? Lasix helpp..Fluid in Lungs

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They're not sure if from heart but xrays show fluid and struggling to breathe and they said need to treat. Anyone advise????
 
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Thank you so much for the quick response. They have her a shot of it and told me to give .4 ml at home until they hear from cardiologist Monday. They dont know what it could be from. I'm so scared and blindsided.
 
Can anyone pls help me understand possibilities what this could be... I'm going to go crazy til monday
 
One of the most common reasons a diuretic is prescribed is for a cardiac problem. It can be anything from an enlarged heart (cardiomegaly) to high blood pressure that's been high for a while, or heart failure (which despite the name is not a death sentence). There could also be a lung issue or kidney issue.
 
We just got back from the vet. Sorry for all the typos; I'm a mess.
So for a while now (I don't know, maybe a month or so) I've been hearing her wheeze sometimes when I have her lie on her side during shot time, and I've been hearing a crackling noise sometimes when she purrs. Last time she was at the vet I mentioned it and they listened to her and heard the wheeze but said it went away when she shifted, so it was due to her being overweight. They didn't seem concerned.
This morning I was hearing the crackling again while she was purring and decided to take her back. She's doing good otherwise...eating good, drinking good, usually ok BMs, glucose doing much better (just checked it now and it's 172 and I think that's pretty good for just coming back from the vet).
So I was surprised when they did the xrays and showed me how little breathing room she had. They said normally you see a lot of black space but she had very little black space left and so they needed to treat and gave her a Lasix shot. They gave me Lasix to give her orally .4 ml twice daily, and said they will send out her info to a cardiologist and get back to me Monday. They said she may have heart disease and need to be on Lasix the rest of her life, but they really don't know for sure. They said could be thyroid, a mass, whatever...I asked about FIP and they said they could run a FIP test if I wanted but her bloodwork (which included coronavirus test) looked good so they doubted it. But they really don't know for sure and to wait until we hear from the specialist. Seems like they're leaning more towards heart, though.
I'm so worried if it's anything really bad. I thought it sounded like she had fluid in her lungs because it reminded me of how I sounded and felt when I had fluid due to bad allergies. Today is my birthday too so not the best way to spend the day. If I'd have known she was struggling to breathe, I'd have taken her so much sooner. Goes to show with cats they are so good at hiding things and you really have to overreact to the slightest anything because you don't know what could be a legitimate problem or not.
I asked the vet if I should take her to the teaching hospital, which on weekends is pretty much only emergency now, but they're the only ones I really trust. However, she didn't see the need for it. If you guys think I should, I will though. I asked her results to get sent to them, too, because they have cardiologists.
Any advice or stories or anything would be greatly appreciated.
 
quick update. I'm going to take her to the teaching hospital now. I can't play around and don't trust these local vets.
 
We are at the hospital now. Not sure what to expect. Any tests or meds or things you guys think they may or should do? This is so unexpected so I'm trying to educate myself on fluid in the lungs as much as I can.
 
tiffmaxee said:
When this happened to Max it was congestive heart failure. Ask if that’s a possibility and if there’s a cardiologist an echo might be needed. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
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Thanks, the primary vet sent her stuff to a cardiologist but won't hear anything until monday unless theres a cardiologist here on the weekend who can help. I know the teaching hospital has them but not sure how many, if any, are on staff at the moment. I will ask for an echo. Congestive heart failure sounds scary... I don't know much about it but "heart" and "failure" together dont sound good.:(:(
 
Can I ask what you did for Max, like was he on Lasix, things like that? Not sure how terrible of news this fluid in the lungs business could be.
 
:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
Neko also had CHF, twice. The first one she got over. She got it because she was on fluids for her kidney, and the heart couldn't handle the fluids. She got Lasix in the hospital, but not to take home. She had an echo, and got some heart meds which seemed to really help (Vetmedin primarily). Second time, we had started a much lower amount of fluids because her kidneys were really bad. But, heart still couldn't handle even a reduced amount of fluids. That time she had to have fluids manually drained with a chest tap. She went home with a low dose of Lasix. Again, heart meds, especially Lasix, are hard on the kidneys, her kidneys needed fluids but heart couldn't take them, it was a real balancing act.

Each cat is really different, and any other complicating conditions will change how they approach what to give a heart kitty. We've had cats on Lasix here before. The trick will be finding a dose of Lasix that helps control, and hopefully the cardiologist can find out why the fluids showed up and a way to manage it.
 
Thanks. We're still here waiting, believe it or not. They're very busy and lots of critical patients.
I'm so worried if it could be FIP (even though the vet didn't think so or bring it up at all) because then I'd blame myself for being around my dad's cat who was positive for feline coronavirus. I've been so hung up on that virus and paranoid ever since I learned about it. My cats titers in march said negative for the higher one and nothing for the lower one.
I just hope whatever is going on is not a death sentence and that I'll still have time with my girl. She's truly my soulmate. I'll keep you all updated.
 
