Squirt - my Queen has crossed The Bridge

Dang Leslie, I peed in my pants went you went off that road with that swervy car action:rolleyes::rolleyes:;);)

I have bad sinus issues and they are always terrible at night. I take guafinisen before bed and sometimes that does not help and when the furnace runs frequently when it is cold out, I am all plugged up at night. We used to keep the vent in the bedroom closed in the winter which helped me but hubby thinks Zoe will be too cold so we have it open now and it does bother me but hey, anything for the Zoemesiter.;);):D:D

Could it be something like that for Squirt?

Dust mites. Our mattresses and pillows are full of them which is why people get stuffed up more at night and it could be why Squirt is having problems when she is in bed with you. I have always been extra fastidious with my beds and bedding for this reason. Try cleaning your bed and pillow of mites and see if that helps either one of you...or hopefully both.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5037812_clean-bed-mites.html

I had two dogs in my life who were allergy tested and both were allergic to dust mites. That sucks if you have carpeting and I never bought beds for them. I bought blankets so I could wash them frequently.

Good thought, Addy! I close my heat vents and open the window at night because Squirt and I both get hot during the night. My body does everything backwards! :rolleyes: Maybe we are both reacting to something outside at night?

ooooo...good idea, Glynda! Someone else suggested the same thing. I do wash the bedding every week and bought an allergy mattress cover by mistake when I got the bed. I'm not real good at vacuuming because it is such a strain physically so I will just have to do better in that area. ;) But haven't heard about using vinegar and will use it to see if that helps. Thanks! Off to wash and spray! :D

Hey Leslie,

Allergies is one departmet I have massice amounts of experience with. Oscar (also 1/2 Cairn terrier) is an absolute itchy scratchy dog, who seems to be allergic to most things, including grass :eek:. As Glynda said, dust mites are a leading factor (behind food allergies that is), especially if you notice it at night particularly. Don't know if the vet talked to you about antihistamines, but that has been our long standing solution on and off for 12 years. Mind you, Ozzie's allergies are of the contact sort so affect his skin and paws especially, but haven't impacted his airways. It's worth investigating an antihistamine option though to have as a back up.

As fo the smoking :eek:! Have you thought about the e-cigarettes at all? I got my sister onto those cause I couldn't stand the smell (sorry but true) and I didn't want my 4yo niece exposed to it. They work really well. You still get the nicotine hit but without the other nasty's and 2nd hand smoke. All you breathe out is vapour, so something else for you to consider too :D:D Also, the set up cost initially is a little more than regular cigs, but long term works out heaps cheaper! Good luck with the quitting though!

It's good to at least narrow down the process and a lot less scary than the heart idea!

Maybe try not smoking in bedroom and see if there is a difference?

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Hi Leslie,
So glad to read about Squirt's appt and that the problem is not related to her heart or lungs. What a relief for you. I just want you to know that I haven't posted for the past couple of days, but I came along to the appt also, glad you have so much room in your vehicle!! :D How is Squirt doing?

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper

Mornin'!

Squirt had a very restful nite! :cool::):cool:

Everything washable got washed in hot water and vinegar yesterday and what wasn't washable got doused in vinegar via a spray bottle. Bedroom STUNK for a bit but I have always liked the sweet after-smell of vinegar (I use it to clean with all the time.) I am going to try to develop the habit of spraying things every morning with the vinegar, too.

That was the only thing I did differently. There were several other things I thought about that could be part of the problem but just like not making changes when starting cush treatment, it didn't make sense to change a lot of things all at once. It would be too hard to determine what the irritant(s) could be. So I started with the bedding and it sure seems to have helped - at least last nite she was much better. Not a single hack! :cool::):cool:

I stripped the bed then worked my butt off trying to get the mattress cover off but it was wrapped under the mattress really far. I lifted the mattress only to find it wasn't a cover I was trying to get off but part of the mattress itself! :confused: "Oh, yeah", the old brain finally said...the mattress cover I bought earlier was for the old bed we were using when we first moved and this bed doesn't have one on it after all so I will have to look into getting a cover for this bed. It also has two egg crate pads on it which I am sure aren't good for this type situation but I have to have them to get any sleep at all even tho this is the softest mattress I could afford. I can take them out and get them in the sun from time to time tho and that I will do as well as keep them sprayed with the vinegar.

