Congestive heart failure - how does it end? (chihuahuas, train, diet)

[DebW2]

I have a shih tzu who is almost 11. He started having a cough, and was diagnosed with CHF at his physical last July. He is in stage 4, and we are giving him Vetmedin and Lazix. Last night he had what I believe is a siezure. He sounded like he was in pain, and I can't bear to let him suffer. We have a vet appointment this week to evaluate his condition.

[Broo2]

An update on Chalupa; he passed this morning at around 9:40am.

The medications and treatments did wonders; we had several months of good times together. I was able to take 100s of photos, get some movies and visit some State parks and trails that I think he enjoyed.

Over the past few weeks, his exercise intolerance had started to worsen; we used to take a morning & afternoon walk around the block (the blocks are long rectangles in my town) and he was starting to have issues making the whole route. When I picked him up to carry him the reset of the way, he would go limp in my arms. This increased for two weeks until he had trouble walking even one segment of the block before I would have to carry home.

I noticed a few nights ago that he wasn't sleeping in my bed- as he normally does. I found him on the deck and figured he was getting some cooler air outside as Spring has warmed things up a bit. He repeated this on the next night and last night I started to investigate what he was doing.

To my horror, I found he was so tired that he was having problems standing up. He would literally collapse his front or rear legs to the floor for a few seconds, appear to sleep in this position, and then jerk upright. I figured out he was too uncomfortable to sleep and took him to the Emergency vet early this morning.

The vet said that fluid appeared to be accumulating around his lungs- which indicates an issue with the left side heart valve. His earlier issues were right side valve, which caused fluid buildup in the lungs; essentially his conditioned had worsened. They put him in an oxygen tent and he was Ok for a while and I gave the Ok to drain the fluid via syringe as the normal injection diuretic could take days. They also wanted to keep him overnight and let his normal vet see him in the morning.

They called after I had returned home to let me know that he had passed during the attempt to drain the fluid. He came out of the oxygen tent (was given supplemental oxygen) and passed as they were prepping. I had signed a 'do not resuscitate' form as I felt it would be the better thing for him and me both.

I did get to say a quick goodbye to him and pet him one last time in the oxygen tent. I am saddened I was not there at the time of his passing, but I know there were loving people there taking care of him. I actually think this is the way he wanted to go; it was quick, painless and he can now run and play in a never-ending dream. Some people say that a dog will wait until the owner is away to pass?

In the end, it sucked that Chalupa developed a heart condition, but it did make me appreciate how much the little guy meant to me and let me spend some quality time with him. He will be missed, and never forgotten by me.

[foxywench]

im so sorry for your loss, I know how painful it is.

we lost our old boy to CHF just after Christmas...he thankfully whent peacefully in his daddies arms.

[Lovemypet1]

I too just had to euthanize my little tea cup chihuahua Bella 2 days ago. She was diagnosed with chf about 2 years ago. I noticed that she was breathing faster than normal and her cough was worsening for the past one week. She seemed to be reluctant to eat but did. 2 days ago she just looked ill. She wouldn't put her head down in her bed nor while I held and rocked her. I brought her to the vets as I thought maybe she had some fluid build up in her lungs. Little did I realize or expect that I wouldn't be bringing her home. At the vets she turned blue while we're taking a chest X-ray and had to give her oxygen. Her breathing rate was extreme. They had me try to hold her to maybe calm her down. I even carried her outside to get her out of the situation to try to calm her down to no avail. The vet said her X-ray showed a still more enlarged heart than 3 months ago leaving her lungs with less room to breathe. Her condition was really bad and I had to make the decision to euthanize her at that point. I couldn't stand to see her go on anymore like this. I really don't know why she got so bad at the vets. They sedated her prior to euthanizing her and I held her in my arms and patted her & kissed & talked to her until the sedation medicine made her fall asleep. With the final medicine she passed away within 10 seconds. I'm just devastated. She was just my sweetheart and never expected her to get so gravely ill so fast and lose her. I miss her tremendously. I'm on this site because everyone loved their pets too and was just looking for support to help me through. Does any one know why she would crash in the vets office so suddenly? Or was it coincidence? To note: the vet was just wonderful & kind & concerned.

[brightdoglover]

So sorry you lost your little Bella. I don't know why she crashed at the vet- maybe the little bit of extra stress in being there. You did have to take her in, and she went down quickly. Euthanizing her on the spot was the kindest thing to do, and it's the last way we take the best care of them. You have a lot of company in going through this, and she has a lot of great company over the Bridge. (Bella, say hi to Bruno and TooToo, would you, sweetie?)

[Lovemypet1]

Brightdoglover: Thankyou for ur condolences for the loss of my little Bella. I knew I could rely on an animal lover to help me through this. Still devastated but coming into acceptance. I learned that she probably got very stressed or panicky when they were doing the chest X-ray. When stressed our hearts pick up speed to get the oxygenated blood pushed out to the rest of the body. Unfortunately little Bella's heart was in very poor condition and was too weak to push the blood out fast enough causing a lack of oxygen to be delivered to the rest of her body/brain and she crashed. Had it not happened at the Vet's office...it was destined to happen at home which would have been just aweful. My Vet said she would probably would not make it through the night. Well Bella was not going to suffer any longer so although it broke my heart I had her euthanized painlessly & quickly in my arms throughout the entire time.
Bella had a private cremation along with her tiny toys. She's home now with me where she belongs. I also bought a pendant urn on a necklace which holds a smidgen of Bella's ashes which I will wear around my neck & close to my heart. I shall never forget my sweetheart.