I suspect Mac was given too much sub-q as well but he also had ckd so they would not give him lasix and drained the fluid and sent me home. Unfortunately that was a big mistake.
 
Doing a lot of reading while waiting. What about draining to see what kind of fluid it is? Is that something I should make sure is done?
 
I just really hope this isn't the start of "the end." Trying not to be grim but everything I'm reading sounds horrible.
 
Well no insulin shot tonight since we're still here and shot time would have been an hour ago now. Supposedly they're looking at her now. Does Lasix affect glucose? Most of what I've read indicates no, but I've seen a couple posts that sound like it may. Wondering for her shot in the morning.
 
I second asking for a pro-BNP if it's not already offered to her. It not only flags up heart/cardiac matters, but can determine liver and kidney issues too.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Might be an ECID thing. It didn't impact Neko, but I've seen another cat where it did. Worst case, you raise the dose to work around it, so not that big a deal.
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Ok good, thanks. I was mostly worried about if her sugars would drop too low, but if it tends to make them rise, I'm not as concerned then.
 
We are STILL here. They havent done anything except supposedly look at her. Every time I'm asking for an update, they claim she's stable and they're busy with critical patients that keep popping in. It's cold in here and I'm exhausted. I don't know how long this is going to take! I've been here now about 8 hours. We've never waited so long. Maybe this place is starting to go downhill....
 
They won't do anything because according to them, she's stable and they don't have cardiologists on call. So we were told to come out and then told to leave all for nothing.
 
Er dr could only say it's usually heart related and it's the cardiologist who will do the full workup like an echo, that pro bnp test, etc. They think cardio is booked out 2 weeks too but they're not sure. They said just to continue lasix until she gets seen by cardio.
 
They said to give her the lasix when we get home and that it's ok to give it again about 6 hours later at her shot time, even tho it's usually every 12 hrs. Does that sound ok? Because they made us miss her insulin shot time which would have been the time I'd have given the lasix too so its every 12 hrs like its supposed to.
 
I’m so sorry, what an awful experience. So they are ready to discharge her to you, then? Have they proposed any at home care, or next steps for you?
 
They're getting her so they can give her back to me and we can leave. Why should I even have to pay for this visit... I'm definitely complaining on our way out.
 
.:. in.active .:. said:
I can't believe they made you and BabyG wait for 8+ hours... for absolutely nothing?! I'm so sorry, I'd be fuming too!
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And the thing is I called BEFORE we went in and described the situation and how far we live and that I didn't want the visit to be a waste if they didn't think they could help us. And they were like, yeah, bring her in!
 
I just complained boatloads. I also found out based on the xrays from the primary, that the fluid was IN the lungs vs around or outside the lungs. So at least now I know that. Some things I was researching online depended on whether fluid is in or around.
 
I just noticed the lasix says for use in dogs only. It's called Furosemide Syrup 1%. The vet (yes, I'm STILL here, omg) said should be ok since the main component is the same. I hope that's right? She also said they're checking with the on call cardiologist if safe for her to go home after all (I REALLY complained, y'all) and they said cardiologist can get me in this upcoming week too.
 
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Ok so NOW they're going to do some tests. They spoke with the cardiologist and she was upset (sounds like she didn't like how things were handled) and she wants a thoracic ultrasound done and the pnb test. She said looking at the xrays, the heart did not look enlarged. Depending on the results of those 2 tests, she may or may not come in tonight to do the echo. Thing I'm concerned about is they want to sedate for the ultrasound because shes getting fiesty and I'm pretty hesitant about that. Usually she's a good girl. She's probably extra feisty because look how long she's been there! I'm extra feisty too. Those of you who have done these kinds of tests, did you have to sedate? I'm always scared of sedation.
And if the heart isn't enlarged, could it still be heart disease then?
 
If she’s struggling to breathe I seriously hope they’re taking this seriously. It’s truly an emergency and sometimes an oxygen cage is needed. Did they tell you a resting respiration rate?

I'm really sorry you’re going through this. I just went through something similar recently with one of my crew — it’s very difficult, especially when you can’t get answers. :(
 
How do I insert her xrays here using my phone? I know desktop I'd drag and drop but I'm struggling on the phone and I read the sticky but I have an Android.
 
They didnt give a resting respiration rate. I'll ask. They just said if we're at home and over 40 I should bring her in.
 
With images, you can also copy and paste.
babyg said:
Thing I'm concerned about is they want to sedate for the ultrasound because shes getting fiesty and I'm pretty hesitant about that. Usually she's a good girl. She's probably extra feisty because look how long she's been there! I'm extra feisty too. Those of you who have done these kinds of tests, did you have to sedate? I'm always scared of sedation.
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Yes, Neko typically needed sedation for her echocardiogram, can't remember for regular ultrasounds. One time she didn't need sedation, the cardio vet was really concerned, because she wasn't her normal feisty. The following time she was better, and needed sedation again. :p Sedation is not anaesthesia.

A RR at the vet is typically inflated, best to do at home.
 
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