As an indirect answer to Lacibaby's query about air pressure - a sort of case study (Oliver's main problem is headaches from seriously dilated ventricles and he is on a new medication that targets that specifically, rather than a general neurological pain suppressant like gabapentin).
I've been a bit slow on the uptake but am gradually beginning to make connections:
* Yesterday morning Oliver wouldn't eat his breakfast. He was obviously wanting to, but backed away from it barking. This has happened several times before during the last month.
* Yesterday the air pressure rose steadily from dawn to dusk, 20mb in all, which is a BIG jump.
* On days when the pressure rises or falls rapidly, Oliver gets uncomfortable, although generally his new medication works very well. I have permission from the researchers at the Royal Veterinary College to give him an extra pill on those days, 4 instead of 3 (though they admitted they didn't know what the result would be - and not to do it regularly). The air pressure in August has been going up and down like a yo-yo.
* Over the past three weeks Oliver has had a stomach upset - initially the vet thought colitis, but antibiotics didn't help. It got a little bit better for a couple of days, then worse again - after one of Oliver's refusing his breakfast episodes. Query a tummy bug, but before we could send off a sample it started getting better on its own.
* Looked at the side effects for humans of his new medication (which hasn't been used for CM/SM in dogs before, so nobody's sure how it's going to work) - most common side effect: diarrhoea and stomach upset.
I haven't kept records, but I'm beginning to see a possible pattern. Does Oliver refuse to eat breakfast on days when the pressure is moving quickly, perhaps because although I raise his food dish, he still has to lower his head slightly to eat and that gives him a headache? The uneven pressure days are usually his uncomfortable days when I give him an extra pill. The 2 or 3 times he has refused his breakfast have been followed, either later that day or the following day, by a bout of diarrhoea. My feeling is that 3 pills a day are fine and he does very well on them, but 4 pills in one day are too much for his stomach. Yesterday after barking at his breakfast he didn't have an extra pill, didn't get diarrhoea and ate his usual supper, though he didn't eat his weekly sardines, which he usually enjoys, so perhaps he was still a little queasy from the leap in air pressure and was being sensible. By supper time the air pressure had done its climb and levelled off. This is all guesswork, of course!
I sometimes think Cavalier owners have to be a scientific genius, meteorologist, specialist vet and neurologist all rolled into one to manage SM!! The question now is can we find something to give Oliver on his uncomfortable days to supplement his regular pills without upsetting his stomach?
I think many owners of CM/SM dogs on this forum would say that their dogs have bad days when the air pressure jumps up or down - more headaches, more scratching, more restlessness, depending on the dog. I have friends who have regular migraines who say it affects them as well.
Sorry Brian - a bit off-topic from Daisy's medication!
Kate, Oliver and Aled