I recently bought this for the first time, i don't think it's Vetmedin brand, i think it's just pimobendan, the drug that was branded by Vetmedin---anyway, i wanted to say that i went to a compounding pharmacy and got it in liquid form, it comes with a marked syringe to take in the right amount of medication. The syringe fits into the special top that came with the bottle, you remove the top it came with and attach the top that fits with the syringe, so you can just keep the syringe in the bottle and it's there when you need it. I was told it came in grilled chicken flavor and liver flavor. i got the grilled chicken. I could use either one i think. The pharmacist said it doesn't need to be refrigerated.
Anyway, i haven't started him on it yet, i'm still researching it and don't see it as being an urgent rush. He isn't diagnosed with CHF. but he has enlarging heart over the past two years and severe regurgitation. He doesn't have exercise resistance or rapid breathing and if the EPIC study of pimobendan hadn't been published last year recommending use before CHF, his cardiologist would not have prescribed any medication for him at this time, but it's his second cardio eval, two years apart and the condition is progressing, heart enlargement from mild to moderate, regurgitation from moderate to severe. He's 11 1/2 years old. What troubles me the most is, he has that cough and it doesn't sound good. I hope the medication will result in reduced coughing. it's already reduced, apparently by a homeopathic remedy i read about on the Cavalier Health Vet Info page, one vet's experience in giving spongia tosta to a cavalier who was on full meds for CHF, and no impromvement in the cough so she reports that she tried this remedy, i'm oversimplifying, it's written up in a journal article, but after i read that, i thought, why not, it can't hurt anything. and it actually made a dramatic difference in the frequency of the cough, from on average once every hour to about 4-6 times a day since starting the remedy. wow. cool. But the way the cough sounds, it scares me a lot. So i hope the pimobendan might clear it up.
I'm hesitant, because of the risks. i was just reading on the Vetmedin site about the Quest study they are citing, it compared Vetmedin to an ACE inhibitor and the results showed similar for both drugs, which they say is evidence that Vetmedin is safe--one of the examples they give is that almost 40% of the subject dogs got new arrhythmias when on the pimobendan, while on ACE inhibitor, 45% got new arrhythmias, and this was presented to show that Vetmedin is safe...i'm not sure i understand that right. Zack doesn't have arrhythmias now, and 39.4% is a high percentage to be at risk of. i think once he starts on meds, the door will be opened to new health problems related to the meds, and it's always a matter of weighing the risk and the benefit, so i'm trying to learn about that right now, for his current condition. It's clear enough that if he gets to CHF, there must be meds for his comfort. i am wanting to understand what the symptomatic benefit is of the pimobendan, again, his comfort. Adverse reactions reported on the Vetmedin website and elsewhere, are lack of appetite, diarrhea, lethargy, difficulty breathing, weakness and lack of coordination. No info on the percentage of dogs expected to have those effects would be, would like to find that out.
Anyway, about the liquid pimobendan, i thought i would just squirt it in his mouth, next to the back teeth but the pharmacist said i could put it on his food. He said i could squirt it in his mouth too if i want. I asked for the liquid because i don't trust Zack to eat the chewables. He might or he might not. there are treats that he won't eat, and i never know. He's never been picky about food, just about treats. lol. There's another compounding pharmacy that makes something they call Tiny Tabs, and they are tiny, so they're easy to get into a dog by mouth, but i want to try the liquid.