encephalitis
 

Hi my name is Tonia. I need some help or any information you can give me. My mom's Yorkie started having problems. Walking into furniture, going in circles, head tilt, not being able to walk good, and falling over. She took her to the vet this morning and was told she has encephalitis. She was given prednisone for the Pebbles.

She is a very small dog. A year old and weighs 3lb. She is eating and drink some, but can barely walk. She just wants to be held.

My question is will she die from this? My mom is so heartbroken, I just wish there was something I could do to help her. It just seems like Pebbles is getting worse. The vet wants to see her again in five days, but we are afraid she won't make it that long.

Has anyone had any experience with this? Is it curable?

Thanks,
Tonia

Hold on - some other members that know about this should be coming on very soon. :)

How did this vet come to the conclusion that it is encephalitis?
What tests were done?

Yes, he did testing on her blood and spinal tap.

Is she under the care of a neurologist? I am thinking so as vets usually do not do spinal taps that i am aware of.

Encephalitis is a by product of alot of things - it basically is swelling on the brain

can you post everything that has been done - was an mri done?

there are alot of things like

chiari

aai

gme

liver shunt

all of these things can cause encephalitis

did they give you a firm diagnosis?

The steroids will help keep the swelling on the brain down which is what the dog needs

Did any of this occur within 2 months of a vaccination?

when did you notice this all occuring?

Did they do any bile acid testing blood work?

Did she act different after eating food?

there is a very good possibility they can be referring to this

Granulomatous Meningoencephalomyelitis (GME)

if so please join this group as they are sharp on this stuff as all of them have had spinal taps and mri done on their dogs and can help you understand what may be going on and what the newest treatment is

and no it does not have to be a death sentence as long as your dog gets the right diagnosis and treatment immediately as that is key with neurology

NewGMEDogs : NewGMEDogs

there is a TON of information on this thread about neurological issues check it out

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sic...d-help-17.html

I called my mom and she is going to get back with me in a few minutes, about all the test he did. I know he did spinal and some blood, but I don't know what else. She has the paper work and is going to tell me.

ok sounds good

Okay she said he did a CBC Complete count, and Blood chem.

so they did not do a spinal tap or mri?

what were the highs and lows on the blood work?

On the paper it says 1.00?

Oh I thought he did a spinal tap but I guess he didn't. I thought she told me he did. He also did not do an mri.

It is hard to say it is encephalitis unless there is a spinal tap, but the symptoms really sound like it. I know in humans there are viral and bacterial types, with Viral being the worst. I had it so I speak first hand. The mortality rate is high in humans for certain types. I hope the little dog is under the care of a specialist. Many times if it is caught early, they can make a complete recovery. Never count the little dog out. Best of luck.

I did find out that the vet she goes to is into neurology. Here is his info.

Wabash Valley Animal Hospital Terre Haute, IN, 47802 - YELLOWPAGES.COM

Mom has been using him for years. He saved her other Yorkie, who was in horrible condition from the pet shop she got him from. He had pneumonia and weighed less than a pound. He needs eye drops everyday. (Pet shop was closed by health department) Mom also has a dog who has seizures that is on meds and goes to the same vet. He even prolonged the life of my mom west highland, giving her a few more years than she would have had. Hopefully he can save little Pebbles. My mom is just sick over this. If you pray, please pray for her and my mom. Thanks so much!

???

on the blood work what are the high and low figures?

Did they do bile acid testing?

has the dog been to a neurologist as i would get this little one under care of a specialty hospital where there is an internal medicine specialist and neurologist that can work together to get this little one better

It really sounds to me as if this pupster needs further testing. I would strongly suggest a board certified specialist. There are just so many things that could be going on.

Honestly, I am not sure if she should go to internal med or neuro. If I were her, I would ask the present vet for suggestions of a specialist.

I think that is a regular vet and i think this is beyond a regular vet so please tell your mom to ask for a referral to specialty hospital in the area so this little one can be seen by a neurologist and internal medicine so they can work together to figure this out

ask your mom if this all started within 2 months of vaccinating the dog?

I am curious....I have been seeing you mentioning this lately. Is there some reason? Does it help with a diagnosis? Is treatment different?

I mean....is there some kind of proof that immunizations are the cause and does that alter anything?

on the gme group they have noticed this is happening within 2 months of vaccinations in the dogs. They feel it triggers the disease gme as gme is an autoimmune disease. My friends malt had her vaccinations and within two months the symptoms of gme started- back legs went out, started having seizures, etc. I will get the exact verbage they said.

