Synovitis In The Carpus

[Guest Greytdawgs]

Hi neighbor! Please tell me more about this auto-immune polyarthritis! Jay has other issues which we have never been able to diagnose, he has a nasal swelling at the site of a scar he has on his nose...we have ruled out that it is not his teeth...we have also done a lupus,rheumatoid, ANA, and tick borne disease panel, along with a cryptoccococus and fungal cultures..we have even scoped and biopsied it to see if it might be rare nasal mites. Always just comes back inflammatory! Jay's vet has always suspected that whatever he has is immune-mediated, though his lumps and bony changes are all occuring at sites of prior trauma...he has the scars to prove it. So Did your dog have an official diagnosis? Did one of the immune panels come back positive? Or are you treating based on symptoms? We had been using tramadol along with the pred, but I really didn't see it helping, if anything it made him more unsteady on his feet. But I would be very interested to know what other immune medications might be available. I should try Adequan too! Thanks for all the great info.

[DonnaBehr]

It appears to me that it is a question of "quality of life" at this point and only you can make that determination.

Good Luck and give him lots of love.

[greyhndz]

Hey, Jennifer!

 

Why don't you send me a regular e-mail at greyhndz at comcast dot net, and I can give you more detail about autoimmune polyarthritis and the other treatments out there. Sounds like Jay has had a very comprehensive workup. I really hope there's a way of keeping him comfortable, but you're the one looking in his eyes everyday, and you're the best judge of what is best for him.

 

ETA: None of the immune panels came back abnormal, and my understanding is that this isn't unusual. A positive test is helpful to confirm a diagnosis, but a negative test doesn't rule it out. Lexi's symptoms were classic for polyarthritis, though my vet and I were positive we were dealing with Lyme as her tick panel was 1:640 for Lyme, which is considered just borderline at the Protatek lab. We were still treating her with antibiotics for a full 2 months, as she'd improve, then relapse again. But it turned out that it was the steroids that would quiet down her symptoms temporarily, not the antibiotics. We thought that Lexi had GME (an inflammatory brain disease), but when I brought her down to Angell to see the neurologist, he was sure she did not have GME, but rather polyarthritis. He aspirated her carpal joint as he could see fluid, and could tell just by looking at the fluid that this was her problem. The various cultures, microscopic exams, etc. of the fluid confirmed this.

 

 

 

Jordan

Edited January 17, 2009 by houndznigz

[Guest Greytdawgs]

Hey, Jennifer!

 

Why don't you send me a regular e-mail at greyhndz at comcast dot net, and I can give you more detail about autoimmune polyarthritis and the other treatments out there. Sounds like Jay has had a very comprehensive workup. I really hope there's a way of keeping him comfortable, but you're the one looking in his eyes everyday, and you're the best judge of what is best for him.

 

ETA: None of the immune panels came back abnormal, and my understanding is that this isn't unusual. A positive test is helpful to confirm a diagnosis, but a negative test doesn't rule it out. Lexi's symptoms were classic for polyarthritis, though my vet and I were positive we were dealing with Lyme as her tick panel was 1:640 for Lyme, which is considered just borderline at the Protatek lab. We were still treating her with antibiotics for a full 2 months, as she'd improve, then relapse again. But it turned out that it was the steroids that would quiet down her symptoms temporarily, not the antibiotics. We thought that Lexi had GME (an inflammatory brain disease), but when I brought her down to Angell to see the neurologist, he was sure she did not have GME, but rather polyarthritis. He aspirated her carpal joint as he could see fluid, and could tell just by looking at the fluid that this was her problem. The various cultures, microscopic exams, etc. of the fluid confirmed this.

 

 

 

Jordan

 

 

Thanks, Jordan! Jay is still doing pretty well after receiving the 40 mg. of Depo Medrol injectable on Tuesday night. He is getting around better, though still limping alittle...the leg has gone back down to regular size. Our plan at this point is to maybe stick with the injectable steroid, it does not seem to make him drink as much...and he has had only one accident all week, which is quite an improvement. We will go back to oral pred if the depo stops working. I discussed trying Adequan on Jay with his vet and he thinks that would be worth trying too. Thank you again for your quick responses and support.

How is your Lexi doing now? It sounds like she is a little trooper. Please give her and all your other hounds big hugs from me.

[greyhndz]

I'm so glad to hear that Jay is more comfortable. Hopefully between Adequan, occasional steroids, and maybe some as-yet untried modalities, you'll have a solution that will keep all of you happy.

 

Knock on wood, Lexi is doing well! She had a few setbacks in 2008, as she relapsed soon after finishing her 6-month steroid taper, developed a drug-induced hepatitis from azathioprine and became extremely ill, was back on steroids again for 3 months while she was started on leflumonide (another, non-steroid immunosuppressant), then a big setback when she developed a severe kidney infection. She did bounce back after a couple of weeks of IV and subcut. fluids, and right now is still on a small dose of steroids while we get her back on the leflumonide and back up to a therapeutic level, before once again trying to get her off steroids for good. She's back to being Lexi again - 12 going on 2, eating like a pig, jumping up and down, and being my happy little monkey again. Thanks for asking!