Cooper has had to receive an extra 5mg of lasix three different times this week. His breathing rate is a rollercoaster ride during the day. He will seem normal one moment and breathing at a high but steady rate of around 40-48 breaths a minute. Then he will wake up, or walk around, or get nervous about a noise that is outside and his rate will skyrocket to about 80 breaths a minute. When sleeping, his breathing rate has fallen to a comfortable 24-30. But a few times this week, mostly late in the afternoon or late in the evening, sometimes first thing in the morning, his breathing rate will present at 80 breaths a minute and remain. He seems to work hard to push air in and out of his body. If it's near lasix dosing time when his breathing rate climbs, we give the dose and wait to see what becomes of his breathing. Usually, it falls after about an hour, sometimes less. If the rate seems to increase in between doses, and has not decreased after 20 minutes while he rests, that is when we have given the extra lasix.
Last night, I made a video of Cooper breathing and sent it to the cardiologist. She asked for xrays. We took him to the regular vet today; they took xrays of his chest which showed only mild congestion. The xrays were emailed to the cardiologist who said to increase his lasix to get rid of the congestion. I requested that he receive lasix QID (four times a day) and not TID (three) and she agreed. So, we will do lasix QID at the 12.5 dose and see how he responds. We will decrease it over time to 10mg QID once his breathing rate slows to a normal 24-30 rate per minute.
We don't know why he keeps getting congested. He sees the cardiologist in May.
The really good news is that he has gained 5 oz in a week and apparently very little of that is due to congestion. He weighs 11.8, up from 11.3. He's eating little at a time but more often and we continue to give liquid food by mouth three times a day of 3-6ml of tuna juice, cat sip, or chicken broth.
Last night, I made a video of Cooper breathing and sent it to the cardiologist. She asked for xrays. We took him to the regular vet today; they took xrays of his chest which showed only mild congestion. The xrays were emailed to the cardiologist who said to increase his lasix to get rid of the congestion. I requested that he receive lasix QID (four times a day) and not TID (three) and she agreed. So, we will do lasix QID at the 12.5 dose and see how he responds. We will decrease it over time to 10mg QID once his breathing rate slows to a normal 24-30 rate per minute.
We don't know why he keeps getting congested. He sees the cardiologist in May.
The really good news is that he has gained 5 oz in a week and apparently very little of that is due to congestion. He weighs 11.8, up from 11.3. He's eating little at a time but more often and we continue to give liquid food by mouth three times a day of 3-6ml of tuna juice, cat sip, or chicken broth.
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| Cooper, breathing hard but being goofy |
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