[Nancy M]

Dear “lovemycanines”,

Yes, i was told that also, and I have done some extensive reading and research on the subject and know that can happen. And then even if it does resolve on it’s own, there is no guarantee it will last. But why it does or doesn’t, no one knows. It’s just a very, very appropriately named “idiopathic” condition…..and so very hard to deal with, as you also know. I will tell you what was told to me and you may have been told the same thing….apparently there can be several “veins” or branches of these little ducts that cannot always be seen or found in surgery….and so it is very difficult for a surgeon to find exactly what is leaking……sometimes. Putting all the unknowns in there, I just did not want to, nor could I afford the surgery with such little promise. And I did not want to spend what time I may have had left with my dog, subjecting him to this surgery. It’s just a very tough call! We all have to make the decisions that we feel comfortable with. And bless your heart, it sounds like you’ve had to make so many! Whatever you choose to do, I very much wish you the very best! You just never know!

As far as the diet and the Hills food, have you already tried adding something in that he really likes, to make him eat better? For mine, I made up some homemade chicken or turkey with rice, just enough to make it more appealing, so he ate it well. A little bit of anything to make him eat, surely wouldn’t make a big difference, as long as it’s not fatty.

As far as the Seameal and Benazipril, I can’t say that they have really affected anything with the CHYLOTHORAX, but the Benazipril is for him, like us taking a low dose of aspirin everyday for heart health, and it not only helped with the hypertension, it’s just something that tends to help the entire system. So I’ve kept him on it just as a support measure, same as the Seameal. The Seameal is made by Solid Gold (dog food brand) and just has a lot of minerals, vitamins, probiotics and digestive enzymes in it. There are several others on the market, but I was just already familiar with the Solid Gold product.

Please keep in touch and let me know how you are both doing. I will do the same. Be sure to take care of you too!