Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 41

Thread: My sweet beagle Maia passed away last week

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Posts
    27

    Default My sweet beagle Maia passed away last week

    Hello everyone..newbie here..about 5 years ago i noticed her hunger and thirst and then panting becoming prominent. I started researching online and found possible cushing's. So I made an appointment with vet and they did a ldds test on her and that came back inconclusive. I suggested UCCR test and that did come back abnormal. Put her on lignans and melatonin..did great.. Last May she developed a weird cough followed by gagging..talked it over with vet..said maybe copd but because she was acting ok activity wise etc So the coughing actually got a little less this past spring time..forgot to mention since last year she did have these weird breathing things..like her exhales was longer and more forced and prominent..during the night she did do these puffs of air with exhaling and she would change positions frequently..she was getting around worse and worse limping bad etc..so we went with adequan and it did help for a bit but then I felt the results weren't as good as I wanted. Nonetheless we kept her on it up until her death. A few weeks ago we put her in gabapentin for about two weeks..was 100mg twice a day..seemed ok..didn't really get lethargic from it but did get ataxia which is hind end weakness and she already had that. So we weaned her off per vet and discussed trying amantadine with meloxicam. ..I gave her her first dose last Sunday the 30th..she seemed ok..and by later on was actually getting around better..slight improvement. Next day the 31st gave her a second dose...was ok during the day..we have a camera set up in our family room and she was on the stairs landing..her favorite place..barking and howling..poor girl I think she had anxiety with us gone..but again seemed ok..by the time my mother got home at 3:15 ..she picked her head up as she was laying in other room our dining room and looked at her and looked at her going in the kitchen etc. All still seemed ok other than she was sleepy and a little blah feeling. My mother started making her burger for the week and she never reacted to it or got up like she would have or nothing..so she went and checked on her and she was out like a light snoring etc.. weird..then all of a sudden she heard a whimper and she had gotten up and moved into family room and pooped and peed then collapsed.. apparently had some drool coming out..poop was like cow slop..no blood..no vomit at all..I rushed home as I knew something was not right..when I got in she was just not with it.. looked at me and you could tell was uncomfortable..I picked her up..meanwhile she seemed like her limbs were rigid like and stiff..so now I'm thinking oh no..allergic reaction to meds..but then I say how..she had 2 doses..wouldn't it have been after first dose? And her dosage was low..she got 50mg of amantadine and a quarter of a tab of meloxicam which was a 7.5 mg one... Called her vet..they said stop the amantadine and it could be a reaction..although they were perplexed..they were closing soon and we're further away.
    So I called to her old vet who was open later etc but they couldn't get her in so we opted for ER clinic which was still about 50 minutes away..now keep in mind she seemed to be getting worse...now laying on side as I put her that way as she couldn't really keep herself upright..def labored breathing..not deep but more like shallow..and was basically going in a coma..she did recognize you were there if you went up to her and touched her face she flinched..but when I would rub her belly and or.neck area she would not react like she used to. So we took her to the clinic and they rushed her in saying she looked critical. On the way up she did lift her head several times and again she didn't seem to be struggling with breathing..wasn't panting..mouth not open gasping etc..we got the call that she was in respiratory distress and was in oxygen tent and they took imagining and her heart was larger than it should be..and based on age it wouldn't be wrong to say goodbye as they weren't confident she would come out of this or I could give 24 hours to see if the oxygen may stabilize her and they could run more tests and blood work etc..I said please do..and they were going to get an estimate how much it would be and call back. Well they called back very shortly and the ER doctor said she went into cardiac arrest and was gone. Just seemed to happen so quickly and I'm devastated. I did ask her about the meds maybe to blame and she said she didn't really think so and maybe slight chance of the amantadine triggering something but again doubtful. I got her xray and summary sent to my via email..it did say her heart walls looked really thick and not contracting well. Her regular vet said her heart didn't look that large to him and he has seen worse. And that it could have been a valve issue or her lungs.giving out which lead to cardiac arrest etc but it's speculation. Without an autopsy we don't know. But he too said he didn't think the meds played their part at all and he uses meloxicam all the time but didn't say much about the amantadine..which made me wonder .I did send her records to a chief of cardiology and he got back to me saying her heart was enlarged and it appears she may have been going through mitral valve disease but it's difficult based on one image..and with the ultrasound it suggests she may have had a PTE pulmonary thromboembolism as with cushing's they are prone to having clots etc and it appeared her right side of her heart wasn't pumping blood to the left side to lungs.he too said he doesn't think the meds did it..am I a wacko to keep wondering if maybe they did? I mean she had been sleeping a lot too and lethargic etc and would move around the house and collapse and lay there panting..so maybe it is more pulmonary like hypertension or heart related..the last couple months have been rough..with the limping..she didn't want to go outside much anymore so we had pee pads all over the one room so she could go on those.. and as all of you know..with cushing's they can become heat intolerant..and she def had that..she couldn't wait for bedtime and lay in front of the air conditioner..lol our summer here in upstate NY has been humid alot..so I was just hoping with the meds I was going to get her in a better place and with the cooler air coming we would walk more etc..ugh so torn over this. She did go on a walk two months ago and did great..would sit down from time to time but overall not that limpy and was good..but that was unfortunately her last one 😭☹️ although again I had high hopes of getting her back on track. She just kept losing muscle mass too..and the last couple months she was really losing her hair too in clumps but funny thing is she never had bald spots..maybe the melatonin helped with that. So I was curious what you guys thought and wondered if any of your dogs had an embolism or have or had pulmonary hypertension and also had the weird breathing like exhales that were prominent etc.. just trying to come to terms with this. I know I will never now a definitive answer as to what could have led up to her demise but maybe by talking to you guys I can learn about your experiences and what you are going or have gone through. God I miss her alot.. Thanks!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Posts
    27

