So very sorry you are going through all of this.
I am keeping your little Cassie in my prayers. The both of you have been through so much.
Will also include your father in my prayers and hope he is doing better.

Hold on to everything positive you can about Cassie. Hearing that the condition may not be as serious as first thought is wonderful for now. Cassie already beat the odds with her pneumonia (feared to be cancer), and with her strong will to live, and the help of your Yorkie Talk angels and Holistic vet, and her other vets, I hope she will be with you for a long time.

Perhaps she may not have pulmonary hypertension and I hope that is the case; but I am not sure that it is understood here what pulmonary hypertension is.

Pulmonary hypertension is nothing like regular hypertension. It is a condition that is a problem with the size of the arteries between the lungs and heart. They look for enlargement of the pulmonary artery and the right side of the heart. Those things have nothing to do with stress.

I don't know if you have mentioned it or not, but shortness of breath is a classic symptom of pulmonary hypertension.

Cassie is in my prayers.

Praying for you and Cassie. Hang in there

I'm not sure why your vet would say that. Sildenafil (Viagra) is the frontline treatment for pulmonary hypertension. It works by dilating the pulmonary arteries to allow a more normal flow of blood to the lungs to be oxygenated. Untreated, severe pulmonary hypertension is incompatible with life. Even milder cases of pulmonary hypertension will eventually cause right sided heart failure if left untreated.

Clarification and Update
 

Hi Angels,

I understand your concern about my Vet's unconventional ideas. It doesn't really hold with traditional medical views at all. First of all, just to be clear, in no way is Cassie going off of the viagra. Our Vet said first of all, that she felt that the results of the ultrasound were not as bleak as was stated by the cardiologist. She didn't say that she didn't think there was a problem with pulmonary hypertension, only that it was not as dire a prognosis as the cardiologist stated. So if I misstated, I apologize. She believes that whether directly or indirectly, emotions and stress effect everything in the body, whether there are tools to measure it right now or not, and I think I agree with her. I think I know her well enough to understand her thinking. That said, I"m not giving up traditional medicine for holistic, but i am trying to strike a balance between the two. I think they work very well together.

Also, I have seen true miracles with holistic medicine when all rationality would say that my baby Muffin would die without any traditional meds that were suggested by the Vet Hospital in Sorrento Valley (VSH). They gave up on Muffin, said she was going to die, and that I should put her on prednisone in the meantime, which I refused to do. And thus I embarked upon a search for the best, most creative and unconventional holistic Vet in the area that I could find. I found her, and after 6 months of intensive treatment (energy work, tons of holistic supplements and Bach flowers, chiropractic, cranial sacral balancing, etc etc etc, (I forget all the modalities and treatments) Muffin is a beautiful bouncing healthy baby girl 5 1/2 years old (they told me she would not make it to two years old, she was one and a half at the time). So I do believe that anything is possible, but I would never give up traditional medicine for only holistic. And my holisitc Vet also uses traditional medicine when she feels it is appropriate.

Just to clarify, my holistic Vet is traditionally trained. If I led you to believe that she told me to stop the Viagra, I apologize for the error. She never told me to stop the Viagra, she only said she didn't think Cassie needed it, that the muscle testing did not show a strong need for it, but she was fine if I felt i wanted to continue with it, which in no uncertain terms, I told her, I did. I want to cover all bases, so I know I am doing everything humanly possible for my beautiful baby girl. So anyway, I hope this helps to assure you that I would never abandon traditional medicine or not give her Viagra, anything with any possibility of saving or prolonging her life- I will do.

Cassie seems to be doing very well at home. She is very very attached to me, and demands I hold her all day long- LOL, but one can understand that after what she has been through. She sleeps on my chest at night, and in her stroller by my side during the day. She loves loves loves her goats milk, which my Vet says could even sustain her indefinitely if she refused to eat at all. But her appetite is coming back, very slowly. I have to bribe her with a tiny bit of turkey gravy, parmesan cheese topping or some dried liver sprinkled on her food, but at least she is eating. Today, she ate a whole half ounce of turkey gravy and chicken. I think she is resting and recuperating back to her former level. She sleeps a lot, (and that is not that different from her baseline behavior,) eats a little and then goes back to sleep. Her breathing is soft and gentle, and hardly a whisper. She seems relieved to bea at home, safe and warm in mommys arms. I am so very grateful that she is here with me, and I thank her every day for trying so hard to survive and come home to live with mommy and Muffin and Grandpa. So this is our latest update. I give Tamera updated texts on Cassie's progress. We need to go back to the ER in 3 weeks for a recheck!

Light and Love,
Shellie

I have to say that I am stunned that your vet has so little respect for a cardiologist. I would be really upset at that and wondering just who the heck to believe!

