Can you help?

Hi all

My Tilly is 9 now - and we're still struggling on with SM as best as we can. She's on daily gabapentin, metacam and tramadol - also long term cephacare.

Walking is a big problem now (physio hasn't helped) - but she seems happy to potter around the house and garden with me.

So recently she has been rubbing her head more that usual - with smelly eye discharge. Vet gave me eye lubricant which hasn't made a difference. A couple of days ago the bone on the side of her head ( from her right eye to her ear) is really protruding from the side of her face - this literally happened overnight. I took her straight back to the vet - they gave me antibiotic eye drops (just in case) and said that the bone hasn't changed but it's tissue loss due to her neurological condition that's making the bone seem more pronounced. Surely this couldn't happen overnight! It really feels to me like the bone is sticking out a lot more. She has lost muscle from the right side of her body (front leg mainly) - but this happened over the years.

She is also having bouts of sneezing for minutes on end and her tongue seems to be lolling out of one side of her mouth.

Im really worried about my girl - has anyone heard of loss of tissue/muscle happening this quickly before? Feels like I'm fighting a losing battle.

Ruth x

Hi Ruth

I'm so sorry you've got this worry about Tilly. Symptoms of CM/SM seem to be about as many as there are dogs with the disease! I haven't encountered Tilly's facial problem, though facial paralysis does seem to occur quite often. My Oliver and Aled mostly had symptoms related to their dilated ventricles, such as headaches, though one of Oliver's earliest symptoms was weakness in his right front leg, and this recurred towards the end of his life when at the age of 13 his CM/SM symptoms suddenly started getting worse (both Oliver and Aled were put to sleep last February - Aled aged 7 in heart failure and Oliver aged 13 with hind leg paralysis and other things, probably unrelated to CM/SM). Your vet sounds a bit as if he/she is fumbling in the dark, not quite sure of what needs to be done. Would it be possible to take Tilly to a neurologist who is experienced with CM/SM? Or to phone the neurologist who originally diagnosed Tilly? They may be familiar with her symptoms and be able to suggest a change in medication, or other help.

If walking is a problem, you might find a buggy helpful. Aled loved going out and about in ours, walking as far as he could manage and riding when he got tired - and getting lots of fuss from people we met! I don't know where you live (UK? US?), but if you are in the UK and not too far from Coventry you would be welcome to borrow our buggy as I no longer need it.

I'm sure others here will be able to give you more help, but I can identify with this constant struggle to keep our CM/SM dogs living as comfortable and pain-free a life as possible. It's a fuulltime - and stressful - job!

:hug:

Kate and Ruby (6-year-old Blenheim rescue)

I wonder if this is related to SM or might be some other problem. I don't think a bone could suddenly protrude but is it possible there is hard swelling? Or that she has another condition -- for example, cavaliers seem prone to facial paralysis (as part of or separate from CM/SM) or conditions like masticatory myositis: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=1755 -- which could affect the muscles around that area and perhaps make the bone seem more prominent?

Profile of the Masticatory Myositis Patient

The average patient age is 3 years old. The most common breeds are German shepherds, Labrador retrievers, Doberman pinschers, Golden retrievers, and Cavalier King Charles spaniels. Patients can be of either gender. In the acute phase of the disease, the masticatory muscles are swollen and the eyes appear to bulge due to the swollen pterygoid muscles behind them. There may be a fever and local lymph node swelling at this stage. Results are best if therapy is initiated at this point but unfortunately many owners do not notice the problem until the muscles begin to atrophy and the jaws are rigidly closed, making eating difficult.

Click to expand...

If your vet isn't familiar with these things I think it might be worth a second opinion from a different vet practice or ideally, a neurologist. I'd place a neurologist for a clinical exam at the very top of the list if at all possible. I know from experience that I sometimes would assume something going on was due to existing SM (or MVD) when it turned out to be something else so it might be worth looking at some other possibilities?

Thanks so much for your replies Kate and Karlin x It's been a worrying few days - the eye antibiotics have helped with the eye discharge but the bone / skull protruding I think is worse - I really don't think its muscle / tissue loss now - because her skull just looks bigger on that side. Her right eye seems more droopy too - when I put her drops in the lower lid stays down for ages instead of springing back like the ledt side does.
I've just read the link on masticatory myositis (thanks Karlin) - I'm not sure it's this because she seems to be able to open her mouth normally, she's eating well and can chew her dentastix comfortably (although that's taking longer than normal). I'm going to ask my vet about it because the link does mention muscle atrophy. I think I might ask for her to be sedated so that they can have a good check inside her mouth.
Kate - I live in Deanshanger (between Buckingham and Milton Keynes) not far from you at all. Would it be OK if I pop over sometime? I'd love to try the buggy and it would be really helpful if you'd have a look at Tilly as a fellow cavvie owner. Her symptoms sound very similar to Oliver's.
We saw Claire Rusbridge about two years ago - she gave me vets some great guidance regarding correct drug dosage and pain relief. I will contact her again and see if we can arrange another appointment.
Thanks - Ruth x

Of course you are welcome to come over and borrow the buggy. My personal email address is [email protected] and phone number 024 7659 3694, so do get in touch. I'm no expert, so probably can't be much help with advice about Tilly - but getting an appointment with Clare Rusbridge would be ideal. Not all dogs like a buggy, so borrowing mine means you can 'try before you buy', or not need to buy at all - my new Cavalier certainly doesn't need it at the moment!

All the best

Kate