Prayers for my Pidgelet, please! *Update 11/23*; she's losing weight; post #285

[pomtzu]

I wasn't hinting, Ellie, truly I wasn't. (Did that come across as sincere enough? LOL) Thanx for your generous offer, even if I did extort it out of you. And thanx for the prayers. My little girl needs them.

Hey - I didn't take it as a hint - more of a compliment of sorts. And I'm serious! I love baking for people!!

[Medusa]

Hey - I didn't take it as a hint - more of a compliment of sorts. And I'm serious! I love baking for people!!

Maybe it's a good thing we don't live near each other. I felt my hips expand just talking about this.

[phesina]

We're all in there praying and chanting and dancing and sending our healing energies along to dear Pidgelet.

Love from us

[Medusa]

Well, it's the worst possible news. Pidge isn't hyperthyroid; she has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In a nutshell, Dr. Lee said "Your cat could die at any time, even tonight. She's a ticking time bomb." To add to it, her kidneys are bad, so he can't put her on subQ's because she needs Lasix to keep the fluids out. He put her on a beta blocker, too. Here's the worst part of this whole day: I felt like I had been punched in the stomach; I couldn't even cry. So when I left I didn't notice that Dr. Lee hadn't signed the prescriptions! So when I got to my pharmacy, they wouldn't fill anything. So Pidge has no Lasix, only one prescription that Dr. Lee called in. The other prescription that she needed, he wrote two separate doses. One said to give her 1/4 tablet once a day, the other said 1/4 tablet 4 times a day. The pharmacist said to me "This is inexcusable. Does he not know how to write a Rx? I will not take responsibility for killing your cat w/an overdose." So of course, Dr. Lee's clinic was closed by the time all this transpired, so all I could do was leave him a voice mail. Pidge has one Rx to see her through tonight and according to the pharmacist, it should hold her over until she can get some Lasix in the morning. She won't have any tonight. When Dr. Lee picks up that voice mail, he's going to need asbestos earmuffs to listen to it, I was so bloody angry! I paid a huge sum of money to be told that my cat is going to die, only to find out that he wasn't even attentive enough to write a proper Rx to keep her comfortable tonight. To say I'm angry is a gross understatement. He and I WILL talk tomorrow, I guarantee it!

[Anikaca77]

Awww Mary I'm so sorry. You have been through so much lately and I can't even image what you are going through right now. I went through what you did, Anika was laid to rest 2 weeks exactly today and I've been following this thread hoping for the best for Pidge.

I'm so sorry Dr. Lee didn't pay attention to what he was doing. That's just not right. I sure hope you can make Pidge comfortable tonight.

I don't blame you for being angry. Poor Pidgelet.

Mary all I can say right now is that I'm praying and thinking of your and Pidgelet tonight and tomorrow and however long you need us to pray for we will be here.

Prays & Hugs,
Melissa & Rob
Anika (RIP Oct. 6, 2008), Claudia, Ashley, Sebastian, Hermes, Fiona, Athena, and Osiris

[jazzcat]

Oh Mary ((((HUGS))). I just popped in to get an update on Pidge and my heart is breaking for you. I'm so sorry the news is this bad. I pray that Pidge isn't in pain and that you can make the most of your time with her.

The vet not signing the prescriptions is a terrible mistake. I totally understand your anger.

[Prairie Purrs]

Oh, dear. I'm so sorry. My thoughts will be with you and Pidge tonight.

[Scooter's Mom]

Sending my thoughts to you and Pidge.

[Catty1]

I can't even imagine how upset you must be about the prescriptions being unsigned and inaccurate!

Mary, I found a bit of info you can look at when you're up to it. While meds won't prolong Pidge's life, they can make it more comfy.

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/hyp-cardio.html

For cats with hypertophic cardiomyopathy, drugs such as diltiazem (trade name Cardizem), propranolol (trade name Inderal), and atenolol (trade name Tenormin) can help reduce heart rate and relax the thickened heart muscle. This disease may lead to congestive heart failure, for which veterinarians often prescribe low-salt diets and diuretics such as furosemide (Lasix®) to reduce fluid accumulation. Lasix® forces the kidneys to get rid of excess sodium and water. Vasodilators such as enalapril may be used as well to reduce blood pressure. If a cat is at risk for blood clots, vets sometimes prescribe small doses of "blood thinners" such as aspirin. But guardians should never give aspirin without consulting a veterinarian. While this medication is harmless to most humans, it can be toxic to cats.

Diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can include:

# X-rays - will reveal the presence of fluid in the lungs and chest cavity, and the silhouette of the heart itself. But the cardiac x-ray often looks normal and won't show the thickness of the heart muscle.
# Electrocardiography - records the electrical activity of the heart during and between contractions and may pick up abnormalities, such as muffled breathing sounds, extra heart sounds, or gallop rhythms due to the heart chamber enlargement.
# Cardiac Ultrasound (echocardiography) - shows thickness in the wall of the heart and how well blood is being pumped. This is usually the determining test of whether a cat has cardiomyopathy and will allow vets to categorize the disease.
# Cardiac Catheterization - this will make a specific diagnosis. But because anesthetic risk is high in cats with heart problems, and a definitive diagnosis doesn't change treatment in most cases, this procedure is rarely done.

I wondered about the echocardiogram...but that must have been the ultrasound she had.

Big hugs! I know the prognosis sucks...but she has been so healthy all her life, I pray that gives her a slight edge. Once she feels more comfy, "your" Pidge will be back, with her Boo man taking care of her...I hope you find some happiness in that.

[Emeraldgreen]

I'm so sorry. It shouldn't be this hard. I'm praying that she will be comfortable through the night and that you will be able to get the meds with the correct prescriptions tomorrow morning. The news is devastating and made so much worse when things are going wrong with meds and communication. I think it might be as you once said, that he is such a good vet that he has taken on so many clients but perhaps has taken on too much. I don't blame you for being angry but I pray that this will all somehow work out, that she will make it through tonight and get onto the meds tomorrow and... with LOTS AND LOTS OF PT PRAYERS, that she will go on to live with you for many, many more months and longer. I know Dr. Lee said that she could die at any moment and it is overwhelming. But she also could live on and it could work out. Please hang in there, keep the faith and know that we are with you.

[pomtzu]

Mary - like so many others, I just don't know that there is anything I can say to make you feel any better. You know that you and Pidge are in my prayers.
This whole situation is so distressing for you, but then to have Dr. Lee add to it is just totally inexcusable.
And lately it seems like so many of the PT pets - dogs, cats, young, old - have gone to the Bridge or are very sick. What's going on??? - I wish I knew. Every day anymore, it's just one sad story after another. Some days I don't even really want to read anything on PT!
Please remember the verse I sent to you before: "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." No matter what happens with Pidge, I hope you can find peace and comfort in this.
A gentle pat to Pidge and hugs to you Mary.

[Medusa]

Well, Dr. Lee just called. He did not apologize but he did acknowledge that it was his responsibility to sign those Rx's. He said "I misunderstood. I thought you had enough meds from your local vet and I was simply writing down how you were to administer them". I said "I told your vet tech that I had none left and that it was imperative that Pidge get a Lasix at 10:30 AM" and he replied "She made it sound as though you didn't bring any w/you". I said "No, I told her that my vet gave me enough to get me through the weekend and that was it".

He called me on my landline, which annoyed me, because I specifically stated to call me on my cell and I gave him the number. Then he said "I'll call your pharmacy at ______" and I said "NO! That's MY number!" See, this is what I mean. Not enough attention to detail is being paid. We're all human and we all make mistakes but this is a biggie. Pidge needs that Lasix to keep the fluid out of her lungs. If you're not breathing, you're dying! My mother missed one dose of her Lasix and she died that night. And still, I feel that I need to keep coming to Dr. Lee's defense because he gave me years w/Puddy and Yodie that I never would have had. But he's got to have a staff meeting and stress the importance of paying attention to detail, no matter how busy the day, no matter how stressful the situation. It shouldn't be up to the client to be the watchdog. I had just gotten devastating news and if you had asked me my name at that moment, it's doubtful that I could've answered you.

[GILL]

Dear Mary I and the CREW are so so sorry.

[phesina]

Oh.. my... God....

Oh Mary, I am so sorry.