Hi. I'm new here. Our three year old girl was just diagnosed with SM.
Madison is three and has been showing mild symptoms for the last two years. She scratches many times a day, exhibits bunny hopping, walks a little funny, tucks in her rear, and will yelp occasionally when she's being picked up. We haven't notice much clinical progression over the years.
We have very good (and expensive) vets and have spent the last two years back and forth trying to find a resolution. We got side tracked with allergy testing and shots. It turns out that our baby is allergic to everything. Only after going through allergy treatment protocol did we convince the vet to recommend an MRI.
Her results came back a few days ago and the physical prognosis was far worse than we expected. The imaging report stated that she is severely affected by the disease. She has severe chiari. Her cerebellum has herniated. She has syrinxes covering 95% of her spinal cord.
After consulting with various neurologists including Dewey and (I believe) Rusbridge, our vet was not confident that, given Madison's lack of pain, the risk of surgery and recurrence outweighs the benefits. We are currently following Rusbridge's medical protocol and are giving her diuretics.
I've had read everything I can that's available online and have several questions about Madison's prognosis given the severity of the syrinxes. I've read of course that the clinical progression is variable and that surgery is often not indicated unless there are signs of pain. But, is there any reason for the syrinxes to get any worse at this point now that she is fully grown?
On the other hand, I am worried that, given the severity, if we wait too long, we'll find ourselves with no options. At what clinical and physical point are people getting the surgery?
Madison is three and has been showing mild symptoms for the last two years. She scratches many times a day, exhibits bunny hopping, walks a little funny, tucks in her rear, and will yelp occasionally when she's being picked up. We haven't notice much clinical progression over the years.
We have very good (and expensive) vets and have spent the last two years back and forth trying to find a resolution. We got side tracked with allergy testing and shots. It turns out that our baby is allergic to everything. Only after going through allergy treatment protocol did we convince the vet to recommend an MRI.
Her results came back a few days ago and the physical prognosis was far worse than we expected. The imaging report stated that she is severely affected by the disease. She has severe chiari. Her cerebellum has herniated. She has syrinxes covering 95% of her spinal cord.
After consulting with various neurologists including Dewey and (I believe) Rusbridge, our vet was not confident that, given Madison's lack of pain, the risk of surgery and recurrence outweighs the benefits. We are currently following Rusbridge's medical protocol and are giving her diuretics.
I've had read everything I can that's available online and have several questions about Madison's prognosis given the severity of the syrinxes. I've read of course that the clinical progression is variable and that surgery is often not indicated unless there are signs of pain. But, is there any reason for the syrinxes to get any worse at this point now that she is fully grown?
On the other hand, I am worried that, given the severity, if we wait too long, we'll find ourselves with no options. At what clinical and physical point are people getting the surgery?
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