The vet suggested this as a way to administer some medication to Dumpling and so far it’s working well. She has an enlarged heart, which means it doesn’t pump strong enough and fluid builds on her lungs making her cough. It’s not painful, but it is uncomfortable.
However, the solution which is steroids, when used long term causes other problems and can cause damage to the liver and kidneys. So it becomes a juggling act, knowing what to treat.
We’ve been in this situation before where we’ve had to make informed decisions about the best thing to do.
This time though, the vet has suggested this ‘inhaler’ as a solution as the steroid goes straight into her lungs and is absorbed there and not through the rest of her body. It looks a bit handmade – which it is, the vet made the chamber thing out of a water bottle and surgical tape!
It’s easy to give her as with her snup little nose, it’s just a case of popping the thing over and giving it a puff! Her coughing is certainly a lot less and this seems like a great solution.
and talking of vets – we went into the vet with Charlie to talk about treatment to control her seizures. The tablets we have currently to use when she has one to stop a cluster are really very good. They stop further seizures and definitely help her come round quicker. But the vet says they will loose effectiveness and suggested a couple of alternatives. One is to keep her without ongoing medication and using the Kepra tablets to use after she’s had seizure and the other was to start medication now. We decided to not start it yet, as her seizures are still quite random and she may have another today – or not for another 6 months. If she has another seizure soon, we’ll start her on the medication. The vet was very good (this is a different vet as they specialize in different things) and while it’s pretty clear to us that Charlie’s problem is genetic, he confirmed that it is and that it’s probably not a symptom of something else.
What with Horace and his abscess (which is cleared now, but he will get his teeth looked at and any rotten ones removed), Charlie’s seizures and Dumpling – plus Pixie with her regular tests and Millie’s ongoing medication, we’ve become quite a fixture at the vet. No wonder we have VIP after our name!
