Harley & Ebony both on pain medication now

[Sabby]

I have started a new post as it also involves Ebony.

Took Harley to the vets tonight and surprisingly Harley let the vet have a good look into his ear. Well no smell no discharge no infection no debris and the ear drum is intact. So as Clare Rusbridge suggested the vet has put Harley on Lyrica. My vet also mentioned that the person that created the original MRI report mentioned that there was evidence of PSOM but Clare disagreed with that report and said there was no evidence of PSOM. PSOM would certainly explain his funny scratching and when the eardrum bursts the scratching stops. Would Lyrica stop his scratching IF it would be PSOM? My gut feeling is telling me it is PSOM. Should the vet do an ear flush? I am at a loss as I hate to see him in discomfort, there are too many uncertainties. Saying that he has also started scratching at his side (not neck more tummy area) so has Ebony. First I thought it could be something else and I have been racking my brain but I have not changed their food no different washing powder had their glands emptied. Ebony has also started rubbing her head on the floor a lot more and she rolls around on the floor using her paws to wipe her face and this is the third time she has scratched her eye. It normally happens in the morning and at night. Ebony has not got SM but CM and Clare said that these signs could be related to painful CM. So the vet has put Ebony on Trocoxil and this tablet is only given monthly. Has anybody got any experience with this drug?

I know so many people are going through the same thing on this forum. I must honestly say it is scaring me. Until now my two were only on Zitac, two month later they are on pain medicine. It was great to have two month of them being happy but now they are in discomfort and pain again. Two month ago I cried so much then finally we returned to some normality now I am back at the beginning.

[Sydneys Mom]

This is so awful for you. I'm so sorry that Harley and Ebony are in pain. Hope the new medication helps.

[Margaret C]

I have started a new post as it also involves Ebony.

Took Harley to the vets tonight and surprisingly Harley let the vet have a good look into his ear. Well no smell no discharge no infection no debris and the ear drum is intact. So as Clare Rusbridge suggested the vet has put Harley on Lyrica. My vet also mentioned that the person that created the original MRI report mentioned that there was evidence of PSOM but Clare disagreed with that report and said there was no evidence of PSOM. PSOM would certainly explain his funny scratching and when the eardrum bursts the scratching stops. Would Lyrica stop his scratching IF it would be PSOM? My gut feeling is telling me it is PSOM. Should the vet do an ear flush? I am at a loss as I hate to see him in discomfort, there are too many uncertainties. Saying that he has also started scratching at his side (not neck more tummy area) so has Ebony. First I thought it could be something else and I have been racking my brain but I have not changed their food no different washing powder had their glands emptied. Ebony has also started rubbing her head on the floor a lot more and she rolls around on the floor using her paws to wipe her face and this is the third time she has scratched her eye. It normally happens in the morning and at night. Ebony has not got SM but CM and Clare said that these signs could be related to painful CM. So the vet has put Ebony on Trocoxil and this tablet is only given monthly. Has anybody got any experience with this drug?

I know so many people are going through the same thing on this forum. I must honestly say it is scaring me. Until now my two were only on Zitac, two month later they are on pain medicine. It was great to have two month of them being happy but now they are in discomfort and pain again. Two month ago I cried so much then finally we returned to some normality now I am back at the beginning.

Sabine, I am so sorry to read this.
When you have SM dogs you live with uncertainty all the time & it is scary.

It is always so difficult when owners are concerned about their dogs scratching, and I really don't want to send you off on a wild goose chase, but I would wonder about something like rabbit mite ( Cheyletiella ) if they have both started intense scratching at the same time.

Personally, if I was unsure whether it was actually a SM type scratching, I might try bathing them both in the human anti-dandruft shampoo Selsun ( contains selenium )
It might help & it should not have any harmful effects, even if it isn't those common little pests that are causing the irritation.

On the other hand, with Cheyletiella I would expect the level of itchiness to remain fairly constant throughout the whole day. If it is worse morning and evening, that is something that has often been reported by owners of SM dogs.

