Jane's @ Home, Recovering (probable Stroke)

[Rickiesmom]

Also checking in and hoping the news is positive.

[Guest vahoundlover]

Checking in as well

[Guest SoulsMom]

Me too . . .

[Guest VelvetEars]

Sorry for the delay - I went to the hospital last night at 8 for a mom in labor and got home at 4a, so I was sleeping and then working.

 

Just got a call from the vet --- she's improving a little more. She will stand without support. the only leg that's still got some issues is her left front - if they knuckle it under, she won't flip it back out, and if she tries to walk, she wants to walk in a right circle. so it appears that the lesion in her brain is a little on the right side. Her blood pressure is back down to normal - had been 200/something yesterday, and her cardiac consult today showed some possible thickening in the walls of her heart - they're doing some journal research to see if this is a greyhound thing or not, but it looks like she'll also be coming home on blood pressure meds along with everything else she's on.

 

I've made arrangements to bring her home Sat morning - I just can't take off work tomrrow afternoon to get her, so altho' it means leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning to make the drive, it's my only choice. They'll move her out of ICU into the regular ward tomorrow and cut her fluids by half.

 

She's still blind - they've been doing the "menace test" and she's not responding, so ..... it is what it is.

 

As much as she's going to hate it, we'll be setting up her old crate tomorrow night in preparation for Saturday's homecoming - because there will be times when we both can't be home, she'll have to be crated for her own safety. And, I'm thinking at least for awhile, she'll be sleeping in her crate, which will also stress her out, but until she can do stairs with help, there's not really another option.

 

Does anyone have recommendations for a harness? Should I just get the regular Premier harness at Petsmart, or is there something else I should be looking for?

[kikibean]

Hang in there Meredith!

 

I'm glad she's getting better. She's a fighter.

 

Leann has No Pull harnesses from Wiggles, Wags & Whiskers that we're selling. I used one of those for RJ w/ his meningitis and for Benji with his bad back end. I also used it for Mimi when she had vestibular. I like them because they don't cut into their armpits!

 

Keep us updated & yell if you need any help.

 

Kelly

[Guest Tenderhearts]

Meredith, I have no suggestions on the harness, but wanted to thank you for the update and offer continuing prayers for Jane!!!!!! :hope :hope

[DustysMom]

Thinking of you today. Thanks for the update.

[Neighsayer]

Thanks for the update. Hope she continues to improve. If she hates the crate can you use an x-pen to make a small room for her?

I second the WWW harness.

[Cully]

Sending :bighug

[Guest vahoundlover]

Glad to hear she's still improving! How about using an X pen to block off a portion of a room? We did that for Boss and it made life soo much easier. I could get to him quickly thru the doorway (babygated) and we had plenty of room to help him and he still felt like a member of the family.

 

 

 

 

[Guest VelvetEars]

the rooms in our house aren't very big, and won't work well for trying to block off a part for her. we'll just have to see how mobile she thinks she is when she gets here, and try to adapt accordingly, i think.

 

kelly - i'll check with Leanne tomorrow about the harness. maybe i can meet up with her tomorrow to get one.

[Guest chigal950]

Sending lots of hugs and care your way.

[Greytlady94]

A baby gate at the stairs would help protect her also. If she is downstairs you can have it there, if she is upstairs move it up. We did our stairs that way when our greyhound Charlie was diagnosed with OS.

[Guest Becki]

I am glad she will be able to come home

[Guest grey_dreams]

Glad to hear that Jane is improving and that she will come home. All good thoughts are heading your way, for both you and Jane.

[Guest Pookie]

Meredith - I'm so glad you are able to bring her home this weekend

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

If she dislikes the crate, I think I would baby gate doorways/stairs instead.

[Guest VelvetEars]

Well, it's possible we have isolated the cause. I heard from her vet this morning, and something finally came back positive in a test they'd run as a long-shot. She has a protozoan called NEOSPORA. It's generally seen in cattle and puppies, but in dogs the symptoms match up with Jane's, including the brain lesion. unfortunately, it's not something anyone seems to know much about - there aren't many studies, and those we've found are on puppies, so we have no idea about prognosis. Clindamycin seems to be the drug of choice, and she's already on it, so we're ahead of the game there. I also found one study that said a chemo drug - toltrazuril - had promise, so I'm going to check with the vet on that as well as a possibility.

 

I'm still bringing her home tomorrow. This morning, they had to actually shut her cage while getting towels, etc., because she was trying to get out, whereas in the past, she's been content to just hang out with the door open. And she's been trying to use her left front leg some, so that's an improvement too.

[Guest PhillyPups]

to you, she may be able to do stairs to sleep with you with a big towel as a sling and help, and a babygate on the bedroom door, which may keep her stress level down. I am so happy you are bringing her home and feel she may heal quicker in her own environment and with her Mama by her side. I don't know if GSU has any experience with the NEOSPORA and greyhounds, but it is worth an e-mail to find out.