    Default My sweet beagle Maia passed away last week

    I posted a longer one and can't find it.. hope it went through..I was curious if anyone's doggy had pulmonary hypertension or even died from or had pulmonary thromboembolism?? Mine died and imaging showed enlarged heart ..she had been battling some breathing issues..more so with her exhales..forced and prominent. I keep thinking the meds I recently put her on for her arthritis may have did something although I was told differently by a couple vets including a chief of cardiology. She took two doses in two days of amantadine and meloxicam and by that evening she was gone. Respiratory distress and then cardiac arrest. Hoping to get more insight with it all. Thanks

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    15,292

    Default Re: My sweet beagle Maia passed away last week

    Hello and welcome to our forum. However, I’m so very sorry for the loss of your sweet girl. I’ll come back at another time to write more, but wanted to quickly let you know that your membership has been fully approved now, and I’ve combined both of your posts in this one thread. The reason why you couldn’t see them earlier is because your membership was awaiting approval, and posts are not made visible to the public until that happens. But now you’re all set, and from this point onward, you can keep adding replies to this thread.

    Once again, I’m so sorry about Maia. I know the loss itself is so hard, but probably made even doubly painful when questions remain as to what happened. We’ll do our best to support you, and to share our thoughts. I wish I could write more now, myself, but as I say, I’ll have to postpone that until another time. But until then, I’m very glad that you’ve found us.

    Marianne

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Posts
    27

    Default Re: My sweet beagle Maia passed away last week

    Quote Originally Posted by labblab View Post
    Hello and welcome to our forum. However, I’m so very sorry for the loss of your sweet girl. I’ll come back at another time to write more, but wanted to quickly let you know that your membership has been fully approved now, and I’ve combined both of your posts in this one thread. The reason why you couldn’t see them earlier is because your membership was awaiting approval, and posts are not made visible to the public until that happens. But now you’re all set, and from this point onward, you can keep adding replies to this thread.

    Once again, I’m so sorry about Maia. I know the loss itself is so hard, but probably made even doubly painful when questions remain as to what happened. We’ll do our best to support you, and to share our thoughts. I wish I could write more now, myself, but as I say, I’ll have to postpone that until another time. But until then, I’m very glad that you’ve found us.

    Marianne
    Thanks so much for your reply... honestly when I first wrote this it was huge lol said it was too long to post..I said ughh and went through and deleted as much as I could as I pretty much have her whole life history from when we first adopted her. Lol but yes I miss her terribly and I am glad I found you guys as well. I'm very interested in learning about other experiences from others about their cush pups and if they ever had a terrible thing like this happen etc..ever had a pulmonary thromboembolism enlarged heart etc...was nice to hear back from that cardiologist from cornell university..he did put some things into perspective for me...I still can't get the meds out of my mind thinking maybe they did something to her ugh. I look forward to hearing from anyone that would like to chime in and I sure hope I can find peace from this soon. The wind is gone from my sails 😭

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Glen Cove, NY
    Posts
    1,941

    Default Re: My sweet beagle Maia passed away last week

    Hello and welcome from me, too. I'm so sorry for your loss. My Lena passed away in the Emergency Clinic four and a half years ago due to clots. She spent the first night in an oxygen tank, came home the next day, the same thing happened that night, back we went, and she went into distress after I had gone home. She had been having some funny breathing episodes for a week or so before, but the vet could find nothing wrong. She was doing a lot of sighing, which wasn't usual, but they kept telling me there was nothing wrong. Something was off, I knew it, but didn't know enough. I'm not sure if it would have changed the outcome anyway...I think of her every day and still miss her terribly.