Tommy is on Lyrica and it has helped him so much. Definitely a wonder drug as far as he is concerned.

[Jasperxxgabby]

Sabine, I hope the medication helps both Harley and Ebony, it must be so difficult for you but I admire your determination to always do the best for your little dogs, thinking of you and sending gentle hugs to Harley and Ebony

[Blondiemonster]

Just wanna answer two specific questions:
We had two psom earflushes and it certainly helped... If its psom related the ear scratchin wont resolve because of lyrica..


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[Tania]

Hi Sabby,

I am sorry to read this. I am sure if psom was present Dr. Rusbridge would have agreed/diagnosed this, if you are unsure, I would contact her.

Dougall was diagnosed with psom and cm - Molly sm - they are both on trocoxil/gabapentin/zetac - We have more problems with Dougall than Molly It took a while for everything to settle down. Seems odd they are both not doing well! Like Margaret, I don't want to send you off on a wild goose chase but it might be an idea to check the manufacturer of their food hasn't changed any ingredients.

[Sabby]

Hi Sabby,

I am sorry to read this. I am sure if psom was present Dr. Rusbridge would have agreed/diagnosed this, if you are unsure, I would contact her.

Dougall was diagnosed with psom and cm - Molly sm - they are both on trocoxil/gabapentin/zetac - We have more problems with Dougall than Molly It took a while for everything to settle down. Seems odd they are both not doing well! Like Margaret, I don't want to send you off on a wild goose chase but it might be an idea to check the manufacturer of their food hasn't changed any ingredients.

Well I have watched both Ebony & Harley all day and it is only Ebony that is scratching her side. She does it when she gets up from sleeping, you can see she isn’t happy. Harley didn’t scratch at all at his side. I also talked to the vet and as I only used Stronghold last week he didn’t think it’s mites or fleas, about Rabbit mites he said that the dogs have to get in close contact with the rabbit to get this. I am sure with Ebony the scratching is her CM as she has been also rubbing her face on the rug and rolling about 2/3 times a day. With Harley I do think he got PSOM. I think I will ring Clare.

[Margaret C]

about Rabbit mites he said that the dogs have to get in close contact with the rabbit to get this.

I think your vet is a little mistaken there. My dogs have usually picked it up when in boarding kennels.

Cheyletiella is often called rabbit mite but there are actually several species that tend to prefer different species of host.

The mites are often picked up from direct contact with another infested animal. However, the mites and eggs can survive for a short time (days to weeks) in the environment so infestations can be picked up indirectly by contact with bedding or other objects carrying the mites.

Cheyletiella can also move onto people, causing a very itchy rash, though they don't complete their life cycle on people so human infestation is fairly short.

The symptoms and treatment are apparently identical for the different types.

[Karlin]

Agree with Margaret on the mites (and kind of surprised a vet would say this) -- rabbit mites are easily passed dog to dog and I've seen them quite a few times on puppies (Jaspar had them). On the other hand a lot of vets especially outside the UK/Ireland do not seem that familiar with this mite even though they are not uncommon on dogs -- think a lot of mite related scratching gets misdiagnosed as allergies or fleas (as has happened to some here who later found they were dealing with these mites). They were one of the first things my vets checked for on Jaspar. They'd be easily passed around a kennel.

Jaspar had ear flushing for PSOM and it didn't do much. Many, maybe most dogs need the procedure more than once. I would be very sure all other options are eliminated before I'd try that procedure. You'd need to ask a neurologist I think about whether Lyrica would work for PSOM -- I don't think so but not at all sure. PSOM would not typically cause scratching to the rest of the body away from the head though. SM would. CM perhaps. A dog could be puncturing its eardrum out of pain from CM/SM. I am really sorry you are trying to work through this -- I think it is very hard to say definitely what is going on.

Clare told me she believes Trocoxil works especially well for CM/SM dogs because of the actual formulation.