[Remolacha]

Sounds like she is gradually improving! I am sure she will feel better at home

[Guest SillyDog]

I found 2 articles that each suggest a different treatment path:

 

 

1: J Small Anim Pract. 2007 Jun;48(6):308-12

 

Gribbles Veterinary Parthology, 840 Tremaine Avenue, Palmerston North, New Zealand.

 

The dog is a definitive host of the protozoan parasite Neospora caninum, and in many parts of the world, infection is relatively common as determined by serology. Reported seroprevalences usually range from 0 to 20 per cent, however, reports of clinically affected dogs are infrequent. Affected dogs are generally less than six months old and predominantly have signs of an ascending hindleg paralysis, with the associated lesions of polyradiculoneuritis and granulomatous polymyositis. Although any organ may be affected, infections are more common in the central nervous system, muscles, lungs and skin. Ante-mortem diagnosis is difficult but serology and cytology can aid diagnosis. The diagnosis can be confirmed by histology, immunohistochemistry, the use of molecular techniques on biopsy material, or on post-mortem examination. Neospora caninum oocysts are rarely found in faeces and must be differentiated from oocysts of related coccidians such as Hammondia heydorni and Toxoplasma gondii. Hammondia heydorni can cause diarrrhoea in immunosuppressed dogs. Neosporosis should be suspected in young pups with an ascending paralysis of the hindlegs. Treatment with clindamycin and potentiated sulphonamides may be useful in cases where muscular atrophy and fibrosis are absent. Feeding of raw meat is a potential risk factor for infection of dogs and should be discouraged.

 

 

2: Int J Parasitol. 2007 Mar 30; [Epub ahead of print]

 

Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Berne, Länggass-Strasse 122, CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland.

 

Neospora caninum represents an important pathogen causing stillbirth and abortion in cattle and neuromuscular disease in dogs. Nitazoxanide (NTZ) and its deacetylated metabolite tizoxanide (TIZ) are nitro-thiazolyl-salicylamide drugs with a broad-spectrum anti-parasitic activity in vitro and in vivo. In order to generate compounds potentially applicable in food and breeding animals, the nitro group was removed, and the thiazole-moiety was modified by other functional groups. We had shown earlier that replacement of the nitro-group by a bromo-moiety did not notably affect in vitro efficacy of the drugs against N. caninum. In this study we report on the characterization of two bromo-derivatives, namely Rm4822 and its de-acetylated putative metabolite Rm4847 in relation to the nitro-compounds NTZ and TIZ. IC(50) values for proliferation inhibition were 4.23 and 4.14muM for NTZ and TIZ, and 14.75 and 13.68muM for Rm4822 and Rm4847, respectively. Complete inhibition (IC(99)) was achieved at 19.52 and 22.38muM for NTZ and TIZ, and 18.21 and 17.66muM for Rm4822 and Rm4847, respectively. However, in order to exert a true parasiticidal effect in vitro, continuous culture of infected fibroblasts in the presence of the bromo-thiazolide Rm4847 was required for a period of 3 days, while the nitro-compound TIZ required 5 days continuous drug exposure. Both thiazolides induced rapid egress of N. caninum tachyzoites from their host cells, and egress was inhibited by the cell membrane permeable Ca(2+)-chelator BAPTA-AM. Host cell entry by N. caninum tachyzoites was inhibited by Rm4847 but not by TIZ. Upon release from their host cells, TIZ-treated parasites remained associated with the fibroblast monolayer, re-invaded neighboring host cells and resumed proliferation in the absence of the drug. In contrast, Rm4847 inhibited host cell invasion and respective treated tachyzoites did not proliferate further. This demonstrated that bromo- and nitro-thiazolides exhibit differential effects against the intracellular protozoan N. caninum and bromo-thiazolides could represent a valuable alternative to the nitro-thiazolyl-salicylamide drugs.

 

PMID: 17481636 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

 

 

Good luck with Jane!

[Guest VelvetEars]

I found a good article on it as well --- http://www.uni-sz.bg/bjvm/vol9-no1-01.pdf

 

From what I've read, though, few dogs survive, so I'm not sure how I feel about the whole thing.... Trying to maintain an open mind, and hope that she's - once again - the exception.

[Guest vahoundlover]

I'm so glad Jane is coming home. Having to shut the crate door is a good thing Being home will be good for her, nothing like lovin from mom. Sending tons of prayers she IS the exception.

[Rickiesmom]

Glad you have some answers, finally. Sending prayers Jane beats the odds, she sounds like a fighter so far.

[Guest VelvetEars]

Had another vet visit this afternoon --- they're questioning now if it is neospora, because generally that's a gradual onset of symptoms, and she was bad in the span of an afternoon. So now they're thinking perhaps it was a stroke and the neospora is just an incidental finding. <sigh> I did tell them I'd keep them updated on her progress, and if they want to use her for any sort of teaching case study in the future, they're welcome to.