    I don't think the meds had anything to do with it. We Cushing's parents live with guilt...did we do the right thing; should we have done more; did we do too much; why didn't we see the signs...I still feel guilty about Lee. I wasn't with her when they put her to sleep...she was the dog of my heart, my third child, and I wasn't with her when she died.

    I'm going through this Cushing's journey again with my big boy Gable. I watch him like a hawk for any signs of ANYTHING. He's younger than Lena was and is on a very low dose of Vetoryl. I dread the day I'm going to have to decide enough is enough...or he decides for me.
    Joan, mom to my Angel Lena, Angel Gable, Angel Phoenix, Angel Doree, Cooper, Sibble, and now Raina.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Posts
    27

    Default Re: My sweet beagle Maia passed away last week

    Quote Originally Posted by Joan2517 View Post
    Hello and welcome from me, too. I'm so sorry for your loss. My Lena passed away in the Emergency Clinic four and a half years ago due to clots. She spent the first night in an oxygen tank, came home the next day, the same thing happened that night, back we went, and she went into distress after I had gone home. She had been having some funny breathing episodes for a week or so before, but the vet could find nothing wrong. She was doing a lot of sighing, which wasn't usual, but they kept telling me there was nothing wrong. Something was off, I knew it, but didn't know enough. I'm not sure if it would have changed the outcome anyway...I think of her every day and still miss her terribly.

    I don't think the meds had anything to do with it. We Cushing's parents live with guilt...did we do the right thing; should we have done more; did we do too much; why didn't we see the signs...I still feel guilty about Lee. I wasn't with her when they put her to sleep...she was the dog of my heart, my third child, and I wasn't with her when she died.

    I'm going through this Cushing's journey again with my big boy Gable. I watch him like a hawk for any signs of ANYTHING. He's younger than Lena was and is on a very low dose of Vetoryl. I dread the day I'm going to have to decide enough is enough...or he decides for me.

    Thanks so much for your message and I am sorry too about yours that went through it. It's gut wrenching for sure because as you said we try and do what is best for them and try and help them with everything we know. I was the king of researching online and trying to get more educated with this disease. Even though she was never fully diagnosed we knew she had to have had it giving all the symptoms she had. The natural lignans and melatonin did help her alot I believe. I kick myself for not having her retested again last year and maybe putting her on actual meds. I also kick myself for not having any tests done to see if maybe her heart was having issues or enlarged..and also checking out her lungs and the breathing issue. So much guilt from that alone and then to keep thinking maybe the meds out her in that state just overwhelmes me. I know several people have said the same thing that most likely it was not the meds and just bad timing of everything. I look back and realize how many times she was breathing heavier and when I did bring her outside by the time we came in and I shut the door she would collapse and just sit there as if she was so tired and trying to catch her breath I believe. So weird that we have camera footage of her last week the day she passed and how she seemed normal overall.. sitting on the stairs landing and howling and barking..she looked fine..she would do that because she was lonely and most likely had separation anxiety..she pooped that morning and it looked fine...was really hungry and ate her topper fine and the treats I gave her..in fact she wanted more food lol..didn't eat her kibble I don't recall but that was normal for her alot of the days..or she would go back and eat it before my wife came home for lunch..she may have ate it by then..I can't remember. But my wife went home like normal and she was under her endstand and took her supplements (krill oil milk thistle and C) just fine..and then in time came out to kitchen to look for lunch..wife put kibble in her bowl and she was like ummm really? No thanks lol and sat down next to it ..our other footage of her was when she came home around 3:15 you could see Maia laying on the floor in the left hand corner..and she did look up and was alert and watched her come in etc..by then she pooped on 3 pads..all looked ok except some diarrhea drops at the end..so I think that's when that started..maybe side effects of the drug? By the time 4:30 hit..she was going downhill quick..drooling spaced out..couldn't really get up..and just went into a coma like...so odd. And i mean who wouldn't think the meds may have caused it?? That was my first reaction and what I said when I called the ER etc..was possible reaction..they even put that down on her summary. She didn't even get up when my wife was making hamburger around 3:45 ish.. was out like a light and snoring etc..again she had been battling mobility issues for a bit too..but still moved around of course and if food was involved she def would get motivated lol but nope not that time. So sad..sad how quickly.she went..I mean within 3 hours of it starting she died. I also say if it was clots..wouldn't it have killed her quicker?? Maybe it depends on severity of it too. I think what really gets to me is when the ER Dr said the amantadine MAY have possibly pushed her into that but was still doubtful..so the red flags go up with that..anyone else ever used amantadine and or meloxicam with their cush pup? Thanks to all..so hard and I know in time will get better.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Posts
    27

