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Originally Posted by robbie  As placed in the Rainbow Bridge section (Broken Spirit heading), Jake is currently in intensive care after a bad 36 hrs and has been diagnosed with DCM and also has fluid in his lungs.
He is expected (should he continue recovery) to be out tomorrow and these are the drugs he will be on
Your thoughts will be most welcome, in particular any advice on exercise and quality of life after DCM diagnosis. Fortekor Vetmedin
and a product called MODURETIC with several links but not found a good one yet
Not sure of the doses as yet either.
I have removed this from the Rainbow Bridge section as I dont feel it is appropriate. |
Vetmedin was finally approved by the FDA within the last year, and it probably has done more to increase lifespan and improve quality of life for dogs in CHF than any other drug so far. It's not a miracle drug, it can't/won't cure them..but it can seem pretty close to a miracle when you see just how FAST a really sick dog can bounce back once you get them on this drug.
Prior to Vetmedin being an option, the average lifespan for a doberman with DCM after they went into heart failure was 90 days-some of them lived considerably less time (my first DCM experience involved a dog who lived exactly 7 days after diagnosis). With Vetmedin, that average lifespan after diagnosis has been expanded to something like 270 days.
Even the dogs who don't make it to the maximum amount of time with Vetmedin tend to have better quality of life, continue eating (always a struggle with DCM), etc.
But as I've said before, this disease strikes every dog differently. Some respond to treatment well and can be maintained for long periods of time on low dosages of their meds. Others never really get stabilized, and you wind up constantly tweaking their meds, having fluid crises, etc.
So sometimes a decision has to be made about how much you're going to put a dog through and whether you're being selfish making a dog go through a crisis time and time again. I'll give any dog a chance and try to get them stabilized-but I wouldn't keep pulling a dog back from the jaws of death time and again. My personal experience has been the first period of time after you get them stabilized is the longest period of quality time you're going to get, after that relapses become more frequent...so I wouldn't practice any heroics after that first relapse.
I think DCM dogs should be allowed to choose their own exercise level..I'd rather see one die doing something they loved than be kept in some kind of bubble.
I'm so sorry to hear about your boy, and wish him well. Treasure every day-you can pack a lot of memories into the time after you find out the clock is ticking...