I am so pleased she is doing better.:)

Sweet Brooke, I am so happy that you seem to be regaining your strength... gotta keep that engine going little girl!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
Hugs to you and your Mama, who fights so hard to keep you healthy,
Lauren

Is GME Genetic?
 

GME is not genetic, it is idiopathic which means they don't know how or why they get it. They are almost certain now that it is an autoimmune disease but not what triggers it. Her breeder has Brooke's Great grandmother, who is 15 years old and alot of Brooke's ancestors and no other case of GME. GME is still fairly rare, if it were genetic we would see alot more cases of it.

My Samson can't potty
 

Monday ... my 10 month old 2.9 lbs Yorkie was nuertered.... his testicles never dropped so they had to go in and find them.... he has two abdominal incisions.... when he came home Monday he pooped and peed...... and whinned ... but he seemed okay..... Tues..... he pooped but would not or could not pee..... he has been eating some and drinking..... I have stayed right by his side and watched his every move.... finally last night he would stand over his paper and rock back and forth ..... and you could tell he was trying to pee.... his little penis would move up and down like he was trying real hard..... and he would make small little yelping sounds.... I took him outside back and front ( peeing in the front yard is really really cool ) and he couldn't even go there....
finally about 1:00 am I took him to the 24 hour emergency vet and they catherized him which relieved him and gave me a different pain med.... ( metacam ) My vet gave him torbutrol 1mg.... and told me to give him a dose at 8PM and then another dose in the morning.... so last night I gave him another dose at 8 Pm ( that was during the time he was trying to potty and couldn't.... I did not give him the metacam since he had taken the torbutrol ...last night...
Wed morning ( today ) I gave him the metacam and he peed a good amount once this morning about 7:30 but has not peed again it is 1:00 PM now... I called the original vet and ask what I should do and he said don't worry he should be fine .....
Has anyone had any experience with this.... he walks around and seems okay he just won't potty ...... what can you do to make them potty ....
I just want to do the right thing.

So sorry for this post ..... should have been new thread .....
 

So sorry for this post it should have been new thread !!!!!!!!!!!!

So glad your baby is improving. These little yorkies have the hearts of lions don't they? You are in my prayers, please keep us informed of her improvement, and hang in there. She sounds like a very special baby.:)

When's the next update on Brooke? I'm curious how the little sweetie is doing.

YorkieChic1,

No, no. I knew all of that already. Bad wording. I wanted to know where you got her, not because of her condition, but because she's so damn cute. ha ha


How is she doing?

Oct. Update on Brooke
 

Here's an October update on Brooke! Thanks to Dawn, DivaPup, a yorkie talk member, Brooke is doing well. She let us know about a Yahoo group named NewGMEDogs, it is a chat group and support group for people that have dogs with GME like Brooke. Well on that site I found a Dr. Allen Sisson in Boston who has a good track record with his drug protocol. One dog was diagnosed at 3 years old and is still alive at 9 years! I started crying when I read this and realized that I had some hope that Brooke might have a relatively long life. At UC Davis, the longest living GME dog was only 2 1/2 years, so I was happy to see a new treatment. Brooke started Dr. Sisson's protocol at the end of Sept., she is on high doses of prednisone and cytosar. She will follow his protocol and then the hope is that she will go into a remission and be off the drugs. She is doing well on the higher doses, the only problem is that she has doubled her weight due to the steroids!! She was 2.1 lbs and now she is a porky 4.5 lbs!! She has a round belly and chest!! She looks so cute though. They say that when she gets off the pred that she will lose the weight fast. She is also walking much straighter and can go up her doggie stairs and down them!!! That is a miracle, since she had a stroke and couldn't even move a couple of months ago! She goes to acupuncture and I think that has helped alot too. She loves it when the needles are in, she gets so zen that she almost falls asleep. Then, the next day she has extra energy from it. Thanks for everyone's best wishes and I will update soon!!

Oh I am just so happy that Brooke is doing so well.:happyboun She must look too adorable as a "porky Yorkie"!What a great Mama she has!
Hugs to you both,
Lauren:D

I am so glad to hear that Brooke is doing better. I will keep you all in my prayers. Keep up the good job Brooke.

Glad Brooke is feeling better. Toby has been on Prednisone for around 8 years old because of a protein illness and he's doing great at 16. Unlike some people, I am a firm believer of Prednisone. Keep updating us on how she is doing!

