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Limping and SM

izziewizz

Well-known member
Hi Everyone,
My Charlie, who will be 3 years old this month, has had a limp on and off for months,
the first visit to the Vets they said he had sprained it, was given anti-inflammatory tablets and told to rest it, he seemed to improve with only occasional days with the odd limp.
Then we took him again before Christmas as he was limping more, they x-rayed him and said he might have Arthritis, gave him meds for it but said they wanted to send x-rays and blood tests away to a specialist,
a week later results came back saying no sign of Arthritis, and they don't know why he was limping.
This week we saw a specialist at Davies Veterinary in Bedford and unfortunately he has syringomyelia,
and he will be on meds for the rest of his life.
So I urge you to see a specialist as Vets are not picking up on this,
I do hope your little Fern is just suffering from a sprain
but I wanted to share my story with you as when I read your letter it sounded so familiar.
Best Wishes Charlie & Poppy's mum
 
hi every one im charlies mum and he has syringomyelia, its been 2 weeks charlie been on meds still limping poor love he is the dearest boy, its so sad im so cofuesd about his illness i know there is no cure will it get worse he,s not as bad as the ones i have seen, but will he get that bad, he has a sister poppy i will get her checked to on a couple of times her leg goes stiff but dosent limp dose any one out there know how fast or slow the illness will take charlie,s and poppy,s mum
 
hi every one im charlies mum and he has syringomyelia, its been 2 weeks charlie been on meds still limping poor love he is the dearest boy, its so sad im so cofuesd about his illness i know there is no cure will it get worse he,s not as bad as the ones i have seen, but will he get that bad, he has a sister poppy i will get her checked to on a couple of times her leg goes stiff but dosent limp dose any one out there know how fast or slow the illness will take charlie,s and poppy,s mum

Hello,

I'm afraid that no one can tell you for sure how Charlie's SM will progress.

I know it is very confusing and frightening when you get this diagnosis, but there are plenty of people here with SM dogs, and they will try and answer your questions.
In the meantime I am sending you a PM ( private message )
 
I'm so sorry about your dog. Sadly your story sounds so familiar. I went through the same thing with Dylan before he was finally diagnosed with SM in October. Unfortunately most vets do not seem to know much about it and, certainly in my case, think that the symptoms of SM have to be like the extremely bad cases you can see in videos.

You will be very upset now - it takes a while to come to terms with it. I cried every day for a week after I found out about Dylan but you have to be positive. I don't have that much experience with the condition yet and we are still trying different medication on Dylan as he is still in pain but I know that all cases are different and no-one can be sure how it will progress in each dog.

If your dog is not improving I would speak to your neurologist about trying different medication.

Hope things get better for your soon.
 
As many have said already, there are many people on here with SM dogs- I have 1 diagnosed and one about to be (99% positive)

Its so impotant to get the meds right if thats the route you choose- I had a very hard year last year with Ruby and for a good 5 months after she was diagnosed we were very up and down but we ended the year on the right mixture and up until now and hopefully for the near future she will stay very content and happy. She is able to enjoy all the things she could before the pain started inc Agility, Swimming and Obedience.

Just know we are all here for support and questions but as Margaret said every single dog is different and we just dont know and will never know what the future holds for them. Its why its so very important to live for today and enjoy your very very special lad. he is with you because he was meant to be and god knew that you could take care of him how he needed to be xxx

All the best xx
 
Update

Hi All,


Thank-you all for your advice, hearing the positives is really helping me and
it's made me feel so much better knowing you are all here,
I'm new to this forum stuff and computers in general,
so you might have to bare with me.


It is 99% positive about Charlie,
he is having his scan on the 16th of this month and I will let you all know more when we do,
he's not limping too bad so the meds may be kicking in,
they have giving him gabapentin 100mg.


