Asking For Many Prayers

[Guest laceyj]

Sending good thoughts and prayers your way.

[patricia]

Sending more prayers for your sweet baby girl. I wanted to add also...we had a babe that was totally blind...he did VERY well. The only thing was...If I rearranged some furniture I lead him around so that he would become familiar and I leash walked him for his potty time as he felt much more secure doing it that way and so did I.

[HopeForHounds]

Judy, her eyes may explain a lot of the "sad" behavious you are seeing. Foxy has a bluish tint, and has difficulty seeing at night and depth perception problems. That doesn't seem to be Emmy's problem. I have a friend who has a greyhound who suddenly went blind. I'll look to see if the thread is still on H & M.

 

Quick check shows she is no longer a member. I have sent her an email. I saw Freddy a few weeks ago, and he is doing really well.

 

I'll call tomorrow night to get an up date seeing as I'm stuck at work all day.

Edited June 16, 2008 by foxysmom

[Guest VelvetEars]

I just saw this, and it definitely could be blindness....cateracts, maybe? The test they use in the vet's office (at least with Jane) is they cover one eye and then throw a cotton ball at them from different angles.

 

Poor baby.... It could also be that her depth perception is affected, and that's why she's having trouble jumping into her crate, etc.

 

Doesn't necessarily explain the tummy troubles, but if she's having trouble seeing, she may just not be feeling like eating??

Edited June 16, 2008 by VelvetEars

[Guest FreddyZodiak]

I am the Freddy'z mom... have not been on in a long time so I guess my account expired. Freddy had similar symptoms - lethargy, weight loss, not eating, seemed depressed, couldn't walk far without getting tired... then one day he just went blind. A large dose of prednisone resulted in his sight returning within around 30 hours or so. We kept him on that dose for a bit and gradually decreased and now he is on 10 mg every other day for life. The neurologist suspects optic neuritis with an encephalitis component. Please contact me directly and I can send you the report from the neurologist and more details. The only way for sure to determine what is wrong is an MRI which is very expensive so I was unable to do it. He has not lost his sight again and it has been over 2 years.

[Guest FreddyZodiak]

Here is the vet report in case you want this asap... be aware that this report was done after he was successfully treated by prednisone at the e-vet and his weight was up a bit at this point as the pred got the appetite back up... I was told that it is important to treat this right away and try to avoid reoccurrence as each time it happens increases the chance that vision will not return or a higher dose of pred will be needed which is undesierable. He has handled the prednisone incredibly well, but not all dogs handle it well, so other treatment may be needed.

 

Reason for Presentation

Acute blindness. History of neck pain.

HISTORY

Freddy is a 6 year old, male, neutered Greyhound. He was adopted by his owner when he was 3

years old. He has had no serious medical illness prior to the present problem.

On December 6, 2005, Freddy was presented to his veterinarian for weight loss (8lbs). He had

been depressed, had decreased appetite, did not look himself and was not as excitable. He was

tired on his walks. In the diagnostic work-up, it was found that C2-3 vertebrae looked possibly

abnormal. He was treated with meloxicam and antibiotics for 3 days at which point he was

represented to his veterinarian because he had become acutely blind. The animal was walking

very gingerly seemingly looking where he was going. He was put on prednisone, 50mg every 12

hours with a planned decreased regimen. This was just before Christmas. He has been on

12.5mg every other day for the last 5 days. He was previously on 12.5mg daily for one week.

Freddy had one episode of neck pain in April '04 which resolved with Metacam.

DATA

Physical Examination: weight 31kg. Good body condition.

Neurological Examination: The owner finds Freddy's behaviour back to normal. The

menace responses are good on the right and poor on the left. Pupillary light reflexes are

decreased bilaterally. Fundoscopy is unremarkable.

Assessment

The history of lethargy for 3 weeks followed by what appeared to be acute peripheral blindness,

both responding to prednisone, is highly suggestive of optic neuritis with an encephalitis

component. The working diagnosis will be steroid-responsive encephalitis and optic neuritis.

