Trouble breathing, and don't know why

[LordRanger]

Hello all, this is LordRanger's human. I have to post on his account on his behalf, since sadly, he is in the ER right now in an oxygen cage. Short of a miracle, the next thread I start will be in the In Memory Of section.

He's almost 15, was active on yorkietalk a long time ago. Just suddenly one morning, he started heaving for breath. And the vets don't even know why. They ran through blood work, x-ray, and cardio, and his heart is not that bad. The only theory my vets have is pulmonary embolism (PTE), or a blood clot in his lung. But they have no lab to prove it. Right now he's away from me (on possibly his last night, but I'm not ready to stop fighting yet. Not when they don't even know what it is), in an oxygen cage, and even in the cage his pulseOx only rose from a 90 to a 93. He looks terrible; if not done. Gums are starting to turn purple. He's on fluids and antibiotics, in the hopes that these might treat a possible underlying infection or kidney problem impacting the (possible) lung clot

I thought I would continue my hail mary, and ask the forum here:. any other possible causes for an unknown breathing problem? No congestive heart failure, collapsing trachea isn't it, and it needs to explain why he isn't responding much even in an oxygen cage.

If you have ideas, please share. If you have any prayers, please share with God. He is a very loved dog.

[Juliealfies mum]

I hope your little one is improving.

[horsnaround]

So scary. Prayers

[LordRanger]

We never got a chance to find out my Yorkie's breathing problem. I got talked to by the vets, suggesting we put him down, but I refused to stop fighting when we still didn't have all the answers. We had a plan to administer some anticoagulants, an EKG, etc., when he just stopped breathing in the hospital.

It is saddening that I didn't get to hold him for his final breath. I wasn't going to give up my friend's last chance for his life just to get that. I would either feel guilty for making the decision to put him down, or I would feel guilty for not being there at the very end. Either way.... I didn't choose euthanasia--I chose to fight. I don't regret that, even though it didn't go my way (and probably wouldn't have).

[ladyjane]

I am so very sorry for your loss.

[LordRanger]

If animal hospitals could have hospital rooms where their families could sit with them for hours on end, sleep in the chair overnight...I wonder how many people would do it? I needed that. Even so, he would have been in ICU and in an oxygen cage.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by LordRanger

If animal hospitals could have hospital rooms where their families could sit with them for hours on end, sleep in the chair overnight...I wonder how many people would do it? I needed that. Even so, he would have been in ICU and in an oxygen cage.

We have a large animal hospital here and can visit with them in a private room; BUT, if they are on oxygen we can only have short visits in the ICU at their kennel. I doubt that will ever change as it isn't an easy thing to provide. The amount of staff would be insanely out of touch. As it is, I have paid as much as $5,000 for an overnight stay (which of course included testing)
I am so sorry....I so know the pain of losing a beloved pet. I wish you peace .. sounds like your boy was very, very loved.

[desertangel]

Originally Posted by LordRanger

We never got a chance to find out my Yorkie's breathing problem. I got talked to by the vets, suggesting we put him down, but I refused to stop fighting when we still didn't have all the answers. We had a plan to administer some anticoagulants, an EKG, etc., when he just stopped breathing in the hospital.

It is saddening that I didn't get to hold him for his final breath. I wasn't going to give up my friend's last chance for his life just to get that. I would either feel guilty for making the decision to put him down, or I would feel guilty for not being there at the very end. Either way.... I didn't choose euthanasia--I chose to fight. I don't regret that, even though it didn't go my way (and probably wouldn't have).

Holding my Miss Jessie for her last breath still haunts me 11 days later. It was my first time and it felt wrong somehow. Not sure I would do it again. I know she was ready though. There wasn't enough air getting through, but only at night... so the second guessing. I understand, completely.

[LordRanger]

My problem was, the vet medicine was not very good. I worked with many different vets. First it took forever for me to even bring him in to the ER, because the first vet I saw said that Ranger had a slipped disk. BIG difference between a slipped disk and a pulmonary embolism. That's like going into the ER with chest pains, and they send you home with some Ben Gay and tell you to sleep it off. 48 hours later, we figured out that the vet was flat out wrong with his diagnosis. Then, we are in the ER, and it takes forever to get a doggone thing done there. When you are in the ER with respiratory distress, and the internal medicine clinic is familiar with your history, it shouldn't take 16 hours to figure out he needs to be getting administered anticoagulants, sildenafil, blood thinners, etc. to see if that improves his condition. I'm very impressed Ranger even lasted as long as he did (72 hours). Yes, he was done--he was definitely done. But his treatment was not. I don't think it cost him his life--his latest kidney levels were an 8 creatinine and phosphorous too high to measure--but he suffered longer than he should have, because the veterinary medicine was slow and sometimes flat out wrong. That is not a statement about any one vet--that is a statement about veterinary medicine in general.

