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Charlie

gloria

Member
I am most grateful to everyone who has been helpful to me, thank you. In the end , I found I had to wait until the first week in Feb for the scanner to be anywhere within my reach, so I am changing Vets & Charlie is being scanned on Feb 4th. I will let you know the results.
I read all Paulines story & cried.
Thank you again.
 
Thinking of you Gloria. I'm on here all the time so feel free to PM me if you need to talk, even if it's just that you feel upset or sad. It's a hard thing to go through emotionally and it helps to talk. :hug::flwr:
 
:xfngr: I hope it is good news, but always better to know what is going on. As you have found, lots of people here who have had the same experience so you are not alone.
 
Well, the big day is here & Charlie is at the vets having the MRI Scan done. He wont be home until this evening & already this has been a long day! Interestingly, for the past week , apart from the scratching & chewing at his paws, he has been very happy & bright & showing no signs of pain. I have been very impressed with the new Vet, he was brilliant at calming Charlie & handled him with great compassion. I will let you know the results. :xfngr:
 
Well the news isnt good, Charlie does have what the Vet called early onset SM.He also has a disc problem, so the Vet is going to send his results to an expert for their view as to the best course of treatment. Charlie is a bit upset just now , he seems to be in pain, so Ive given him a Rymadel. I will have to wait now to hear what happens next. Thank you for you kind thoughts.
 
Since I last posted, things have been really bad with Charlie, he seems to have reacted very badly to the anesthetic & is disorientated & distressed.Also, where they shaved his throat to take blood from his jugular vein, a large swelling has come up, it is very sore & angry looking & hes simply going mad with it. I took him back to the vet last night & he says hes got an infection in it & has precribed Fucidide gel. The results of the referred scan results are back & he has SM more severly than at first thought. Hes started on the Gabapentin & Im hoping that may help to calm him. As things stand right now, Im sorry I had him scanned. He is just so unhappy & distressed. I am so afraid that if things dont improve I may lose him, I cant let him suffer like this much longer.
 
I hope the Gabapentin helps him feel more comfortable and that his neck heals where it was shaved. If his neck doesn't look better, he should go back right away to the vet - sounds like he needs antibiotics. I wouldn't let it go all weekend if you feel it's an emergency.

Hopefully he will calm down now that he's home again and being treated. Did the vet say anything about putting Charlie on a proton pump inhibitor medicine? This would reduce the pressure in his head and spine. If the Gabapentin isn't enough, perhaps your vet could also prescribe Metacam?
 
Thank you, yes we have been back again to the vets & he has given a cortisone cream for his throat & increased the dose of Gabapentin , to calm him until his thoat improves.Its a great shame he has had this reaction. Hopefully over the weekend , things will improve. I do appreciate being able to talk about all this with people who understand. Thank you.
 
Dylan had a spinal tap at the same time as his scan and he was very sore after. I felt the same as you and wondered if I done the right thing. I wanted the MRI done but I had the choice about the spinal tap and had to sign release papers as there were some risks.

He started his Gabapentin and took Rymadil for 3 weeks. The day he came off the Rymadil, you could see he was in pain, from the spinal tap I'd say. Though I don't like Rymadil, I do give Dylan it sometimes but my vet said it's better to give for 3 days in a row rather than one off pills here and there.

It took a while but he got over it so hang in there. He also needed time to get used to the drugs, Gabapentin made him very drowsy at first, still does now for a while after I give the pill. But now he is quite good on it.
 
Gloria - after Tilly's scan/spinal tap/bloodwork she was really poorly for a few days. All of her SM symptoms seemed to increase and she was really uncomfortable - took about a week for her to look and feel her pre MRI self. Charlie has been through a real ordeal - now Im SO glad I went through with the MRI and we can give Tilly the right meds - not knowing would (I think) eat away at you. Hang in there sweetie - thinking of you x
 
Gloria:

I just wanted to say I'm so sorry and we are in the same boat--we found out less than 2 days ago that our Abbey has sm. The last few days is a fog. Just trying to take it hour by hour and figure this all out. Again hugs to you and I know the right people are contacting you like they are me.:lotsaluv:
 
Just an update-- Charlie has been good on the Gabapentin, it seems to work quite quickly, about 10 mins. His neck continues to bother him & doesnt look good at all. I have been back to the Vet several times as his leg where he was shaved also reacted badly.The Vet has noted on his file that he must not be shaved again. Charlie is being so good , he lets me bathe his poor neck without flinching & seems to find it soothing.Hes on 2x100 mg three times a day of the Gabapentin & for the moment that seems to suit him fine. Good luck to everyone else coping with this dreadful illness.:)
 
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