects:

"If any of the following serious side effects occur, stop using this Enalapril and seek emergency veterinary medical attention; an allergic reaction (swelling of the lips, face, or tongue; difficulty breathing; closing of the throat; or hives). Call your veterinarian if your pet develops any of these serious side effects; fainting; urinating more or less than usual, or not at all; fever, chills; easy bruising, or bleeding; swelling, rapid weight gain. Less serious side effects may be more likely to occur. Continue to use Enalapril, but speak to your veterinarian if your pet experiences; cough; loss of appetite; dizziness, drowsiness; sleep problems; dry mouth; nausea, vomiting, diarrhea; mild itching or skin rash. Side effects other than those listed here may also occur. Talk to your veterinarian about any side effect that seems unusual or bothersome to the animal."

The furosemide side effects:

"If any of the following serious side effects occur, stop giving furosemide and seek emergency veterinary medical attention; an allergic reaction (hives, difficulty breathing, swelling of the face, lips, tongue, or throat). Stop giving furosemide and call your veterinarian at once if any of these serious side effects occur; dry mouth, thirst, nausea, and vomiting; weakness, drowsiness, restlessness; irregular heartbeat; muscle pain or weakness; urinating less than usual or not at all; bleeding, unusual weakness; hair loss; "bulls-eye" lesions; vesicles around mouth, ears, and groin; hearing loss; nausea, stomach pain; fever; loss of appetite; dark urine; jaundice. Continue giving furosemide and talk with your veterinarian if any of these less serious side effects should occur; diarrhea, constipation, or stomach pain; headache; dizziness, or blurred vision. Side effects other than those listed in this guide may also occur. Talk to your veterinarian about any side effect that seems unusual or especially bothersome to your pet."

This website Congestive Heart Failure Your Dog - CHF And The Mitral Valve does say that enalipril can cause nausea, diarrhea and loss of appetite.

So you might want to discuss how Candy is doing with your vet, and if one of the medications is having negative side effects.

One of the threads a month or two ago was by a member that had taken her CT dog to a specialist and theophylline was prescribed for her dog's CT and seemed to have good results.

I hope Candy is feeling better or gets stabilized and is with you a lot longer.

[Mom to Hot Rod]

I am so sorry you are going thru this. I just wanted to add my thoughts and prayers for you and your baby. Hugs.

[daniellealberta]

I haven't had any experience with CT, but I wish you the best. Your pets are part of your family, and it is just as traumatic when their health deteriorates and they are sick.

[shodanusmc]

So sorry for what you and your little dog are going thru. It sucks when they suffer from stuff like this. I can feel your pain, espeically since our little girl is now 13. I hope it gets better as it is a very hard decision.

[MillisMomma]

Katie, my thoughts and prayers go out to you and Candy today. I have no experience whatsoever with CT (there are others here who can offer much greater wisdom on that topic) but I do have experience in caring for and loving a geriatric dog.

Our dog, Keesu lived to be 17 years and 8 months old. For the last 8 years of her life she was blind and deaf, in addition to having epilepsy all of her life. Our final 5 years or so with her were similarly challenging to what you're going through...wondering if you're making the right decisions about what is best for her. The single piece of advice that I will offer is to ask yourself one question. "Am I prolonging her life, or am I prolonging her death?" We didn't want to euthanize Keesu...we were very adamant about allowing her to pass away peacefully on her own terms. But, we finally asked ourselves that question and our answer - our honest answer - was that we were unwillingly prolonging her death. We decided to euthanize her so that she would no longer suffer. Making that decision didn't alleviate any of the pain....nothing will alleviate that except for time. But, despite the pain, we knew we were finally doing what was best for her. As time goes by, and if you do have to make that difficult decision, know that you're not alone and that you've got support here. In the meantime, I hope that Candy's doctors will be able to find an effective treatment for her and that you'll find reassurance and support to help her through this rough time.

Best wishes!

[YorkichonBella]

Hi Katie! Thinking of you & Candy. How does she seem to be doing today?

[ILUVSADIE]

Katie, I'm so sorry for you and what you're going through right now. End of life decisions are so very difficult to make - and no one can make them except you - the baby's mommy. I believe that you will know inside your heart when you need to let your baby go to Rainbow Bridge.

God Bless You and help you with your difficult decision.

Pat

[MauiGirl]

My heart aches for you, and I'm sending good thoughts and prayers to help you at this very difficult time. I have a 15 old schnauzer who I know is getting nearer to his journey to doggie heaven, and I can only imagine what you are going thru.

First, I hope that the vet is able to provide remedies that keep her comfortable, no matter how long she is here. Beyond that, I want to share a poem I copied here once, that I hope will give me strength to deal if I should find myself needing to make the very hard decision:

The Last Battle

If it should be that I grow frail and weak
And pain should keep me from my sleep,
Then will you do what must be done,
For this -- the last battle -- can't be won.
You will be sad I understand,
But don't let grief then stay your hand,
For on this day, more than the rest,
Your love and friendship must stand the test.
We have had so many happy years,
You wouldn't want me to suffer so.
When the time comes, please, let me go.
Take me to where to my needs they'll tend,
Only, stay with me till the end
And hold me firm and speak to me
Until my eyes no longer see.
I know in time you will agree
It is a kindness you do to me.
Although my tail its last has waved,
From pain and suffering I have been saved.
Don't grieve that it must be you
Who has to decide this thing to do;
We've been so close -- we two -- these years,
Don't let your heart hold any tears.

[Mitzis Mom]

I'm so sorry that you and your precious Candy have to go through this. Two years ago we had to make such a decision too and it was very very hard. Our little Mitzi was suffering from renal faillure and so miserable we just couldn't do that to her anymore. Our 'point of no return' was when the vet told us that he sure could drag her on and on for several more months but that she would not have the life she deserved.

We were with her to the end and she kissed my husband until her lights went out... Mitzi was 11 years old...

[aljopamic]

I am so sorry that you and Candy are going thru this. My Mandy's trachea collapsed as we were driving to a wedding in the summer of 2005. It was very scary and we were able to get her to an emergency vet and we didn't lose her then. Shortly after that episode, She began to have kidney problems and the vet told me that can cause nausea. That might be why she doesn't want to eat.
Just one other thought, it never hurts to get a second opinion regarding her care.
Take care and keep us posted.