Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Bailey
This is Bailey. She had lost 10 lbs in a month when I took her to the vet on Monday, May 5. She went to the hospital the next day (her 12th birthday), where they completed x-rays and an MRI. They did not see signs of a herniated disk in her neck, or of cancer. That's what they were looking for.
The doctors had to point out to us that her pain and weakness was caused by something wrong with her neck. But after they ruled out the cancer or disc problem, we don't know what it is. The current diagnosis is "Inflammatory disease of the neck."
Now she's had this spasm, almost continuously for days.
Have you seen this in a greyhound? I hope you can see the spasm, there are about four or five of them.
By the way, we started force feeding her on Saturday - which was surprisingly easy - and yesterday her appetite was back and she ate 4 5.5 oz cans of food on her own. That was our goal with the force feeding.
Currently she is on Prenisone, Tramadol, Valuum, and pepcid.
Would you please help me?
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7 comments:
My husband used to have alot of severe charlie horses. Light stretching and heat helped. I linked this in my blog, I hope you get more ideas and answers!
Are you in Chicago?
If so, please call Integrative Pet Care
http://www.integrativepetcare.com/
He needs to see an acupuncturist or chiropractor, probably both.
If not, please google holistic vets in your area to locate a veterinary acupuncurist or chiropractor.
You can visit my blog at www.cupofdog.com to contact me - since its not cancer, make sure you rule out epilepsy and parasites.
Emily from the BARF blog sent me over.
Best of luck!
Also, if your dog loses her appetite try feeding a canned tripe like Tripett, which I wrote about at my site, it worked great for my dog and a friend's dog with zero appetite. Ask your vet about adding a glucosamine supplement, that is supposed to help with joint and bone pain and loosen up stiffness.
If there is no one in your area, I can hook you up with my vet, he does homeopathic phone consults and is AMAZING. a miracle worker.
Found these~ don't know if they'll be of any help:
-http://www.labbies.com/css.htm
-Did Bailey have vaccines recently? Certain reactions to vaccines can cause nerve damage (Fort Dodge vaccines have a higher incidence of this).
-I'm guessing that the x-rays were also checking for Hyperparathyroidism? http://www.petplace.com/dogs/hyperparathyroidism-in-dogs/page1.aspx (This can effect blood calcium levels, which in turn effects muscle and nerve function.)
Have you had a blood panel done checking for calcium levels and thyroid function?
Well keep thinking. Please keep us posted if anything changes.
Stanislaw's mom
CSS looks scary. I sent the link to Bailey's Vet. I read there that the shiver's can be caused as a stressful reaction to, say, being called to go out or just about anything.
The Hyperparathyroidism looks possible too. They did a complete CBC back on 5/5. I was *told* everything looked normal. They did ex-rays and an MRI on her neck looking for a tumor. I don't know if they looked at parathyroid glands. I'll ask.
Your articles have shaken me, which is good if she is in extreme danger.
Thank you!
I apologize if the articles are scary~
Our fingers are crossed that it's just a tick or spasm, but I think it's best to be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. And we are certainly hoping for the best.
Good luck!
I asked some dog-owning friends for suggestions and this is what they came up with~
- A dog that has survived Distemper will sometimes develop twitches.
- Mild strokes can cause brain damage that results in uncontrolled muscle spasms. These can heal over time, and are most often seen in older dogs.
And what was seen as the most likely cause:
- Nerve damage can result in twitching and pain as the nerves re-attach. This will often heal itself but takes a while. Acupuncture and massage may help a lot in this case. Vaccines and injury are often causes of this damage. Pain will cause panting, and nerves sorting themselves out and firing impulses will cause twitching. This isn't fun but it's also not likely to be life-threatening.
CSS seems much less likely after our dog park discussions.
We've got our paws crossed for Bailey!
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