sick yorkie has collapsing trachea, need help.....

[Amyluv]

Hi,
I have a 13 year old Yorkie baby, my
her name is Amy
She has collapsing trachea. We have been to many vets even out of state, and the result is that we need to talk with somebody, all the vets aren't helping, and not very experienced in it.
We really need to talk with someone that has, or has had a yorkie with collapsing trachea.
Our little amy has mucus, it is so bad at times that she buries her little nose and breathes through her mouth, it can get to a point where she is scared that it will block her breathing and jump up to my neck and claw in panic, all i can do is pray.
Please, please, if anybody has experienced collapsing trachea, it would be a comfort to talk with you, maybe some unanswered questions will get answered by your experience.
Thank you so much, and looking forward to someone that can help
Rachel (mommy of Amy)

[yorky4ME]

Oh Rachel..... I'm soooo sorry. I do not have experience in this and I hope someone here answers your questions. For now I will pray for your baby..... in our thoughts and prayers.

[bchgirl]

Rachel....until someone responds directly...do a search on collapsed tracheas...there is tons of information there.

Good luck and best wishes for Amy.

[red98vett]

POOR BABY ! I'm so sorry to hear this....at 13 that may be a problem if surgery is a consideration - but they CAN operate in some cases - I know some people that have had sucessful operations but they were on younger yorkies and it all depends on where the bad parts are located I think....I sure have no advise but to read ALL you can -

I did find these sites - there is some good information here - one applies to Maltese but they are very similar to yorkies in structure and size -
http://www.petsurgery.com/surgicaldiseasesofairway.html
http://www.malteseonly.com/trachea.html

and THIS is a help site set up by Yorkie Rescue - http://www.yorkierescue.com/trachea/tracheaapp.html

It must break your heart seeing her not be able to breath - I would suggest you try to find a vet that will be honest and forthright and tell you if she is really suffering.... or if she can be helped - you don't want her in pain.....Bless her heart - GOOD LUCK TO YOU !!!

[Lacy's Mom]

I'm so sorry you are going through this with your little one. My first thought is that the snotty nose isn't part of the collapsed trachea so a vet should be able to suggest something to clear her nose. I would give benadryl (2 mg per pound every 8 hours) a try. There really isn't a cure for collapsed trachea, other than surgery to place a stint to keep the trachea open and at her age the odds are against her in being successful not to mention the outrageous price tag. I think the vets you are seeing are knowledgeable they just don't have a good answer because one doesn't exist.

My mom actually had her maltese put to sleep after a very bad episode. She decided that it may happen when she couldn't get to a vet and she didn't want her baby to suffer by dying of suffocation. You're in my thoughts and prayers. Unfortunately, you may need to make a decision that is in her best interests.

Did they actually do x-rays and catch the collapsed trachea on film?

[Lacy's Mom]

In my previous post I said benadryl might help, I meant to say Dimetapp (unsure of the dosage).

[Patti]

I had 3 Yorkies and they all had collapsed tracheas. One only lived until 6 1/2 and my other 2 died at almost 13 but not from teh collapsed trachea. The 6 1/2 year old was on many heart meds and broncodialators. i think one was called theophilyne or something like that

[Amyluv]

Originally Posted by Lacy's Mom

Did they actually do x-rays and catch the collapsed trachea on film?

Yes one vet did do xray's and showed it to us of what it was supposed to be showing, and it looked like what seems to be collapsed trachea, but her extreme mucus especially the severe part 4-7am is when it is so severe sounds like ti is coming from her nose, i have been giving her benadryl already, and when the benadryl kicks into her system it seems to help some, and why the most severest time of the mucus is 4-7am, we were gusessing it was allergies, but don't know, and that's why we started giving her benadryl.

[Amyluv]

Originally Posted by Patti

I had 3 Yorkies and they all had collapsed tracheas. One only lived until 6 1/2 and my other 2 died at almost 13 but not from teh collapsed trachea. The 6 1/2 year old was on many heart meds and broncodialators. i think one was called theophilyne or something like that

With the three yorkies that you had with the collapsing trachea, did you experience any one of them having mucus? where they can't breath through their nose, instead breath through the mouth, and you can hear it loudly like a stuffy nose?
What was some of the other things you experienced related to collapsing trachea?

