Beware The Ides Of March

[RobinM]

So sorry to hear that Lisa. I hope you have many many good times left.

[Rickiesmom]

Lisa, I am sorry to hear about Jazz. Hope he responds to medication and you have a long time with him, spoiling him within the parameters all the way.

[Guest RedTigerJazz]

Misty-Iggy has had a grade 3 heart murmur for about three years. on March 5th she had her Echocardiogram that showed Mitral Regurgitation (improper sealing of the Mitral valve between the left atrium and left ventricle of the heart. the left ventricle is the one that pumps oxygenated blood to the whole body). Her left ventricle is enlarged from having to work harder and her whole heart is slightly enlarged. This will all eventually lead to Congestive Failure. Congestive failure is when the heart is no longer able to pump forcefully enough to propel fluids in and out of the lungs, resulting in the lungs filling with fluids and the patient....well.... drowning.

 

There are three meds used to treat Misty-Mousie's condition: she started Laxix 3.25 mg every other day even though her lungs are clear and her body is not swollen at this point. she started enalapril which is a med to help the heart beat stronger and more effectively and she started another med called Vetmedin. Vetmedin is not available to humans in the US, only in Japan so I'm not familiar with it other then what I Googled. It sounded to me like a med that's supposed to have very similar effects to the enalapril. It's generic name is pimobenaden.

 

If I had to guess, I'm thinking Jazz is on daily Lasix to clear the fluid from his body, it's what most people call a "water pill" because it's a diuretic. and probably the enalapril because it's the most common in human and animal health care.

 

Unless it got too bad before it was diagnosed, once he's over this initial period, he should be fine for several years.

 

Jazz is on 20 mg of Disal Furosemide 2x/day and 10mg of Enalapril 1x/day. Our vet started out by giving Jazz a shot of Enalapril. So far Jazz seems to be doing very well on these meds except that he seems to be having a bit of an allergic reaction to the Enalapril. A few hours after that shot his throat swelled up, so we've had him on Benadryl, too. The swelling has gone down but he now has jowls. Hopefully they'll go away soon.

 

Thank you, LuvAPuppy, for the medical info. I haven't taken the time yet to do any research on exactly what CHF is or what the meds do. I do like to know these things, though, and really appreciate your post.

 

~Lisa~

[dixidoll]

Hopefully the right meds will make a world of difference. Wishing Jazz the very best.

[queenwinniesmom]

I'm so sorry Jazz has gotten this diagnosis. No experience, but both of you are in my prayers.

Yes, please let us know how your boy is doing.

[Guest bluefawn]

Lisa, I know we pm'ed, but still wanted to let you know how much I am praying and hoping that the meds will give you and Steve more time with Jazz. It is so very hard to hear bad news about our babies. I can't offer any advice, except what you already know, to make each minute count for all of you. Sending prayers and white light

Love and hugs

Karen

[LuvAPuppy]

Misty-Iggy has had a grade 3 heart murmur for about three years. on March 5th she had her Echocardiogram that showed Mitral Regurgitation (improper sealing of the Mitral valve between the left atrium and left ventricle of the heart. the left ventricle is the one that pumps oxygenated blood to the whole body). Her left ventricle is enlarged from having to work harder and her whole heart is slightly enlarged. This will all eventually lead to Congestive Failure. Congestive failure is when the heart is no longer able to pump forcefully enough to propel fluids in and out of the lungs, resulting in the lungs filling with fluids and the patient....well.... drowning.

 

There are three meds used to treat Misty-Mousie's condition: she started Laxix 3.25 mg every other day even though her lungs are clear and her body is not swollen at this point. she started enalapril which is a med to help the heart beat stronger and more effectively and she started another med called Vetmedin. Vetmedin is not available to humans in the US, only in Japan so I'm not familiar with it other then what I Googled. It sounded to me like a med that's supposed to have very similar effects to the enalapril. It's generic name is pimobenaden.

 

If I had to guess, I'm thinking Jazz is on daily Lasix to clear the fluid from his body, it's what most people call a "water pill" because it's a diuretic. and probably the enalapril because it's the most common in human and animal health care.

 

Unless it got too bad before it was diagnosed, once he's over this initial period, he should be fine for several years.

 

Jazz is on 20 mg of Disal Furosemide 2x/day and 10mg of Enalapril 1x/day. Our vet started out by giving Jazz a shot of Enalapril. So far Jazz seems to be doing very well on these meds except that he seems to be having a bit of an allergic reaction to the Enalapril. A few hours after that shot his throat swelled up, so we've had him on Benadryl, too. The swelling has gone down but he now has jowls. Hopefully they'll go away soon.

 

Thank you, LuvAPuppy, for the medical info. I haven't taken the time yet to do any research on exactly what CHF is or what the meds do. I do like to know these things, though, and really appreciate your post.

 

~Lisa~

 

It's what I do EnergyDee and I Meducate people

 

Furosemide is generic for Lasix just in case you didn't know yet. it's his "water pill" Read about Vetmedin when you get the chance and ask your vet/cardiologist if he's a candidate for it. My vet just said M needs it cuz it works with the enalapril. I read about it before I gave it and like I said, it seems to do something similar.

[MP_the4pack]

Vetmedin/pimobendan is considered a miracle drug. It actually can improve the heart. Lessen the thickened areas caused by pumping too hard.

Pearl was put on that in August. When she was diagnosed with cancer, she was seen by a cardiologist at OSU because the chemo drug is hard on the heart. They said that she still had the mitral valve problem, but the heart looked very good. Better than it did in August.

