Took Casey to vet to rule out all else first

[chloe92us]

I took Casey in today to have a heart-to-heart with the vet about my fear of SM, and he was able to get a pain response there at the office. We talked a lot about the symptoms and I'm taking her back tomorrow for a full blood workup (including tick-borne disease panel) and x-rays on her shoulders and back to rule out any orthopedic problems. I'm hoping it's something minor....I'll give an update after test results. Wish her luck!

[Karlin]

Best of luck to you and Casey.

[pippa]

Good luck to you and casey hope it turns out to be nothing to worry about.

[chloe92us]

Well, back from the vet and Casey was an angel as usual. They x-ray'd just about every inch of her body... back, hips, knees, shoulders, elbows all look perfect. CBC was clean. They sent the tick-borne disease blood sample off to the lab and we should have results by Wed.

I went in to pick her up armed with printed SM info for them to read and my vet was shocked to hear this is as big an issue as MVD in the breed. They had no idea and thought SM was such a long-shot when we first started talking about it. They promised to research it over the weekend, since they have over 30 CKCS at their practice (which is in a tiny town, so it's surprising there are that many).

They also looked deeply into both ears, and her ear drums are not bulging so no outward signs of PSOM (although I'm sure this would be rare to see anyway without an MRI).

She was prescribed 25mg of Rimadyl to try for 2 weeks to see if we see any improvement in her symptoms. If so, we will continue. I now have to research the side effects. At this point, I think I need to see a neuro and see if she could possibly diagnose and treat on symptoms alone.

BTW, for those who are just trying to learn about SM; her symptoms are general laziness, never standing up for long periods of time, scratching, reluctance to get up after laying down, crying in pain when being picked up (this has only happened a few times, but I always assumed I pulled her hair or something), not jumping on the sofa or bed (again, i always thought this was due to her being overweight, but she is not now after dieting for 6 months), trouble going up steps. Something I never thought twice about until recently, when she walks she kind-of drags her back feet on the ground, lick lipping when being groomed or rubbed in certain spots, rubbing her face on the side of the sofas.

All of these things (except for the crying) I always thought were "quirks", things that made her silly or special in my eyes but am now realizing...once you put them all together, could mean something very serious. When I first joined this site, I was one of those "oh, this is an exaggeration...this is not my dog". But after watching the videos, reading and more reading, listening to the pod casts, I am 95% convinced Casey has it.

I know I've caused some commotion in past posts and threads, and I am thankful every day that I have this site to come to....thanks for allowing me to stay onboard. For all of you who think your baby may have this too, I am there with you. It is heartbreaking to think Casey has been suffering this past year and I didn't know it and thought these were just cute personality quirks.

[hbmama]

Oh Trisha, I am so sorry you are having to go through this with your precious Casey. I too have learned so much here on the boards, enough to also notice quirky behavior that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.

We are very fortunate to have top of the line specialists and a neurologist that is very familiar with SM and PSOM within a 20 minute drive of our home. We did the MRI and though Dottie had a very mild Chiari-like malformation (which he cautioned that probably up to 90% of cavaliers have) she had no syrinxes and was negative for SM. However, she did show alot of fluid in her inner ear (primary secretory otitis media) and we were referred to a veterinary dermatologist who performed a myringotomy ear flush under anaesthesia. After a round of ear drops and meds, all of her symptoms have disappeared and she is happy, healthy, and scratch free!

Her original symptoms were, ALOT of yawning, head rubbing along the walls and couches usually after eating, head shaking, continuous ear and neck scratching, and occasionally yelping for no reason. I do want to point out that she NEVER was observed "air scratching" on, or off the lead, and NEVER displayed any limb weakness which are both very characteristic of SM I understand.

Please keep us posted and I will keep you and little Casey in my prayers.

[Cathy T]

All of these things (except for the crying) I always thought were "quirks", things that made her silly or special in my eyes but am now realizing...once you put them all together, could mean something very serious. When I first joined this site, I was one of those "oh, this is an exaggeration...this is not my dog". But after watching the videos, reading and more reading, listening to the pod casts, I am 95% convinced Casey has it.

Trisha - I am so sorry you are going through this but so glad you realized that her little "quirks" actually added up to something. I'm sure this is the case in a lot of situations.

It is heartbreaking to think Casey has been suffering this past year and I didn't know it and thought these were just cute personality quirks.

Again...I am sure you are not alone in this. We thought Shelby "silly little walk" was just a little quirk. Turned out her knee was luxating and that's why she walked like she did. I think it's very easy to dismiss symptoms by thinking they are just quirks and, heaven knows, our little ones aren't going to tell us they're in pain until it's serious (at least I know that is the case with Shelby). I commented to my vet once that she must think I was a neurotic mom but she said she would much rather I address things and have them checked out than to assume nothing was wrong.

The important thing is that you acted on your suspicions rather than burying them and crossing your fingers that nothing was wrong. Now you're on the right track to get Casey comfortable.

We're with you through this...you definitely aren't alone.

[amanda L]

Best of luck for Casey

[Ashley]

Im so sorry to hear you're going through this, and hope wee Casey will be alright!
Its amazing how much I learned when I joined this site... and its great to have that info there. That way we can pick up on the perceived "quirks", and know what we're looking out for in advance as well.

[Cathy Moon]

Trisha, you're doing the right thing for Casey now, so I hope you won't beat yourself up for the past year. From my own experience I know how difficult it is to get over "That is not my dog" and realize you need to convince a vet that perhaps everything shouldn't be explained away and that you need his/her help to find out what's going on. In a way it does take a bit of courage to do so, as none of us wants to hear a complicated diagnosis. Just know you're not alone in this; there are many who have been through it and are here to help if needed.

You and Casey will be in our thoughts, and we're hoping for the best.

[chloe92us]

Wow, maybe I'm prematurely optimistic, but Casey has been on Rimadyl for only 3 doses...we came home from dinner tonight and she was UP ON OUR BED!!!!! This was the first time in over a year that she has jumped up on our bed herself!!!!! I am thrilled.