hikinghounds

I'm so sorry Snuggles has encephalitis. My boy Zephyr came down with it about 4.5 years ago. He is doing great. We went with the aggressive treatment that was very similiar to what 3greys2cats' girl Sara used. We had a different type of chemo, but very effective. I think this type of treatment is considered to have the best chance of completely getting rid of the encephalitis with no relapses. I have a blog http://hikinghounds.blogspot.com/where I wrote about a lot of what he went through and his treatment. The posts sart in March of 2011. It was very scary and I was so happy to have the support from greytalk and 3greys2cats. I hope Snuggles continues to improve. Sending lots of good thoughts to you and Snuggles!

My Zephyr does this exact same thing and I do think it's a focal/partial seizure. He has them rarely, maybe every few months. The last time was just a few weeks ago and it happened two or three nights in a row. He already takes a seizure medicine for seizures that were caused by probable scar tissue that formed when he had encephalitis. Those seizures are fully controlled. I've wondered about dementia/canine cognitive disorder too, and if he might get that because of when he had encephalitis. I've been giving him some Denamarin lately to see if that helps. But they are mild and don't happen often or last more than 5 to 15 minutes, so I don't plan on changing his other meds. Might be worth a vet visit for Ruby though.

Another condition that causes red third eyelids and redness in the whites is Atypical Pannus. Sometimes a discharge is associated with it, other times not. It also does not cause much or any discomfort for the dog. One of mine was diagnosed with it. At first I thought allergies, but it wasn't seasonal and didn't improve with antihistamines. It's very easily managed with prescription eye drops, but can get worse if not treated. I did see a specialist to have it diagnosed, etc.

I have a Help Em Up harness http://helpemup.com/ that I used when my Zephyr and just come home from a neurological emergency and could barely walk. With it I was able to get him up and down stairs and help him walk on uneven ground all by myself. I really like how it has the back harness and both the front and back fit well.

Oh no, I am so sorry. I'm sure she knows how much you love her. She loves you too. I will be thinking of you all and sending peace to you and Frappy.

Gosh, I'm happy to see that Frappy's leg improved, I've been thinking of her a lot! But, of course sorry to hear about the seizures. She has definitely had a rough time and must be super strong. How big were the seizures? The other dogs, including Sara, that I've known about with this type of thing had to undergo many months of immune suppressant treatment. So, I think it would be unusual for them to want to decrease that so soon, if they are. I think it would be hard to decide how to proceed. I would also want to know what's going on, if it's something else or if the inflammation is just not controlled yet. I can't remember, did they do an MRI of her brain before? On the other hand I can see wanting to give her a break. Maybe ask them if or how doing an MRI now would change her treatment plan. You know Frappy best, so trust your intuition. How is she doing with her eating, walking, and alertness now?

Oh gosh, I'm so so sorry. I know it's so hard to be in this situation. Whatever decision you make she will always know how much you love her. Frappy, and you, are in my thoughts today.

I'm so sorry that Frappy's leg has gotten worse. I really hope the antibiotics kick in and it starts to improve. I can't imagine having something like that come up along with the encephalitis. I'll be thinking of her and sending healing thoughts.

Oh gosh, I am so sorry that her toe/leg are so swollen. Hope the Clavamox will help fast. It's not fun to have other things come up when your trying to get things resolved. When ever Zephyr had a chemotherapy treatment he also had to take an antibiotic for about a week because of the lowered immune system. Congratulations on the nice stool though! :-) When Zephyr had his first formed stool I was so happy I actually took a picture of it! Hang in there!

I'm glad to hear that Frappy seems to be doing generally better. Sorry to hear about the hurt toe and diarrhea though. Zephyr had diarrhea and really soft stools for a long time, weeks or more. He had some blood in it too, and they thought it was from the prednisone. I think stress also causes that, and Frappy's probably stressed from everything. Don't feel bad about calling the vet. One of the best things I learned from Zephyr's ordeal was to speak up and advocate for him. Plus, the vet office probably appreciates everything your doing for Frappy. You're right, she is compromised right now and she needs all that extra careful care. I hope she continues to improve. Sending good thoughts.

How is Frappy doing? I hope things are going well and she is continuing to feel better!

That's great that she is home! Zephyr didn't actually take Cyclosporine, I've just read about other dogs taking cyclosporine for encephalitis. I did have a cat that took cyclosporine for his allergies, and sometimes it did make his stomach upset. I know the cyclosporine says to use gloves, but I was bad and never did with my cat, but that was only 25mg. Zephyr had four treatments of Lomustine over 5 months and then 5 months on Procarbazine. I think cyclosporine is much milder than the treatment Zephyr had, not that it's a bad treatment though. If she still continues to show signs of the encephalitis then maybe you could continue to ask about the other stronger chemotherapy type treatments. Do they have any idea what has caused this in Frappy? I know occasionally it's a reaction to vaccines. I never found out for sure what caused Zephyr's encephalitis. He was on prednisone, 5mg twice a day for about a year and a half. The neurologist wanted to have him on about 20mg twice a day, but is belly couldn't handle the high dose of prednisone. But during his critical stage he did get high doses of steroids. He started out on Phenobarbital but we switched him to the generic form of Keppra about 6 months later because all of the medications were starting to have an affect on his liver. Keppra has very little or no affect on the liver. He still takes a low dose of the generic Keppra. I will say that Zephyr had diarrhea or soft stools for weeks from all the meds and stress, but he had lost 10 lbs. and was famished at that point so I let him eat just about whatever he wanted. I also added a lot of cooked fresh beef and chicken to his meals. I definitely think you are on the right track and doing the right things. Feel free to private message me too if you'd like. I bet she is so happy to be home and feeling better. I am sure that Frappy also knows how much you are doing for her and how much you love her, and that it's helping her. It's amazing how strong they can be. Hugs to you both!

