At the vets again

[AT]

I've been to the vets this morning because our blen girl was really struggling with her breathing last night. She had a grade 5 murmer when we got her last year but it hasn't bothered her until the last few days. They've given her fruise & benazecare?

She was sick in the car there & back & is now sat in the garden , She doesn't look very well bless her

I also took my Tri king charles for an update. Her front legs are very weak so they had put her on rymadill two weeks ago. Though she is much much happier on the rymadil it had made no difference to her limp.

The vet suggested she might have SM which I had not thought of to be honest. She does scratch her side a lot but she has very bad skin so I thought nothing of it.
She has been odd for about 3 years , She seemed very depressed & wouldnt come near me ( she was very clingy in her youth) & would do strange things like stare at the picture frames on the wall.
now her front legs are weak & About a year ago she lost the use of her back legs for 24 hours. Does that sound like SM ?

On the rymadil she is almost like her old self temprement wise. So they have kept her on it but taken her off her steroids. ( the vet admited she should not have been on both for the last fortnight, He didn't read her records.......)

[misty]

hi Angela,

positive thoughts coming your way.

I'm not much use on SM, but has she had an X-ray to see the state of her heart?

My Cailean's grade 5-6 and has been having difficulties for over a year. He's on 4 different meds for his heart - frusemide, of course. But I haven't heard of the other drug, unless it's another name for something.

Vetmedin is THE drug for advanced MVD. It's known to increase remaining life-expectancy dramatically, and is very well-reputed. Cailean is also on Corventyl (helps keep the airways open) and Fortekor.

As well as fluid build-up, the problem is that the heart gets so big that it eventually stops the dog breathing properly.

Thinking of you and the little lady.

xxx

[AT]

Hello
The tablets contain benazepril hydrochloride & the box says for the treatment of heart failure ( thats comforting , not)
Penny's not had an xray. I had one done on a dog before , it didnt solve anything & the sedative they used made him very ill.

I just want her to be comfortable, I know there arn't going to be any miracle recovery's , I've lost 7 to heart failure in the last 9 years.

Her last owner got rid of her because of her heart & her weird obsessions .
They didnt tell us that when they gave her to us but she came into my work a few months ago & not knowing who I was told me about " her" cavalier & how she had to give her to rescue because her heart was bad.

[Barbara Nixon]

Izzy went like that, Angela, ie suddenly, but went on for over two more years. He was put on Fortekor, first of all and it appears that Benazecare is the same drug, benazepril hydrochloride, but by a local manufacturer. Fruise sounds like Frusicare/ Frusimide, again both names for the same generic drug.

Fortekor can take a few days to show results, whereas, if you later get, Vetmedin, it acts quite quickly (within 24 hours for Izzy ).

Have you tried Vitapet oil for the old girl ? It helped my old springer, Cindy, who got to the stage where she needed help lifting her bum, after lying down, but could manage herself afterwards. There's a special version, now, RA, with extras to help joints.

[AT]

Have you tried Vitapet oil for the old girl ? It helped my old springer, Cindy, who got to the stage where she needed help lifting her bum, after lying down, but could manage herself afterwards. There's a special version, now, RA, with extras to help joints.

The vet couldnt find any pain in her joints & the painkillers have made no difference at all to her movement so it would seem the limp is a neurological problem ( her face is slightly droopy on the same side as her bad leg too) & the painkillers have just helped something else we didnt know about.

I've had to get her a pushchair so she can go out for walks. Only the two younger ones are jelious & try to get in too ,lol

[misty]

I'm pretty much like you, Angela - lost Misty, Cracker and Declan to MVD since 2000 .

Cailean of course is pretty poorly with it too. It would never, ever put me off having Cavs and I would never turn one away because it had a bad heart!

Did your blood boil when the lady said that?

Didn't realise that drug was Fortekor - that makes sense then.

[AT]

I'm pretty much like you, Angela - lost Misty, Cracker and Declan to MVD since 2000 .

Cailean of course is pretty poorly with it too. It would never, ever put me off having Cavs and I would never turn one away because it had a bad heart!

Did your blood boil when the lady said that?

Didn't realise that drug was Fortekor - that makes sense then.

It did make me angry that she was talking about her lovely cavalier & how sad she was to let her go when she didnt care at all really. My sister ( who she handed her over to) had met her in the street & she didnt ask how penny was at all.

I took her "because" she had a bad heart ( I didn't expect her to live this long actually)

I took another a couple of years ago who was in the final stages of heart failure. The best little cav you could ever meet.
It doesn't put me off. Someone has to take care of them.

[Ruth]

Well done Angela, I have lost most of my cavaliers over many many years to mvd, it's never put me off and wouldn't ever. They have virtually all reached double figures.
As you know even Fred has now had to go on Frusemide and Benazecare which is the same drug as Fortekor apparently.
Just love the buggy!!

[Karlin]

I agree, well done and bless the people who embrace the special needs dogs as they are so deserving of a loving home. From the experience of having a few special needs dogs and cats I certainly would not be put off by the extra care and love they sometimes need because you get it back in spades and they can be the most rewarding of all companions because the bond can be very special.

I do think your KC (gosh she is cute!) sounds like this could be SM -- these are typical signs and behaviours. Could you try putting her on frusemide or cimetidine, and some gabapentin? Or gabapentin alone? The latter is the gold standard for SM pain. You can download Clare Rusbridge's treatment document at my site, www.smcavalier.com. The gabapentin in particular could likely really improve her quality of life as it deals with the actual neurological pain, not the limb discomfort. The limb weakness is often a sign of worsening syrinxes so you might want to talk to a neurologist but if she is an older dog now probably best to try the Rusbridge approaches.

[AT]

Yes everyone thinks she's cute.lol She'll wag her tail & looks so sweet then bite peoples bums when they turn round, but she let the vet take her away to be weighed with no fuss, She's a strange little dog.

She was very pretty when she was young but has aged quickly over the last 6 months. She will be 11 next March.

I'll discuss those medications with the vet when she goes back.