Ruby's mystery pain...(We'd love some ideas/help!)

Hello all,
I have a 2 year old tri-color girl named, Ruby. We have been to 2 vets in the last 2 weeks, and they are stumped. I'm hoping my Cavalier friends may be able to help or throw ideas at me.
It started a little over 2 weekends ago. I went to wash Ruby's face (right under the eyes) as I do every morning. When I wiped the left side she pulled away and yelped. So, the area that bothered her is right on the little slope of her nose, under her eye where it curves into a little crease. As the next 2 days passed, I noticed when she'd "wash" her own little face after meal times (this is the nose dive onto the carpet, once on each side!--sure you've seen it!) she'd yelp when she did the left side.
Went to the vet. They trimmed her hair there and everything looked great, no sign of trauma. Ears: looked great. Eyes: looked great. They sent me home and said nothing to worry about, probably a scratch or something. I didn't like this, she doesn'e yelp and not let me touch her face for no reason!
One week later, new vet. (symptoms getting worse, won't let me touch her face.) Vet is "stumped". Says it may be a tooth root abcess and gives her antibiotics and Rimadyl for pain. I'm supposed to call in a week if she doesnt improve. Then, they want to move onto an x-ray/dental appt. Well, that was 3 days ago. I have seen her do something quite scary twice today. She looks panicked out of nowhere, yelps, paws at her eye and them runs off yelping all while sliding her little eye area on what ever is availible.
This is not her neck/shoulders. It's a precise area right under her eye, when I push, I feel tooth roots/upper jaw. She HATES if I even slightly brush that area with my finger to get her (usual) eye discharge. I mean, if I BREATHE on that area she yelps.

Any ideas? It's breaking my heart that her pain is seemingly worse, and the vets says she looks "great"!
--Thanks everybody!

Jessie and Ruby

Oh: I should tell you, she eats and plays as though nothing is wrong. Though, on our walk this afternoon, she did paw at her eye, cry and then kept on going...
Also, are there some kind of plants that burrow into the skin making it hard to diagnose? A friend of mine mentioned "foxtail grass"...

Wish i could help.. All i can think of is an abcess.. A nerve? but theres some really experienced people here im sure can help!! Poor little baby of yours....

I would see if I could find a dental specialist....

May need one to get this diagnosed if your other vets are not finding it. They should be able to tell if there is an abcess I would think. Poor girl... I hope she is better soon.

I would ask the vet to do x-rays, etc now, rather than wait. This sounds very painful, I would want to know what's going on ASAP.

Thanks everyone!
I'm calling her vet today, it certainly has gotten worse. I hope all of you don't think I've been cruel in waiting it out a little while. I've just been trying to trust the "experts"! (though, I almost don't think they know as much as we all do sometimes...)
Thank you very much for your ideas, I was beginning to do what I'm sure we all have done and think SM, but as it is only under her little eye, I have my doubts.
Also, I wanted to add, her eye looks clear and white, and her mouh smells normal. One more question: would it smell necessarily if there were an abcess? She LOVES chewing sticks, and I can imagine slivers, wood particles ect being caught up there...
I'll be definitley letting you all know what I find out soon! I hope this finds all of you and your doggies well.
--Jessie and Ruby too

I hope they find something simple to fix and she's feeling better soon!

Jessie and Ruby.... please keep us posted

We want to make sure it all works out okay.

Hmm bit of a mystery but I think I would rule out dental causes first, so would go ahead with an x-ray/dental appt.

It's hard when the vets don't really know the answer, do you have any dental specialists in your practice or local area?

I think it's unlikely to be SM, it's too specific an area. Wondering if it is something like a cracked tooth? That can be very painful.

The only other thing that occurs to me is the early stages of masticatory muscle myositis but you don't mention any problems with opening her mouth?

Please let us know when you have any more news - thinking of you both.

She LOVES chewing sticks, and I can imagine slivers, wood particles ect being caught up there...

Click to expand...

Have you mentioned to the vet Ruby chews sticks? It could be a stick has splintered and a fragment is embedded in her mouth.

Poor little girl, I hope she is sorted out soon.

Hello again,
Ruby is going to the vet tomorrow for dental x-rays.The vet thought it shouldn't wait any longer. (thak goodness!) Please pray/think good thoughts for us. I'm sure I'll be a little nervous wreck here at work while waiting for results! Thanks again everyone for your imput!
--Jessie and Ruby

Tania: Oh yes, the vet does know she likes her sticks, I made sure to reitterate that today on the phone! ...I'm also flashing back to the days not too long ago when I'd catch her with rocks, coins, the metal clip on her leash. -Ugh, she'd chew on everything! (I stopped it when I saw it, but who knows, maybe she damaged herself back then.)