Prognosis

Optic neuritis, especially when the brain is involved, is usually a disease that is non-curable, but

control can be achieved for some time (more than 6 months). In Freddy's case, his behaviour

changed approximately 3 weeks prior to the apparition of the blindness. It will be important

that Freddy's behavior be monitored by the family for subtle changes. It will be the only tool

that we will have to evaluate recurrence.

Plan

* CBC, biochemical profile and urinalysis should be done regularly at 3 months first, then at 6

months intervals to monitor the effects of the steroids.

* Prednisone causes an increased thirst and urination. The animal will also be hungrier.

Avoid weight gain. This is not a breed that has a skeleton to sustain excessive weight gain long

term.

* Prednisone treatment should never be stopped. Ultimately, Freddy will be on 10mg every

second day and should remain on treatment.

* If recurrence occurs, use dexamethasone, 6mg per day for 6 days, then prednisone 25mg

daily for 2 weeks and so on. Recurrences are to be avoided as it is always more difficult to

regain control. There are other alternatives to steroids if the latter were to become ineffective:

Azathioprine, cyclosporine, cytosar, etc.

* Avoid the use of a collar. Use a body harness. Considering the neck pain Freddy experienced

in 2004, he likely has cervical intervertebral disc disease.

Medication

Prednisone 5mg: give 5 tablets orally every other day in the morning for 1 months, followed

by 15mg (3 tablets) every other day for 2 months, then 10mg ever other day thereafter.

[Guest gr8hound47]

Sending prayers for Emmy

[Guest guinness_the_greyt]

WOW! Sorry I missed this thread! Sending lots of love and prayers for lil Miss Emmy!

[Guest poopsie1]

Thinking of you and Emmy today.

[Guest vahoundlover]

Thinking about you guys.

[Guest greyhound1]

:hope :hope

[TheFullHouse]

Here is the vet report in case you want this asap... be aware that this report was done after he was successfully treated by prednisone at the e-vet and his weight was up a bit at this point as the pred got the appetite back up... I was told that it is important to treat this right away and try to avoid reoccurrence as each time it happens increases the chance that vision will not return or a higher dose of pred will be needed which is undesierable. He has handled the prednisone incredibly well, but not all dogs handle it well, so other treatment may be needed.

 

Reason for Presentation

Acute blindness. History of neck pain.

HISTORY

Freddy is a 6 year old, male, neutered Greyhound. He was adopted by his owner when he was 3

years old. He has had no serious medical illness prior to the present problem.

On December 6, 2005, Freddy was presented to his veterinarian for weight loss (8lbs). He had

been depressed, had decreased appetite, did not look himself and was not as excitable. He was

tired on his walks. In the diagnostic work-up, it was found that C2-3 vertebrae looked possibly

abnormal. He was treated with meloxicam and antibiotics for 3 days at which point he was

represented to his veterinarian because he had become acutely blind. The animal was walking

very gingerly seemingly looking where he was going. He was put on prednisone, 50mg every 12

hours with a planned decreased regimen. This was just before Christmas. He has been on

12.5mg every other day for the last 5 days. He was previously on 12.5mg daily for one week.

Freddy had one episode of neck pain in April '04 which resolved with Metacam.

DATA

Physical Examination: weight 31kg. Good body condition.

Neurological Examination: The owner finds Freddy's behaviour back to normal. The

menace responses are good on the right and poor on the left. Pupillary light reflexes are

decreased bilaterally. Fundoscopy is unremarkable.

Assessment

The history of lethargy for 3 weeks followed by what appeared to be acute peripheral blindness,

both responding to prednisone, is highly suggestive of optic neuritis with an encephalitis

component. The working diagnosis will be steroid-responsive encephalitis and optic neuritis.

Prognosis

Optic neuritis, especially when the brain is involved, is usually a disease that is non-curable, but

control can be achieved for some time (more than 6 months). In Freddy's case, his behaviour

changed approximately 3 weeks prior to the apparition of the blindness. It will be important

that Freddy's behavior be monitored by the family for subtle changes. It will be the only tool

that we will have to evaluate recurrence.

