Maze's adventure at the vet. Not good news....

Awww...she can still have a decent life, it'll just have to be a little more subdued.

 Maze and subdued don't work in the same sentence. LOL Puzzle toys are gonna be my best friend.

I'm so sorry you got that tentative diagnosis on Maze.  I had a Lab with cardiomyopathy so I truly understand your shock and sadness.  The meds will help and they aren't very expensive here. 

((((((hugs))))))

 Thanks. I'd never even heard of the condition til I saw the thread with Bugsy's boxer friend.

I'm not worried about the price of meds.  It's just getting through the tests. 

Well that's a pooper.   ((((((((hugs)))))))) 

Awww, poor Maze. 

(((big hugs))) 

oranges81

I'm not worried about the price of meds.  It's just getting through the tests. 

My Vet was a great diagnostician and he did an EKG and sent her for an ultrasound.  Along with her very obvious symptoms, he didn't feel any need to send us to a specialist. Each case is different.  My dogs symptoms were much more dramatic than Maze's and there are different types of cardiomyopathy.  My dog's was caused by contracting Chagas disease.  It's transmitted by an insect and is not uncommon in warmer climates.

My dog was a Field bred Lab who lived to retrieve and she lived a happy life with less activity but still allowed to retrieve every day.  Life wouldn't have been worth living for her if she couldn't do some retrieving every day.  

I know you feel in shock right now.  In a few days, you will be able to process it all better and come up with a plan.  Feel free to pm me if you need a shoulder.

Aww...sending some healing vibes for Maze.  Is it even alright to start meds without the testing being done first?

((((HUGS))))

 Thank you so much Jackie. Be expecting some PM's from me. Lol.

Life is not worth living if Maze can't fetch her ball. Or hunt flies.. Or run.. 

 We're not starting meds until we have a positive diagnosis. For now it's limited exercise and keep an eye on her circulation.

 After Maggie collapsed, our vet said it could be a heart tumor.  We could do an ultrasound but it could only confirm it if was there and the treatment wouldn't change, so we didn't do it.  I know that it's still a possibility, but I'm not going to destroy her quality of life by uber-restricting her activity.  I know it's different because Maggie's 11yo and it's something that may or may not be an issue for her, but for me I've made the conscious decision that we're shooting for *quality* of life, not *quantity* of life.  Sounds like you might be going through the same decision point right now, so let me know if I can be of any help!

(((Maze and Amber)))

 Right now it is all about Maze's quality of life. But she's only 4 and I do want her to be around for a while.

I'm sorry to hear about Maze. *hugs*

My 15 year old cat has congestive heart failure. I never did any further testing to determine which type of heart failure because at the time, at 13 years of age, I was more concerned with her not dieing with all the trips to the vet. Stress just made it worse for her. I added CoQ10 and Hawthorne Berry along with her diuretic. It's been 2 years since, and she's doing better than I could have ever thought. You'd never know she has CHF just looking at her. Granted, she's a cat and not terribly active, but just adding those two meds to her regime made a world of difference.

I already knew of them as my Mom has a mitral valve prolapse and she takes them. She went from being blue around the lips and laying on the couch to kicking all our butts with her daily schedule. It took about a month to see a difference, but now her heart murmur has just about disappeared on exam and ultrasound.

I use this - Roo gets 2 scoops of the powder in her evening meal and then this, her Hawthorne berry - I open the capsule and mix into her morning meal. She weighs about 14 pounds and I buy two of the CoQ10 bottles a year, so not terribly expensive. Though I was advised to stick with the CoQ10 dosage once it's started - not to go changing it around. I would think TCVM would be very beneficial here. I wish I had access to one for Roo.

Prayers coming your way as you deal with this. I know it's overwhelming.

 Sorry you and Maze have to deal with this.