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Please tell me I'm imagining things

Sydneys Mom

Well-known member
Sydney's been coughing today. His breathing sounds like a stuffy nose. He has a grade 4 murmur, MVD and a mass on the right side of his heart (we don't know what it is),but hasn't needed meds. Was at the vet for yearly checkup last week and lungs were clear and bloodwork all good. His cardio appointment isn't until April. Do you think I should try to get him sooner or could I be overacting? The weather is changing so maybe allergies?

I'm just worried that this may be the beginning of something I'm not ready to face. He'll be 11 years old in April

Thanks for listening.
 
Joyce,

I would immediately phone his cardiologist and tell him/her about this new development. I've had many senior Cavaliers, and things can change very quickly in my experience. I have had very good results from being proactive and working closely with my specialist team, including my cardiologist.

Also, I keep a "chart" at home for each of my dogs and it contains copies of all blood chemistry reports, other reports, and I also keep my radiographs in my home office instead of at my vet's office. This has "saved" me many times when I've had to take a dog to the ER in the middle of the night or have a quick consult with a specialist. Having all of the pertinent records right at hand has been really helpful, and I've found that I get "instant respect" in an emergency because I have accurate information to present rather than relying on my memory. It's especially good when I am frightened because I know that I won't forget any important information.

Best of luck,

Pat
 
Thanks Pat for the benefit of your experience. I do have some of that info at home. Tomorrow I'll be phoning his vet for copies of their tests and his cardiologist for her take on the latest development. He does seem more himself this evening and the cough and breathing seem better, but I'd rather err on the side of caution.
 
I think that checking in with the GP vet and cardiologist can't hurt! Sometimes I type up my questions and description of what is going on and fax it to both GP vet and cardiologist. That way I am sure to not forget something and when they phone back, they can go over things in a more organized fashion.

I agree with erring on the side of caution. You and I are both very fortunate in that we live in areas where we have access to really good specialist help.

Please keep us posted,

Pat
 
No coughing this morning and his breathing sounds normal. I have a call in to both the vet and cardiologist, waiting to hear back.
 
So glad to hear that you have contacted the vets as the coughing can often be helped really quickly. My 10-year old tri has been in a similar situation to Sydney for some years and suddenly started coughing more than usual a few weeks ago. Added frusemide has almost stopped it, providing I keep her calm.

Good luck with Sydney - do let us know how you get on.:wggle:
 
Thanks everyone for your good thoughts. The cardiologist is out of town until next week. Even though he hasn't been coughing today, I brought him into the vet anyway just to reassure myself. She listened to his heart and lungs and all seems normal. Sydney is acting like his usual self. So for right now, I'm going to just a real close eye on him and when the cardiologist returns, speak with her. In the meantime, the vet will send her a report of todays visit.
 
I am glad he is doing so much better :). Hopefully it was just a minor virus.

Definitely do see the cardiologist just to make sure there isn't anything going on that needs closer watching-- sporadic coughing was the first sign I had that my Lucy was going into congestive heart failure. She'd had a heart murmur for several years and it had been at a grade 5 for maybe a year or so when she started having occasional coughing. I thought it was just that sometimes she had something down in her throat or was coughing on some food, but in retrospect I realize that was probably the beginning of congestive heart failure as opposed to MVD.

It still took a while before she needed to go on medications however, but when she needed them, she needed several in succession and is now on four.
 
She'd had a heart murmur for several years and it had been at a grade 5 for maybe a year or so when she started having occasional coughing. I thought it was just that sometimes she had something down in her throat or was coughing on some food, but in retrospect I realize that was probably the beginning of congestive heart failure as opposed to MVD.

This AM Sydney is just softly sleeping while I type, love those little snores. He too coughed occasionally, since he was a puppy. We always thought he was coughing on his food or water, which was probable then, but the sound of the coughing is starting to sound different now, which is why I am worried.

Karlin, on another thread, a poster mentioned you have a question sheet for owners with SM dogs to bring to the vets. Do you have something like that for MVD/CHF? I know I have a lot of questionsfor the doctors, but sometimes just don't know enough to ask the right ones. Your help is so appreciated.
 
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