48 Hours

The drug Jackie took was diltiazem. From the National Library of Medicine website, "Diltiazem is used to treat high blood pressure and to control chest pain (angina). Diltiazem is in a class of medications called calcium-channel blockers. It works by relaxing the blood vessels so the heart does not have to pump as hard. It also increases the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart."

In Jackie's case, it lowered her heart rate so much that she could barely walk because she was not able to get enough blood, and therefore oxygen, to her tissues. Yesterday afternoon, when Jackie came home, she remained listless and disinterested in participating in any activity other than sleeping. I let her do that for the most part, but I did feed her, massaged her often to get the blood flowing, and checked her heart rate every half hour for the rest of the day. Every once in a while I would get her up on her feet and get her to move around a bit to also help increase her circulation.

Her heart rate would rise and fall throughout the day from anywhere between 70 and 90 beats per minute. According to which vet you talk to, it should be between 110 and 140. The Poison Control Center indicated the effects of this medication could last as long as 48 hours. By the time I post this entry, the 48 hours will have just passed. But I guess it really doesn't matter because by 7pm last night Jackie was pretty much back to her old, cantankerous self, and assumed her role as Queen Jacqueline, ruler of all she surveys.

She also played with Angel, and chased off any cats that entered the room.

Jackie was once again subjected to shaving off her beautiful coat. Here she is shortly after she came home. Zonked out and wishing she could recognized medications from table scraps. This picture was taken later in the evening. She was resting after chasing around with Angel, and I think it wore her out a little.

For the record, I take some medications that are VERY dog-unfriendly. If any one of our animals were to ingest even a small amount of some of my meds it could mean curtains for them. That is why I am very careful to make sure my medications are located in a place where the cats can’t get to them and possibly ingest them themselves, or knock them to the ground where one of the dogs might find them. Even with all my precautions, however, I worry that somehow one of the animals could still come in contact with one of my medications.

What happened to Jackie was an accident, but it was preventable, and shouldn’t have happened. It is my responsibility to protect her from such things, and I failed to do that for her with almost disastrous consequences. At least now I know I must not only keep track of my poison, but that of the other people in my household as well.

This week has been dominated by the accident that befell my little Jackie, so I hope you all check in next week, and we'll see if we can have a more upbeat chapter in The Adventures of Angel and Jacqueline. And don't forget to check out the Carnival of the Dogs at Mickey's Musings, and the Friday Ark at The Modulator for more interesting animals.

Posted by Jeff at April 13, 2006 8:28 AM