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Am I paranoid

meljoy

meljoy

Well-known member
Hi took Leo back to the vet again today as he's still scratching. Vet said his anal glands are badly infected, ears are now clear. I asked about the dreaded SM as Ive just discovered Leo has a half brother with a positive diagnosis. The vet said she doesnt think it is Sm but on my insistance has refered him to a neuro unit for a full assessment.
Am I being over the top? Of course has Leo scratched today at all?........NO!
What to do eh?

Mel:xfngr:
 
Seems to me that you have done the right thing, despite no scratching today. If this carries on you will continually worry about it, so get that second opinion.

Hopefully it will be nothing major, but always best to err on the safe side.

Best wishes,
 
A neurologist is the best one to see if you have any concerns. They do in-office testing that regular vets don't do. Depending on the results of the exam, they may or may not recommend an MRI. My 6 yr old Riley has SM and I became paranoid when my puppy had what is probably episodic falling syndrome at 4 months of age, and then seemed to be scratching more than my others. Riley never scratches. Her SM has affected her vestibular system. Anyway, I took Oz in to for a neuro exam because there was no way I could live not knowing if he also had SM. Turns out, he has the skull malformation, but no syrinxes. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Good luck to you. You're doing the right thing. As Jan said, best to err on the safe side.
 
I have a list of things that are useful to check for before being referred to a neurologist here.

You can see a neurologist for a clinical exam but if this is a young dog and if he only had mild SM the difficulty is that he might not have anything that can be picked up in a clinical exam.

Scratching can come and go with SM dogs. Really to get any answer you probably would need to MRI. If you are very unsure about a diagnosis and just want a basic scan I'd see if you can get it on one of the low cost assessments -- keeping in mind that you may then need to have a full MRI at some point anyway.

If you want more certainty, then definitely see a neurologist and move on from there.
 
Thanks everyone. There's lots to think about. Im debating to see if the antibiotics the vets given Leo for his anal glands helps before seeing a neurologist, if it clears it up I can stop worrying (for now).

He's just turned 2 by the way.

Mel:dogwlk:
 
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