Muddy is still coughing

[katslady]

I am sorry to hear about the DM diagnosis.I had a friend that had a German Sheppard with DM.She tried treatment with acupuncture and Chinese herbs.I don't know if it slowed the degeneration down, but it made her feel better to try something.He had the disease for 4+ years. After 2 years he was completely down in the rearend,but they did not give up. She bought him a wheel chair. He did great in it, he could run and play with the other dogs again.It never seemed to bother him that he could not use his rear legs.He did though have bowel control issues, especially while sleeping.He was very happy in his final 2 years with his wheel chair. He had to be PTS for other issues at 14 years old. My friend is still so thankful she got the wheelchair for him and they had 2 more years together.I wish you good luck for Muddy and hope you find some treatment that will make it easier on both of you.katslady

[Catlady711]

Sorry to hear that Muddy has something like that. I'm not familiar with that one by name. Most of the ones we see at work are more of a head tilt which is a different thing. I did google it and some findings suggest that regular disk problems may be misdiagnosed as DM by xray alone, and suggest an MRI, although I'm not sure how much different the treatment would be.

The Metacam would help the arthritis, however with elevated BUN & Creatinie levels it would not be as safe. Any NSAID can cause problems with already elevated levels of liver and kidneys. However maybe your vet can give you some Dasaquin or something similar that may help a bit without being as damaging to the organs.

I hope Muddy's coughing stops soon and at least has one less thing to bother him. Hopefully Muddy's vet will find a treatment that works for him. Thank you for posting an update.

[critters]

I did google it and some findings suggest that regular disk problems may be misdiagnosed as DM by xray alone, and suggest an MRI, although I'm not sure how much different the treatment would be.
.

You're exactly right. and the treatment would be quite different. Disks can be treated with surgery & steroids or crate rest & steroids, and DM is a diagnosis of exclusion (if everything else is ruled out). You should post on the neuro bb at Handicapped Pets; maybe a myelogram is less expensive than an MRI. It is also an effective diagnostic for disks, unlike plain xrays.

My Buddy was probably one of the first to use gabapentin, over 2 years ago, for zaps from a spinal cord injury. WONDERFUL stuff!!!!!!

[Emeraldgreen]

You're exactly right. and the treatment would be quite different. Disks can be treated with surgery & steroids or crate rest & steroids, and DM is a diagnosis of exclusion (if everything else is ruled out). You should post on the neuro bb at Handicapped Pets; maybe a myelogram is less expensive than an MRI. It is also an effective diagnostic for disks, unlike plain xrays.

My Buddy was probably one of the first to use gabapentin, over 2 years ago, for zaps from a spinal cord injury. WONDERFUL stuff!!!!!!

I just emailed my vet with the information about Gabapentin. That is great to hear of another dog who has been on this drug with success. And very cool that he was one of the first to try it.

Do you happen to know if disk problems can be caused by an old injury? About 4 years ago my brother was visiting from Arizona for Christmas. We got a good dump of snow one day and Muddy came racing up and my brother fell over, onto Muddy. At the time my brother was close to 270 pounds and he flattened Muddy. Both of them were in alot of pain and I called my vet (it was night time) and he had me do all kinds of things like lift his limbs and check each rib and other stuff and Muddy seemed to be okay. He told me to monitor him and bring him in if he got worse. He was fairly stiff for a few days but was his old self not long after. He had an exam after the incident but we didn't have xrays done. I'm wondering now if maybe now in his old age this injury is flaring up and maybe pressing on nerves or something?!?

Cinder & Smoke wrote:

Bowser had just begun to 'show signs' of DM when Doc Mike gave him the first of many 'fold-the-paw-under' tests ... at first he reacted with a
'slightly delayed' return of the paw to it's proper position. But the time
required for him to 'notice' it was turned under and act to correct it's
placement kept increasing as the weeks wore on. I'd test him at home
every few days - and noted his response time was always increasing.

I will keep doing the test each week and see how he is doing. Thank you for telling me about this. It does sound very similar.

Another sign I couldn't ignore was that the toenails on the Bum Paw were being worn down to nubbins from dragging on the pavement. Dear Glacier sent Bowz a package of Sled Dog Booties from Kan-a-Da ... Bowz only
wore ONE at a time, on the left-rear paw, during our hikes in the BigLake Parks. The Bootie greatly reduced the wear on the top of his paw and
allowed his nails to grow back out. He was "supposed to" walk only in the
grass beside the road - but he liked to 'follow Dad' so closely he'd be
bumping into the back of my heels. I learned to listen to the rhythmic
"swish" of his bootie on the road - then reach out with the leash to steer
him back onto the grass. If I heard the "scrape" sound of his nails -
Time to backtrack and find where his boot had pulled off.

We have mostly grass but when Muddy walks on the driveway, I can hear a light scraping of that one foot. The bootie is an excellent idea and I will keep it in mind if his foot looks like it is getting worn or sore.

I have to give Bowz a LOT of credit - he NEVER gave up! We struggled *together* with his DM ... we slowed down a bit, and ended a few walks before Cinder & Smokey were ready to call it quits, but ole Bowz hung in
there with the BigKids till he 'retired' to the Bridge. He never really let the DM get the best of him. Here's the PT thread that started in November of 2006 >>>
Bowser needs Prayers ... Old Age is catching up ...
http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthread.php?t=116267

The Prayer Pups will keep Muddy in their prayers!

I hope Muddy will carry on just as Bowser was able to until the end. I will check out his thread and read his story.

[critters]

Do you happen to know if disk problems can be caused by an old injury? About 4 years ago my brother was visiting from Arizona for Christmas. We got a good dump of snow one day and Muddy came racing up and my brother fell over, onto Muddy. At the time my brother was close to 270 pounds and he flattened Muddy. Both of them were in alot of pain and I called my vet (it was night time) and he had me do all kinds of things like lift his limbs and check each rib and other stuff and Muddy seemed to be okay. He told me to monitor him and bring him in if he got worse. He was fairly stiff for a few days but was his old self not long after. He had an exam after the incident but we didn't have xrays done. I'm wondering now if maybe now in his old age this injury is flaring up and maybe pressing on nerves or something?!?
.

I don't see why not. And don't forget a splint is a good option if knuckling begins to interfere with life. http://www.handicappedpets.com/splints