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Collapsing Trachea - Very Bad

yellowgirl
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yellowgirl

yellowgirl

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Hi,

Just wanting to let you know that I am currently going through this with two of my 13 year old rescue pekingese right at this very moment. I may get flamed here but I want to say that please don't give up yet!!! Mine are proof that it can be managed (sadly not cured).

I had my oldest boy down at SASH for 5 days at xmas with a collapsed trachea & secondary pneumonia. Every test was run & I just want to say that I would not put him through anything that would make him suffer or cause him major distress. The pneumonia was managed due to antibiotics etc & they prescribed prednisone & a drug called Theophylline. They recommended Linctus cough suppressant when needed & told me to get a nebuliser & nebulise him once or twice a day for 10-15 mins with saline in the nebuliser. HE IS STILL WITH ME 6 MONTHS LATER & STABLE!!!

When he gets a bit stressed he does tend to pant a bit but we have managed this by keeping him out of stressful situations (like heat, meeting other dogs on outings etc). He rarely coughs now also. It is necessary to be very disciplined with the medications - ensuring none are missed & they are given at 12 hourly intervals.

My other 13yr old girl pekingese has been diagnosed with tracheal collapse also & is now on all the same regime. She is by far the worst with coughing, however I have found it is mainly when excited as well as worsens when she "panics"(for want of a better word). As soon as I pick her up & hold her upright, as well as massage just under her chin, she calms completely & the coughing ceases.

Please, please talk to your vet tomorrow about these medications & at least give them a go before making any final decisions. I saw a difference in days.

I will do what is right by my babies when the time comes, but I am grateful I didn't make a decision without trying the medications.

Please don't hesitate to message me if you need to talk.

Edited to add: I should have also said that the last 6 months have not been with dogs who really shouldn't be here but is just being kept going with medications! They are now back to the stage where we go on gentle (if not very slow) walks, they play, are eating very well & loving the extra cuddles & attention of course! They are back to basically just being normal old dogs!

That's a really great outcome esky, thank you for sharing. Thank you also for understanding that even though it's been so hard seeing Raffi like this, I'm not making any snap decisions and I need to talk to my own vet tomorrow to discuss any and all options he may have. I've had a few messages from others with recommendations and things to run past my vet and I thank you for yours too. The nebuliser and prednisone have also been mentioned by others who have dealt with this condition. The suggestions may or may not be right for Raffi but he deserves every chance to at least find out if there's anything we can do to help him.

I'm thinking of patenting this pressure point and massage technique! I wish I'd tried it last night, we all would have had a lot more sleep. Raffi has woken a few times now and started to cough but I've been able to soothe him reasonably quickly, the duration and intensity is definitely less with the massaging than it was earlier in the evening. I'll bunker down on the sofa tonight, Raffi is right next to me in his bed so I can attend to him quickly if needed. He prefers to sleep in the lounge room rather than in my room, so I'll make the move to the lounge room so I'm close by.

Thank you again for sharing your experiences, well done to you for everything you've done for your dear little dogs.

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Guest donatella

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I'm not sure if dogs react like people but do you have a humidifier you can put in the room as well to keep the air moist?

Thanks for the suggestion donatella. I'm not sure about a humidifier as moisture may make it harder for him to breath (I don't actually know though). The air purifier thingy I have here removes particles from the air as well as purifying. The main thing is to remove any minute debris that Raffi may breath in which will irritate the windpipe.

:cry: Poor little fellow that is so sad to watch :hug: to you for doing all you can for him.

+ 1 with the humidifier.

Very hard to watch Kadbury, my heart is in pieces :cry:

Really sorry you're going through this with Raffi. If he were my dog, I'd be very seriously considering having him pts.

I know I'll have a very tough time at the vet consult tomorrow Sir WJ. Quality of life is the bottom line for my rescue dogs. I have several here who have medical issues but none are in pain or lack a good quality of life. We do medications, supplements, chiropractic assistance, whatever is needed to make sure they are happy and comfortable. I'm very aware that this is a different scenario :( I mainly wanted some advice about keeping him as comfortable as possible until I can get more advice from my vet.

I'm only going by what I know with humans (I work in an ear, nose and throat ward and with tracheostomies) and we humidify their airways as it loosens the secretions and helps with breathing (nothing like dry, crusty, razor blades in throat type environment).

Not sure with dogs, hope the little guy makes it through the night to his vet appointment at least and thank you so much for taking him in :thanks:

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yellowgirl

yellowgirl

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I'm not sure if dogs react like people but do you have a humidifier you can put in the room as well to keep the air moist?

