grakemjo Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 Hi all, I'm only new here, just joined after googling looking for information..... We are the very proud owners of a beautiful Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She will be 10 in May. About 3 months ago, after thinking she just had a cough, we took her to the vet to be checked out. After performing some xrays etc he has diagnosed her with heart failure and she is now on meds for it. We have had her since she was a pup and was a very active dog in the early years. Of course, like most cavs at her age now, she loves nothing better than to lay around watching the world go by and sleeping! Although with 2 small toddler children who adore her (and her them) she doesn't always get this LOL! Anyway, was just wondering what the prognosis is for her. She is like our 'first baby' as such and its very hard knowing this is like the beginning of the end. She does not appear to be in any pain at all, but does still have that cough several times throughout the day - its like she has a frog in her throat and she coughs and splutters till she's coughed it up so to speak. Also, she is now on Aminyllin tablets (half morning and night) and also now takes 1 Fortekor 5 tablet daily. The Aminyllin are fine at approx $20 a month but the FORTEKOR 5 is $85.00 a month. We are a 1 income family with 2 small children (3 counting the dog LOL) and was just wondering if anyone knows of anywhere we can go to get her meds any cheaper. We have played around with the budget and have managed over the last few months since she's been taking them but unfortunately its not easy. We asked the vet if we could buy in bulk to get them cheaper but he said he buys them in bulk and sells them at the bulk price cost. We moved last year and have only been seeing this vet for a short time so not sure if that would be correct or not - haven't built up that rapport as yet so can only hope what he is saying is correct. So yeah, if anyone knows somewhere where we could go where its cheaper that would be wonderful. If not, we'll roll with the punches and keep fiddling with the budget - its our responsibilty to continue to give her the best life possible and we'll continue to do that. Look forward to hearing any replies or advice you may be able to offer. Thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashka Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 (edited) Hugs from the other side of the ditch. Costs are mentioned on the website below which may help. There are several heart studies being done as heart problems are so prevalent in Cavs. At least one can take comfort in the fact that Mitral valve disease is not painful to the dog. http://www.cavaliertalk.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=561 All the Best from another Cav owner. Edited January 19, 2007 by Ashka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grakemjo Posted January 19, 2007 Author Share Posted January 19, 2007 (edited) Thanks for the reply Ashka. Its such a shame that cavs are so prone to this. Yeah, that's the 'good' thing - she shows no signs of being in any pain at all. Its just the horrible cough that when she does it I sometimes think "c'mon cough it up, cough it up" because I get scared sometimes that maybe one day she won't be able to and something will happen. I have no idea if that would ever be the case or not?? Thanks for the link. I came across that one is my searches and wished we had a Walmart here where we could buy tablets as cheap as that!! It has lots of good info in it. Don't suppose you or anyone knows if someone in the US can buy prescription meds for dogs and bring it back with them to Sydney (I have family who are planning to holiday there). I would think there are probably customs laws restricting this though!! Edited January 19, 2007 by grakemjo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashka Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 Importing drugs could prove to be difficult but I have no idea what the laws in Aussie are. You could ask your Vet to put her on the cheaper generic drugs that are mentioned on the link which may help your budget somewhat. Best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowanbree Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 I am not a vet and do not take this advice as gospel but over the years coping with many dogs with heart issues I have not found any need to use anything other than Lasics (sp?) which removes the fluid from the heart and is dirt cheap. That has help tremendously and to be honest I have not found any of the other more expensive ones to make much difference. Certainly worth asking your vet if she really needs it, mine haven't been too bad just coughing and heart murmers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grakemjo Posted January 19, 2007 Author Share Posted January 19, 2007 Thanks...I don't really think I would go along the lines of getting them from the US - just a momentary thought that popped into my mind when I posted!! I didn't know that was a 'generic' brand as such that could be substitued for the Fortekor. That would definitely help it was possible. As mentioned we have only seen this vet a few times and now all this is happening! Although he appears like he knows his stuff, in the back of my head I sometimes question some things - probably because I just don't feel like I know him 'well'. We have been talking about taking her back to our original vets for a second opinion on her treatment etc but from what I've read he seems like he's doing the right thing. Just a confidence thing on our part I guess that we have to get through. Thanks again for reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grakemjo Posted January 19, 2007 Author Share Posted January 19, 2007 Sorry, just saw your post cowanbree. To be honest, we haven't really noticed a lot of difference since she has been taking them. When we originally took her to the vet because of the coughing, she had also been breathing a bit funny the night before, kind of like a wheezy breathe. When he took her temp it was a little high so she had some antibiotics along with these other 2 drugs he prescribed her. He said it was like asthma. The breathing became better which I put down to the Fortekor, but thinking back now, it was most likely because of the bug she had and the AB's fixed it. Her coughing is pretty much the same as when we first took her, probably a little worse/more frequent if anything. I thought the idea of the Fortekor was to slow down the progression of the heart failure - is that right or wrong?? If its wrong then yeah, maybe you're right and she probably doesn't need to be on them? God, its all so hard knowing what the right thing is to do. She does also at times get all wonky on her back legs if she becomes overexcited. Its almost like her heart rate must go up way too much and she loses her balance. This has happened twice and I have raced over and picked her till she's calm and then she's off again as right as rain. We now avoid all over excting situations LOL!! Anyway, it would be great if she doesn't need to be on them. Of course though, I can just see my vet saying that yes she really should take them and if that's the case I don't know if I could make that decision, against vets advice. I'd feel way too guilty if something then happened. Ahhh, what to do, what to do......