Poorly Ginx - Vets Have No Idea - Help

[tinker*]

ginx is a lot brighter now,

the meds are working

:unsure:

but she seems almost back to normal .....again!!!

fingers crossed

thanks 4 the help

xx

 

[jinnyfizz]

Fingers crossed :luck: ! I hope she makes a complete recovery and you can stop worrying :thumbsup:

 

[jake the wonder dog]

Fingers crossed :luck: ! I hope she makes a complete recovery and you can stop worrying :thumbsup:

Just been reading this thread with interest - not been on for a while, lots happening!!

You may remember previous posts about Alfie my lovely whippet and his similar problems, he is happy and healthy at the mo - and currently under the duvet as a Sunday morning treat!!

He had his 3rd relapse last month, which because of his history he was back on steroids straight away, which of course did the trick, we're in the weaning off stage and he is on half 25mg every 2 days. The other news is we moved to guernsey 3 weeks ago and Alfie is loving the beaches and even venturing into the sea!!

Of course we have had to get him registered with the local vet who saw him for the first time last week. Her thoughts were that without further diagnostics we can't be sure that it is SRM, I know this, but explained that as long as the treatment works I'm happy, she then introduced a whole new perspective on it with talk of spinal injury or disease as his condition keeps recuring - her thoughts were that SRM does not tend to recur more than once or twice, although not impossible. She told us that spinal pain can induce the same symptoms such as high fever and reluctance to move and also responds very effectively to steroids. We are considering further investigation IF it occurs again.

Does anyone have any thoughts on spinal injury/disease vs SRM?

 

[Lal]

Fingers crossed :luck: ! I hope she makes a complete recovery and you can stop worrying :thumbsup:

Just been reading this thread with interest - not been on for a while, lots happening!!

You may remember previous posts about Alfie my lovely whippet and his similar problems, he is happy and healthy at the mo - and currently under the duvet as a Sunday morning treat!!

He had his 3rd relapse last month, which because of his history he was back on steroids straight away, which of course did the trick, we're in the weaning off stage and he is on half 25mg every 2 days. The other news is we moved to guernsey 3 weeks ago and Alfie is loving the beaches and even venturing into the sea!!

Of course we have had to get him registered with the local vet who saw him for the first time last week. Her thoughts were that without further diagnostics we can't be sure that it is SRM, I know this, but explained that as long as the treatment works I'm happy, she then introduced a whole new perspective on it with talk of spinal injury or disease as his condition keeps recuring - her thoughts were that SRM does not tend to recur more than once or twice, although not impossible. She told us that spinal pain can induce the same symptoms such as high fever and reluctance to move and also responds very effectively to steroids. We are considering further investigation IF it occurs again.

Does anyone have any thoughts on spinal injury/disease vs SRM?

Rifle, who is almost 5, has been having problems for some months now. After being seen by an Orthopaedic Specialist Vet and full spinal x-rays etc he was diagnosed with a Cervical Disc Problem which the Vet believed could have been caused by an injury but there was no way to be certain. I was advised that although surgery was available the Vet felt he could not recommend it as it carries a 1:9 mortality rate, involves fairly horrific post-op care as the dog is paralysed for some time and there is no guarantee of success. He came home with Metacam and Tramadol for when the pain was at its worst. He was unable to jump up onto chairs/my bed or into the car and would often cry out in pain for no apparent reason.

I noticed that he would seem to be ok for a while then would suddenly have a flare-up involving severe pain, lying whimpering and not wanting to be touched at all, shrieking with pain when he moved and being intermittently lame sometime in front and other times carrying a hind leg. He never had a particularly high temperature as far as I am aware. Last week he became really distressed, wasn't eating and the analgesia was having little effect. I'd read the threads about Jinnyfizz and Nicky's experiences and went back to the Vet's with Rifle and she agreed that Steroid Responsive Meningitis was a definite possibility and although it did not alter the initial diagnosis then perhaps we were treating the wrong problem. Rifle was prescribed Prednisolone (a 2 week course initially) and by day 3 he was a different dog! I suddenly have my happy little chap back, bouncing around and jumping up onto my bed (which had always been his favourite place). His response to the steroids has been amazing! My Vet said that a spinal tap could be used to diagnose but she felt that the response to the medication would be proof enough. Obviously we haven't got to the weaning off stage but I'll keep you posted. I had reached the point where, had his pain continued and still been thought to be due to the disc problem, I was wondering if it was fair to keep Rifle alive when no pain relief was working (the Orthopaedic Specialist had told me that this might happen if the disc degenerated) Thank God for the experiences of others here on K9 otherwise I might have made a dreadful and very unnecessary decision.

 

[jayp]

Fingers crossed :luck: ! I hope she makes a complete recovery and you can stop worrying :thumbsup:

Just been reading this thread with interest - not been on for a while, lots happening!!

You may remember previous posts about Alfie my lovely whippet and his similar problems, he is happy and healthy at the mo - and currently under the duvet as a Sunday morning treat!!

He had his 3rd relapse last month, which because of his history he was back on steroids straight away, which of course did the trick, we're in the weaning off stage and he is on half 25mg every 2 days. The other news is we moved to guernsey 3 weeks ago and Alfie is loving the beaches and even venturing into the sea!!

Of course we have had to get him registered with the local vet who saw him for the first time last week. Her thoughts were that without further diagnostics we can't be sure that it is SRM, I know this, but explained that as long as the treatment works I'm happy, she then introduced a whole new perspective on it with talk of spinal injury or disease as his condition keeps recuring - her thoughts were that SRM does not tend to recur more than once or twice, although not impossible. She told us that spinal pain can induce the same symptoms such as high fever and reluctance to move and also responds very effectively to steroids. We are considering further investigation IF it occurs again.

Does anyone have any thoughts on spinal injury/disease vs SRM?

I would be interested to know why your vet thinks SRM dosnt tend to occur more than once, the only reason a disease cant occur more than once is if the body develops an immunity , in the case of SRM it isnt caused by any pathogen but simply by the immune system having an inappropiate response and attacking the lining of the spinal chord and brain . The body cannot have an immunity to this so the condition can reoccur any number of times during the dogs life

If he was my dog I would want to know what I was dealing with and would have the tests yoou are considering done

If it turns out to be some sort of spinal injury there are other treatments that have less serious side effects than steroids, I wouldnt be happy to continue giving my dog a drug he maybe dosnt need

Steroids do as you say reduce inflamation as in injury but are not normally needed at such a high dose as when suppression of the immune system is needed

will be very interested in any tests.......but lets hope the lovely Alfie dosnt need them