topic Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION in Community Chat

PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

elated — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 00:24:16 GMT

When I was walking my dog on 2/13. He stood in the street and started shaking. I finally got him over to the grass where he laid down. I waited and waited hoping he would get back up but he never did. I had to go get a neighbor on the street to take us home. I rushed him to my vet and she said he had fluid around his heart and it was being compressed. She drained the fluid and then told me to take him to a specialty hospital which I did. They did a scan found that he has a small tumor on his heart. He stayed overnight and I picked him up this morning. He is not his normal self. They gave me some medication to help when the bleeding into the heart sac reoccurs. I called my son, who lives in Colorado, and told him about my dog, I was crying and he was so callus. He was laughing in the background regarding his dog. We have not been on good terms for quit sometime. He is a changed person since he has moved. I thought he might call me today but he has not. I am ready to cut off any communication with him. I thought he might help me out financially, since he is doing well but not even a mention of help. I am so depressed. My dog is nine years old. I brought him home and made hamburger for him so he would eat before I gave him the medication. He is not like he was before he had the attack. I will take him back next week for a check up. I also made an appointment with oncology.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

NickNack — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 00:35:28 GMT

I am so sorry about your dog. It's so hard when our pets get sick. I've lost three dogs to cancer. They all had heart problems but eventually died of cancer. I'm really sorry your son treated you so poorly yesterday. That's inexcusable, but maybe he didn't realize how serious it was or how upset you were. I hope your dog does well on his meds.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

Sammycat1 — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 00:45:14 GMT

I'm so sorry to hear about your beloved dog and your son's indifference. We had a cat with heart failure who developed pericardial effusion and pleural effusion.

Here is a link to a list of places state-by-state that offer grants and financial assistance to pet owners in crisis like yours. I hope it might help:

http://bestfriends.org/Resources/Financial-Assistance-For-Pet-Guardians

In the meantime, please know that you and your pup are in our family's prayers -- please keep us posted on your dog's progress. What is his name?

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

ccassaday — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 01:03:04 GMT

Has a heart tumor or other tumors been ruled out. This is what happens when they have a bleed from them. This is how we lost jake. He made it three weeks past his drainage.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

ccassaday — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 01:08:35 GMT

So sorry about your son. Your dog needs to have it drained. Sorry i see i missed the part about it is a heart tumor. If you have it drained you might get some extra weeks with her. She should return to herself but unfortunatly it will bleed again. Having been through this with jake and it is heartbreaking. So sorry about your son.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

ccassaday — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 01:18:24 GMT

Omg i didnt read your post very well. I see you had it grained. What kind of dog do you have.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

lucylover64 — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 06:00:26 GMT

Oh, elated.....my heart aches for you and your dog, as well as your son's indifference. I am so sorry that you are going through these difficult situations. It does sound like you are doing your best at this point to seek appropriate medical services, and Sammycat1's resource for possible financial assistance could be invaluable. My guess with your son is that your relationship issues are even more obvious since you are struggling with very real grief and loss, but that certainly does not help your hurt and other feelings.

Please try to take care of yourself while you are finding help for your dog. There are a lot of caring people on these boards who can offer support to you: thinking of you and wishing many blessings come your way. Keep us updated as you feel able.....

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

elated — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 22:22:53 GMT

On 2/14/2015 ccassaday said: Has a heart tumor or other tumors been ruled out. This is what happens when they have a bleed from them. This is how we lost jake. He made it three weeks past his drainage.

I was given Yunnan Baiyao Jiaonang to help stop the bleed.I give him four tablets twice a day. Can you tell me if you were given thse tablets? How did you know when it was his time? My dog is a pibull and his name is Buddy. They said he has a small heart tumor. I am very stressed.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

ccassaday — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 22:38:55 GMT

We were given pills for his stomach to keep food down. We did not get any to stop the bleed.nhe also had two tumors in his liver. After the drain he was normal for two weeks. On the third week he had a tiny bleed that he must of absorbed because he pulled through it after my parents stayed up with him. He then went back to normal but at the end of this week he had another attack that was bad. He couldn't breath. My dad came home and they took him to the vet just to make sure it was time. It was. He actually fell backwards while trying to stand up that morning. Hopefully an oncologist can explain things to you. They could only guarantee six months with surgery and chemo and it would be eleven thousand dollars. My thoughts to you is just give him the best time he has left. Spoil him and give him what he wants to eat as long as it doesn't upset his stomach. With jake there really wasn't a downhill spiral. He was begging for food up till the time of his last collapse.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

elated — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 23:51:52 GMT

My dog is hardly eating. This morning I feed him by hand his dog food and he ate some but on the whole he has eaten very lttle. How old was your dog and what breed? Thank you for your kind response. We are going to see the oncologist tomorrow morning.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

ccassaday — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 23:54:00 GMT

Jake was nine and a golden retreiver.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

elated — Tue, 17 Feb 2015 23:56:22 GMT

I talked with the Oncologist today and she said if Buddy was eating, we could try chemotherapy. They give you pills to give him that cost about $200.00 per month. She gave me more medication to stop the bleeding but today, she found no bleeding or tumors after the scan. I am conflicted as to what to do. He is full of energy and they gave me food called Just for Dogs---he ate everything.She also gave me pills to increase his appetite. They are located close to my house. I will drive down and buy him more food. He has already lost 3 pounds. I always wonder about these specialty hospitals. They are so expensive. I have spent over $1,500.00 in two visits. I have another appointment for Buddy on Saturday with the cardiologist. As long as he is eating and not bleeding. I am hoping he will last longer than a couple of months. I am sorry to hear about your dog. I know how hard it is.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

