From:
sukiecrandall@telocity.com
Date: 2002-10-26 02:28:05 UTC
Subject: QUESTIONS and notes on Sevie (A/V Heart Node Block)
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <21251528.1035599285942.JavaMail.root@scandium>
Background for those who don't know: Sevie is an adult rescue of unknown age (at least 5 given the minimum that she could have been when she joined out family, but could be much older). She has lost her L adrenal and had her R debulked but it had grown into the Vena Cava and she lacked collateral circulation.
This year she began very mild insulinoma. Unfortuneately, one of hte tumors is in an inoperable location, so her condition could be improved but not corrected. Wrose, she turned out to be among the very rare few who get a complication called A/V Node Block in which the rhythm between the heart chambers goes out of whack, so that blood can pool and even can backwash. This can be very dangerous in the bad cases, and Sevie began with the worst type possible, a Level 3 (Complete) heart block, which she has now had for over 4 months.
Recently, we have had to re-adjust her meds again when she began having ascites (fluid build-up due to cardiac insufficency), and we finally got a really good balance that has held for a while, but tonight she has begun doing something very strange.
Starting tonight she walks a little way, then she stops, gets unsteady on her feet, piloerects a bit, and then goes on. It does not look like hypoglycemia and she does not have the behavior change at all for the better when given oral sugar.
There is a chance that she may be just starting to coe down with influenza. We've had one here which is slowly going thorugh everyone, but we have very careful about precautions so it hads been a slow drift from one to another. Still, it does NOT look like this influenza, her lungsd sound clear, her throat sounds clear, her nose is clear, her eyes are not irritated, she shows no signs od muscle cramping, and she has no fever.
It could be her heart winding down some more. If so, it is very different from anything we have seen with cardiomyopathy in the past, but this is -- of course -- a very different medical problem.
At some point her heart will just give up. We have been told that she will either just go to sleep or start having faints and then not wake up, or her organs will begin to fail from poor circulation. I am wondering if these spells might be a mild form of symcope (faints) but am not in the least sure.
Anyone have any possibly useful info or explanations?
Tomorrow I'll call her vet who will then consult with her cardiologists but we have recently been told that she has already entered end stage heart disease, so there hasn't been much of anything that can be done beyond what is being done. She doesn't have any discomfort except hating her meds, but she has real lethargy starting later today.
I have a cute story for you. Sevie knows that I have a disgusting tasting med, too, Astelin nose spray. Tonight when she was upset that she was about to have meds i said, "Mommy has yucko meds, too." Well, she stuck her nose up my nose and then she turned around and pulled toward where my meds are on the other side of the room. Once she had me medicate myself and make a major yucko face she was willing to take her meds, not happy but willing...