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Ellie's results show that she has SM

sandi

sandi

Active member
So on Tuesday morning, we dropped Ellie off, thinking that she was to have her spinal tap done. The vet calls me and tells me that after analyzing the MRI scans again, he noticed a small cavity in the spinal cord. After this discovery, he was more convinced that it was SM, and that he recommended we start medication for SM, and that the spinal tap can wait.

We have a week's worth of Gabapentin, a 75mg dose - 3x a day. He told us to give it a try and see how she responds to the drug. This was an unexpected turn of results, and not what we wanted to hear.. :(
We hope it helps her cope, and that the fly biting is not as persistant. I noticed that some of you use other drugs along with Gabapentin... was this because gabapentin was not enough on its own?
 
So sorry to hear your news Sandi.Hope meds help Ellie
Thinking positive thoughts for you xx
 
AgilityLola said:
sorry to hear about that :( hugs from me and the doggies xoxo
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To all of you who have been Posting recently , I am so sorry to hear about the Results of your Cavaliers.

Does there seem to be more SM Cases in Cavaliers at the moment?

Bet
 
Sorry to hear about Ellie - this wretched disease! It seems to be usual to give a diuretic such as furosemide as well as a pain control such as Gabapentin, in order to reduce the level of fluid in the brain. There is a useful guide to treatment, aimed at vets, on Claire Rusbridge's website - might be worth downloading it to show to your vet.

Bet, I don't think that SM numbers are necessarily increasing - more people are scanning their dogs, vets are getting better at diagnosis and less likely to get sidetracked by allergies etc., and generally, awareness is increasing. It's getting easier to discover the SM that has been there undiscovered for a long time.

Kate, Oliver and Aled
 
I'm so sorry you got this sad news about Ellie. Riley, my SM dog, is just on 5 mg prednisone daily for her SM and for her it works like a charm. That is all she needs currently (plus a medication to protect her liver from the effects of the prednisone). I think what medication they are on, or the combination of meds, depends on their symptoms, their reactions to the medications and whether they relieve or reduce the symptoms, as well as the neurologist's or vet's familiarity with SM and the treatment for it. It seems like there is a lot of juggling around with SM meds for the life of the dog as symptoms worsen or the meds don't seem to do the job anymore. As Kate mentioned, probably the best guide for treatment is Clare Rusbridge's. I believe you can find it on this website if you do a search for it. Might be useful info for you to bring to your vet just to open a line of discussion. Hopefully you will start to see some positive results from the gabapentin though. Good luck.
 
Ellie's Results show that she has SM

Kate H said:
Sorry to hear about Ellie - this wretched disease! It seems to be usual to give a diuretic such as furosemide as well as a pain control such as Gabapentin, in order to reduce the level of fluid in the brain. There is a useful guide to treatment, aimed at vets, on Claire Rusbridge's website - might be worth downloading it to show to your vet.

Bet, I don't think that SM numbers are necessarily increasing - more people are scanning their dogs, vets are getting better at diagnosis and less likely to get sidetracked by allergies etc., and generally, awareness is increasing. It's getting easier to discover the SM that has been there undiscovered for a long time.

Kate, Oliver and Aled
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Ellie's Results Show That she has SM

I have been thinking about Kate's Post, and her reply to me.

Is it known if there are more or less Cavaliers from Puppy Farms with SM.

If there are less ,then maybe it's those Puppy Farm Cavaliers who could help in the Cavaliers' fight against SM.

I hate this idea of encouraging Puppy Farmers .but if some how they be involved in helping the SM Problem, is this Food for Thought.

Is SM coming more from the Show Scene Lines, does any-body know.?

Bet
 
Hi Sandi
I am sorry to hear about Ellie.
The good news (if there is any with this dx) is that now you know what your dealing with. Likewise, it sounds as if the syrinx is small (in that it took them extra analysis to pick it up). Perhaps the vet will combine the gabapentin with a CSF reducing drug like cimetidine or omeprazole to possibly prevent increased syrinx formation? Def. ask about that.
I know how hard this must be for you. Remember that you have the support of everyone here.
Lots of hugs to you and Ellie
 
Hi Sandi, poor you and poor little Ellie, I am so sorry you have had this news, I know how upset you must feel. As Kate has suggested a CSF reducing drug may help to slow down the progression. Lots of hugs from all of us :hug:
 
I am so sorry Ellie and we will be thinking of you. I cant remember who said this but it is true, you may have to play along with medication to get the right one. And also you know what you are trying to help. I agree with Tania about the CSF reducing drugs prilosec. I agree with all the other comments. Please feel free to PM me if you ever need to have a friend.:hug:
 
Thank you for all your support! It helps knowing that there are lots of you here willing to help! I have sent some PMs to a few of you - hope you don't mind :)

So far, Ellie has been doing good on Gabapentin. I do notice that sometimes before she takes her next pill, she goes into her symptoms of fly biting and hind biting. Her energy level has not really decreased, but after a full meal she will get into her deep nap. I will see how she progresses this week, and make notes for the neuro, in case she needs any other additional meds.

As for Bet's previous post regarding puppy farmers and show breeders, I always thought puppy farmers are worse, because they don't do much health checks on the parents. I hope show breeders are protecting the health and future of the breed by removing those affected by SM/CM from the breeding pool.
Awareness of the SM/CM symptoms definitely helps the dogs get them started early on medication that they need. The neuro noted that although this condition is not understood fully, there have been alot of common cases, and is frequent with cavaliers. He mentioned that there was another owner who decided to do surgery after trying all medications which did not work. She had a dog with similar symptoms as Ellie's. He suggested that we try all options first before going into surgery..hopefully we can manage on medication alone.

Thank you all for sharing your advice and input.. :rolleyes:
 
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