ccassaday — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 01:51:30 GMT

No reason to be conflicted. You can try chemo but if you read up on it it the chances with a heart tumor arent good. You can also just make his life great with the time you have left. It isnt unusual to not see tumors with a ultra sound or xray. A cat scan needs to be done to know the exactly where they are. We chose not to do a cat scan on jake because it really would not of been able to extend his life.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

ccassaday — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 01:54:42 GMT

We spent like three thousand on jake but it was worth the three weeks we had with him.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

lucylover64 — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 02:55:33 GMT

Elated--Thinking of you and Buddy and hope that you are both able to spend some quality time together.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

elated — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 00:58:59 GMT

I have become very depressed and am crying at the drop of the hat. Every time I look at him I think why did this have to happen. I am alone and have no one who cares. Sad situation. I am not hungry and slept on my couch until 4:30 AM--got up and went to bed. Got up at 6:30 am took Buddy for a walk. I have nine pills that I have to give him. It is a struggle to get them down his throat. I went to Just Food for Dogs and bought him more food. The lady gave me samples of some other food to try. The place was busy in Newport Beach. I live near a very affluent community.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

NickNack — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 01:40:57 GMT

On 2/18/2015 elated said:
I have become very depressed and am crying at the drop of the hat. Every time I look at him I think why did this have to happen. I am alone and have no one who cares. Sad situation. I am not hungry and slept on my couch until 4:30 AM--got up and went to bed. Got up at 6:30 am took Buddy for a walk. I have nine pills that I have to give him. It is a struggle to get them down his throat. I went to Just Food for Dogs and bought him more food. The lady gave me samples of some other food to try. The place was busy in Newport Beach. I live near a very affluent community.

I'm really sorry for what you're going through. Buy some honey butter, and put the pills in it. I do that twice a day with five pills for my dog. Then I just put them on a saucer. When it's time for his pills, my dog comes to get me. He loves the honey butter. I buy Land O'Lakes honey butter in a tub. Be careful with trying too many different foods. He could end up with diarrhea.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

ccassaday — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 02:07:10 GMT

On 2/18/2015 elated said:
I have become very depressed and am crying at the drop of the hat. Every time I look at him I think why did this have to happen. I am alone and have no one who cares. Sad situation. I am not hungry and slept on my couch until 4:30 AM--got up and went to bed. Got up at 6:30 am took Buddy for a walk. I have nine pills that I have to give him. It is a struggle to get them down his throat. I went to Just Food for Dogs and bought him more food. The lady gave me samples of some other food to try. The place was busy in Newport Beach. I live near a very affluent community.

I am so sorry. Having just gone through this a month ago i know what you are going through. Just love him and make his he has left special. Maybe after everything is over you will heal and open your to a new furbury. It has really helped us to have a new furbaby. But everyone is different.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

elated — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 03:50:13 GMT

On 2/18/2015 NickNack said:
On 2/18/2015 elated said:
I have become very depressed and am crying at the drop of the hat. Every time I look at him I think why did this have to happen. I am alone and have no one who cares. Sad situation. I am not hungry and slept on my couch until 4:30 AM--got up and went to bed. Got up at 6:30 am took Buddy for a walk. I have nine pills that I have to give him. It is a struggle to get them down his throat. I went to Just Food for Dogs and bought him more food. The lady gave me samples of some other food to try. The place was busy in Newport Beach. I live near a very affluent community.

I'm really sorry for what you're going through. Buy some honey butter, and put the pills in it. I do that twice a day with five pills for my dog. Then I just put them on a saucer. When it's time for his pills, my dog comes to get me. He loves the honey butter. I buy Land O'Lakes honey butter in a tub. Be careful with trying too many different foods. He could end up with diarrhea.

Just For Food for Dogs is a food that humans could consume. It has not given him diarrhea. He loves it. I wish I had known about this food many years ago, I would not have bought any of that store bought dog food. I think we need to be educated what is in the dog food we buy. The person that developed this food is a Veterinarian who is a Professor in Clinical Nutrition. He has a golden retriever that is named Rey who has been on JFDfor years. He is 17 years old. He is a beautiful dog. They make all recipes exclusively with ingredients certified by the USDA for human consumption---the exact same whole food we humans eat. Check out their website. It is not inexpensive but compared to vet bills---it is relativity inexpensive.Please remember, dry kibble and canned food no matter how premium the price likely contains powerful preservatives, fillers and ingredients that are not certified by the USDA. I sure have learned my lesson about dog food. Thank you for all your kind words.

Re: PERICARDIAL EFFUSION

elated — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 03:53:30 GMT

On 2/18/2015 ccassaday said:
On 2/18/2015 elated said:
I have become very depressed and am crying at the drop of the hat. Every time I look at him I think why did this have to happen. I am alone and have no one who cares. Sad situation. I am not hungry and slept on my couch until 4:30 AM--got up and went to bed. Got up at 6:30 am took Buddy for a walk. I have nine pills that I have to give him. It is a struggle to get them down his throat. I went to Just Food for Dogs and bought him more food. The lady gave me samples of some other food to try. The place was busy in Newport Beach. I live near a very affluent community.

I am so sorry. Having just gone through this a month ago i know what you are going through. Just love him and make his he has left special. Maybe after everything is over you will heal and open your to a new furbury. It has really helped us to have a new furbaby. But everyone is different.

What breed of dog did you get? Bless your heart for taking care of God's children.