Squirt was given an antihistamine called Chlorpheniramine Malete (same as Chlor-Trimeton) and she is to take 2mg 2x/day. I haven't started that, tho. If I can find and remove, or at least minimize, the irritant so that she is comfortable, that is the approach I prefer to use for now.

Naomi, I have the ecigs and used them last year trying to quit. I have used the patches and smoked wearing them - they had no effect whatsoever on me. I was a guinea pig for a year for the VA (that's the Veteran's Administration in the US) when they did the human trials for the nicotine gum - all it did was burn my mouth and make me puke. I have been hypnotized 3 times, the first time it worked like a charm for about 6 weeks then one day, I "came to" at work with a cig burning in the ashtray sitting on my calculator just like usual and had no memory of buying the pack nor smoking half of it until that moment. The other two sessions did not work at all. I went through a behavioral aversion treatment in which they tried to gross you out - making you smoke until you vomit; showing and making you hold diseased lungs, hearts, and other organs; watching video of an autopsy on a cancerous body; other than the smoke-til-you-vomit part, I found it interesting, which was not the goal. :p Part of the VA trial was to determine not only the physical addition but the behavioral addiction facet of smoking. I always tested higher on the behavioral addition that I did on the physical - meaning the actions involved in smoking are stronger in me than the physical addition to the chemicals. None of the above mentioned approaches addressed the behavioral facet and that is why I believe they failed - that and I wasn't ready. I wanted to be, but I really wasn't. ;) I want to quit today - not for me but for my babies. They are the motivation I need. The herbal smoke mix will hopefully allow me to feed the behavioral additions while cutting the physical addition out slowly and completely. To date, I have cut down from 1 1/2 - 2 packs a day to 3 packs a week of real cigs. :cool: I smoke less than a pack (20) of the herbal cigs a day so to my simple mind, this is progress!

Thanks again for all the info and support!
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Yes, well the whole ride was TERRIFYING, considering all you crazy Americans drive on the WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD :D:D:D:D My knuckles are still white :eek::eek::eek::eek:

So pleased to hear heart and lungs ok Leslie, allergies sounds a likely culprit or just something caught in her throat. Ohhh you certainly got your exercise for the day manhandling that mattress about! Thats funny... that cover was part of the bed :D:D

So pleased you had a better night!!

Trish xxxxxx

You have had a busy day! So glad this worked or seems to. A few nights of peace and maybe you'll know more. But this is a better solution than medicine I think.
Whoo hoo.
Smoking is hard to quit. My husband quite and just did it, mind over matter he said. He told himself that he had never smoked in whatever year it was and quit on new years eve. That must be about 6 or 7 years ago.
My brain isn't like that I guess. I told myself I didn't, but then I did, so .. guess what won. We don't smoke in the house though and I've cut way back. For one thing it's just too dang cold and not worth it in the winter to go outside that often. LOL <shiver>

Keep trying Leslie!
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

The coughing remains MUCH improved with very few and far between hacks! :cool::cool::cool: Still haven't had to use the antihistamine, either! ;)

Now there is a new development - last week she got what I thought was a tiny wound on her back. Well, whatever it is, it ain't a wound because it is spreading. It started very tiny, like a pimple opening and now is about the size of a nickle, raw, bloody and oozy. I can't remember if there is an adenoma in that spot that may have ruptured this badly or not. :rolleyes: She has them all over, tho, so that is certainly a possibility. Nothing I have done is helping so we are off to the vet, again, at 2 this afternoon. I'll let you know what we learn.

Hugs,
Leslie and the Queen