Encephalitis?

[Guest Lnpinks]

I think my grey has encephalitis. We can't afford a spinal tap or MRI. The doc is treating with an antibiotic in case it's bacterial and prednisone in case it's immune system related. He spent an entire day and a half pacing and head pressing, but yesterday he seemed to recognize his name and he responded to my voice. I got him to drink and he even ate a little canned food. But now today he won't eat. Most weird is that he won't lay down. I have to physically force him to lay down. When I wrestle him to the ground he lets out a big sigh like he's relieved to be laying down. I have to force feed him canned food. He is so skinny. I would appreciate any advice or info from anyone who has had a similar experience.

[KF_in_Georgia]

A thread from 2009 here: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/228665-kylie-update/page-1

[45MPHK9]

Our greyhound Murray experienced most of the symptoms you are describing (circling, inappetence, inability to lay down). We also had to pick him up and lay him down. Once he was down, he would rest. He had an MRI and was diagnosed with a brain tumor (pituitary macroadenoma) in September. He was treated with cyberknife radiation and was on prednisone for three months. He just passed away at the beginning of January. We were hoping that the radiation would buy him more time, but things did not work out that way.

 

We did see quick resolution of the strange neuro symptoms once prednisone was started. I wrote about his brain tumor experience/treatment/diagnosis here. We will be thinking good thoughts for your boy.

[Guest Lnpinks]

Thank you so much for sharing your story. Jace's symptoms sound just like what you described. I'm a teacher and there's no way we can afford any expensive treatments or even diagnostics. I'm so sorry you lost your babydog. I'm still hoping we'll eventually get our babydog back to running in the back yard.

[Neighsayer]

My Misty also had those symptoms...brain tumor. She wouldn't eat, lost a lot of weight, paced, circled, and I had to pick her up to get her down on her bed. She didn't head press, but would stand in a corner and pant. I had to let her go in November. Hope you have a better outcome.

[45MPHK9]

I'm a teacher, too. We were able to afford the treatments because we had pet insurance. We had been paying on Murray's policy for seven years and had never made a claim on him. Within four months, we submitted close to $20,000 worth of bills. The insurance paid 90%. We were so thankful to have had that policy.

 

Here's to hoping the pred will help your boy improve. Within days on pred, Murray was able to rest and lay down on his own. He was also eating again. He raced at 68 pounds and at one point he was down to 52 pounds. It took weeks for us to figure out what was wrong with him. Every test he had showed that he was perfectly healthy aside from restlessness and refusing to eat he was demonstrating. We thought he would die from anorexia before the brain tumor would get him. He rallied on pred and got up to 62 pounds just before he fell ill around New Year's Eve. He was my son for eight years. I'm still reeling from the loss. Keep us updated on your boy's condition, okay?

Edited January 30, 2016 by 45MPHK9

[greyhead]

He was my son for eight years. I'm still reeling from the loss. Keep us updated on your boy's condition, okay?

Tricia, I'm so sorry. No, that doesn't begin to cover it.

[Guest Lnpinks]

I wanted to reply to those folks who commented on my encephalitis post. Yes, my baby grey had encephalitis. The most amazing this is that it wasn't a tumor, GME, or immune mediated. It was a bacterial infection! About a week after our grey got sick, our boxer came down with exactly the same thing. It's been a month since our grey almost died from the severity of the encephalitis and I'm happy to report that he is back to normal, running around and playing with their toys. I feel so lucky to have both my babydogs healthy again. The vet thinks an animal in the woods around our house (coyote, cat, fox, raccoon) must have brought the germ into our backyard and our dogs became exposed to it. Scary experience to be sure and I hope it never repeats.

[45MPHK9]

I'm so glad to see your post. Here's to many more happy days with your dogs.

[Batmom]

Oh my goodness. So glad your pups recovered.

[KF_in_Georgia]

I'm so glad to see your babies have recovered. I lost a girl to immune mediated thrombocytopenia, so I stopped reading your thread once I felt your vet had a good grip on treatment. I can pretty much guarantee you'll never see someone start a similar thread without having a sinking feeling in your stomach, even though your babies survived.

 

Coincidentally, my sick girl was Jacey. I put myself about $4,000 into debt on this (with bad insurance), and I lost her anyway. Throwing all the money you've got at something doesn't always fix it.