swain Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 Hi everyone Unfortunately I'm joining this group. My 5mth old German spitz has Pulmonic Stenosis. There are other structural issues that doesn't make surgery a good option. Slight chance it would give him a few extra years but at $4500 we can't afford the gamble.We found out lastnight that there is a bit of fluid already on the lungs. So the 2yrs we thought we would get with him (with beta blockers) looks like it might not be that long after all. Poor lil mite! He's jumping around like a normal pup except the huffing and puffing. Off to chemist this morning to see if they can compound his medication as he's only 4.5kg. Anyway...thats Buddy's story. Only had him 7 weeks and he's such a part of the family. Anyone else been through this? What did you do? Wings straight away or let him be with you while happy? Urgh life sucks sometimes ???????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretel Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 Oh I'm so sorry. How heartbreaking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottsmum Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 Very ikky news. Have you spoken to the vet about a compounding chemist? We used http://www.bovavet.com.au/ (I think) The vet faxed the script & repeats to them, we'd call them when we needed a top up and pay and they'd send it on to our vet for collection - which worked really well for us. So good to not have to explain it was for a dog either :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 I'm very sorry you are going through this. My dog was given 6 months to live when she was 11 months old (liver shunt). She is now 6yo. So sometimes they can really battle on. My girl has problems with fluid too (Ascites). I have found that diuretics work pretty well to keep that under control, plus a low sodium diet. You might need a combination of diuretics. I guess you need to weigh up quality of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swain Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 Thank you! We have a local chemist that compounds. Just dropped off script. They were really nice. Pharmacist was going to see if he could get some beef flavoring. Nice little touch ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Oh swain that's horrible. Have you seen pet quality of life scales before? It might help you make a decision. As much as people say that you'll know when it's time, I don't think that's always the case and having it spelled out in front of you can help. There are a few scales around, here's two: https://journeyspet.com/pet-quality-of-life-scale-calculator/ http://www.aplb.org/resources/quality-of-life_scale.php (The first is probably more user friendly) With the compounding, you can also consider ringing up a few chemists. I really liked my old compounding chemist but found that another compounding chemist could make up the script for a LOT less. Thinking of you. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Have you spoken to your breeder Swain? What are they suggesting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottsmum Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Thank you! We have a local chemist that compounds. Just dropped off script. They were really nice. Pharmacist was going to see if he could get some beef flavoring. Nice little touch ???? Cool - we had chicken. I tried a tiny dab once - tasted like chicken twisties ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loving my Oldies Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 (edited) Thank you! We have a local chemist that compounds. Just dropped off script. They were really nice. Pharmacist was going to see if he could get some beef flavoring. Nice little touch ???? That is so so sad - devastating for you. You, Buddy and your family have my deepest sympathies I have meds compounded for one of my dogs and I get it in beef flavouring and to be able to give it via a syringe is so easy. My first two dogs, about 23 years ago, were a Maltese boy and a girl from different breeders. When they were old enough to come home, I collected the girl in the morning, took her straight to my vet and he immediately picked up that something was wrong with her heart. :cry: She had a short (three and a half years) but happy life and barely a day goes past still that I don’t think of her. I hope you have some happy and wonderful times with Buddy. Edited April 28, 2016 by Dame Danny's Darling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swain Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 Oh swain that's horrible. Have you seen pet quality of life scales before? It might help you make a decision. As much as people say that you'll know when it's time, I don't think that's always the case and having it spelled out in front of you can help. There are a few scales around, here's two: https://journeyspet.com/pet-quality-of-life-scale-calculator/ http://www.aplb.org/resources/quality-of-life_scale.php (The first is probably more user friendly) With the compounding, you can also consider ringing up a few chemists. I really liked my old compounding chemist but found that another compounding chemist could make up the script for a LOT less. Thinking of you. x Thank you. Will have a look at that. Will also help with deciding when it's time for my 16yr old kelpie x to go. She's being kept comfortable too at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swain Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 Have you spoken to your breeder Swain? What are they suggesting? Breeder is heart broken too. She agrees to keep him comfortable and happy. When the time comes she's offered to replace him. Bit to hard to think about at the moment though. When we got him we knew he had a heart murmer but it wasn't detected during his final check up before coming to us. It was originally just a level 2 murmur. Even last week his murmur was only detected as a 3. Didn't reflect the state of his heart unfortunately. Nobody could have guessed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swain Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 Thank you! We have a local chemist that compounds. Just dropped off script. They were really nice. Pharmacist was going to see if he could get some beef flavoring. Nice little touch ???? Cool - we had chicken. I tried a tiny dab once - tasted like chicken twisties ;) Oohhh...love chicken twisties!! Nice of the pharmacist to care what it tastes like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swain Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 Thank you! We have a local chemist that compounds. Just dropped off script. They were really nice. Pharmacist was going to see if he could get some beef flavoring. Nice little touch ???? That is so so sad - devastating for you. You, Buddy and your family have my deepest sympathies I have meds compounded for one of my dogs and I get it in beef flavouring and to be able to give it via a syringe is so easy. My first two dogs, about 23 years ago, were a Maltese boy and a girl from different breeders. When they were old enough to come home, I collected the girl in the morning, took her straight to my vet and he immediately picked up that something was wrong with her heart. :cry: She had a short (three and a half years) but happy life and barely a day goes past still that I don’t think of her. I hope you have some happy and wonderful times with Buddy. Thank you! Thats sad for you too. You want to just give them the best for however long you have them. We will make some happy times :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swain Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 (edited) I'm very sorry you are going through this. My dog was given 6 months to live when she was 11 months old (liver shunt). She is now 6yo. So sometimes they can really battle on. My girl has problems with fluid too (Ascites). I have found that diuretics work pretty well to keep that under control, plus a low sodium diet. You might need a combination of diuretics. I guess you need to weigh up quality of life. Thats great news that she has made it to 6! Enjoy every precious moment. I'm hoping he responds well to meds. I didn't ask about diet. Will ring vet tomorrow. Thanks Edited April 28, 2016 by swain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 I just tried to make every day the best day for her. Which isn't a bad way to live! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now