Is it Degenerative Myelopathy? Need more advise. - Page 2

Rimadyl gets a lot of undeserved bashing when it's actually a very strong antiinflammatory and good pain killer. It's a med that should be given with caution due to potential liver damage or death, but as your dog has been on it for a year, he's clearly not having a problem with it. If your dog was going to have a problem with it, he would have done it fairly quickly. I would never give it to a lab as they react to it more than any other breed. Never a bad idea to add milk thistle with rimadyl though. Be aware that it is frequently bitter tasting and not all dogs will eat it.

I don't have an issue with the amount of omega 3s you are giving, I'm assuming you are giving salmon oil?, but the Vit E is an enormous amount. Probably fine in the short term, but not in the long term. Definitely ask what that amount is needed for. Maybe there's a good reason. I don't know.

As you are looking at a spinal problem, have you considered chiropractic  for him? As you know where the specific problems are, a chiropractor might make a big difference.

Nerve damage is slow to improve and sometimes never returns exactly as it was. This is my own personal experience. It would be that much harder to know how your dog is faring. Sensations from a damaged nerve can be numbing, itching, tingling, or painful. Once the pressure is relieved from the nerve, and the sooner the better, there can be dramatic improvement. Best wishes for your dog recovering.

My GSD male  progressed similar to Starrchars' only it happened much faster, He was 7 and had a normal annual exam in May. By Oct he was limping on one back foot. ; Two months later the other foot started. He had to be put down on the last day of February.  He was 7 yrs and 8 months.

Thank you for all the advise and info. It really helps. I feel better having heard that Luka is not the correct breed to have DM or that the signs that he's showing is different to that of DM.

Do you think I should still joint the DM forum to get more info?

I'm trying to keep and open mind, but also don't want to add to the stress levels by thinking there might be a chance that Luka has DM.

Thank you once again for eveyone's input in this topic. I appreciate it!

Paul15;  my boy was exactly the same age as yours;  7 years 8 l/2 months old;  WAAAAAAAAAAAY too young in my opinion.  But as I have written before I did start to see changes in his gate and rear at 3 years, but did not contribute it to DM until it truly obviously hit and started giving obvious problems at about 7-7l/2 years old.  Gone 3 l/2 months before his 8th birthday.  Totally unexpected and devastated me as he was also my service dog and the only GSD I had.  So when it took hold it did it with force and devastation.  What a horrible disease to watch your strapping boy go down and not able to get up.  HOpe I do not every have to go thru that again. 

So Rudithor, your boys symptoms do not sound like DM BUT I do feel you could benefit from as much information as you can absorb.  There are some diseases that have similar symptoms as DM with the same outcome;  usually spinal related particularly neck area that is why I would recommend seeing a Chiropractor for him.  Best of luck  Nan

Rudithor, I don't think you should stress about your dog having DM. As I mentioned and as others have said, it is very unlikely your dog has DM, but i do think you could benefit from joining the DM forum. In addition to people who have dogs with DM, there are also people there with dogs that have mobility issues due to various causes. 

It is great that Luka likes the hydrotherapy. As for the healing process for nerve damage, I have a degenerative back condition and in February I did something i shouldn't have been doing and injured my back. I fractured a part of my vertebrae and suffered some nerve damage. My right leg became numb within 24 hours after the injury. I was in terrible pain immediately. I saw the doctor and had an MRI. I won't go not details, but basically he said the pain and numbness may not resolve on its own and if the pain did not resolve I would need pain management or surgery. He told me it could  take up to 12 months for the numbness to go away and if it is not gone in 12 months it is permanent. It took 4 months for the numbness to go away and the pain only took about 8 weeks to go away, but I still have to be careful or it can flare up easily. So, by looking at the MRI, he could not tell me whether or not I would heal on my own or not or how long it would take. My guess is it would be hard for a vet to tell you how long it will take for Luka to improve.  Anyway, that is my experience for what it is worth. I'm not sure if it is helpful or not. 

You seem to be doing everything for Luka and now it is just a matter of waiting to see if it is working. I know how hard that can be :( 

Nan and Paul, My Shelby was only about 5 or 6 when she was diagnosed. She was a rescue, so we don't know her exact age, but she definitely was no older than 6. Yes, way too young. It's a brutal disease. I'm so sorry you lost your dogs to DM. 

Breaks my heart so hear all the stories. They can become like our own children to us and losing them is like losing a family member.

I asked the doctor to look at the MRI again, and she actually went throught the entire body (from head, following the spine all the way down to the hips). She showed me exactly where the spine fluid runs, all around the spinal canal.

When we came to mid neck area, you could clearly see the spinal fluid pinched of slighly on the bottom part. This shows where the one disc in the neck is pinching the nerves and pressing up against the spine. After you pass that disc, everything is fine again. Then there is one more in the lower back, but its not that bad.

They said surgery is definitely an option, but, they'd prefer leaving it up to concervative treatment for now due to the fact that they cannot say 100% which disc is causing the slight neuro delays, but it is one of the discs. They don't want to do an opp on the one disc, and later on realize that it was actually the other disc.

I spoke to the Hydro lady (heather Whitfield, well known here in SA), and I asked her if we could maybe just do the underwater treadmill, which I feel won't do much damage as his spine stays in a straight position. And she also recommended lazer light therapy on the discs and the hind muscles and some ultra sound therapy (definitely not that word, but something sounding like that). I do hope this will work.

I'm seriously scared taking Luka off this resting period, but, I have to take a chance. Its a real catch 22 situation. Have to take the chance and see if his muscles can improve. This I guess will show me that the nerves from the brain to the muscles are getting better. Luka just tunred 11, and exercise is really important at this stage. So I have to take the chance.

I am the founder of the DM Support group. It does not sound like Luka has DM because there is no pain associated with DM.  Its a gradual , almost imperceptible weakening,  which comes on so slowly it slips in the door without even a hint of a breeze. All breeds to get a condition in which the spine degenerates, and that degeneration can be both chronic progressive, but its not the same as the DM of the GSD, which is an autoimmune disease. Many do not understand the differences between various breed DM, which has led to much confusion over testing for the disease. While the DM forum was started for DM dogs, many others participate whose dogs have mobility problems. People there are incredibly creative, supportive, and there is a wealth of knowledge, there, that, IMO, is not equaled anywhere else. I am so sorry your fur baby is having problems, but try to remain positive. Believe it or not, if you can stay on an even keel and remain positive, that will make all the difference in the world with the way in which Luka deals with its pain and disabilities.

Thank you Marjorie. You gave me some good advise on the Dodgerslist forum as well. I appreciate it. Marjorie, Luka does not have any pain, and that is what was so confusing to me. Because I know that DM is not associated with pain. And he has the slight weakness in the hind legs when standing up. I guess this is all because of the different answers each vet has given me, so I find it so extremely difficult to find one answer that will set my mind at ease.

I decided to continue with Mobiflex LD- as it helps with stiff joints associated with age etc.

There are also so many peripheral neuropathies that can cause weakness. Its so hard to wade through the various conditions, so in the support group, we tr y to focus on improving quality of life and share what we have found to work best. Hugs to Luka :)