I am happy to hear she is slowly getting her appetite back. It's one day at a time, as long as she is feeling content, not struggling to breath, eating a little more each day...I am satisfied. I do hope she not only survives...but thrives. Please give her a snuggle kiss for me...

praying without ceasing for cassie and you

Shellie you go with your gut for Cassie!!!! You are doing everything you can to get this little girl healthy again. Praying for you and Cassie!!!! Stay the course! :thumbup:

Sending prayers for you and sweet Cassie. I am so sorry to hear what your Aunt said to you. Sorry she does not know how much love and understanding we are privileged to receive from our fur babies. I always wanted children but life did not work out that way. Buster healed a void in my heart and the joy I get from nurturing my special boy can not be put into words. People may call me crazy but I don't care the love for him in my heart is the love I would have for a child. Like you I would do everything I could holistically and traditionally to help my baby. Sending prayers.

Hello Angels
 

Hi everyone,

I know it's been a while since my last update. I had a very scary time of it yesterday and today. As I think I told you, Friday I was in the ER all day with my dad, who they said had a mini stroke, and also had a more severe stroke this past year sometime that we did not know about.

Well yesterday around 4PM or 5PM I started to have the most unimaginable pain on my right side of my middle back. The pain came in waves, it would ache intensely for a long time and then slowly dissipate. Then it would start again. I thought I would pass out a couple of times from the pain. This morning when I awoke the pain started again in earnest, and I felt I could not function anymore with so much pain. I felt like I needed to go to the ER.

I didn't know what to do. We have no friends or family close by, no community, my 90 yo father with two strokes and dementia could not take care of himself or Muffin and especially not Cassie. I was beside myself.

I didn't go into the ER and eventually the pain subsided and I was relieved, but I have to find out what is wrong with me (I thought it might be kidney stones or my colitis acting up) and what if there is a next time? It scared me silly.

So I interviewed a home health agency to take care of my dad. So in an emergency, he would be cared for. But what about my babies? What do I do? The agency said they could do dog care, and maybe they could do Muffin as she is pretty easy, but definitely not Cassie. She is too fragile and too much work for a home care person. She would die, I know it. I was beside myself with worry, but then my Vet told me that if there was a problem, maybe we could work something out with Cassie.

But what about Muffin? She is so attached to me, and I worry so much about both of them. Does anyone have any similar problems? What do you do? I need some advice because I cannot be without a plan.

My Vet was trying to reach me after I texted her about what was going on, and after she tried to call a few times and could not get me in, she called the Police to do a Welfare Check because she was worried about me. (I was sleeping because I was up a good part of the night before and didn't hear the phone, and then we had to go to the bank or our checks would have bounced, so we weren't home for awhile.)

Anyway, even though she said we could work it out, I'm not sure about what that would mean or anything. So it's been an exhausting day.

Cassie is doing well. The only worry is her eating. She still has not gotten her appetite back. There are times, like tonight- she will lick a few capfuls of baby food off the lid, or I grind up Costco white meat chicken and she will eat several handfuls of that. I have a harder time getting her to eat her regular food, even with turkey gravy, parmesan cheese sprinkled on, or powdered liver treats. She continues to sleep a lot very peacefully, in my arms or on my chest.

Her bottle of Viagra is almost gone! I am amazed. I kept wondering, where did all the viagra go? The bottle is small and dark with a white label covering most of it, so I could not see the contents. But lately as I fill the syringe and turn the bottle upside down, I can see then end of the serum. And it was only a week ago, on the 17th I got the bottle. It was $38-WOW. I hope they're not going to give me her meds a week at a time. I was thinking this was going to be long term, so I better go call my pet insurance to see if her meds are covered.

Anyway, I've taken enough of your time.

Light and Love to all,

Shellie :love:

wow you have had a tough time of it. So sorry for all your going through. Your smart to try and have a contingency plan in place. All the stress your under could indicate shingles or gallbladder issues so make sure to go have even a physical even if the pain is gone. Im sure someone could handle things for an hour or so for you, even if this the aide. That way your gone a short time and you can test out how they do. You wont be able to do anything for anyone if you don't take care of yourself...I wish you and your family the best..

Me too!! I would dump the general vet on that alone. I would be really pissed off with advice to feed goat milk and the other hog washery. Prayers for Cassie.

I hope you are feeling better. You have so much going on, you have to take care of yourself too. It is hard when you are the only caregiver. I had a similar situation myself. Praying for you, your Dad, Cassie and Muffin.

I think gallbladder is on the right and you can feel it in your back. You should get checked even though the pain passed so you can avoid another emergency type of situation.

Can you get the medicine at a regular pharmacy such as Walmart? Vets charge a lot more for meds. I got what turned out to amoxicillin when Maggie was a puppy and it was $15 for a tiny amount of it. It is a $4 generic at target!

As far as eating you may have broken her....what I mean is that when Maggie was a puppy we had to give her chicken and rice for a while.,we transitioned back to her regular food, but since then she won't eat it without chicken breast(or ground beef--lean and rinsed) mixed in. Perhaps she just doesn't want to eat her old food!

