Monday, September 9, 2019

UPDATE: Athena



Watch out world!
Athena Pupdate
For the past few years- we've noticed and remarked on Athena's back leg issues.   As it's been documented here, we've been aware of her weak legs and possible contributing factors.

Last November, when she began having the severely noticeable issues, we took her to the vet.  He took x-rays and determined she has severe arthritis AND her knees and hips are shot.   Again, not surprising as again this goes along with her suspected history.    

She's been on meds, soon going on a year.   She has some really good days and some really bad days.  We have talked about getting her wheels for the past 6 months.    FINALLY she received them on Friday.   
While there has been some slow "realization" of what she can do in them, she's quickly learning.  She got to play with her siblings in the back yard yesterday. She's going to enjoy being able to be part of the pack again.   

HOWEVER, this morning I found some very sad, yet not surprising news.  In trying to research how long she can safely be in the wheels, I stumbled on some not so surprising, but sad information

Degenerative Myelopathy
SOURCE
"Degenerative myelopathy is a progressive disease of the spinal cord in older dogs. The disease has an insidious onset typically between 8 and 14 years of age. It begins with a loss of coordination (ataxia) in the hind limbs. The affected dog will wobble when walking, knuckle over or drag the feet. This can first occur in one hind limb and then affect the other. As the disease progresses, the limbs become weak and the dog begins to buckle and has difficulty standing. The weakness gets progressively worse until the dog is unable to walk. The clinical course can range from 6 months to 1 year before dogs become paraplegic. If signs progress for a longer period of time, loss of urinary and fecal continence may occur and eventually weakness will develop in the front limbs. Another key feature of DM is that it is not a painful disease."

The pictures associated with this disease are what caught my attention initially. They were a perfect representation of Athena. 
EVERY SINGLE description of this disease's symptoms are Athena.   


I'm not saying the vet misdiagnosed her.  We took her immediately when she began having issues and with her history of weak legs. She does have arthritis.   What we didn't have was all the "symptoms" yet.    


Unfortunately breeds affected by this disease


How do we treat degenerative myelopathy?
There are no treatments that have been clearly shown to stop or slow progression of DM. Although there are a number of approaches that have been tried or recommended on the internet, no scientific evidence exists that they work. The outlook for a dog with DM is still grave. The discovery of a gene that identifies dogs at risk for developing degenerative myelopathy could pave the way for therapeutic trials to prevent the disease from developing. Meanwhile, the quality of life of an affected dog can be improved by measures such as good nursing care, physical rehabilitation, pressure sore prevention, monitoring for urinary infections, and ways to increase mobility through use of harnesses and carts.


Symptoms of degenerative myelopathy
DM symptoms progress slowly over the course of months to even years. From beginning to end, DM affected dogs typically remain alert and animated. The symptoms typically progress as follows:
Initial
  • Loss of coordination (ataxia) in the hind legs
  • Dragging the hind feet causing wearing down of the toenails.
  • Hind end weakness (difficulty climbing stairs, jumping up into the car, going for walks)

Intermediate
  • Knuckling of hind feet (weight bearing on the tops of the feet rather than their undersides)
  • Difficulty supporting weight with hind legs
  • Inability to walk without support
  • Urinary and/or fecal incontinence
To come:

Advanced
  • Paraplegia (paralysis of hind legs).
  • Weakness in front legs.

Although this degenerative process is not painful, affected dogs can develop discomfort because of overuse of other body parts attempting to compensate for the hind end weakness.

So essentially, it's not a great prognosis.  Considering she's in the intermediate stage, we don't know how long she'll stay here.     SO essentially we are going to be giving her the best life we can with what she's got left in her.    
We'll be sure to keep you updated.

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