[Chestersdaddy]

My 12 year old Yorkie Chester was diagnosed with mitral valve disease 8 months ago. For about 6 months before that he would cough occasionally like he had something caught in his throat. I didn't think much of it until his vet checkup. The vet detected a murmur and requested X-rays and then an Ekg. $1500 later it was determined he has mitral valve disease which was progressing to heart failure. He was placed on 4 drugs; enalapril, vermedin, spirolactone and Furosemide. Despite these his cough is heart disease is progressing. He would cough throughout the day before but never for an hour or two non stop. His heart beats so fast it looks like it's beating out of his chest. What breaks my heart is that he wants to play and jump on my lap and give me kisses, but the slightest exertion causes a coughing fit. He goes for short walks and eats although doesn't finish his food like he used to. They say you know when it's time. I don't think it's time yet, but don't want to see things get worse. I can't imagine my life without my best friend. I have little money left after all his initial tests and vet visits. His pills alone cost $100 a month. Does anyone have suggestions on other medication etc? Is he in pain when he coughs like that? How do I know when it's time to say goodbye?

[ginamarina]

Sigh. I can barely keep it together here after reading 8 pages. My kitty has this awful disease as well. I wasn't going to post, because it seems it's all been said already. I'm dreading the unknown. And I don't want my little guy to know how scared I am, so I have to bawl in here, and go out and love on him and forget he's sick. Because, honestly, I don't think he knows he's sick - and that's all the better for him.

But Chestersdaddy, I have a suggestion about meds and not going broke. The only med I need to get from a pet pharmacy is Vetmedin (I have a mail order pet pharmacy I really like, with a great price on Vetmedin). I don't know if I can put links here, but you can pm me if you want. Otherwise it's pretty easy to compare Vetmedin prices online. There's no generic so it's not as confusing as some of the meds.

Benazepril, furosemide and clopidrogrel (plavix) I get a a people pharmacy (and it looks like enalapril and spironolactone, too). I looked up "free rx card" online. The one I like best is Good Rx. You can look at the prices and the available pharmacies right on the page. You need to know the mg of the tablets, and be prepared to split the tablets in 2 or 4. (a good pill splitter is worth the $6). The vet will call your doggy's prescriptions into the pharmacy. You bring in the coupons that the website prints. All of mine were under ten bucks each for about 2 month's worth. One was even on the $4 list. I had no intention of being "cheap" with my boy's treatment, but these are "people" medicines, and the vet charges a LOT and the pet pharmacies do too.

I'd rather spend the money I save on good food and yummy treats or whatever he desires. Isn't it strange how much we say "heart"? How can having a big heart be a bad thing? I've been on this rollercoaster for 5 months now. My best wishes to all of you.

[MyMelvin]

Originally Posted by shadowne

My Pomeranian, Alex, was diagnosed w/CHF around age 14 or 15 and lived a pretty solid 3+ years taking just enalapril & lasix daily. His quality of life was pretty good considering his age. He gave me a scare or two in the last year but rebounded and lived to 18.

I just lost my Melvin yesterday. He was 11 years old Chihuahua 8 pounds. He was diagnosed with CHF just one month ago. Was prescribed benazepril and lasix once a day. He was doing just fine with MEDs. Stopped coughing and eating pretty good! Last Wednesday, at evening time, he started to breath heavily and cough very badly. I even thought it's a kennel cough and wanted to wait till the morning to go to my vet. When by 11pm he couldn't even lay down, we rushed to the pet emergency. They said he has so much fluid in his lungs that his heart wouldn't handle it any more. They were trying to save him till 5 am and when he was totally unresponsive they asked us to put him to sleep. I couldn't believe it. He was totally fine the whole day, eating, walking, sleeping, barking and 'dancing' meeting my husband from work at 6pm. And now laing there dying a few hours later. So shockingly fast and unexpected! I coudn't understand what is just happened! I'm sitting now blaming myself to death. What did I do wrong? My doughter says you gave him the best life possible being with him 24/7 during all these years. I was totaly unprepared to separate with him that prematurely. I thought I did everything to extend this precious life as long as possible. Probably not.

It helps me to go thru the pain by reading these fantastic stories and knowing how many wonderful people live and fight every day for their little loved ones

[ginamarina]

Originally Posted by MyMelvin

So shockingly fast and unexpected! I coudn't understand what is just happened! I'm sitting now blaming myself to death. What did I do wrong? My doughter says you gave him the best life possible being with him 24/7 during all these years. I was totaly unprepared to separate with him that prematurely. I thought I did everything to extend this precious life as long as possible. Probably not.

It helps me to go thru the pain by reading these fantastic stories and knowing how many wonderful people live and fight every day for their little loved ones

I'm so very sorry. They have warned me that that's how it will likely happen for my guy. Fine one minute and gone the next. I'm terrified - yet, for him... maybe that's a better way to go. Definitely better than being in horrible pain. But I fear my own shock - it does make me afraid to be away from home. People tell me it could happen that fast even IF I'm at home, so I have to live my life. I truly believe you did do everything you could. From my understanding, when the valves give out... there's really nothing more to do I'm so very sorry.

Please take care of yourself, and watch for little signs of Melvin. You just never know, he will hopefully leave you a little sign that he's ok.