Thursday, October 08, 2015

UPDATE ON KATIE
















Katie was sent home soon after the diagnosis yesterday from the veterinary cardiologist and put on a heart medicine called Pimobendan to help it do its job better and to hopefully prolong her life. She is also on Lasix to get rid of the fluid in her heart and lungs that made her breathe so heavy. And there is a blood pressure medicine to keep her pressure normal and keep her heart from working too hard. Her activities are being monitored closely and she is not allowed to run, jump, or play too much for a week. She cannot be stressed for any reason nor can she overly exert herself until these meds show they are doing their job.

Here is the hard part: She is so little and depends so much on me to take care of her that it is killing me when she just sits and stares at me and I have no idea what she wants. I run through the gambit of maybes, does she want a drink, is she hungry, does she need to go out, does she want a treat? If I hit the right question, she responds. Not this time.  She just stares at me and it is killing me inside.

Here is the mystery. For the damage she has and the fact that she was in congestive heart failure, no one can explain why she has had NO symptoms up until the very moment when she began to breath heavily after running up the steps. In her condition, she would have been losing a lot of weight, not eating, vomiting, diarrhea, and so lethargic I would have known something was off. But there was nothing. Her appetite has been great, she runs and plays as always. No warnings whatsoever.

And today she is breathing better. She is eating her food and carrying around her talkie ball as usual and snacking on her favorite turkey treats. She is napping as usual throughout the day and drinking more water and going out to pee a lot because of the lasix. She gets carried down in her own special bag that she gets in herself when she has to go out so she lets me know it is time. She is walking around as if nothing is wrong other than Mom won't let her do much of anything and my Mom cries a lot.

If anyone has any information or experience on this condition that you can share please do. I need to find hope and while I know that prayer and a miracle is the answer right now, I still need to hear there is hope. Have any of you had experience with this illness and a happier outcome?

You can comment here. Or if you like, you can also email me at welcomehomefriendsLLC@gmail.com and I will answer.
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3 comments:

  1. I'm so sorry that you are having to go through this with Katie. How old is she? This happened with one of our English Bulldogs and she was put on the same medications that Katie was. The meds improved her condition and did prolong her life for quite some time. We just made sure our little princess was spoiled rotten and comfortable. We lost her at the age of 12 1/2. It's so hard to see our fur babies not feeling well.....mine are more like children to me than pets. :-) Cherish each moment.....<3

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  2. Marty, I have congestive heart failure, as well. Katie's symptoms are just like mine were when I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. I was fine and felt somewhat swollen by fluids, but my breathing was heavy. I thought I was going to have a heart attack and none of my Dr's were not listening to me. After awhile I felt crazy. Finally, a Dr gave me lasix and the weight flew off. I was holding 50 lbs of fluid. Now, I know you said Katie's weight didn't change, but it didn't ha to for this disease. Anyway, after I started losing weight, the Dr's starting listening and I think they were a bit afraid they had ignored me. So, they did an Echocardiogram and it showed Congestive Heart Failure on the right side. They said my heart looked good, but I need to be careful with what I eat and I need to exercise more. As soon as the meds kicked in, I felt great. No heavy breathing or just not feeling right anymore!!!! Every now and then it kicks up and I just take it easy until they tweak my meds. Katie sounds to me as though her meds are working and she feels great. Congestive Heart Failure does not hurt, honestly. She probably gets a little scared when it is harder to breath, but she is NOT hurting. Just reassure her when she is acting scared and let her have her exercise when she is well. Stress and other life problems do affect me, but I try to avoid those things. Katie can still run and play, just be a little cautious. If you don't let her do anything, she will become out of shape and automatically breathe heavy. You don't want that. I hope this helps 😃 Katie is not sad or hurting, just somewhat confused and scared about what is happening to her. She will adjust to this disease. Read as much as you can about this disease, knowledge is power. Good luck to you and Katie. I know all will be well. God Bless you both 💖💖

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  3. My heartfelt prayers and blessings to you and dear, sweet Katie. I will keep you both in my thoughts and prayers and remember to put this in God's hands.... It is so very difficult, I know, but let Him be your light and your strength. You WILL get through this; He will make sure of that. Hugs!

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