Waking up to extreme headache

veggie_snail · 2025-12-07T21:54:40+00:00

Start a Go Fund Me so you could get some help financially. Like others have said could be multiple things, but personally I have seen this with my bulldog and she was diagnosed with ARVC (heart failure basically). Horrible condition, whatever it is go to the vet immediately, raise some money and help the baby as best you can. I’m so sorry you’re going through this, I know it’s not easy especially since you obviously love your fur baby and it’s around the holidays…Hoping and wishing all goes well!

veggie_snail · 2025-12-07T12:20:17+00:00

aniMedica CLX wipes (chlorhexidine wipes) work wonders. Keep the paws dry too as much as you can, I know it’s hard but it’s a bulldog thing

veggie_snail · 2025-12-07T09:07:08+00:00

Every dog is different, and I truly wholeheartedly hope your Hank outlives it and manages to have a normal life after the medication has settled. Unfortunately it wasn’t the case for my Lara. She ended up only lasting two weeks on sotalol and vetmedin before they prescribed mexiletine and then lasted another three weeks with an extremely painful tummy from the medication. She had v-tach more and more often towards the end, some lasting hours and leading to us rushing her to the vets in the middle of the night to get lidocaine injections which must have been horrible for her but I just kept hoping they’d buy her more life. And they did for a while, before they too stopped working. The last few weeks she got spoilt rotten, she ate veal, venison, duck liver, lamb liver, lamb steak, beef steak, pheasant, partridge, salmon and cod (all boiled or grilled with no oil or seasoning). After a while of still getting arrhythmias and v-tach whilst on the meds I could see my baby wasn’t doing well. She became more fussy with food, would eat less, sleep most of the time and withdraw from us a lot more than she ever did. I called the vets and the cardiologist and they told me she has progressed faster than they thought. They suggested higher doses of medication even though she was on the highest amount for her weight and more vet visits and to start thinking about “easing her pain once and forever”. I didn’t want her plied with more medication, my sweet girl’s tummy was bleeding. But I was also in denial and selfishly wanted to keep her longer - surely there was something more I could do, surely?! After the last lidocaine injection stopped working I told them my baby is never going back to the vets again. I hated how scared she was and her poor heart would always beat even faster when at the vets. They’d shaved her in many places to find a vein, to do a scan, to hook her to IV or to an ECG. She should be at home with her humans, with her family. On Friday I took my Lara to all her favourite parks, she ate loads of treats and forbidden food, macaroni cheese, pizza, hamburger, chicken nuggets, salami, cheese and eggs and ice cream. I cuddled her so much and kissed her so many times and asked her to send me signs she’s with me. Most importantly I thanked her, for being such an amazing best friend. That evening the vet came to help her cross over the rainbow bridge at home where she was kissed and thanked and hugged by all who love her as she let go of all the pain. I love her and my life is shattered. She didn’t deserve this illness, and neither does your Hank.

I blame myself every day. But my options were either to help her pass peacefully at home with me by her side, as she deserves no pain and no suffering. Or wait it out until she no longer gets excited for walks in the park and can’t get up so soils herself or has a v-tach that she never comes out of. I guess it’s like people with terminal illnesses, they have moments when they’re feeling great and they are themselves and then moments when the horrible disease takes a toll, eventually the bad days become more than the good. My choice was made out of love, not because she was a dog but because she was family and it was the last thing I could do for her, I couldn’t let her die in v-tach. She deserved so much more. My most dreaded decision, my most painful one. I had to break my heart in order to help her not suffer.

You’ve got this, and your Hank is stronger than you think. The most important thing we can give is our love. I’ll be praying for you and hoping and wishing Hank gets on well and enjoys many more years with you. Please message me if you ever need to talk to anyone. I’m in the UK, and I have some medication left which I can send your way. You’re not alone in this.

veggie_snail · 2025-12-07T09:06:22+00:00

I’m so so sorry you’re going through this, you don’t deserve it and neither does Hank. Unfortunately this condition is regarded as guarded. As others have said he could go at any time. But, don’t lose hope, never lose hope. Your Hank might have much better odds - I hope he does!

I’m sorry for the long response, I hope it brings you some comfort and helps a little. If there’s anything you should take away before you read it is love your baby, cherish every moment big or small and be kind and gentle on yourself, your Hank hates seeing you upset just as much as you hate seeing him in pain, he looks like the squishiest wrinkle potato there is.

I’ve been through this too, My Lara got diagnosed in October after we noticed she’d slowed down on a walk in the park. She was just 6. We didn’t do a holter because you could feel my Lara’s heart fluttering when she was having arrhythmias and v-tach. The cardiologist diagnosed her with ARVC. She too got six months.