I'm so glad you got some good news and that she is doing better!! Excellent that they are going to try cyclosporin. I don't think cyclosporin is as strong as a chemotherapy like Zephyr and Sara had, probably depending on the dose. So hopefully you won't see the side effects like Zephyr had. I know other dogs have taken cyclosporin for the encephalitis though and it has helped. I'm also glad that the blog helped. One of the reasons I wrote it all was that I hoped it would help others because there is not much info about the treatment of encephalitis in dogs out there. Hope you have a good night and get more good news tomorrow.

Still sending prayers! I'm so glad they are going to switch her medication. Poor girl. When Zephyr was in the hospital and couldn't eat I fed him a mush of food with a syringe, like you are. It did seem to help him. Hang in there!

No, they don't have to wean. In fact they usually continue treating with the steroid while doing the chemo treatment. Zephyr actually started on a higher prednisone dose, I think 20mg twice a day. A few weeks after his first chemo treatment we started lowering the dose because his belly wasn't tolerating the prednisone well. I guess I would point out that Frappy has been going through this for a few weeks and hasn't improved a lot and now seems worse. My neurologist only waited 36 hours before we decided to do chemo. Obviously I'm not a vet, but I do think that the chemo, or maybe other immune suppressants that are more effective than steroids, are the preferred treatment because they have given better results. That's what I've read and the neurologist told me. It's hard to say if it's the side effects of the phenobarbital, but I think I would be contacting them especially since she has actually seemed to get worse today. Sorry you are going through this, I know how hard and scary it is.

To me, this doesn't sound like it's just from the pheno. I would definitely be insisting on talking with the neurologist or bringing her in. Phenobarbital should actually increase their appetite. The thing is, many of the symptoms you are describing are also symptoms of the encephalitis and meningitis, not just side effects of pheno. For reference, Zephyr was on 10 mg of pred (which was low), 90 of pheno, along with his chemo treatment, and did not show the severity of symptoms that Frappy is having once I brought him home. He did have those symptoms when the encephalitis was active and he was at the hospital during the worst of it all and had not received his first chemo treatment. From what I've read, and was told by my neurologist, dogs that are receiving only prednisone to control the encephalitis/meningitis have to take a much larger dose of prednisone than 10mg to see improvement. I would really ask them about other treatment options than prednisone. Something that will lower the immune response, like chemo, or I know some dogs have been given cyclosporine. I have a blog, http://hikinghounds.blogspot.com/ that I wrote all about Zephyr's treatment. The entries start in March of 2011 and go on for about a year and a half. I know all dogs and situations are not the same, but I hope this info might help you when talking to the vet. Sending lots of prayers to you and Frappy!

Have you asked about the chemotherapy treatment? It's considered the best treatment for immune mediated encephalitis, etc. Sara and Zephyr's symptoms and condition were almost identical. Like Sara, Zephyr would not have made it without this treatment. It's effective in stopping the inflammation and stopping the immune response that is causing it, as opposed to trying to manage it with steroids which is not always effective. Zephyr had 4 treatments of Lomustine over 5 months and then 5 months of Procarbazine that we started to taper off around 3 months. I really hope Frappy continues to improve. Sending healing thoughts and hugs to both of you.

My boy Zephyr had immune mediated encephalitis, which I think is similar to meningitis but it is in the brain. I went with the chemotherapy treatment that reduces the inflammation and basically turns off the immune system to stop the inflammation reaction. He had aggressive chemo of 4 treatments, about 5 months, and 5 months of a daily less aggressive chemo that was tapered. He fully recovered and has no problems. He was 4 when this happened and is now 7.5. Sorry to hear your girl, and you, are going through this. I know it is very scary. Sending good thoughts to you both.

I have weaned a dog off pheno and it was a slow process that took weeks to over a month. We started with a small decrease, no more than 1/4 of his dose at a time and it would stay at that level for a week or so. But, I agree seeing a neurologist is a good idea. My boy ended up back on seizure meds after a few months, but the generic form of Keppra, not phenobabital. The Keppra, or generic, has less long term side effects.

Yay!!

I switched my boys to Earthborn Great Plains when I wanted to get away from chicken and it has been great. They really like it and have consistently good stools. They did well when I tried Orejin Red Meat, but one of them wasn't that into the taste and the cost was high. I switched to the Earthborn from Taste of the Wild High Prairie in January.

I don't really know how long dogs usually live with cardiomyopathy, but the few dogs I've known with it had to be on medicine. I do know that greyhounds have naturally larger hearts and I've heard that sometimes a vet will misdiagnose them with cardiomyopathy. If Riley hasn't ever had any actual heart problems I wonder if it could have been misdiagnosed?

Sending positive thoughts to Zariel. He looks so sweet.

I think she looks good. I've raised two greyhound puppies and at 1.5 years old they were very lean and lanky. I always let them eat as much as they wanted, but they could be picky and not super hungry sometimes. Plus, overfeeding can cause loose stools, etc. The comments from others can be frustrating and hurtful, but I don't think people understand the metabolism of greyhounds and that dogs don't need to be padded. She looks happy and healthy to me. :-)

My vet was out of it and said it's back ordered and maybe the company was having trouble making or getting it. Seems ridiculous that they are charging that much. He gave us the dexamethasone as an alternative.