I'm just catching this thread, just wanted you to know I'm thinking of you both, and sending a prayer on her behalf! Hoping it's something simple, and that you'll have answers after tomorrow.

Cindy and Claire

Ruby Update.

Hi all,
Well, Ruby went in this morning for dental x-rays, skull x-rays and a full dental cleaning.
I was feeling pretty good the vet would find something. I got a call about an hour ago from the vet who said "her teeth and roots look great, just a tiny bit of plaque." They found nothing out of the ordinary, and are still not sure what it is. I'm so sad. I want her to be better. The last few days, she'll be laying down or even walking and will stop, curve into a funny U-shape (almost looking at her rear end) and start pawing her eye. It started 2 weeks ago just being sensitive to touch and I've seen it really quickly progress to this. (last 48 hours)
I asked the vet if he had any ideas and we came back to "possible trauma, like a bruise or nerve damage." He said he in no way thought it was neurological as she seems just fine except for that one little area under her eye. He is putting her on a different pain medicine, one they typically use for nerve-pain. It starts with "G", but I don't have it (or her) with me yet, so I don't know the name.
I'm heartsick and frankly, not relieved one bit at all. Do any of you think I should be freaking out, or keep going with the wait and see game. It's been two weeks...
Also, as much as I hate typing this: do SM dogs ever only have one sore spot under the eye and act normal everywhere else? I massage her neck, shoulders and she never yelps. Also, I can hold her by the chin and move her head all the way up to look at the celing with no complaint.
My vet doesn't think I need a neurologist one bit. Do any of you? This is killing me.
Thanks again,
Jessie

Also, if any of you have friends with SM dogs, could you ask them or pass this along to them? (if you think it looks like I should be worried about it.) Thank you!

Is it possible the medicine he gave you is Gabapentin? They give it to dogs with SM for nerve pain too. So either way, she should feel better if it's nerve pain.
SM usually doesn't come on so suddenly however: it can. My girl had an acute "attack" of SM , where she went from healthy to completely freaking out on leash. (airguitar so she had to sit down on leach and couldnt walk) However, that went away and it hasn't come back that way, though now we are aware what she has as she has some other symptoms.

If there is really only one point under her eye that hurts it seems unlikely to me that it is SM. U should at least see some other symptoms. I massage my girls neck too and she can look up to the ceiling, however she has a massive syrinx so I don't think you can exclude SM that way. But if u don't see any other symptoms like scratching, shaking head, yelping when picked up, air guitar, etc.. I think its unlikely you are dealing with SM though i'd certainly keep an eye on it cause it is not impossible... It's very hard by a regular vet to diagnose, so I'm not surprised your regular vet doesn't think you need a neuro. If u want peace of mind I'd say go see a neuro and spend the 150 on a clinical exam that will right away tell you if there is a neurological problem, SM or anything else neuro related. An opthalmologist is another way to go.

I am so sorry. It must be frustrating to not know. I really don't think its sm because like nicki said it seems like a pretty specific area. I would hate to jump to that conclusion without any other symptoms. An opthamologist might be where to go? Maybe others will have ideas. I'm so sorry

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I was thinking the same thing as Blondie's mom, maybe an ophthalmologist is the way to go, just to rule out anything with the eye. I'm not sure where you live, but here where I live, I know my initial consult with one (Michigan, USA) was about $160 (not for Claire, but my other dog), and was well worth it.

Hugs,

Cindy and Claire

Definatly an opthomologist, rule out anything from a scratch to glaucoma. Good luck hope she feels better soon.

Just reading this now, my heart goes out to you and Ruby. I can imagine how frustrated you must be. I agree with the others. I would go on my own and get a neurology exam and/or opthalmology exam just for peace of mind. It will be well worth it. I know for people there is a speciality in neuro-ophthalmology, wonder if such exists for animals?
Thinking of you both and let us know what happens.

More news...

Hi friends,
I'd hug you all if I could. It means so much to have you all to help me out and send well-wishes.
I've called a neurologist and an opthomologist. The neurologist said I could come in for an evaluation, but as many of you've said it doesn't sound too likely to be SM. So, my first plan of attack is the eye specialist tomorrow morning. Let's hope they can figure it out! I've read they are the best and most kind in the area.
Until then, it's tramadol and rimadyl and a poor girl who keeps rubbing her eye even when drugged. I'll tell you all what happens tomorrow morning.
Hope you are all having a good day!
much love,
Jessie and Ruby

Hi

And best wishes to you both for tomorrow and we will all look out for your GOOD
news .

I hope she's feeling better soon- how frustrating! Hopefully, it's something simple and she'll be much improved very soon.