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Thanks for this forum

Cathy T

Well-known member
I have a client/friend who's Cavalier has exhibited what I felt were sm symptoms for several months. I've encouraged her to see a specialist and she has now reached a critical point where something must be done. I am going with her to see the doctor who treated Jake and Shelby to discuss her situation. I've encouraged her to have an MRI which can be done at this facility.

Thanks so much to Kendall and Karlin for all of your incredible information on this horrible conditions. Thanks to you also Nicki. I wish I could have a more positive outlook but just feel this will be the diagnosis. The symptoms are just too classic.

Please keep us in your thoughts for Monday.
 
I'll be thinking of you guys Cathy! Good for you for encouraging your friend. It's such a misunderstood disease. Abbey doesn't have the syrinxes, but she has enough of the malformation to cause the CSF fluid to flow just off enough where she exhibits SM symptoms. A lot of neuros are now calling it COSM, to include such cases so if you hear this, that's what it means. Keep us posted, and please pass on our thoughts to your friend. I hope she makes it onto the site to learn all she can.

Good luck! :xfngr:
 
Sorry to hear your friend's dog may have SM. :( It's wonderful you have been able to provide her with the information she needs to get the best treatment for her pup. Let me know if you need anything or if she wants to get in touch. I'd be happy to talk to her about it and my experiences.
 
Dearest Cathy

I'm so very sorry to hear about your firend's dog with poss. SM - well done though that you have been able to encourage them to see a specialist, and bless you for going with her, that's so good of you.

You will all be in our thoughts and prayers on Monday, trying to be positive for them and sending lots of positive thoughts.


Karlin - and Kendall - have worked so hard getting all this information together, we are so lucky to have such a good rescource on the condition, and the wonderful support too - much appreciated :flwr: :flwr:
 
The forum and the email lists are really the sum of the people who participate -- the personal stories, insights and advice are I think so helpful and are a community effort.

Sorry to hear your friend has concerns about her dog; there are many support resources here and elsewhere which I hope will help.
 
Excellent news!! First of all...she's going to find a new vet! She was so badly misdirected by her previous vet. "Anna" has an allergy, a ruptured ear drum, dys..... (where her eyelashes irritated her eyes) and she needs to lose a bit of weight. The doctor's assessment of her neurological condition was all good. It's been a long day. We were there for a little over 4 hours between tests, visits and waiting. But....I think "Susie" will sleep very well tonight. Thanks for all of your good wishes everyone!!
 
Yikes, poor girl, she needs to get fixed up! How did they determine the dys? I'm contemplating bringing Abbey in as her eyes are very watery. Curious as to what they do.

Over all good news for Anna, hopefully she'll be feeling better soon! :flwr:
 
That is very good that she has had some of these problems pinpointed -- she must be so relieved.

She should however keep in mind that the things you were mentioning sound *very much* like SM and vets really do not have any idea what to look for; most will NEVER have seen a dog with this condition or its various neurological manifestations. Likewise a GP would simply never identify SM in a human patient -- but keep trying to address the bits and pieces that are actually the symptoms of the larger condition. The most frequent misdiagnosis from vets is allergies but incidence of allergies is really very low in dogs whereas incidence of SM in the breed is very high (this again has been the conclusion of the North Carolina study but I will post on that later -- suffice to say of 59 cavaliers all chosen to represent a broad range of backgrounds, lines and where only a couple were considered to be potentially symptomatic, 22 already had SM and **51** had the malformation and other "abnormalities" of the skull (as the researchers put it) that are known to lead to SM over time. This is the study that Rory took part in, BTW.

Hence if the dog is showing symptoms similar to those for SM, she should really, really, really get a referral to a neurologist for an exam as a neuro can determine immediately on a clinical exam whether there's a likelihood of SM. If there is SM and this isn't addressed, the likelihood of being able to do any more than try to keep the dog comfortable for a while with medication is very low, especially as some of these symtpoms would be typical of more advanced stages of SM.

I know she will want to be celebrating at this point but I would and I have absolutely no doubt any neurologist familiar with this condition would say to get that dog to a neurologist familiar with the condition to make SURE this isn't SM/COMS. If she actually saw a neuro -- and it isn't quite clear if she did? -- then of course all of this doesn't apply. But unfortunately I would not accept a vet's opinion on this, even a specialist in other areas; only a neurologist. Having seen how even neurologists unfamiliar with this condition keep misdiagnosing, I feel very strongly that any dog with such an array of symptoms should see a neurologist familiar with SM -- just to make absolutely sure that a dog has the all-clear. Totally clear dogs are exceedingly rare -- perhaps at most 10-15% of the cavalier population. Did they do an MRI at all? That is really the only way they can eliminate SM as a source of this wide array of symptoms.
 
If the little dog in question hasn't had an MRI and has had only a med examination and shows signs then to be 100% sure you will still need an MRI.

This is the only way to tell.

Even a neuro exam consult alone cannot tell you the possible inside damage.

Better to be safe?

Alison, Wilts, U.K.
 
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