Also they stated when the annual vaccine cards go out in spring is when they start getting a ton of new members

This is why with GME they give heavy dose of steroids and chemo drugs to stop the body from attacking itself as autoimmune related. There are two types NME and GME

Here is the verbage

It's a prevailing theory that seems to be borne out by anecdotal evidence. It's not the only cause but seems to be one of the "triggers" in GME susceptible dogs.

Do you have rorie vaccine records? All this started in November so when were her vaccines given as she is 15 months right? Would be interesting to see if this triggered it

here is what someone else posted

It is my understanding that vaccines do not cause GME. However the vaccine
causes an immune response which can cause the GME to flare up.

more info - NME or GME depending on what part of the brain is affected

Symptoms can vary depending on what area of the brain is affected. Some would and could include: vision loss, lameness especially in hind quarters, aggression, circling, head tilting, stumbling all of a sudden, mental deficiency, seizures. There are probably many more.

Because other illnesses can bring on many of the same symptoms, it's always recommended that if a neck or back injury is suspected to have xrays taken and infectious disease tests to rule other things out. A spinal tap is normally what is used to diagnose GME. A MRI is useful to show what's going on in the brain.

this is a VET website and why i always use it - it explains it real well the differences of NME and GME

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/granulo...gme/page1.aspx

I know all of the above since I have been reading about GME myself. I realize that some people suspect vaccinations although that will not change the fact that vaccines are necessary in younger pups.

My question was why it was important to the OP? Is it going to change the diagnosis and/or treatment?

Have you seen something like that because I have not.

i think op needs to get to a speciality hospital with neuro and internist as stated before. I am not sure if they even did bats on this dog as does not sound like it.

To answer your question no i do not think it will change the treatment but I think the more info the neuro has the better to quickly diagnose and due to age sounds like vaccinations were done which could trigger gme with these symptoms.

My guess is they think it is neurological only since they gave prednisone as they would not prescribe that for a dog with liver disease.

I think they need to do mri and spinal tap if they think this is neurological but sometimes they start with steroids like i believe they did with rorie and the dog relapses if steroids stop working and they have to go to stronger drugs such as chemo along with steroids and the goal is to get them into remission within one year.

DD has not had parvo distemper since she was six months and being immune suppressed will not do it and her titers have been fine for over 5 years as i do them yearly. She never got the one year booster and so glad i did not do it after all this I am reading since she has autoimmune disease having allergies and hypothyroid. As you know the scare with the plumber and all mine are fine so i am sure they were exposed to parvo. I agree they need puppy shots and one year booster but if a dog is immune compromised after puppy shots i would re-think the one year booster and glad i did now since gme runs in yorkie and maltese breed mostly due to poor immune system due to poor breeding.

My friend took her malt in because her back was hurting after vaccinations. The ER said it is a disc issue which many get misdiagnosed with disc issues for gme and they sent her home with metacam. Then it progressed quickly within a couple months her legs gave out and then she was having seizures. They rushed her to a neurologist as her vet had no idea what was going on. She is now on chemo drugs and steroids. She is doing much better now and she is hoping she will go into remission so it is a wait and see approach. She said it takes about a year to get them in remission.

Roriee was never properly diagnosed and someone guessed what she had and started steroids. I do not believe that this is the way things are normally done. The steroids did not stop working...she was tapered off of them and then she relapsed.

I do not think there is enough suspicion and/or proof that vaccines cause GME and would hesitate myself to frighten people about it. Vaccines are extremely important...if people stop them out of fear, we are going to see even more pups dying of parvo and distemper!

Do you happen to know the percentage of yorkies that are being diagnosed with GME?

:thumbup::thumbup:

that is really sad as i thought she went to a neurologist and was under the care of a neurologist :( That is what i told her to do was to see a neurologist back in november what went on from there had no clue until the relapse. I thought she went to neurologist to have xray, mri and spinal tap if she did not then that was her decision. If it was my dog i would have done it. I have no control what other people do with their dogs just provide them information to make informed decisions as ultimately it is up to them and their vet or specialist what they decide to do and what they can financially afford.

I agree vaccines are needed but in immune compromised dogs the owner and vet need to make that call for each individual case after initial puppy shots are given and if the risk is greater than the protection. I feel i made the best decision for Dee Dee and do not regret my decision. When plumber came in my home not one vet or specialist was concerned about dee dee as they said as long as she had her initial puppy shots and was up on her titers she will be fine. I think they know the initial puppy shots provide protection but they do added protection at one year boost just to be safe.

Vaccines are not the cause of GME but they can trigger it in an immune compromised dog as it is an autoimmune disease.

I do not know the percentage of yorkies that have gme nor how many go undiagnosed because owners cannot afford to pay for MRI and spinal tap by a neurologist or do not act fast enough in getting their dog proper care and dog ends up dying :(