Did the Neuro say anything about a deformity at the base of her skull?

Not that I can recall. I remember him saying that the water in her brain was pushing a part of her brain in the back to where it caused a little fluid to get into the top of her spine. I hope that makes sense.

Well that could mean more then one thing. Would it be possible for you to call him and ask if that's whats causing the fluid and where exactly the cyst is ? It sure sounds like what my dog had.

My husband and I both saw the MRI and got everything explained to except I think he took more in than I did. It's hard for me to explain without showing you a pic of the brain. Perhaps I'll look one up and draw the parts in for you :D

Do you recall if they referred to the cyst as Subarachnoid or arachnoid ? and if it is at the base of her skull where the spinal cord attaches ? Did they give you a copy of the report ?

Ok so I found this pic of a dog's mri on google.

See the black parts in the center? Bella's was a bit bigger which I was told was not normal and was fluid. I marked a red circle where the neuro said was the cyst. Bella's cyst was actually in the black part.

He said he wasn't sure if it was necrotizing meningoencephalitis or gme but he'll determine that once we find out if the meds are working or not. The problem is, the only way we find out if the meds are working is if her head goes back to normal and other signs are gone OR we do another MRI which is another $2000.

Oh, ignore the white arrow on the photo. It came like that and I forgot to erase it.

He didn't give us a name for the cyst and it is not at the base of the skull. We didn't get a copy of the report but one was sent to our local vet. I'll prob request a copy tomorrow or something.

Has your dog been diagnosed with anything?

Did they only do one view ? no side or back view? and if you don't have copies of the MRI disc and report you really need to ask for those as you may need to take her somewhere else and you will need them And sometimes those things mysteriously disappear when other vets call for them.
If that's the only view they took that is not good because that cyst could be anywhere Top, Middle or Bottom.

They actually took a side view also. Can't remember if it was on top, bottom, etc. That is a good idea to ask for a copy of the mri. It was all on the computer so I'm hoping they can make a cd of it.

I will try to find the peperwork by this weekend. She was diagnosed at WSU and it was around $1,200. Where did you take Molly ?

Oh yes, they can make copies to disk. Sometimes it takes them a couple of days to get to it but they can do it.

I am trying to figure everything out and am new. I will just read for awhile until I get it all down. I got you mixed up with a simular name that lives in NBP just 20 min. from my home. Her little one also has Pancreatitis and I thought He was in pain. So offered Pooh's med
's until she could get to vet tomorrow. Sorry for any confusion. I don;t know if your dog has the same thing but my dog shivers and trembles when the pain comes. She suppresses it as long as she can. I have learned to look for other signs to know when she is in pain. As the other person said, Pred is usually given as long as the animal has the condition (whatever it is) One problem I had the first year was going from vet to vet to find one who was not just in it for the money and really cared about my little one instead of their bank accounts.! Also if pred is not working or causing problems as it does so many times. (it is a double edged sword.) So many times it will cure the illness but kill the patient. I think I mentioned, Budesanide, Keep it in mind and ask if it will do the same thing. It is not as damaging to other organs as pred.It does have to be compounded at lab though, so is a little more pricey. It is liquid and comes in flavors like chicken, so little one will love it. If I can help in any way let me know , again sorry for the confusion>
Jessie and poohbear

yes they can as when dd had digital xray of her leg they gave me the cd as i walked out the door immediately after xray it is real easy. I do not think they can email it but i would ask them to email to you if they can

i know you were confusing me with her :) i was going to call you tomorrow and explain it is tough to figure it all out when first joining here :) no worries we know you were trying to be helpful but this little one has a neurological condition not pancreatitis and steroids are the only option to reduce inflammation - she is on prednisolone not straight prednisone so it is a little easier on the body

call neuro as i am thinking with straight prednisone you may have been able to taper but since prednisolone due to her mvd which is a broken down prednisone could be why the reduction is causing this as prednisone is stronger than prednisolone so it may be that you cannot wean down to a lower dose. If gme they have to play with steroids to see where they have to keep her long term and it may be she has to be on higher dose as they prefer to do the minimal they have to in steroids to get rid of symptoms. He needs to know she got worse after reducing and he will probably tell you to keep her on previous dose. Were you seeing any improvement on previous dose?

