Guest Alexandra_W Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 I wrote in another post HERE about my male not being well and we donät have any clue what is wrong. He was put on meloxicam this tuesday. We have seen NO signs of pain whatsover, but as a trial put him on meloxicam to see if it made any difference. And, to my suprise, it actually did. The improvement isnt 100%, and still good days and bad days, but even on a bad day there is like 50% improvement, on a good day it is about 75% improvment. First day, after given a double dose for starter, the improvement was 90%. I was a bit puzzled what could cause pain without ANY signs palpable etc on the outside, but just wait till monday and call the vet. Then this evening I should cut his claws. He has never hade 'the best' claws possible, they have been slightly flaky at the tip of them. Not fragile or brittle. I have owned him since late summer 2007, and he had several times tore his dew claws, and we removed them by surgery in sept 2008. The quality of the claw was fine, so it was just because big dew claws (attached to bone) and litterally roamin over wood and stone. Since the removal of the dew claws it has been fine. Until January this year when he tore the capsule of a toeclaw. Got infected and had some trouble to get rid of the infection, had to change the antibiotics. Then healed fine, and has stayed fine. In january when he tore the claw capsule, I noticed that he had a bit more flaky claws than usual, and some claws was a bit soft-ish. Vet checked them and said that it was pretty normal and nothing to worry about. But.. At the moment his claws are NOT good. 1 - 2 claws on each foot is fine and just normal. Hard, solid, normal shape and a spiked tip and so on. But the other.. They are like 'clubbed', more lite a knob than a claw, very soft at the tip, looks nothing like a normal claw. And very flaky. At one claw on a back foot, it actually had been flakes removed down to the quick. Not at the tip at the claw, but at the side. No swelling, no heat, no signs of any infection, and the capsules of the claws seems to be attached firmly. I have read about Symmetrical Lupoid Onychodystrophy, SLO, but he dont loose the claws. And everywere I read about SLO they says the main sign is loosing claws. And he hasn't lost any claw, and it says they start loosing them in 1 - 2 months, so he 'should' have been loosing them by now if it was SLO, right? But still, teh other symptoms fit the bill. So my questions is: Anyone with experience of SLO? What were the symptoms? What else can it be? And - can this be the source of undiscovered pain, that caused the grumpiness and strage behavioural changes (see other thread)? Ang why, why, why hasn't he limped even once, and seemed unbothered when playing - heavily, the wrestle and play really, really physical and hard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliforniaGreys Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 (edited) Have you had his thyroid checked? I thought Misty had SLO and my vet thought it may be due to a low thyroid. He removed all of Misty's nails, ran a full thyroid panel and that was it. Her nails have started to grow back, very slowly but in good shape. Just a thought, you may want to have his thyroid checked if it isin't SLO Edited February 21, 2009 by cbudshome Quote Missing my little Misty who took a huge piece of my heart with her on 5/2/09, and Ekko, on 6/28/12 For the sick, the lost, and the homeless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alexandra_W Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Yes, thyroid levels (TSH, total T4, free T4 and total T3) checked at jan 20th, and perfectly fine. We have checked a lot (see the linked thread) but not found anything. The other thread gives more information about the orher symptoms (behavioural etc), and what we have checked and so on =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliforniaGreys Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Yes, thyroid levels (TSH, total T4, free T4 and total T3) checked at jan 20th, and perfectly fine. We have checked a lot (see the linked thread) but not found anything. The other thread gives more information about the orher symptoms (behavioural etc), and what we have checked and so on =) Sorry, I didn't check the other thread. If you would like, post your email here and I will pm one of the members here who is the guru of SLO, I bet she can be of help here. Quote Missing my little Misty who took a huge piece of my heart with her on 5/2/09, and Ekko, on 6/28/12 For the sick, the lost, and the homeless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alexandra_W Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 No worries. Even if you had read the other thread, it is a lot of information there and simply to miss some of it =) My e-mail adress you mean? alexandra.wikner@telia.com (Swedish one, thats why it sounds strange ) Do you (or anyone else) know if it can ble SLO even WITHOUT the loss of claws? I just rechecked the claws very closley and not a sign of anything strange or un-normal were the claw meets the flesh (Dunno the correct english term, nailbed perhaps?