degenerative myelopathy

weimamama · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 3:36 pm Post subject: degenerative myelopathy

I need your thoughts and prayers for my boy, Blue.
He's getting old and stiffening up in his back legs so we took him to the vet yesterday to see if it's arthrirtis and to see what we could/should be giving him for pain/mobility. Well, doc says it's not so much arthritis, but degenerative myelopathy. No pain, no cure, just slow eventual paralysis. I am heartbroken and haven't let on to Chris how sad I really amover this. He was w/ me and heard the same things and is sad and wants to do whatever we can to give Blue a long happy life--even a cart if need be. I dont know what to do other than be sad right now. I love him more than words as even though we rescued him, I feel he saved us after losing our first together doggy(non-Weim) of 14 yrs. He was 6.5 yrs old and it's too short of a timespan.
I hope he truly is NOT in any pain and with supplements and exercise, we can slow the progression down and get a few more good years with him.

Ok I feel a little better now that I typed it all out, but am still very sad.
thanks for "listening"

Any suggestions other than Cosequin and vitamin E (vet recommended)?

Oh yeah and he has to have dental work done soon as blood work comes back... over 1000.00!

sherry · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 4:06 pm Post subject:

I am so sorry to hear that about Blue.Jag and I will be thinking of you and Blue Sad

weimdawgs · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 6:13 pm Post subject:

Oh Kell..I am so sorry. I am heartbroken, for you and Blue. He is such a sweet boy. But don't give up. Look at Jake...the vet told us he probably wouldn't live long enough to get the staples out after his surgery. That was 5 months ago and so far he is going strong.

Do some research, keep him active to keep his muscles as strong as possible. Sign up for the Holistic Weim list..there are some great people there that can give you advice on natural stuff. I spent days on the computer after Jake was diagnosed.

Our old boys are so precious to us. He didn't seem to be in pain at the picnic. He was having a very good time.

Please give Blue a big hug from me and kisses from the gang.

weimdawgs · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 7:06 pm Post subject:

And of course, he is in my prayers.

Heart

Blue

NenaGunther · Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 9:15 pm Post subject:

weimamama Before you do anything, please check this out...

We take our dogs to Vet at the Barn in Chestnut Ridge, NY

www.vetatthebarn.com or 845-356-3838

You are only about 35 minutes from there. They are holistic and medicinal.

Our vet is Dr. Bea or Dr. Beatrice Ehrsam, she is absolutely wonderful.
Back in 2002, our Chow/Lab Mix was diagnosed with liver disease, after our regular vet told us we should put her down, I started looking for an alternative. Dr. Bea treated her for 2.5 years with herbal supplements and acupuncture. It was amazing. She had quality of life and she was almost 13 when she passed away.

I'm not sure how old Blue is, but IMO would not be putting him under anesthesia unless it was absolutely necessary - for the teeth work I mean.

They do non-anesthetic teeth cleaning too.

Hope this helps. Smile

And prayers for Blue. Heart

Luvweims · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 6:45 pm Post subject:

How is Blue doing?

I lost a German Shepherd to degenerative myelopathy several years ago. It is definitely not a fun disease but at least there is no pain. There is a vet in Fla doing extensive work on this. The website is http://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu/neuro/DM_Web/DMofGS.htm

There is information about supplements, exercise, etc.

If I can offer any support as a person who has been through this, just let me know.

weimamama · Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:02 pm Post subject:

Blue seems to be ok for now... very stiff after certain activity. Long car trips are bad the rest of the day into next. We've been giving baby aspirin's, vit e and nupro.
He rolls his feet sometimes and other times he runs/hops around like a nut. I worry he'll need a cart, still and wonder how long before that is the case. Til then, thanks for thinking about us and asking!

Thanks for the link too. I'll go check it out Smile