So I called the neuro today and apparently I wasn't suppose to follow the instructions on the prescriptions which said to do 2x a day for a week then 1x a day for a week and 1x a day every other day for the following week. How was I suppose to know? I thought that's what instructions were meant for? Anyways, I'm suppose to continue giving Bella her steroids twice a day.

Also, requested her records and MRI from the neuro so once I get it, I'll be able to tell be more informative. My memory sucks right now.

Oh, I also called Grandpa's compounding and they're able to get Bella's med for half the price I was paying in town! Shipping is only $3 too.

That's good you could find it so much cheaper!! Did her shivering stop?
I sure hope she's feeling better soon!

yeah i know sometimes i get so frustrated with this stuff like we are mind readers :( i have learned to ask over and over lollll to make sure now. I have had mistakes made before like when they almost gave dd convenia and i said she had hives from simplicef and he was like ooops good thing you said no then -ughhh so you have to sadly be real on top of stuff and get it in writing faxed or emailed to you and then ask 100 times more lolllllllll but good you jumped on it right away

are you seeing any improvement?

glad the compounding is better that is great news :)

I think she's feeling a bit better though her head is still tilted and all. She runs a bit when we go out to potty now instead of staying close by. I'm not sure if she's gotten use to being like the way she is now or if she is actually feeling a bit better. She's been trying to go up the stairs again and does a lot better. She was scared for a bit since he would flop to one side and would sit there until I pick her up. Now she actually goes up it. Today I went out to throw away the trash and the door was slightly open. Bella thinks that since she can go up now means that she can go down. She was unsuccessful and fall down about 4 steps. My back was turned to her so I"m not sure if she fell down ALL 4 steps. She also jumps up again when she wants to be picked up or to get on my lap. I think she's actually progressing little by little. I'm hoping she'll have a full/close to full recovery.

glad you are seeing some improvements

That's what I thought. Who wrote the prescription? I can't believe they make those kinds of mistakes. Makes me so angry. Good job on the MRI and report. I will look some more tonight. I know I have them somewhere. Did you ever look up chiari syndrome ? Deb did I spell it correctly this time?

The neuro called in the prescription to a compounding place in my town so I picked it up once I got back into town. I guess he said it was only if Bella had recover then we would taper it like what the prescription said...but how was I suppose to know not to follow the instructions. That was irritating.

lol yep girl i got your back :) here is the link it is on this list here

Oddball neurologic disorders: dogs (Proceedings) - Veterinary Healthcare

lol i would be irritated too :( glad you got her back on track fast though

May I suggest that you get another opinion from a vet? If I felt this uncomfortable with a vet, that is what I would do.
No disrespect to anyone, but I do think a vet is in order for something this complicated and serious.

I think the neurologist is going to know more than a regular vet but i think he just failed to be clear in his instructions she is going to be fine as she is back on the dose he intended for her just was not detailed enough to compounding pharmacy and they typed up the label wrong confusing the owner so i do not think she needs a second opinion since working with a specialist in neurology that performed mri and spinal tap

Good thing I only went one day without giving her meds 2x a day. The neuro said to call him back next week to see how Bella's doing to see if we need to keep giving it to her 2x a day or not.

I was wondering, how much are you all (those who are using it) paying for your dog's l/d food? I know it may seem like I'm being a cheapo comparing prices but I feel like I'm always getting ripped off. Also, I can only get it through the vet correct?

You didn't say where the neuro is. I always prefer the teaching schools as they are most up to date on things. Thanks Deb :D

The office manager at my vet told me to go to their website or call them and you can get coupons. I never tried it as the food didn't make a diff for my dog.