[Amyluv]

I have another question, has anyone experienced sinus infection or sinus congestion, or sinusitis with their Yorkie or severe allergies? Since this mucus sounds more like it is coming from Amy's nose it would be helpful to talk with someone who has gone through sinus problems too. We are so hoping and praying that someone can share what they have experienced with both collapsing trachea and sinus problems, so that then maybe we can see that somethings are common with one condition or the other, it would just be comforting to know and not feel so alone and constantly wondering if there is something that we can do that we are not yet doing. I have been giving Amy the low dose end of benadryl, but tonight I am going to up that a bit to see if it helps even more at the 4 to 7am severe mucus time.
She coughs all the time unless she is on some medication which she is sensitive to so I don't have to give her very much at all. About a month ago she was having bad difficulty breathing so rushed her in and they gave her a shot of Prednisone, and we took some home in pill form, also antibiotics, they said that maybe the mucos was a result from the coughing, and that then when the coughing stopped and the antibiotic cleared up any infections in the throat then maybe the mucus would clear up, but this has not been the case, basically no vet really answers us . They gave extra antibiotics to give her when we know she has an infection so has to begin that right away and of course the prednisone.
So then Amy is on antibiotics right now and the prednisone 1 week on and then every other day to taper off. We already did this routine though just a month to a month and a half ago with no results. I feel helpless, she begs me to help her, sometimes I break down and cry as I pray for her, holding her ever so close to me wrapped in her special pink blankie with her favorite little baby doll. Yes, one year for Christmas we were wrapping presents for someone and Amy was checking out the gifts, when she saw this little baby doll just her size she decided that was her Christmas present and she carried it off, laid down with dolly with her hand over it holding it, this was her new baby doll, and of course Amy gets whatever she wants, she is so very loved, she is my little girl, ever since she makes sure she has her baby dolly with her when she sleeps or as she's laying down not feeling good.
So wrapped in her favorite pink blankie and her special baby dolly I hold her close to me praying for an answer.
Amy and I Thank you for all who have answered, and are praying.
Rachel and Amy

[Lacy's Mom]

What about trying a baby nasal bulb aspirator?

[Amyluv]

Originally Posted by Lacy's Mom

What about trying a baby nasal bulb aspirator?

Yes, that's a wonderful idea!! i will look for one, this will be good to have on hand, i often thought that if during the severe mucus time if it really did get stuck, like yesterday morning it was 4:30AM and she kept trying to pass the mucus, and for just a brief moment you heard nothing but saw both of her little hands paw at her nose and mouth, then suddenly you heard the mucus going back and forth again, that was spooky, and so we have been talking about what we would do if it got stuck and she couldn't breath.
We know mouth to nose, if it was because of the collapsed trachea, and in fact we just noticed you had, printed out the yorkie cpr. We have done hours and hours of research sometimes staying up all night on collapsing trachea, bronchitis, sinus problems, and bordatella, but we never can come up with this mucus problem, nothing in all of our research ever defines this specific severe mucus.
We just want her to be better, and her other brothers and sisters want her to be better too.
Will definitley keep this post updated as to the lastest developments for amy.
Thank you again,
Amy and Amy's mom Rachel

[Lacy's Mom]

As you can see by my multiple posts, Amy is in my thoughts and will be in my prayers.

One more thought, talk to your vet about an expectorant and bronchial dialator. I have severe asthma and I sometimes resort to taking an over the counter drug called Bronchaid. It dilates the bronchial tubes and makes breathing easier. It also has an expectorant (guf something or the other) that thins the mucous and makes it easier to get rid of. It makes me very jittery and hyper when I take it though, but at least I can breathe and I'm not constantly coughing trying to get up the mucous. Of course, it won't open her trachea, but maybe the other symptoms are making it harder to breathe.

[Annadoodle]

Rachel...
So touching seeing all the Yorkie talkers that have come to your aide...
I wish I knew of something more to help Amy....
Just wanted you to know I'm thinking of you two....sending hugs..and prayers.

[Lacy's Mom]

How is Amy doing?