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemappelle Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 I have a colleague whose dog has been on this medication for over 3 years. When he was first put on it he was expected to live 6 months at the most. 3 years later he is still with us so my colleague refers to it as a miracle drug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grakemjo Posted January 19, 2007 Author Share Posted January 19, 2007 Thanks jemappelle. Do you know how much they cost him - is $85 for a box of 30 in the ballpark roughly?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janba Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 Can you get a larger size tablet and break it up. Larger tablets usually work out cheaper per mg than smaller ones. I do this with my own heart medication on my doctors advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grakemjo Posted January 19, 2007 Author Share Posted January 19, 2007 Great idea Janba, however I just did some more googling and it says they make Fortekor 5 then the next up is Fortekor 20. That would be great if we could split a tablet in 4!! Sounds good in theory but somehow I think that would be a bit hard to get correct dosage if you were split it into 4 even pieces. I'll ask about it though!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemappelle Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 Thanks jemappelle.Do you know how much they cost him - is $85 for a box of 30 in the ballpark roughly?? I am pretty sure she said it cost her $3 a day for the medication so it sounds like you are getting a good deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rappie Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 Grakemjo - you're welcome to PM or email me if you like. Obviously I can't give you advice specific to your own dog, but would be happy to go through what each of the medications do and what to expect etc. I may not be able to reply tonight but should have time over the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grakemjo Posted January 19, 2007 Author Share Posted January 19, 2007 Thanks so much Rappie - that would be great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 Call around the different vets.Some most certainly charge more.We have just had a giant breed on 2 heart meds,2 months $300 so count yourself lucky. Genearlly the vets start them on a set regime & monitor the outcome,he will always be on meds its a case of which ones. Heart & breathing issue can go hand in hand,generally its the fluid build up . I found my heart dog was like an asthmatic,would wheeze,have bad days/good days & prone to chest infections. Her wonkyness is part of the heart issue & thats why shes put on meds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle wrangler Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 It's very tricky when you love your dog so much, however, that's an awful lot of money! Do they have 'generic' drugs in vet medicine? For humans, these are the same medication minus the brand name- usually the drug company patent has expired. Nothing wrong with generics. "Lasix" is the other medication mentioned earlier which helps remove fluid (fluid builds up when the heart doesn't pump well). Lasix has been used for a long time in humans with heart failure. I think it's more than reasonable to discuss the $$ issue with your vet and see how you can improve your cav's life without spending so much money on what might be the "ideal" treatment. Perhaps 2nd best can save alot of money while helping your cav significantly. Best wishes for your dear cav. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 Depends on her heart issue,mine was on fructose(SP) for fluid,fortekor for the heart issue,we also did another drug that was very expense but certainly worked.After a time his dosages where revised Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gretel Posted January 19, 2007 Share Posted January 19, 2007 HI, Sorry to hear about your Cav. My old girl was on Fortekor 20 and I split the tablet into 4. The vet sold it to me that way to save some money. If the coughing is not improving I think the meds need to be reviewed. Fortekor did not help my other girl much at all. She did much better on another medication - though it was more expensive again Did you say she was on a fluid tablet too? The vet may need to increase the dose of that. Good luck. It is impossible to say just how long you will have with her. One of mine lasted years and the other went very quickly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grakemjo Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 Hi Everyone, Just hoping I can pop back in here to get some more first hand experiences if possible. Our Cav has increased her coughing, this time with a really deep hacky type cough. Other than that she 'seems' ok. We took her back to our vets last night and xrays showed she had advanced heart failure now and lots of fluid on the lungs. She's never had the fluid previously. She was on Fortekor 5 and Aminyllin and he has now given her Vetmedin and Frudix (Lasix) tablets. He said to stop the Aminyllin now and if the cost was too great then we could stop the Fortekor in favour of the Vetmedin. Unfortunately as both these drugs are very very expensive we will have to stop the Fortekor. I've spoken with Rappie on here who has given me some wonderful advice etc but I was just wondering if anyone else here had had their dogs on Vetmedin and Lasix for heart failure (with no Fortekor) and if so, how they are going (or went) on it. She will be 10 in May but she is still a happy dog, and has definitely not lost her appetite at all. We could not stand by and watch her suffer so its nice to know that she is still happy and content....at the moment. We are taking her back tonight so they can listen and check the fluid in her lungs again. She was given a Frudemide injection last night which he said will cause her to want to wee a lot and she's certainly been doing that so hopefully its going. She has not had an accident inside for years but last night she wee'd inside twice, without even asking to go outside. That's not like her so I'm only guessing that maybe it just came on her all of a sudden and she was busting so had to go!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 I have no real experience with the heart failure side so i am sorry I can't offer anything there. I hope she is ok. With the tablets, you mentioned you couldn't break them into 4 sections. I have a dog with epilpesy and takes tablets twice a day for this. At various times we have had to alter his meds and have had to cut up tablets inot halves and quarters. I bought a pill cutter form the chemist for a few dollars and it works a treat. I have two now and one is better then the other but they are so cheap (about $4 from memory) you could afford to keep buying them until you found one suitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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