Article on dementia

[Marisa]

Oh Pam I am so sorry to hear about Hutch but as we know it is for the best. It really is an awful decision to make – thinking of you.

Christine my girl does tend to end up in a corner or facing a wall … The melatonin worked for a few nights then it stopped taking effect( It worked a treat on me ). As you prob read she now sleeps in our dining room now so she can ‘party’ on her own and not wake us all up! She is dead to the world in the mornings when we go to get her up.

Lena I have noticed that Maggie’s head does get very warm …interesting that that is a sign of a headache – would the anti- inflammatory that she has now help this?

[Lena]

Hi Marisa,

The anti-inflammatory should help with pain in the head as well however some headaches don’t seem to be as responsive to it as others – I’ve hear the same for people with headaches. Sometimes the straight pain killers such as tramadol seem to work better. Also depending on the dog doing some massage on the head may help – think of us when we have a headache.

[katy]

Lena –

Re: My thoughts on melatonin a couple months back. I discovered it does come in liquid form. For those whose dogs don’t seem to respond – maybe try putting the liquid form under their tongue.

I know I could have dropped it under my dog’s tongue, if I had known it existed. It did not take affect in my dog’s digestive track.

My thoughts go out to all of you going through this with your dog.

[Christine]

First off want to say to Pam that I am to sorry to hear about Hutch – so caught up in my own problems I completely overlooked that you had to let your friend go! My heart goes out to you.

Tia has deteriorated today somewhat…starting to drool (new thing) …paces in circles all the time now and constantly gets stuck in a corner now matter how small and then cries until someone comes to release her from that position – I had thought about putting her in another room at the other end of the house at night so we can get some sleep but the problem is she is so frail that when she slips over she cant get up so I cant go far or she gets frantic if she has fallen over…. I begin to wonder at the quality of life left to these poor souls with dementia, can we assume they are content with the way their life is?

[Marisa]

Thanks Lena – will give her more head massages…might make her feel a little better.

Christine – that sounds awful, I have to say if Maggie where to start circling etc I would seriously think about letting her go, as her quality of life would not be that good. Question – would you be content with your life that way? Lucky for our pets we can end their pain, unfortunately humans can’t…

[katy]

Christine, I had a dog like that. Have you tried Anipryl? Or liquid melatonin under the tongue? Anipryl does take several weeks to kick in.

My biggest piece of advice, though, is to not let anybody make decisions for you about Tia – on this site or otherwise. You will know when it’s time to help her along to the other side, if you need to. Nobody else is there with you. Go with your heart when she’s ready and when you’re ready.

Hang in there.

[Christine]

Thanks Katy! As difficult as our situation is right now it has given me so much food for thought. Over the past 25 years I have had to help 3 of our friends to the other side at the ages 14, 16 and 17 years. The one thing that remains with me all the time is “did I do the right thing”. Was it for my convenience or was it really because they were “no longer getting quality of life”…

I have just finished reading a great book (and its sequel actually) which talks about why dogs play such an important part of our lives and what they are here to teach us…the book is a story about dogs and angels…and not what you would expect by the title. It has really made me sit up and think seriously about the lives we share with these beautiful creatures. If anyone is interested I’ll post the details.

Tia is having a good day today.

[Christine]

A quick thank you to everyone that sent me words of encouragement and support during my struggles with my little one. I just wanted to share with you that we helped our little Tia to cross over yesterday. She never displayed any pain symptoms until the last couple of days when she finally refused all food and water and it became clear to me that she was ready to leave. I am in awe of her resilience and cant get over how stoic and determined she was to stay alive regardless of her physical condition… right up to the moment before she went all she wanted to do was walk.

Sending much love to all of you who are still supporting your companions through their issues.

Thanks Lena for having this forum, it was a god send to me!

[Lena]

I’m so sorry Christine. It sounds like she was able to tell you when it was time which I am glad of. They are amazing little fighters. My heart is with you. Thank you for adding your experiences here to share with others who are going through the same thing.

[Pam]

Christine, I am sorry I haven’t been on here and didn’t reply sooner. My condolences on the loss of little Tia! If she stopped eating and drinking she definitely didn’t want to go on. It is always a hard decision to make, but if it is clearly the right time, we at least aren’t plagued by doubts afterwards and that helps a bit. That has been my experience, at any rate. I fretted a lot before making the decision, but now I am certain it was the right one.

Marisa, how is Maggie doing, and are you getting more sleep? I hope so!

[Nadine]

I have a 12 year old female maltese, Daisy. About 3 weeks ago, she started waking up during the night. She won’t stay in bed. I have had to sleep on the sofa with her. She went to the vet for annual visit. All blood,urine and stool samples came back ok. Dr suggested melatonin to help her sleep. It worked for about 2 nights. She has also become very clingy. She wants to be pet constantly. If I leave the room, she follows me, If I go upstairs, she’s at the bottom of the steps barking and whining. Her appetite is still pretty good. Some nights she doesn’t eat her dinner, but she’ll eat treats.She still likes to go on walks but the heat seems to bother her a bit. Any suggestions?

[Marisa]

Hi Pam – we are getting sleep with Maggie sleeping in the dining room, however she has been peeing & pooing inside alot more and her back legs are getting very weak whilst standing. I am sure she is getting confused about where she needs to go to the toliet – we keep the back door open at all times. Time is certainly running out for her unfortunately – but we are just not there yet…

Hi Nadine – welcome! Unfortunately the melatonin only worked for a little while with Maggie too. As you have probably read she now sleeps in the dining room where we can keep her contained and not wake us up numerous times during the night. I feel bad doing it but it has given us back our sleep – maybe you could set her up in the laundry/bathroom to keep her from wandering around(believe me that gets very frustrating very quickly) some nights I had to sleep on the couch so I could quickly get her and put her back on her bed. Her appetite is pretty good however I have to add something tasty to her kibble to entice her to eat it all. Good luck with Daisy – unfortunately there is no hard and fast answer to deal with it…but maybe read some of Lena’s suggestions.

[katy]

Have you tried liquid melatonin under the tongue? I really, really think that might work. Wish I had thought about it when Charlotte was still here.

[ettaariane]

Hi. I am so pleased to have found this forum. I took my dog Dusky, 13yrs, to the vet today as he was panting and roaming around at night. I thought he had a lung infection. However, he has been diagnosed with dementia and I was given diazepam to give him on an evening and tomorrow I have to collect tablets for his dementia.

When tonight arrived I decided I could not give him diazepam, after I researched the potential effects.

Soon changed my mind when the anxiety kicked in and the panting and restlessness started. I gave him a half tablet and I have not known such peace on a night for weeks. He is fast asleep. I also took a chinese herbalist advice and gave him a bowl of tea. I was told to walk him twice a day for about 15mins as it helps with blood flow to the brain.

I was feeling really down until I arrived here and realised so many folk are going through the same heartache and stress, with little sleep during the night. I will make sure that Dusky does not have to keep on living when things get too bad for him. Until then, I am going to enjoy every moment we have together. I wish you all the very best.

[Lena]

Thank you for sharing your experiences ettaariane. It is one of the most difficult things to go through with a loved dog. I’m glad the diazepam is giving you both some relief and I hope that good sleep continues.

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