The only problem is that it is expensive.

 

(she was also on lasix and enalapril)

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

I think you've gotten some good advice here. I have a human family member with CHF who is doing really well on meds, diet and exercise and I hope Jazz will respond really well to the meds, too. Sending prayers!

[LuvAPuppy]

Vetmedin/pimobendan is considered a miracle drug. It actually can improve the heart. Lessen the thickened areas caused by pumping too hard.

Pearl was put on that in August. When she was diagnosed with cancer, she was seen by a cardiologist at OSU because the chemo drug is hard on the heart. They said that she still had the mitral valve problem, but the heart looked very good. Better than it did in August.

The only problem is that it is expensive.

 

(she was also on lasix and enalapril)

 

Awesome!!! Mousie's heart isn't that bad I guess. Like I said, she had no visible symptoms and the murmur was found on a routine exam. apparently it isn't even heard in the entire chest, just if you happen to land the bell in the right spot. I forgot to get her ejection fraction percentage...

[Guest 3greysinPA]

hey Lisa,

i am just seeing this thread now... I am so sorry honey... i am thinking of you... if it werent so late... i would call you... but please know that i am keeping Jazz in my prayers and hoping that the meds work for him... and you have lots more time with him.

sending you and jazz lots of hugs and prayers and good thoughts.

[Guest RedTigerJazz]

hey Lisa,

i am just seeing this thread now... I am so sorry honey... i am thinking of you... if it werent so late... i would call you... but please know that i am keeping Jazz in my prayers and hoping that the meds work for him... and you have lots more time with him.

sending you and jazz lots of hugs and prayers and good thoughts.

 

Thanks, Kristin. Jazz is feeling much better with the meds. He did have an allergic reaction to the Enapril, but Benadryl has reduced the swelling in his throat. We've reduced the dosage of the Benadryl and should be able to eliminate it over the weekend. We're supposed to take him back to the vet's soon to be reevaluated. Our vet is awesome. He's actually going to come out to the car to listen to Jazz's heart. (Going into the vet's office just completely stresses Jazz out now so we will never set foot in there again. )

 

We all really appreciate everyone's good thought, prayers and white light for our boy. He means more to us than anyone off this board could ever understand.

 

~Lisa~

[nyGreys]

Sending prayers for your sweetie.

I'm glad the meds are helping him.

[Guest brandi007]

Sending lots of good thoughts and hoping for many, many MANY good years with your sweety

[sabrina]

Jazz I hope you get hooked up with the right meds & we get to read about you for many a year.

[Guest greyt2love]

My first schnauzer had CHF. She lived for several years after the initial diagnosis. It's been 10 years since she died, so I bet the meds and treatments are advanced since then. Good thoughts to you and your Jazz for a comfortable, long time left together!

[Charlies_Dad]

More good thoughts for Jazz. Our experience was with our Dally, she had this for the last 3.5yrs of her life, yup that long. She was on similar drugs and they did very well by her. Her passing was not due to her heart.

[Guest SpicyMom]

Good Luck. It's tough balancing what you need to do for the heart with keeping the kidneys and liver functioning properly. I just lost my 12 yr old Abyssinian cat to congestive heart failure (literally this evening.) his was very advanced before we diagnosed it so we only had an extra 2 months with him. Hopefully you've caught it earlier. This may seem like a strange offer but I just refilled my prescription of pimobenden and of enalapril. Since both are rather pricey, if that's what your pup has been prescribed, I'd be happy to send you the extra meds. If you can use them, send me a private email with your address and I'll pop them in the mail to you.

 

Enjoy your time with your pup.

[Guest bluefawn]

I have been off of GT for almost a week, so just catching up. You all are still in my thoughts and prayers. Sending hugs and hoping that you will have better news soon.

[onrushpam]

CHF is a very manageable problem. Our Isaac lived for many years on Furosimide and Enalipril. He died at 14 from osteo. We always knew Vetmedin was there, if needed, but he never needed it.

 

The challenge we faced was keeping weight on Isaac. The heart-diet commercial dog foods are developed assuming a dog with CHF also has a weight problem. So, they are very low calorie. Isaac could not maintain adequate weight on those foods.

 

We fed Isaac a cooked diet of Isaac Stew, supplemented with small amounts of a high-quality kibble.

 

Isaac Stew

 

Load a big slow cooker up with 4-5 chicken leg/thigh quarters (you can get them on sale for cheap) and a cup or so of water (you don't need much water). Cook on low for 8-12 hours. Remove the bones and smoosh them up (they'll be very soft). Transfer the chicken to a BIG stock pot and return the bones to the pot.

 

Add veggies:

1 lb frozen sliced carrots (let these cook for awhile before adding other veg)

1 lb frozen sliced yellow or zucchini squash

1 lb frozen chopped spinach or collard or mixed greens

1-2 big can or 2-4 small cans no-salt tomatoes

 

This will make enough for a couple of weeks. Freeze in big containers and thaw one at a time.

I watched the grocery ads and would load up on chicken and veg when on sale. I usually got the chicken for .49 lb, veg 2-for-1, tomatoes 10 cans for $1.

 

We also gave him a multi-vitamin daily.

 

Towards the end, we supplemented with vanilla Ensure Plus (or Publix store-brand).

[Guest SusanP]

Our Wizard, now 9 1/2, was diagnosed about 2 years ago with CHF. He takes Enalapril once a day and has done well so far. The condition has not progressed during this time. I was scared when he was diagnosed, and I worry about him now, but he is doing ok, so please take heart.

 

Hugs to you both.