degenerative myelopathy

[bobt]

Hi All,
I have an 11+ year old female fawn that was a rescue boxer. Her name is Molly. I have been blessed with a boxer with limited health issues. Early on she had one tumor and had to have a toe removed but since then she has been great. I stick to all the rules governing nutrition and care so her longevity and good health is welcomed.
February this year she started crossing her left leg with her right while walking. My diagnosis was degenerative myelopathy. The vet agreed as the symptoms to date have followed the disease. Now in October she has lost 50% or more of her muscle mass in the left leg through atrophy and the right has started to show signs of following the left leg. She walks in an almost controlled left fall at this point but is still mobile.

I know some of you might know about canine adequan. I believe this has helped maintain her mobility and lessen the arthritic pain in her front limbs. She had an injury in her front right leg and when this flared up she could hardly walk. On the adequan she has been able to maintain this leg and has maintained her mobility. Jusy my success in one area. Shots are expensive but worth it. For the first three months or so there was a very noticeable improvement after the shot. Now not so much but I continue to give them to her. If her injury returned I’m afraid it would be game over.

My question is if anyone thinks there anything else that can be done or am I on the downside of loosing this battle? I am doing mobility therapy nightly on each hind leg. I just can’t think of anything else to be done.

Regards,
bobT

 

[Gatorblu]

I am so sorry to read of Molly's diagnosis. DM is just a cruel disease.I know some vets are now doing stem cell treatments ofr arthritis, I don't know enough about DM to know if it is something to consider or not. I know my boy (who is also over 11) can't have it because he has a tumor on his spleen and they just don't know if it will promote tumor growth. But it might be something to talk over with your vet. It isn't cheap. I priced it here and it would run around $1800. The dogs I have seen coming out of my vets office that have been treated are nothing short of a miracle.

 

[SherylM]

I'm sorry for Molly's struggles. Thank you for giving her such a wonderful home. I had a DM boxer, Jack, who has been gone 4 years now. I can tell you from experience that the longer you keep Molly's front end strong the better. However DM is progressive and will eventually move forward and the shots may no longer work. Whatever you can do to keep Molly's mind busy as her body fails her the better. It's great to do all the PT to keep muscle mass but you have to keep her mind active too. Make sure she has plenty of stimulation with yummy chew toys and if she can do any type of obedience while standing still or laying down practice that with her. Place three plastic cups upside down in front of her, hide a treat in one and let her search the cups until she finds the reward (this was Jack's favorite). Another good thing is one of those toys that you put the treats in and she has to work to get them out. Sometimes a mental workout is more exhausting than a physical one. And if you have another dog or Molly has a doggy friend, make sure they keep interacting with her so that she doesn't loose that canine friendship. Jack used to love having his toys place in such a way that brought Indy (our Boston) close to him so that they could play. Good luck with Molly and god bless you for taking care of her.

 

[bobt]

The vet and I have discussed stem cell treatment but for some reason it wasn't a viable choice in Molly's case. I don't remember why at the moment. I don't have kids so having said that money wasn't the deciding factor ;-) His diagnosis I believe led to the decision. He's a pretty great vet who really cares so I went along with the decision. We talked at length on the subject because I was not giving up on any potential solution.

Molly has never been one to chew on anything. I buy her a toy and she playes with it for about 5min and then never playes with it again. The Kong treat/toy has been the only thing she messes with. She loves kids so I let my girlfriend (Malry) children play with her. In all she has some stimulation but there is little I can do while I am at work although I do leave her with Mary on her work from home days for added companionship.

Thanks for your support.

Regards,
Bob T.

 

[Lives4Fuego]

Have you tried steroids?

Our 8 year old boxer, Fuego, started dragging his hind right feet earlier this year. We saw a veterinary neurologist who believed he had DM. We decided to do a MRI and have spinal fluid tested just in case. CSF showed a virus (we are still trying to sort out what this is) but the vet put Fuego on 1.5 mg of Dexamethasone. He improved greatly from this treatment! Before the steroids we tried Rimadyl with no success.

Just a thought but have you tried Prednisone or Dexamethasone to see if there is inflammation that could be causing the ataxia?

Sending you good vibes as we can *definitely* relate!

 

[bobt]

Lives4Fuego,
No I have not done that but a this point I am unsure it would do any good. Her left hind leg is about 95% gone and has almost fully atropied from the lack of muscle control. Her right leg is following the left but at a slower pace. It is about 25% gone. She falls constantly if I do not control her walking. Its a terrible emotional wrenching event watching this.

It has been just about a year since the onset of the first symptoms, which were the left leg staggering/hesitation during a walk and sometimes crossing the right leg albeit rarely at that time.

I will call the vet this afternoon and mention this however. I am certainly at this point becoming more desperate for some help. It won't be long beore she is fully paralized.