samoyed fluffter coney angel kaylie alfie kirby nova spitz
Kirby's Arthritis Diary
Kirby was 2 years and 3 months old when we first realised he had a problem. It all started on Sunday September the 9th 2007 when I told Tim my partner I was a bit worried about Kirby it seemed to me that something was not right with him and he was a little down so we thought ok maybe he has eaten something bad and got Stomach ache. We kept a close eye on him but apart from just not being his happy go lucky self we could not and did not realise what was wrong.
Monday the 10th September 2007
My Daughter thought she had seen Kirby holding up one of his hind legs during the Day Today but she was not sure so we watched him closely and saw nothing but he was still feeling down maybe a little more than yesterday.
11th September 2007
I called our Vets to get Kirby looked Today because when I woke up in the morning and turned in bed I touched Kirby with my foot and he cried in pain I was very shocked and panicked a bit really.
12th September 2007
Kirby was seen by our Vet Today he was in a lot of pain as our Vet felt around his knee area and the knee is a little swollen and hot so Kirby was given a pain relief injection and some Rimadyl 20mg for 4 Day's and we were told to rest him for a few Day's more which we did much to Kirby's disgust as he is a very active little dog.
28th September 2007
Kirby is very un happy now he sulks about will not play with Nova and Alfie, he carries his ears slightly back on his head and he is ever more snuggly cuddling up whenever he can and just sleeping so we go back to see our Vet and explain Kirbys behaviour. Kirby is again checked over and is in a lot of pain while his joins are manipulated so he is booked in for X Rays on Monday 1st October.
29th & 30th September 2007
We have a normal Weekend and do all the things we normally do and Kirby is only happy and active while we are out of the house walking the rest of the time he mopes about it's awful to see him so down not wanting to play at all he carries his once very waggy little tail between his legs and by this time making Alfie and Nova very aware he does not want them any where near him at all..GGGRRRRRR!
1st October 2007
Kirby had his X Rays Today I dropped him at our Vets at about 8.30am having not eaten as he has to go under Anaesthetic for the X Rays and I did not get him back until after 2pm when he had recovered a little more. With the X Rays complete my Vet he wants to send them of for a second opinion and we have to wait for a result.
9th October 2007
I got a call from our Vet Kirby is going to be refereed to another Vet where he will have to undergo TPLO surgery as the Anterior Cruciate Ligament is damaged this is as much as we know at this stage and have to wait to hear from our Vet again. Today's news came as a big shock but at least we know what is going on now and that Kirby can be put right.
I have been told to stop all walkies which we have done but you try telling Kirby why he can't go walkies with his Brother and Sisters he cried the place down as we all left.
At this time Kirby is very depressed it's like Kirby has been taken away from us and we have been given another Westie in his place. he just curls up and sleeps it's very upsetting to see him like this. If I hold out a blanket to him he wanders overs to get wrapped up and then sleeps but we are thinking sleep must be good.
13 Oct 2007
Kirby has started to raise and hold his other leg this Morning my only hope is he has not got two bad legs he also got very hot and did not know what to do with himself.
22nd Oct 2007
Kirby is now starting to rest almost all Day and due to inactivity he shivers from time to time feeling cold so when this happens he gets wrapped in a blanket to keep him toasty.
His stroller arrived Today it will be used once Kirby is well enough to go on walks but still on restricted exercise, it means he can come out when the rest of the Family go out but rest when he needs to.
He does not look happy in the photo because of the way he is holding his ears he looks like this most of the time it's so sad.
He did not like the crate at all and was only happy to go in once Nova went inside of her own accord and then I had to lift him in as he could not lift his back leg over the side of the crate.
Kirby's test results are back and his problems are defiantly Arthritis as our Vet thought Kirby goes to see our Vet on Thursday when a new course of meds will be discussed.
Kirby is down Today it's really hard seeing him like this my only hope is something can make him right and give him a better quality of life than he has had the last couple of Months.
Kirby it seems is on the road to recovery Noel our Vet is very pleased with him so far we are to keep Kirby on the Steroids for another 2 weeks at the 6 a Day dose then for 2 weeks after that they can come down to 4 a Day then he has to be seen again by Noel on 29th November to see where we go from there.
8th Nov 2007
He was also taking a drug called Omeprazole which helps with the affects of the steroids anyway when the dose went down to 4 our Vet said he did not need the Omeprazole so we stopped giving them to him.
It seems that the full side affects from the Steroids without the other drug hit Kirby hard last night,it was dreadful I was so frightened.
Kirby is now on 3 of the steroids a Day plus the Omeprazole then next week he will go down to a 2 a Day dose.
So far Today Kirby seems ok he was very pleased to see his Vet and the Receptionists enjoyed his walk and got a new toy which he love so much he insisted on taking it in the car when we drove to the woods for a walk
27th Nov 2007
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Dec 11th 2007 Kirby is now on one Omeprazole and one Prednisolone every other Day with a view to taking one every 3 Days but that will not be until after Christmas now. He has picked up so much he is back to almost A1 activity on his walks and can now even jump on to the sofa and my lap again. He has stopped peeing in the night on the non pill Days and he has been sickness free for about a week now so it's looking really good. It's been a real tough time for my little Kirbs but he has beat this and even starting to put on some weight over his boney little body.
Jan 21st 2008 Kirby is now off all meds and back to his old self I am very pleased to report.
27th Jan 2008 Tonight I noticed Kirby's joins are swollen and hot we will speak to his Specialist Today.
2nd Feb 2008 We have been told that Kirby's Arthritis will NOT go in to remission now which we are very sad about. Kirby is now back on his meds one every 3 Days for now 2 weeks then we will take him to one a week for 2 weeks and then one every 2 weeks at which stage we will stop all drugs and see where we are again. It would seem that we will have to keep him on meds long term now altering his dosage to suit his condition and to keep him as comfortable as possible. |
13 Feb 2008
Literally, myositis means muscle (myo-) inflammation (-sitis). This type of muscle disease (myopathy) represents a group of different diseases which all share the feature of inflammatory cells within the muscle.
- Myositis can affect
- Just one muscle
- Groups of muscles eg muscles used in chewing found on the top and side of the head (masticatory muscle myositis), or muscles moving the eyeball (extra-ocular muscle myositis) orall muscles in the body (polymyositis, dermatomyositis and necrotising myopathy),
What causes myositis?
The inflammation in the muscle can be due to:
- Response of the body to an infectious agent (parasite or virus) within the muscle (infectious myositis)
- Abnormal immune reaction of the body directed against the muscle (immune-mediated myositis). In masticatory myositis the body produces antibodies that target parts of muscle that are only found in the masticatory muscles. No-one knows why the immune system suddenly becomes 'over-excited' and attacks the muscles in this way in some animals.
- Myositis may also be associated with cancer. Inflammation may develop first and turn into cancer with time (pre-cancerous change), or cancer -elsewhere in the body may trigger an immune reaction to the muscle (paracancerous effect).