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliforniaGreys Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 No worries. Even if you had read the other thread, it is a lot of information there and simply to miss some of it =) My e-mail adress you mean? alexandra.wikner@telia.com (Swedish one, thats why it sounds strange ) Do you (or anyone else) know if it can ble SLO even WITHOUT the loss of claws? I just rechecked the claws very closley and not a sign of anything strange or un-normal were the claw meets the flesh (Dunno the correct english term, nailbed perhaps?) I think it's still possible. Usually a vet, a Grey savy vet will know SLO when they see it. Dermatologists see it all the time and they hardly ever do the bone scrape to get an actual dx. Quote Missing my little Misty who took a huge piece of my heart with her on 5/2/09, and Ekko, on 6/28/12 For the sick, the lost, and the homeless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cleoandisismom Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Last winter my Isis was diagnosed with SLO. When talking with our vet, he said his Vislya (sp??) also has it, but doesn't have claw trouble --she has issues with her nose getting scabby. Because it didn't really apply to what we were seeing with Isis, I didn't focus on what he was saying, but just to let you know while the claw thing may be the most common symptom, it's not always present. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alexandra_W Posted February 21, 2009 Share Posted February 21, 2009 Happily, I live near the university veterinary clinic, and they have studies done and going on about SLO in different breeds. So there should be no problem to get an SLO-experienced vet to look at it. Especially as it is a breed 'prone to' SLO. But curious about that if they could have it without loosing nails. For my sake, and to know if a vet says 'no nail-loss, can't be SLO' and I don't get to see a 'specialist' in SLO because of that (and it still can be SLO but it gets undiagnosed) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbotaina Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I wouldn't think so, Alexandra. SLO has a pretty obvious appearance, the dog is sore on the nails, the nails bleed and fall off. Regrowth can look like crumbly or misshapen nails. But yes, they do normally fall off. Check out this article; it may be of some help: SLO Quote Meredith with Heyokha (HUS Me Teddy) and Crow (Mike Milbury). Missing Turbo (Sendahl Boss), Pancho, JoJo, and "Fat Stacks" Juana, the psycho kitty. Canku wakan kin manipi."Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alexandra_W Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 The crumbly and misshappen appearance is how the majority of his nail looks, but whitout fallen of first. Thanks for the link, I have read it earlier, and a lot of other ones, and just the fact that EVERYWERE they say that with SLO the nails come off. WHat can it be if not SLO, anyone with ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DofSweetPotatos Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Ok, I'm not a vet, but am speaking from experience. Yardman has dry crumbly nails and hyperkeratosis of his feet. He had a huge behavior change several years ago. We did thyroid tests, blood tests, you name it, we did it. Everything was normal for a greyhound. After exhausting everything, the vet suggested a low dose of Soloxine, temporary, just to see if it made a difference. It did! Even after supplementing with the Soloxine, his bloodwork continued to stay just about where it was prior to introducing the Soloxine. While it may seem like it's not his thyroid, it may indeed actually be. Trying a thyroid med for a short period of time may not be a bad idea. It will take a few days to a few weeks to notice a change in behavior and health, but it may happen. Just be sure to monitor bloodwork while doing this. His nails could be auto-immune related. Yes, SLO should have nail loss, however, my Yardman grows SLO nails and yet loses them only if I manage to quick one while trimming or through trauma of some sort. For nail and skin health, we started supplementing with Fish oil, Vitamin B complex and Vitamin e and CoQ10. The EFA's can help the nails and skin support healthy growth. It takes weeks to see the difference. Here's hoping your pup begins to feel better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alexandra_W Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 (edited) Thank you for answers. He has been on vitamin B for a month, with double the normal dose for the last two weeks. Been on Viacutan Plus for the past 2 weeks too. Viacutan for those who don't know (dunno if you have it over there): http://www.nutrecare.co.uk/prod5.asp?prod_...&offset=168 The vitamin B helped nada, but still to early to say anything about the Viacutan oil. Trying to get hold of the vet by phone atm, but so far just gets the busy signals. But after a week off on vacation and a monday morning I guess he has a tons of calls to answer. Edited February 23, 2009 by Alexandra_W Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alexandra_W Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 My regular vet thought that as he had been better on the metacam, we should try give him a 2 week course of metacam to see if he had some kind of inflammation that metacam and rest could cure. I was not that happy with that answer actually. I understand the thinking, but I think we should figure out WHAT is causing the ev pain and ev inflammation. So I called the veterinary university clinic and gave them a brief description, and they booked him in tomorrow (wow, fast work) to se a 'medicinary vet'. Fingers crossed please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbotaina Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 WHat can it be if not SLO, anyone with ideas? Fungal infection. But if it is a fungal infection, they should be able to do a scraping and DX it really quickly. Good thoughts for your pup today! Hope they can finally get to the bottom of all this! Quote Meredith with Heyokha (HUS Me Teddy) and Crow (Mike Milbury). Missing Turbo (Sendahl Boss), Pancho, JoJo, and "Fat Stacks" Juana, the psycho kitty. Canku wakan kin manipi."Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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