For those that were asking, we first noticed him limping,
the vets thought it was just a sprain, gave pain killers and was told to rest,
he still seemed to suffer with it on and off,
with it being at it's worst just before Christmas,
since then it's been many visits to the vets,
x-rays, blood tests etc. nothing was found
and so recently to the specialist.


Thank-you all again
Take Care
 
The only symptoms of sm Molly showed was limping/lameness and like you we had xrays and numerous tests. My vet had not heard of sm but supported me in further investigations. It is vitally important a neurologist is
seen who has considerable experience in this. My first specialist who is reputable and knew about sm gave us some pain killers and told us there was not a future beyond 3 months. We seeked help from Clare Rusbridge over 12 months ago, Molly has stabilised and living a pain free happy life.
 
Hi all

Its strange it was'nt until i had watch some vidio's on sm that charlie had sighs a long time ago apart from the limp. when he was younger he use to rub his ear's along the floor so much and ended up with ear infection's i would say about 4 time's in his short life. And one time it was so bad he had to have all the hair cut away in his ear's. And also he used to be running along and just stop suddenly he would bend down as if he had something caught under his paw but nothing there. I never thought nothing of it we have alway's thought there was some thing diffrent about him but because we alway's had girl dog's we thought he was different being a boy.
Do you think i should let the breeder know we was saying about it the other day. my charlie will get the best care and poppy. She seem's fine but some time's when she run's her leg goes stiff. do you think it could be
possbible she may have it to. when charlie has he's scan i will ask them if pops should have a scan to with them being brother and sister.
Take care all
 
It is of the greatest importance that breeders know when they have produced a SM affected cavalier.
They may not thank you for telling them, but it is one of the ways that all pet owners can help this lovely breed.

It is also important that UK pet owners send the results of any MRI scans to help the SM research.

The address is:-
Dr Sarah Blott, CKCS Health Breeding Programme, Animal Health Trust, Lanwades Park, Kentford, Newmarket, Suffolk. CB8 7UU

You need to send a copy of the MRI certificate with your cavalier's Kennel Club registered name and number, or a five generation certificate.

I don't think they can use information from unregistered pets or from rescue cavaliers that do not have any papers.
 
hi maragret

Thank for your advice as soon as charlie's had his scan i will act on your imformatiom. Charlie dad was a show dog at crufts.

thanks again
 
The only symptoms of sm Molly showed was limping/lameness and like you we had xrays and numerous tests. My vet had not heard of sm but supported me in further investigations. It is vitally important a neurologist is
seen who has considerable experience in this. My first specialist who is reputable and knew about sm gave us some pain killers and told us there was not a future beyond 3 months. We seeked help from Clare Rusbridge over 12 months ago, Molly has stabilised and living a pain free happy life.


Hi Tania that give's me a lot of hope knowing your little Molly is living a pain free life now

Did it take long for the med's to kick in. Every time i think he's not limping so much the next day he limp's again
but it is early day's i must not be so impatient i just hate to see him in pain

any way take care.
 
Almost the only symptom of my Oliver's SM is a lame front leg. But he doesn't seem to limp because the leg is painful, but because the nerves have been damaged and he has no reflexes. He therefore doesn't trust it to take his weight. He doesn't limp all the time, he just treads lightly on the bad leg. The only time we have problems with it is when he walks on rough, tussocky grass and he is forced to use the bad leg in order to keep his balance - and then I think it's less the leg itself, but more that the muscles on that leg have wasted because no weight has been put on them, and when they are suddenly used again they ache. A day's rest puts him right. The loss of nerve sensation may not even be a symptom of his small syrinx - it can also be caused by dilated ventricles pushing the brain outwards.

But yesterday he ran around off the lead in the local country park for 40 minutes and didn't limp at all. I'm trying to slowly build up his fitness in preparation for our seaside holiday in Norfolk in May - he'd hate to be left behind!

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
Thank you kate

i am rearly enioying reading every one's post's it's made me feel it's not as bad as i thought i know my charlie will be ok

take care
 
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