Update on my little ragamuffin Lady...

S

SheltieMommy

Forums Regular
What a crazy week it's been here.

I took Lady back to the vet on Monday because her itching and coughing/panting have gotten so much worse. We had an x-ray done at a different vet (long story) a couple months ago that showed an enlarged heart and some fluid in her lungs. This one seemed like the fluid has gotten worse, unless there's a difference in opinion as to what constitutes "really bad", which is possible, but to my untrained eye, the fluid looked more prominent in this week's picture...She also said that there was so much fluid swishing around in there, that she couldn't even hear what might be going on with her heart to cause all this. (That sounds bad to me...)

The vet put her on Lasix, and wants to see her again tomorrow (Thursday) to see if enough fluid has cleared out so she can hear her heart better. At that point, we could possibly add another heart med and/or a steroid, depending on what appears to be the problem. But if it's not working and we're dealing with another issue altogether, it's going to take more diagnostics to slueth this out. (Like an echo for sure...not sure what else...) Lady's spleen was also somewhat enlarged on the x-ray, which could be heart related.....or there are spleen cancers that could also spread to the heart, so there could be different issues going on. (No tumors on the x-ray, from what we could see.) She said, and I've heard, that if Lasix is going to work, we would notice a difference within a couple days.

She is definitely peeing and drinking a lot of water, but I'm not sure I hear much of a difference in her breathing or coughing.

Maybe there will be improvements that the vet can hear through the stethoscope, but I can't...who knows.

Sadly though, if the idea of congestive heart failure ends up not being "IT", I don't think I can put her through a bunch more diagnostics--It could go off in so many directions, and I know I won't be able to know when to stop. (Maybe the answer lies just beyond ONE MORE TEST....meanwhile, this poor dog can't breathe and she's scratching herself to pieces. I know the itching is a separate issue, but the vet is way more concerned about her breathing, which is logical.)

I guess there's no use speculating until we go back to the vet tomorrow, but my brain can't stop trying to think through all of this. We've all been there, I'm sure!

The crazy thing is that after 16 months with us, she's just now starting to get more curious and explore around the house a little more instead of just being SO scared all the time. She's by no means a "normal" sheltie, but it's a big improvement compared to when we adopted her. Puppy mills suck. This poor dog deserved to run, play, and just BE a sheltie. She may not know what she missed during those 10 years there, but I hope she knows the love she has had for the last year.

I'll keep you all posted...
 
I'm so sorry You and Lady are going through this. Yes Puppy Mills do Suck!!! I know it is tough putting them through so many tests,second guessing yourself about what course to take and what is best for them. I have no eperience with what is going on with her so I can't offer advice so I will send you and Lady healing prayers and hugs from Gypsy and I.
 
I'm sorry for poor Lady, but look how lucky she is... when she really needed someone to be there for her, you are. Don't underestimate the good you have done for her in the time she's been with you. Dogs live for today and don't bemoan the past.

Fingers are crossed you have an answer soon, and hopefully meds will be able to keep her comfortable and buy her some time.

Hugs to both of you.
Sharon
 
Poor Lady, I'm so sorry she isn't feeling well, I'll be praying for her and you. She has been lucky to have you to give her some peace and love in her little life.
 
You are an angel for taking her in and giving her a wonderful life with good care and lots of love. My heart and prayers are with you.
 
Just put Lady and you on our prayer list. Please continue to update us. Hugs to you both and to your other sheltie, too!

With love from,
Mally's Mom (Denise)
and Mally sends a "BIG" woof-woof and sheltie kisses.
 
Lady is having days of joy and love. I know she'd say all the discomfort is a drop in the bucket compared with the love she gets now.
 
Sorry I didn't update until now...it's been a busy weekend! Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement!

We went back to the vet last Thursday for the follow up. Her lungs do sound a bit better, although not clear by any means. At least they could hear her heartbeat a bit more, but still not enough to hear if there is a murmur or what exactly might be going on in there. I don't think I mentioned that along with the Lasix, they also put her on an antibiotic because she had a low fever. So at Thursday's appointment, her temp was back to normal, so the question of the day was whether it was the Lasix or the antiobiotic that caused the improvement. (If it was pneumonia, for example, rather than congestive heart failure causing the fluid in her lungs, then the antibiotic would be the logical improving factor, I guess.)

So we did some bloodwork to check and see if that would tell us anything new, and the vet also wanted to see how her kidneys are holding up because if they were fine, we might actually add another dose of Lasix to try and get the fluid out faster. The bloodwork showed everything was pretty good (including thyroid, which surprised me, because I was willing to bet my kitchen sink that she was low...) BUT, some of her kidney levels were a bit high, so the vet says not to increase the Lasix after all.

We did also add 1 1/2 tablets of Benadryl 3 times a day to see if we can get her itching under control. So far I'm not sure that's doing a whole lot of good, other than making her sleep even more! They won't prescribe the Temaril-P or other steroids again at this point with her kidney function being questionable.

Of course, if we really want to get a quicker answer on what this heart thing is all about, we can move ahead with an echo or ultrasound...I completely understand that this would help the vet so much. It's just that yeesh--last week's visits, tests, and meds already have me at $400. I dunno...maybe I can do them in a few weeks. I did say that the echo would be my "line in the sand" though....so I'm really struggling with what to do next. She's supposed to go back in later this week for another recheck, so I'm just hoping that more fluid will have drained off so they can get a better listen through the stethoscope. That reminds me...I need to call and schedule that appointment!

Bless her little furry self...I really do hope she IS feeling loved. It's so hard to know what she's thinking. It's funny though, she's been coming out of her crate and parking herself somewhere where she can see me, but still from a distance. Then she sits and stares at me with her ears all perked up. I think that's good....It's better than having her hiding in the back of her crate and refusing to make eye contact like when we first brought her home. :sadsmile:

-Chris
 
I do so hope that she continues to improve! Hugs to you and Lady, and it's wonderful that she has you to watch over her. I know she has a grateful heart full of love for you!
 
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