    Default Re: My sweet beagle Maia passed away last week

    Was curious why the envelope on left is grey with green arrow? I noticed all the others are orange normal..anyhow..I was reading about Rusty the beagle..was interesting how my dog too had some crusty stuff on top of her.nose for a little while..actually it started last July towards the end of it..my wife noticed she had congestion in left nostril..went to vets and he prescribed her cephalexin and it kind of cleared up but came back so we did some more and it went away..not completely but slowly it did after we stopped the antibiotics..then what was weird was I think it was last fall or so she ended up having some had reverse sneezing fits one night and as I was rubbing her throat to help her through it I felt a lump by left jaw..got nervous took her to vet thinking oh no lymphoma..but none of her other nodes were enlarged..so we talked it over and did the wait and see approach..see if it gets larger etc...never did...in fact it was still there up until she passed away..but I do know she also had pyoderma on her left side too under lip..like she would drool and it would collect nasty stuff and then bacteria would grow and it would be crusty and then have green looking slime..sorry for being graphic..and she was a bear to go near it and try and clean it..would do my best though..so it would come and go..I wonder if she had a tooth issue in back? Vet looked at her teeth and she had moderate tartar..but given her age we weren't going to have them cleaned..but she did have bad breath for a little while too...I called her stink head lol I'm sure the stink breath was also from the pyoderma that came and went..also interesting how rocky had a perianal adenoma..she did too..that developed this past fall too..I noticed when she was pooping I saw a lump..looked and was like what is that? So then I thought oh no anal cancer..vet looked her over and felt her anal sac and said it wasn't attached to that and again wait and see approach but appeared to look and feel benign...so def interesting to read about some others and the similarities..was a tough day today for me..went through the emotions alot again and kept thinking I should have never given her the meloxicam or amantadine.. thinking maybe I pushed her into what happened..I was only trying to help like all us pet parents..then again I say how can two doses kill her though..she wasn't overdosed...then I get carried away on google and it says how those meds can cause or exacerbate heart failure etc...and I get all worried ugh. Sorry everyone it appears I'm rehashing..just the guilt I feel at the moment..and also thinking I should.have had her tested more to see how her heart and lungs were..it's amazing how fast this all happened..and even she deteriorated pretty quickly too it seemed as I'm looking back. It's utter sadness as I eat dinner and I was always used to her being next to me begging for food barking her little.head off..lol and I would cave and give her something. Sheer silence now..sad..I also wonder if maybe she had some sort of siezure too just the way she was acting that night..but the oddity of it all was the drooling that never led to any vomiting..and she didn't even pant..just kind of slipped into a weird coma and shallow breathing. Thanks for the support I do appreciate it

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Georgia
    Posts
    15,292

    Default Re: My sweet beagle Maia passed away last week

    Was curious why the envelope on left is grey with green arrow? I noticed all the others are orange normal
    I finally made it back again — so sorry for the delay! First off, you can see what those different envelope symbols mean if you look at the bottom left-hand side of the index page. You’ll see a box labeled “Icon Legend.” The envelope that you’re seeing associated with your thread means there are currently no posts that you haven’t read, and that you’ve replied on this thread yourself. I believe that after a thread has had a certain number of replies posted, it’s labeled as a “hot thread” and the envelope turns orange. So if we keep talking here, your envelope will likely turn orange, too ;-).