Thanks for the suggestion donatella. I'm not sure about a humidifier as moisture may make it harder for him to breath (I don't actually know though). The air purifier thingy I have here removes particles from the air as well as purifying. The main thing is to remove any minute debris that Raffi may breath in which will irritate the windpipe.

:cry: Poor little fellow that is so sad to watch :hug: to you for doing all you can for him.

+ 1 with the humidifier.

Very hard to watch Kadbury, my heart is in pieces :cry:

Really sorry you're going through this with Raffi. If he were my dog, I'd be very seriously considering having him pts.

I know I'll have a very tough time at the vet consult tomorrow Sir WJ. Quality of life is the bottom line for my rescue dogs. I have several here who have medical issues but none are in pain or lack a good quality of life. We do medications, supplements, chiropractic assistance, whatever is needed to make sure they are happy and comfortable. I'm very aware that this is a different scenario :( I mainly wanted some advice about keeping him as comfortable as possible until I can get more advice from my vet.

I'm only going by what I know with humans (I work in an ear, nose and throat ward and with tracheostomies) and we humidify their airways as it loosens the secretions and helps with breathing (nothing like dry, crusty, razor blades in throat type environment).

Not sure with dogs, hope the little guy makes it through the night to his vet appointment at least and thank you so much for taking him in :thanks:

Well, that makes sense, thank you Donatella. Will certainly run that past my vet tomorrow.

Raffi is sleeping really well, I'll post a video in a sec of him having the massage

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yellowgirl

yellowgirl

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Something keeps going awry with my videos but hopefully you can see this and get the idea of what's happening. Raffi is in his bed, he starts to cough and I do a pressure point massage. You can hear/see how quickly he settles.

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persephone

persephone

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I'm thinking of patenting this pressure point and massage technique! I wish I'd tried it last night, we all would have had a lot more sleep. Raffi has woken a few times now and started to cough but I've been able to soothe him reasonably quickly, the duration and intensity is definitely less with the massaging than it was earlier in the evening. I'll bunker down on the sofa tonight, Raffi is right next to me in his bed so I can attend to him quickly if needed.

I am glad it helped ..and yes, you should maybe patent it to provide help for other very caring and responsible owners :) :hug:

Thinking of you today . Take care .

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yellowgirl

yellowgirl

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I'm thinking of patenting this pressure point and massage technique! I wish I'd tried it last night, we all would have had a lot more sleep. Raffi has woken a few times now and started to cough but I've been able to soothe him reasonably quickly, the duration and intensity is definitely less with the massaging than it was earlier in the evening. I'll bunker down on the sofa tonight, Raffi is right next to me in his bed so I can attend to him quickly if needed.

I am glad it helped ..and yes, you should maybe patent it to provide help for other very caring and responsible owners :) :hug:

Thinking of you today . Take care .

Thanks Pers. Sometimes he would start to cough again when I stopped so I kept going until he was properly asleep. It was a very long night but he hasn't coughed too much this morning. We will be at the vet in an hour and I will update when we get back.

Prayers and fingers crossed please everyone xx

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Guest lavendergirl

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I have nothing helpful to suggest but just want to send :hug: your way and prayers for little Raffi. Thank you for looking after him. You don't need others to advise you on what is right to do - only you can decide what is best for Raffi.

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yellowgirl

yellowgirl

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I have nothing helpful to suggest but just want to send :hug: your way and prayers for little Raffi. Thank you for looking after him. You don't need others to advise you on what is right to do - only you can decide what is best for Raffi.

Wish you and Raffi all the best for your visit to the vets, hope they can suggest some medications to make him more comfortable and give him a good quality of life

Thank you lavendar girl and Holly's mummy for your good wishes for Raffi. We've just got back from the vet and I'll be updating in a sec. So as not to keep you in suspense for too much longer ... the news is GOOD!!! :thumbsup:

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yellowgirl

yellowgirl

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Thank god I waited to see my own vet!! The emergency vet had forwarded the details of Raffi's visit and after looking at Raffi and reading the report, she immediately said he had been misdiagnosed. She agreed that there was a collapsing trachea issue BUT she's convinced the main symptoms are from a secondary bronchial infection! Raffi has been given an fast acting cortisone injection and we've come home with antibiotics and the PROPER cough medicine. If you'll excuse me for a sec, I have to run off and dance around the house with the dogs again :D

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Kadbury

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:thumbsup: Wow I was dreadomg reading your last post but now I will join you in a happy dance :cheer:

I do hope he continues to improve, I was amazed at the difference in your vid with the pressure point massage.

Wishing you continued luck with Raffi.

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