Plan

* CBC, biochemical profile and urinalysis should be done regularly at 3 months first, then at 6

months intervals to monitor the effects of the steroids.

* Prednisone causes an increased thirst and urination. The animal will also be hungrier.

Avoid weight gain. This is not a breed that has a skeleton to sustain excessive weight gain long

term.

* Prednisone treatment should never be stopped. Ultimately, Freddy will be on 10mg every

second day and should remain on treatment.

* If recurrence occurs, use dexamethasone, 6mg per day for 6 days, then prednisone 25mg

daily for 2 weeks and so on. Recurrences are to be avoided as it is always more difficult to

regain control. There are other alternatives to steroids if the latter were to become ineffective:

Azathioprine, cyclosporine, cytosar, etc.

* Avoid the use of a collar. Use a body harness. Considering the neck pain Freddy experienced

in 2004, he likely has cervical intervertebral disc disease.

Medication

Prednisone 5mg: give 5 tablets orally every other day in the morning for 1 months, followed

by 15mg (3 tablets) every other day for 2 months, then 10mg ever other day thereafter.

 

 

 

Thank you so much Anne-Marie, I've sent a copy of your report along with Mike to the vet this morning. They have already left for the vet. Now all I can do is wait.

[Guest MomofSweetPotatoes]

Thinking many good thoughts for Emmy.

 

(Gus's eyes turned blue with cataracts, I don't know if it would be the same for Emmy)

[galgrey]

Sending good thoughts for Emmy. Will check back later for update.

[Sirocco_Nikki]

[ZoomDoggy]

Emmy, sweetheart!

[Guest MZH]

Keeping my fingers crossed that you get a dx and a treatment plan today.

 

I have a friend whose greyhound suddenly went blind at about age 2. The vet, who was very proactive, put him on IV Rocephen for a month. He also had Lyme disease which they thought could be a factor. His sight returned and his Lyme titer eventually went way down too, IIRC. He needed to be on pred all his life, too, so GME could also have been a factor.

 

You're in my thoughts and I hope it's something simpler to deal with.

 

Marcia in SC

[Guest PhillyPups]

Judy,

 

Sending many and for you and Sweet Emmy.

Edited June 16, 2008 by PhillyPups

[Guest ShelbyzMom]

oh dear, sending lots of and for Emmy and your entire family.

[Guest LolasMom]

Lots of good thoughts and prayers for Emmy this morning.

[TheFullHouse]

She's definitely losing her sight. The vet did a quick pressure check of her eyes and the pressure wasn't really high. He's kept her for the day to do a really good check of her. He will go over the test run over the weekend and do an exam himself to make sure an ultrasound is really necessary. So, all I know right now is that she has definitely lost her sight.

Edited June 16, 2008 by JillysFullHouse

[Guest greytbookert]

She's definitely losing her sight. The vet did a quick pressure check of her eyes and the pressure was really high. He's kept her for the day to do a really good check of her. He will go over the test run over the weekend and do an exam himself to make sure an ultrasound is really necessary. So, all I know right now is that she has definitely lost her sight.

 

I'm so sorry! But I'm holding hope and praying that something can be done for her and bring back her sight, stop the progression or something! Hang in there!

[Guest VelvetEars]

I'm so sorry. I can tell you that Jane lost hers as a result of her stroke, but some of it (not sure how much) did return. And she did just fine! Emmy has plenty of other dogs to help guide her and, of course, your love! Jane was on blood pressure meds (hydralazine, IIRC) and it made a huge diff w/ her sight.

[Guest whatahound]

Sending lots of prayers and positive thoughts.

[Jiffer]

Judy, I'm sorry to read that.. but she will adjust.. just as these guys can learn to live without a limb, they can just as easily adjust to their loss of sight.

 

Echo is losing hers as a result of her age. She can't see very well at night anymore. She has the same bluish hue to her lenses, but not as cloudy, yet.