    But turning back to Maia, I’m so grateful that Joan has shared her thoughts with you. I’ve now read back through Maia’s whole history, myself. We do know that Cushpups are vulnerable to blood clots, and some of what you’ve described certainly could be consistent with that. In the alternative, while it’s possible that the medications may have played some role, even something totally unrelated to her known illnesses could have been the culprit. I’ve now had two different friends who lost their dogs within a matter of hours due to previously unknown tumors in their spleens. They were both fine at breakfast, but by noon were in crisis due to ruptured spleens. So the truth may have been that it was just Maia’s time to go, too, and nothing that anybody could have done would have changed that. I do think that when we’ve been personally involved in making decisions that we fear may have been related to the death, the regret can feel like such an added heavy burden. But for instance, even if we assume the medication did somehow play a part, you had no way to predict that in advance. You were trying your best to help her because you loved her so much. No decision made out of love can really be wrong, even if the outcome doesn’t play out in the way that we had hoped and prayed.

    I am writing these words to you after spending years beating myself up over the death of my own Cushpup. I won’t bother with all the details here, but I do fear that some of the decisions I made turned out not to be for the better. That has been a very, very hard pill to swallow. But I’ve finally come to accept that all we can do is make the decisions we think are best at the moment, based on what we know at the time. Especially if we’ve made the decisions thinking that it would ease our pups’ pain, I do believe we’ve done all that is within our power to do. But if things do not go well, I know the guilt and the grief can feel overwhelming. For a very long time.

    Both of the beloved dogs that my husband and I have lost so far, we ended up making the decision to euthanize. We have one aged girl left, and I’ve found myself thinking, “Please let her go on her own when her time comes. Please spare me that decision again.” But upon reading your words, I realize that peace does not necessarily flow from either type of ending. It’s their absence afterwards that breaks our hearts, no matter how they leave us. I know I can’t make that part any better for you. But please know that we understand how much Maia’s life mattered. I’m afraid we have no answer for exactly what went wrong that day. But if it would please you to share some stories about your lives together during all the good days, we would love to hear about them. Also, if you will tell us the date of her passing, it will be our privilege to add Maia to our special memorial thread of honor:

    https://www.k9cushings.com/forum/sho...Left-Us-(2020)

    Do try to take good care of yourself, and continue to write to us at any time you wish.
    Marianne

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Posts
    27

    Default Re: My sweet beagle Maia passed away last week

    Thank you very much for the kind words...to say it eats me up thinking I may have caused it is an understatement for sure..and I am driving myself nuts looking for answers that tell me that may be..it's like I can't get it out of my head. ☹️�� I did come across something that said when using CBD oil it may interact with other meds and meloxicam and other NSAID are def on the list. It just said that their bodies can metabolize it differently and perhaps slower than normal..didn't say death was a def..again I know she had other health issues like the cough and enlarged heart that showed up on the image etc so like you said it may have just been her time to go and the only saving grace to it all is that she did go without me making that decision for her. Doesn't change how much I miss her and want her back of course but that does make it a tiny bit easier..as I would be second guessing myself left and right. My first beagle Abby had to be put down at 10..she had epilepsy and one night had cluster siezures and she ended up blind and wouldn't eat etc..took her home for a couple days and then had to let her go..was the toughest thing ever..and I prayed that Maia would go on her own..and she did but again I feel like I helped that happen..and of course we always wish we had more time with our furkids..sadly that isn't always so. I know her age was good..almost 15 is great just wish it was more..then again I wouldn't want to see her suffer anymore either if she would have. My wife says it played out as it was suppose to and it's in God's hands.weird thing..we have a few pet squirrels and we lost one last weekend.. weird fluke..came home and was breathing funny and didn't wanna eat etc..made it through the night.. seemed kind of ok around 5 am and by the time 9 am or so came he just flew out of his blankets and stopped breathing. So heart breaking..it's like really? We just lost Maia and not Sampson �� anyhow my emotions have certainly been a rollercoaster lately..I have been ok and then I think about it and get on the meds or myself causing it and I get all down again..I just need to try and think of nothing but happy thoughts and the good memories. I have to tell you..she could really be a jerk sometimes. Def stubborn lol she has bit my wife a few times..my mother a few times..even me..when I tried cleaning her lip..grrr lol mostly it was if we were trying to help her and she wanted us to leave her alone. Lol I will try and post a picture of her..was taken end of July. See if I can make it my default pic. It's my wallpaper on my phone right now. Do you know of other cush pups though that took meloxicam? Jc .it's hard trying to find really bad reviews on it..I see alot of good ones..hence the reason I said I would try it. Ugh kills me. Thanks again!! Will try and think of some stories to share too. Hoping others may chime in with their opinions and or experience with stuff like that.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2020
    Posts
    27

    Default Re: My sweet beagle Maia passed away last week

    Sorry..her death is date was 8/31/2020..

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •