Collapsing trachea medicines

[beachdog]

Paris seems to be needing his medicine twice a day now. He is on 1/4 tsp of hycodan two times a day and I can go to three times if needed. What medicines do you use for this to help with the terrible breathing sounds? He sounds like a snoring, snorting old man.
I would like to do some research on the various treatments before his next vet visit.
Thanks

www.paristheblindwonderdog.blogspot.com

[Darlin Beauxs]

I'm not sure what that medicine is, but Darcy took 1/2 of a prednisone every other day for her trachea. She still made the honking noises, but it improved tremendously with the pred.

[kjc]

Ask your vet about treating him occassionally with an antibiotic... I think with CT they have trouble clearing all the fluid in their throat and/or lungs which can lead to pneumonia. Also maybe a decongestant might help.

[beachdog]

I will call the vet on Tuesday and ask about this. Poor thing the hycodan doesn't seem to be working at all today.

[kjc]

Originally Posted by beachdog

I will call the vet on Tuesday and ask about this. Poor thing the hycodan doesn't seem to be working at all today.

I was thinking too, that he may be building up a resistance to the Hycodan... I am not sure. Ladyjane has used Lomotil with great success. Other drugs are Tussigon, and Robitussin DM. This is from a list I compiled from other threads about drugs for CT.

With my older dog, when he has a coughing jag going on, I will position him on a pillow and slowly make adjustments to get his head lower than his butt by raising the butt end of the pillow... sometimes gravity will help to clear the airway.

[gidget529]

My little Cricket had CT. When her breathing sounds worsened, he x-rayed for CHF. They can start to develop CHF issues due to the fluid accumulation from the CT. The vet can start diuretics to help control fluid accumulation if that is the case. Now this happened when she was a much older girl w CT. I'm sorry to hear Paris is not feeling as well. Will keep him in our prayers. Please let us know how you make out at the vet.

Just thought of this, Cricket did take Tussagon (narcotic cough suppressant) which seemed to help well also (kjc mentioned this med too).

[beachdog]

Well I will look into the mentioned meds. So I can be ready at the vets. I tried Robitussin DM and it had no effect that is why he has been on the Hycodan since July 2010. Maybe he has built up a resistance to it and we could switch out with something else.
Thanks so much!

www.paristheblindwonderdog.blogspot.com

[My lil friend]

The DM did not help Skittles or Buddie (both 9yrs with CT). They are both taking 1/2 of a Temeral-P every morning. It does help most of the time. Skittles gets to chase the dog next door and not honk like a goose. Allergy season,like now seems to make it tuffer for both of them. They both breathe better while they are asleep.

[beachdog]

Today I have already given it to Paris 2x's and will have to give it to him again tonight so he will sleep through the night without a coughing fit.
This on top of having to reduce his roaming area outside because he keeps getting so confused as to where he is lately.
Just having a hard day.

[Yorkiedaze]

When my Zada started having serious problems with CP, this is what someone who is an expert with this, wrote me:

Here is the list of meds that my friend has for her dogs with trachea problems.

Theo-dur 100mg. (theophylline) - 1/4 tablet 2 X's a day This medication is given daily.
Clariton- 1/4 tablet once a day. This medication is given daily.

Hydromet cough syrup 1/0.3mg. (hydrocodone/homatropine syrup) : .75 cc-1.00 cc as needed (can give up to 2 cc's at one time if coughing will not stop). This medication is given on an as needed basis. It all depends on the amount of coughing she does, but we are at a point where she is given anywhere from the minimum to up to 4 cc's a day spread out over a 24 hour period.
MAXIMUM DOSAGE of hydromet is 6 cc's per day.

There is another medication called Tussigon tablets DPH 5 mg., ( 1/4 - 1/2 tablet daily) this is the pill form of the hydromet cough syrup. You would use EITHER THE HYDROMET SYRUP OR THE TUSSIGON NOT BOTH. I would personally start out with the cough syrup and see how it works. I feel you have more control over the dosage.



We have the following medications on hand in case of a bad episode:
Acepromazine 10mg.- 1/4- 1/2 tablet. Depending on your dogs weight and susceptibility to this medication will depend how "knocked out" your dog will be. If your dog needs to be out, head on the floor out give her/him 1/2 tablet. We have a 5.5 lb yorkie and it makes her very "loopy". It all depends on your dog, it is a trial and error situation with the ace.

Prednisolone 5mg.- 1/2 tablet as needed use after a bad attack to help reduce irritation and swelling of trachea/tissue from coughing.

We also have Doxycycline 100 mg. and the prednisolone 5mg. that we use on Nikki as she has secondary lung disease. We do not use it on our dogs with just CT.

[Yorkiedaze]

Hydromet syrup (hydrocodone/homatropine) consists of two elements : one is the narcotic part hydrocodone.
The second is homatropine which is an anticholinergic (it is an agent which blocks the neurotransmitters acetylcholine in the central and peripheral nervous systems)

If you are just getting hydrocodone (small bottle sort of a brownish liquid, very small amounts given) that is the pure narcotic.
If you get the hydromet or hycodan syrup which is a bright red, sweet tasting syrup (much like everyday cough syrup) that is the combination of the two elements the narcotic plus the cough suppressant.

As far as price goes I have never gotten just the hydrocodone. It is much more expensive than the hydromet syrup. I will email someone I know and ask her how much she pays for hers. I know she has gotten it twice from her vet and one time is was just 2 ml. and the next it was 5 ml.
The hydromet syrup will be probably 4 oz or more and the generic should read hyrocodone/homatropine syrup (1/0.3mg).

Also there are tablet which are the pill form of the hydromet syrup, they are called Tussigon 5mg.
You would use either the syrup or the tablets not both at the same time.

I started out with the hydromet cough syrup, I liked that you can control the dosages a little more than the tablets. If Zada has something similar to what Nikki has (CT plus a secondary lung disease similar to COPD) She has also been prescribed Theo-dur and takes it daily.
Also we have prednisolone and an antibiotic here at the house to use if her lung disease starts up where she is coughing more, rattlely sounding.

So here is Nikki's meds.
1/4 tablet of Theo-dur 2 X's a day

1/4 tablet of Clariton 1 x daily

.75-1cc hydromet syrup (red stuff) as needed (can give up to 2 cc's at a time if coughing will not stop, not to exceed 6 cc's in a 24hr. period) She gets this everyday if she coughs.

1/2 prednisolone as needed if coughing is really bad and she has had a rough time to reduce swelling and aggravation of trachea.
1/4 tablet of doxycycline (antibiotic) when COPD is acting up

We give Nikki the tussigon tablets now instead of the hyrdomet syrup since her COPD has been acting up. That is 1/4 - 1/2 tablet as needed. Right now I give her 1/2 tablet at night, and in the morning if she is coughing I will give 1/4 - 1/2 tablet.

We try to keep the humidity in the house between 50-55% if she is having problems, keep weight off, limit excitement, cut excess hair off especially on the underbelly, chest areas, take away toys. She will get excited when I first come in the house and cough so I pick her up right away and walk around with her when I do this many times the coughing will only be two or three coughs and she will stop.
I would also have acepromazine on hand just in case things get bad. I would also ask my DR. for the written RX for the hydromet and or tussigon and call the drug stores. The tussigon tablets they may have to order, my Costco has them on hand, Walgreen's had to order them but it took one day. The hydromet cough syrup is a human medication so it should be carried at most pharmacy's. If they do not have it directly on hand they should be able to order it and you should get it within a few days at the most. I would call around I am sure there has to be a pharmacy somewhere that carries it. It is a very common human medication.
I hope this helps if you have any questions or do not completely understand it all just ask me

[gidget529]

Originally Posted by beachdog

Today I have already given it to Paris 2x's and will have to give it to him again tonight so he will sleep through the night without a coughing fit.
This on top of having to reduce his roaming area outside because he keeps getting so confused as to where he is lately.
Just having a hard day.

I'm sorry to hear this is a bad day for Paris and his mommy. I remember how Cricket would have bad days. The husband and I would just about be in tears (I was sometimes) watching our best friend/child go through that. Hoping tomorrow Paris will bounce back and have a better day.

[beachdog]

Originally Posted by gidget529

I'm sorry to hear this is a bad day for Paris and his mommy. I remember how Cricket would have bad days. The husband and I would just about be in tears (I was sometimes) watching our best friend/child go through that. Hoping tomorrow Paris will bounce back and have a better day.

Thanks so much for the kind words. Paris is resting right now.

[beachdog]

Thank you for the information. Paris gets 1/4 tsp of the red cherry flavored hydromet syrup. Today will be the first day I had to give it to him 3 times. I get it at Target for 11.00. Not too bad.
Paris is 12 1/2 lbs so I will ask the vet if I can give more when needed and I will mention the other medications you talked about.
Thank you so much for sharing this with me. Paris is resting nicely right now.

Is the claritin the kind you buy at the store or is it a rx?

And why do you keep the hair cut off the belly and chest?

[Yorkiedaze]

Originally Posted by beachdog

Thank you for the information. Paris gets 1/4 tsp of the red cherry flavored hydromet syrup. Today will be the first day I had to give it to him 3 times. I get it at Target for 11.00. Not too bad.
Paris is 12 1/2 lbs so I will ask the vet if I can give more when needed and I will mention the other medications you talked about.
Thank you so much for sharing this with me. Paris is resting nicely right now.

Is the claritin the kind you buy at the store or is it a rx?

And why do you keep the hair cut off the belly and chest?

Keeping the hair cut off of the underside helps them stay a bit cooler especially since they look for a cold floor to lay on. Keeping them as cool as possible is so important. My Zada had beautiful long hair, as you can see in the avatar, and I buzzed it all off. I couldn't believe how perky she got, and now just feels and acts like a puppy. Now she's very comfortable and doesn't wheeze as much. It's also so easy to give her a nice cool bath when she gets too warm. It made such a big difference.