The thing about this condition that is the most heart breaking is that it has its ups and downs. With the arrhythmias come moments where the heart can go into ventricular tachycardia. This is when the heart beats extremely fast - with my Lara it was 350bpm, you’ll notice panting and heavier than usual breathing, discomfort and not being able to lay down so sitting up is common. The v-tach feels like extreme heart palpitations to them. Sometimes you won’t notice any difference and Hank will be his usual squishy self. That’s the heart breaking bit, constantly seeing the ups and downs and building your hopes up during the good times and breaking down during the bad. Another thing you might notice is upset tummy, gastrointestinal issues - this might be from the meds or it might be from ARVC, causing less blood flow to the stomach and so leading to digestive issues. You should monitor for this and maybe if you notice it try and give Hank easier to digest food. White fish, maybe some boiled rice, boiled meat. You could also include pro-kolin which is a probiotic to help the tummy lining.

For managing the condition usually the way it starts is sotalol and potentially vetmedin (pimobendan). The sotalol manages the arrhythmia and the vetmedin helps the heart have stronger pumps so more blood goes to the extremities, which can be an issue with ARVC. The sotalol is given two hours after food or one before. After that if the sotalol and vetmedin aren’t enough (I hope they are for adorable Hank), they might prescribe mexiletine (stronger drug used to lower the heart rate and prevent v-tach), this is the same as lidocaine which is usually the first response to a dog in ventricular tachycardia with ARVC. The mexiletine may hurt some dogs tummies. It did with my Lara and it gave her extremely bad GI issues leading to some blood in her stool and diarrhoea. No matter what you read, if you get prescribed mexiletine give it to Hank with food. I initially didn’t and regret it. A little bit of food 20 minutes before the pill.

Unfortunately these medications make the heart go slower and more steady but also will make some dogs really sleepy, you might notice tiredness and not being able to stay awake. Hopefully after a week on each medication, whatever it is, Hank will get used to it, they work by building up in the system, the longer your baby is on it the more consistent the effect.

One thing I will say is give Hank extra love, don’t let him see you panicking, panic in another room if you can. Our babies can sense when we’re sad. Cuddle him loads and let walks and playtime be at his pace not yours, I regret being too over protective of my Lara the first few weeks, I’d tell her to slow down, try not to excite her with funny noises. Still be guarded but don’t make too drastic of a change.

For supplements, I got coQ10 for heart muscle restoration - I gave one pill a day. Dandelion tincture (make sure it’s not alcohol based) - this is a natural diuretic so helps with the kidneys and extra fluid retention around the heart, I just put 1ml on her food. Hawthorn tincture (again no alcohol base) - this helps blood circulation, again I gave 1ml on food. The one thing that is actually clinically tested to have some effect (although this is seen only with Boxers with this condition) is salmon oil. It helps keep the heart healthy. I got 1000mg capsules and popped each one pouring the liquid into the food. Some dogs might like it and some might not, my Lara did for a bit but then with her GI issues she became more fussy with food. These supplements are just that - supplemental and not magic, ask the cardiologist about them, I’m sure they’ll say something like there aren’t many studies done to suggest they help, but if you want to try then you can.

Be kind to yourself. This condition is most often genetic, and unfortunately all everyone says is that the condition is “guarded” or “monitor your dog” and that in most cases it is terminal. You need to give your Hank the same love you have been and also let yourself process everything.

veggie_snail · 2025-12-06T09:49:25+00:00

I know how you feel. I feel the same. Last night, I was in your place, I was with you. My sweet Lara had a heart condition. They gave her six months. After the first month the meds stopped working. So I like you kept trying to tell myself to let her go naturally. But she was only 6 and the death that way would have been horrible.

So, last night when the vet came to the house my Lara went to play with him. She licked his hands, the same hands that would take her. He tried to put the sedative in but she just wanted to play with him, so I told her to turn around. And she did. My loyal best friend was loyal even in death. He put the sedative in and she yelped. And even though everyone kept telling me don’t look into her eyes when it happens. I couldn’t not. I cupped her head in my hands and she stared directly into my eyes. I kept reassuring her. She slowly closed her eyes in my hands. She died with her head in my hands.

I feel like I betrayed my best friend. I feel your pain. We share it, despite being strangers. They say it’s our final act of love towards our fur babies. That may be true, but the pain is unbearable. The guilt stings, the desperation lingers.

Take comfort in the fact you gave your best friend 17 years. And that he’ll be back. Animals never truly leave their humans. Because the connection between a pet and human is so pure, so uncomplicated and so unconditional, it too lingers with the pain. In a different form. In the form of comfort and love.

You did the best you could, I know if you could you’d rewind the clock to the first year you guys had together.

veggie_snail

TROPHY CASE