Thanks so much for your concern. As for my gallbladder, I had it out about 15 to 20 years ago. I think it is my colitis, but it is possibly my kidney, either a stone or infection or something else. I see my doctor Thurs, so I will know a little more after Thurs.

As for getting Meds at a regular Pharmacy, that's a good question. I'm just not sure. It is Viagra, but it is in a tiny dose 0.25 ml. 2X a day. It's a conversion Pharmacy-I'm not totally sure what that is, I think they convert from pills to liquids or visa versa, and also convert from people to animal doses, etc, and can give very tiny doses. I'll have to check that out.

As for "breaking" :-) her, yup, you're probably right, I probably did, and now she eats Costco white meat chicken like the devil, but is refusing her regular food, or will only take a few licks of the baby food. You're right, she probably doesn't want to eat her regular food now! So now I have to find a new regular food or what??????:confused:

That would be done at a compounding pharmacy. I think one in AZ does mail order and has the best prices.

For feeding, you'll have to start mixing in a tiny bit of her regular food (ground to dust and mixed real well so she can't separate it out) then very gradually add more each day until she's eating more of the dog food than chicken....

That's what we do. We don't quite going it, but shred it very tiny and then (hubby does it best) get in there with your whole hands and sort of try to grind it into the kibble, pretty much like the poster above said. You can start with just a 1/4 of kibble or so and hopefully raise it up. Maggie gets about 1/2 cup royal canine and about a table spoon of chicken...maybe more. She doesn't always finis that half cup either (per day). Daddy has spoiled her so that after she eats a little more than half she backs up and looks at him, and he mixes in more chicken. Sometimes we add a little bit of American cheese, just a tiny bit.

The problem with all this is getting a caregiver to do the same thing. I have prepped the mixture ahead of time and left it in the fridge. A few seconds in the micro seems to do it. I wonder if people with big dogs ever have to deal,with this, or do they just eat whatever isn't tied down?

You could always go with home cooking...as well. Many here do it and their pups thrive on it. Just a thought. Praying, for Cassie, you, your dad and can't forget Muffin.

Oh my God, you're right LOL, I'm so :eek: embarrassed! Yes of course, compounding pharmacy, not conversion pharmacy. I feel really dumb! :(

Yes, it seems that is what I have to do. Her food is RAW, and it is wet, so it's going to be a little difficult, but I think I can do it. Heres to pulverizing RAW chicken and veggies. I'll Give it a try.

Thanks!!!!

That is another option I was considering. Can you tell me what you do? I did a home cooking diet with my wonderful Merlin, when he was suffering from End Stage Kidney Disease, but it would be different for Cassie and also, I forgot how to do it entirely. What do you do?

Do you happen to know the name of the mail order pharmacy in Arizona or how to contact them? I would be most grateful.

The AZ pharmacy is Diamondback Drugs. I've used them and have had mixed experience with it.

Checking out balanceit.com and petdiets.com would be good places for cooking info.

hi fellow yorkie lovers i have not been on here in awhile,and for very good reason .Do you all remember when i joined this group in janurary i think so scared for my lil 3 years old yorkie Layla,who was very sick and i had took her to vet and she was still sick then didn;t eat for 5 days just what i forced in her with seringe,then she came around and she just every few weeks kept getting a little sick,and coming back around had her to vet too many times to count .well the first of june i came home on a saturday after being gone about 4 hours and noticed she was sick again but bad quick ,so i called vet er line they said she would be fine to take foos and water for 24 hours ,i said no i don;t think she will make it this time they assured me she would ,so i knew better and went to work forcing egg whites and stuff in her,she just threw it back up and past away that night,i have been in such grief loosing her ,just thought you all might like an update ,just wish it would have ended different,i said i would never get another dog ,but i grieved so bad i bought me another yorkie pup in august,bella,and she is a hand ful right now ,and i keeep accidently keep calling her layla ,,so sad still

Thank you so much. I appreciate this. Could you tell me a little about why the experience was mixed? Did they send you the correct meds with the correct dosage? Was that the problem? For some reason balance it.com sounds familiar, maybe that's where I got Merlin's home cooking recipies, it just sounds like I know this place. Is it by a pet nutritionist? But I don't think I'm familiar with pet diets.com. Will research them both.

Thanks a bunch!

I am so sorry for your loss. I have loved and lost one of my babies several years ago, his name was Merlin. He was the love of my life. He was almost 17 when he passed, and I never thought I could get over it, but to lose one so young, it must just be unbearable for you. i'm sure you did everything you could to save her. She is at peace now and you will meet again. I know she is with you, and now I hope you are enjoying Bella's love. Much good wishes to you and your little Bella. I will send prayers for healing your broken heart.
Namaste,
Shellie

Thank you so much,but i do still miss her soo!!

You always will