hello everyone. my 14 year old miniature dacshund(sp) has been having
breathing problems so i took him to the vet today. x-rays showed that
his heart is swollen to almost 3x it's normal size and is taking up all
the room in his chest....pushing in on his lungs.
the vet gave him a shot to help get some of the fluid off his heart but
said he probably didn't have long to live.

what i'd like to know is...is there anything that could possibly help
to reduce the swelling? it's killing me to see him like this.

i appreciate any help.
take care.

i forgot to at that the vet said he has a level 5 heart murmur. and he
is currently on 50 mg tablets of lasex(2x daily) and the vet has now
prescribed 50 mg digoxin once daily.
he hasn't had much of any appetite the past few days, but i can a
little some soft dogfood and ham down him throughout he day.

please, i'm desperate for some sort of advice....thanks in advance.

"Jon" wrote in message
ups.com...
i forgot to at that the vet said he has a level 5 heart murmur. and he
is currently on 50 mg tablets of lasex(2x daily) and the vet has now
prescribed 50 mg digoxin once daily.
he hasn't had much of any appetite the past few days, but i can a
little some soft dogfood and ham down him throughout he day.

please, i'm desperate for some sort of advice....thanks in advance.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but a grade 5 heart murmur isn't good
and there's no fix for it. IME the two most common medications used for
cardiac treatment are Lasix and Enalapril. The Digoxin is generally used
when its thought that the former two aren't strong enough to work anymore.
Digoxin can cause a toxicity problem so make sure that you report any
symptoms to your vet immediately (lack of appetite, vomitting, diarrhea) and
that you go back in 2 weeks for an exam before continuing with the
medication.

I'm very sorry I don't have anything more positive for you

--
Tara

the 50mg of digoxin was incorrect. it's .5 cc or ml i believe.
sorry for the triple post.

"Jon" wrote in message
oups.com...
hello everyone. my 14 year old miniature dacshund(sp) has been having
breathing problems so i took him to the vet today. x-rays showed that
his heart is swollen to almost 3x it's normal

......Here's a link on heart disease::
http://www.2ndchance.info/conghtfaildog.htm

Discussion of amino acids and CoQ10 in heart disease in pets:
http://www.drschoen.com/articles_L2_13_.html
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articl...i_80532260/pg_
1


J Card Fail. 2000 Sep;6(3):233-42.
The role of coenzyme Q10 in the pathophysiology and therapy of
experimental congestive heart failure in the dog.
Harker-Murray AK, Tajik AJ, Ishikura F, Meyer D, Burnett JC, Redfield
MM.
Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic
and Mayo Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA.
BACKGROUND: Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is essential for ATP generation and has
antioxidant properties. Decreased CoQ10 levels have been reported in human
heart failure (CHF), but it remains unclear if this is a conserved feature
of CHF. The objective of the study was to determine if tachycardia-induced
CHF in the dog is associated with reduced CoQ10 levels. Furthermore, it was
hypothesized that CoQ10 supplementation may improve CHF severity by
preventing CoQ10 deficiency (if present) or via antioxidant effects. Methods
and Results: Serum and myocardial levels of CoQ10 were examined in normal
dogs (n = 6), dogs with CHF (control, n = 5), and dogs with CHF treated with
CoQ10 (CoQ10; 10 mg/kg/day, n = 5). Serum CoQ10 levels did not change with
CHF in control dogs, and myocardial levels were similar to those of normal
dogs. CoQ10 therapy increased serum but not myocardial levels of CoQ10. In
early CHF, CoQ10-treated dogs had lower filling pressures, and, in severe
CHF, CoQ10-treated dogs had less hypertrophy as compared with untreated
dogs. Other indices of CHF severity were similar in control and
CoQ10-treated dogs. Conclusion: These data indicate that CoQ10 deficiency is
not present in this model of CHF. Although dramatic effects on hemodynamics
were not observed, CoQ10 supplementation did appear to attenuate the
hypertrophic response associated with CHF.

Definition of hypertrophy: the morbid enlargement or overgrowth of an organ
or part due to an increase in size of it's constituent cells.

...........Personally I would definitely give CoQ10, and even taurine and
L-carnitine, Vit E and fish oil (salmon body oil - not cod liver oil).
While there's no proof taurine would definitely help in your situation, they
are starting to consider this amino acid as a conditionally essential
elements for dogs.

There's nothing you can do do reverse the heart problem, but these therapies
may make your dog feel better while he's here with you. Give him a big hug
every day and cherish the time you have with him.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

well thanks for the replies, but he died today.
he wasn't eating much the past few days , and today he went outside,
laid down, and died.
he had been with me for most of my life...from age 8 till now.
words cnnot describe how much i cared for him.
life sucks sometimes...well, alot of the time actually.

anyways, i just wanted to say thanks.

"Jon" wrote in message
oups.com...
well thanks for the replies, but he died today.
he wasn't eating much the past few days , and today he went outside,
laid down, and died.
he had been with me for most of my life...from age 8 till now.
words cnnot describe how much i cared for him.
life sucks sometimes...well, alot of the time actually.

I'm very sorry Jon. My 11yo Min. Dachshund died last month. I would have
loved for her to live to age 14. Your dog lived a longer life than many and
I'm sure he died a happy man with an owner as caring as you.

--
Tara

well thanks for the replies, but he died today.
he wasn't eating much the past few days , and today he went outside,
laid down, and died.
he had been with me for most of my life...from age 8 till now.
words cnnot describe how much i cared for him.
life sucks sometimes...well, alot of the time actually.

So sorry about your loss, Jon. Pets are truly members of the family and when
they pass it seems that there's an empty seat at the dinner table. It takes
time, but eventually the sadness will be replaced with the wonderful
memories he gave you.

-Sharon

Jon said in rec.pets.dogs.health:

well thanks for the replies, but he died today.

I'm sorry, Jon. I'm glad that he went quickly, peacefully, and
at home.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

"Jon" wrote in message
oups.com...
well thanks for the replies, but he died today.
he wasn't eating much the past few days , and today he went outside,
laid down, and died.
he had been with me for most of my life...from age 8 till now.
words cnnot describe how much i cared for him.
life sucks sometimes...well, alot of the time actually.

..........I'm so sorry. It's so hard to lose an old friend.

buglady
take out the dog before replying