[matese]

Originally Posted by desertangel

Holding my Miss Jessie for her last breath still haunts me 11 days later. It was my first time and it felt wrong somehow. Not sure I would do it again. I know she was ready though. There wasn't enough air getting through, but only at night... so the second guessing. I understand, completely.

It is hard and devastating to hold your baby while she takes her last breath, I wouldn't have it any other way, holding my baby, they know they are with their momma, that's the last feeling they have, mommas love.
I would be more devastated if my baby passed away while in vets care, alone, without me there to hold them.

[desertangel]

Originally Posted by LordRanger

My problem was, the vet medicine was not very good. I worked with many different vets. First it took forever for me to even bring him in to the ER, because the first vet I saw said that Ranger had a slipped disk. BIG difference between a slipped disk and a pulmonary embolism. That's like going into the ER with chest pains, and they send you home with some Ben Gay and tell you to sleep it off. 48 hours later, we figured out that the vet was flat out wrong with his diagnosis. Then, we are in the ER, and it takes forever to get a doggone thing done there. When you are in the ER with respiratory distress, and the internal medicine clinic is familiar with your history, it shouldn't take 16 hours to figure out he needs to be getting administered anticoagulants, sildenafil, blood thinners, etc. to see if that improves his condition. I'm very impressed Ranger even lasted as long as he did (72 hours). Yes, he was done--he was definitely done. But his treatment was not. I don't think it cost him his life--his latest kidney levels were an 8 creatinine and phosphorous too high to measure--but he suffered longer than he should have, because the veterinary medicine was slow and sometimes flat out wrong. That is not a statement about any one vet--that is a statement about veterinary medicine in general.

I have been saying the same things after my Miss Jessie passed away. I had her at three different vets in a month's time. Two of them said her heart and lungs sounded great. One gave her a shot of Adequan despite her diffuse liver tumors diagnosis a year before and referred us to a neurologist when she became unable to get up off the floor on her own afterwards. A few weeks later, the second one said everything sounded and looked good but if she keeps coughing go back and get an xray in a week's time. Two weeks later, third vet got an xray and said she should be put down soon due to enlarged heart and liver collapsing her trachea. How do we go from 'sounds good' to 'better off dead' in so little time? I am angry, still. Our dear old babies are treated like yesterday's news by the time they turn 10.

[LordRanger]

That's terrible. I have a novel idea: how about one vet actually TREATS THE PROBLEM.

[stl]

Originally Posted by LordRanger

That's terrible. I have a novel idea: how about one vet actually TREATS THE PROBLEM.

I have the same problem here. Our Teddy has been treated for enlarged heart for almost an year. He's responded well to the meds. Now his coughing is back and the vets are playing with the meds with no luck. I took him to another vet who said his heart was fine, but that he had a mass in his lungs because of possible lung infection and that the infection is so bad it possible it's caused pulmonary fibrosis.
The overall conclusion is that because of his age (he is 11), his not responding to the meds is considered...dare i say...normal?

I am so sorry about Ranger.

[LordRanger]

Sadly, I think posting on these forums here to try and find useful help is a viable alternative. One can post legal disclaimers about "See your doctor" all day long, but in reality when the doctors just prescribe a few tests, punt the problem till later, and do nothing to actually treat your dog's problem, then...maybe our free, amateur advice based on past experience of actually living with dogs who have these problems trumps their $250 lab work and 5-minute analysis of it.

I saw the same situation happen with human doctors. Take Covid: someone with no health insurance gets really sick, so naturally what are you supposed to do? See the doctor. The doctor says it's covid, but it's not serious, so they send you home. That will be $150. The sheriff gets notified that you are under quarantine, your freedom gets taken away for 10 days. That's beautiful, but you went to see the doctor to get treatment for YOU. And they did nothing to treat YOU. If you're so worried about everyone else, then everyone else can foot the $150.

[stl]

Originally Posted by LordRanger

Sadly, I think posting on these forums here to try and find useful help is a viable alternative. One can post legal disclaimers about "See your doctor" all day long, but in reality when the doctors just prescribe a few tests, punt the problem till later, and do nothing to actually treat your dog's problem, then...maybe our free, amateur advice based on past experience of actually living with dogs who have these problems trumps their $250 lab work and 5-minute analysis of it.

I saw the same situation happen with human doctors. Take Covid: someone with no health insurance gets really sick, so naturally what are you supposed to do? See the doctor. The doctor says it's covid, but it's not serious, so they send you home. That will be $150. The sheriff gets notified that you are under quarantine, your freedom gets taken away for 10 days. That's beautiful, but you went to see the doctor to get treatment for YOU. And they did nothing to treat YOU. If you're so worried about everyone else, then everyone else can foot the $150.

I know, they won't give any diagnosis without doing like zillion of tests/analysis. We do them all and it's not just the matter of money, it's also the poor dog being dragged and poked everywhere, but they still fail to actually treat the problem. At the end of the day, it's "he is an old dog" ....?