Hi Barb, For those of you in my area, Northern Virginia, there is a cardiologist who also prescribes Pimobendan when the Cavalier is in CHF. His name is Dr.Braz-Ruivo and he has a practice in Virginia and Maryland. I met with him yesterday and he also said that it should be available to vets within a year. He also feels that its use should be restricted to those who are in CHF and not used beforehand. That is what the other meds are for. A friend of mine is using Pimobendan on her Cavalier with remarkable results. What a relief to know about this medication.
-----Original Message----- From: The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] On Behalf Of Barb Hoorman Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2002 11:59 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [CKCS-L] Pimobendan Last fall there was talk on the lists about a german drug called Pimobendan. And thanks to those who contributed information on this drug (mainly Kathy Glaze at Texas A&M) I had this information at my fingertips when I found myself in desparate need of help for one of my Cavaliers in CHF. Around Thanksgiving last year I had two Cavaliers (same sire) go into heart failure within 2 weeks of each other. The boy (who owns my heart :o) responded fairly well to conventional drugs but his sister was not so fortunate. She never seemed to get comfortable and I can't tell you how hard it is to watch them sit up to struggle to breathe. To make a long story short I procurred them an appointment with Texas A&M (specifically Dr Sonja Gordon ACVIM). After dopplers, x-rays and blood work - the decision was made to start them on Pimobendan. It was a tough choice as there is/was not a lot of data on the drug and it had been used mainly (remember is experimental) on dogs who's only choice was euthanasia - mine weren't at that spot yet but they were not the dogs I had known 4 weeks previous. I can't tell you how the results have brought tears to my eyes. Within 36 hours I had PUPPIES back (from my 10 year old dogs :o) They have both learned to enjoy life so much since on this new medication. The best news (right behind the fact that they are still both alive and well - knock on wood!) came at their 4 month follow-up visit. Their hearts had decreased in size, their blood pressure is up (which is good in their case :o) and even better their hearts are pumping more efficiently. They have been restricted from nothing - eat normal food (along with a barage of meds :o), run, play, jump and terrorize puppies - life as normal. Right now Dr Gordon is the only cardiologist in the US who can scribe the medicine (and she has to physically see the dog with 3-4 month followups for life). But for me I smile just thinking about the word "life" - as this drug has truly given my two quality of life. We all hope we will be spared our dogs going in to CHF - but the reality is it is going to happen with this breed to a high percentage. I am just thankful there are always cardiologists and drug companies striving to help us help our dogs. The hope is this drug will be available to regular vets by the end of the year. Barb Hoorman Benchmark Cavaliers - TX ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author. ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
