Pretty sure Panzer has DM

[wilcoxas]

Hi,

I posted my update in the general health section but thought I would try here as well since I am guessing this is typically more of a senior issue. You can see my original post with the background from June here: http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum...=1#Post1096754

We have pretty much determined that Panzer has DM, which breaks my heart.

I took him in for a full blood work-up and x-rays with our regular vet. The blood work all came back fine and the x-rays show that his hips are fine and he has had virtually no changes since the xrays we had done almost 7 years ago. However, they also showed that he does have spondylosis....his last two vertebrae are fused and you can see where two others are also beginning to bridge.

However, she thought that based on her physical exam and the x-rays, the spondylosis was unrelated to his symptoms so she referred us to a neurological specialist. He was *excellent*....obviously very experienced with DM and GSDs.

Based on his physical exam and reviewing the blood work/xrays, he said he was fairly certain that it was DM although there was a slight chance that it could be a bulging disk, which we could only know for certain by doing a myelogram(?) since DM is essentially a diagnosis by elimination. If he had thought there was any real chance that it might be a bulging disk I would be willing to spend the money for the myleogram, but since it seems so unlikely (based on my research and the opinions of both vets), we chose not to do it.

The neurologist did recommend starting Dr. Clemmons treatment, which we have now been on for 2 months. We have not seen any improvement and to be honest I feel like Panzer may be getting worse, although that may only be my paranoia. The specialist did say something along the lines of "a normal owner would not have even noticed this in their dog" which I am choosing to take as a compliment, but it does underscore that I am more obsessive/paranoid about this than most people and very well could be seeing deterioration where there is none.

I guess my questions are:
- do you think there is a reason to do the myleogram to definitively rule out the bulging disk (he quoted upwards of $1500 for this)
- is the spondolyosis at all relevant?
- how critical is it to follow Dr. Clemmons treatment exactly? i.e. two of the meds/supplements are supposed to be given 3x a day, which is really tough for us due to our schedule...can we make sure he is getting the correct amount/day but only splitting it into 2 doses? Also, one of them is supposed to be given every-other day and my husband is terrible about remembering which day we are on so he tends to just give it to him every time he feeds them "to be safe".....but is that safe?
- is it worth doing the swab test for DM that Dr. Clemmons talks about on his website?
- is chiro safe for a dog with DM? My dog trainer (who's two labs have severe spondylosis) has seen incredible improvements from chiro work with them, so I would like to try it as long as it won't negatively affect the DM issues
- what else should I be doing for my sweet boy?

Panzer is truly my heart dog. The only way I have been able to deal with this is by essentially not thinking about it. He is everything I lusted over in a GSD for the 20+ years I wanted one, there could not be a more perfect and amazing dog in my eyes. Before all this I was sad to think that over half his life may be over (since he is 7).....now I am on the brink of losing my mind thinking that we may only have months left. Please, give me some kind of hope to grasp at.

If you have read all of this, bless you. You guys were so helpful and supportive to me many years ago when I was a regular on this board so it was my first instinct to turn here about our current issue.

Thanks,
Alix

[LisaT]

Alix, I'm going to lock this one and keep the one in health open. Folks will see it, I guarantee it!