I was very pleased to see your update. Will pray that Brooke continues to do well.

Jewel had GME also and we were on phone consutation with Dr. Vernau at UC Davis. She has a deep interest in GME and when I was working with her she was trying to get a research grant. If she is not your doctor at UCD, you may want to see if you can meet with her. She is wonderful, answered my calls and emails even when she was on vacation.

You have the best care possible - Stay strong for that beautiful baby of yours.

Corinne

Here is a link to one of my Threads about Jewel and her battle with GME:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...ighlight=jewel

what an adorable baby! I pray everything works out for the best and she is in no pain.

BUG HUGS to you!

I'm so sorry your family is going through this. Prayers your way....
I'm certain this is true.

Wow the little girl has been through so much. I wonder how she is doing? Hopefully we will get an update this month. i would love to see pics of the little fighter.:animal-pa

New Update on Brooke from California
 

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. Alot has changed for Brooke!! She is now off of the prednisone and phenobarbital for about 7 weeks. She has not had a relapse and continues to get stronger and stronger!! She still has her chemo once a month but her last dose of that will be in July and then she will be considered in remission!! Yeah for Brooke!! She and I are both fighters and I was going to do everything humanly possible to help her. Last I updated you all we were going to UC Davis in California. I thought that was the best for my dog. I was wrong!! I found a yahoo group GME Dogs and through them I found the most amazing vet neurologist in the whole U.S., Dr. Alan Sisson of Angell Medical Center in Boston, MA. His GME protocol is 90% effective if started right when you are diagnosed. His dogs go into remission and live a normal life span. UC Davis has a life span of 2 years with their protocol. Not only that, Dr. Sisson consulted with me for free for months and even sent me emails on Brooke's care while he was on vacation!! UC Davis on the other hand damaged my dog's brain for their own studies. I thought Brooke had a stroke when they did a spinal tap but Dr. Sisson told me that Davis had actually sucked up part of Brooke's brain when they did her second spinal tap!! They didn't wait long enough for her brain swelling to go down and they knew that was a risk but never informed me! Not only that, here's the kicker, the tests were only for their studies!! It was not for the welfare of Brooke at all, she had no need for the test!! They permanently damaged her brain for their own studies which is completely unethical in my opinion. They damaged Brooke's brain and I still had to pay them the $3600!! I am going to be writing a complaint along with 2 other UC Davis patients who have had similar bad service and we will take it to the Dean of the hospital. Sorry for the rant but I thought I was doing the best for her and now in hindsight I see that they don't care about your dog they only care about their studies.
Anyway, despite UC Davis, Brooke is back to her spunky self! And that is all I care about!! Thanks for everyone's prayers and wishes. Maybe I was right when I said "If love could cure her, she will be cured".

WOw, you found a miracle vet. This is an amazing story...This is valuable information to pass on to other dog owners that may be experiencing the same devastating disease.....Thanks for sharing and God BLess you and y our baby!!!!

wonderful! I am so glad she is doing better!!
She is blessed with her parnets that love her so much, and have given her such great care!! Bless you!!
Shame on that one place for the damage they did to your baby!

Photos of Brooke
 

Here's some updated photos of Brooke's beautiful face!! I also forgot to mention that Brooke has lost 2 lbs. that the steroid packed on her, so now she is down to 4 lbs!! No more buddha belly!!

That is amazing!! Great job to both of you! Happy to hear it.

The North Carolina State Vet School has a new fund called CREATE to study and hopefully find a cure for GME. The fund was started by Stormy's family who lost their little girl to this horrible disease.

If you would like to read Stormy's story and find out about CREATE, here is the link:

http://yorkieangelpatrol.com/gme.htm

Very valuable information...thanks for the knowledge. Wishing, hoping and praying for only the very best for you and Brooke...what an adorable little girl she is...love her face...very kissable.

wow, it is so wonderful that your girl is doing so well! I will pray that she continues to do well. I am glad you found the right person to treat her and get her on a road to recovery. I must say that she is so cute! Best of wishes for your little Brooke, she is adorable!

What wonderful miraculous news! I'm so very happy for you and Brooke and know you have to be so relieved she is better now. Thank God you found this Doctor Sisson, and in time to help your baby!

My Bailey has recently been diagnosed with GME also. Presently, he is only on Prednisone and Doxycycline with a poor prognosis. I've done my own research as I can't accept the three to six month lifespan he's been given and have found information about different treatments, one being Cystosine from Cornell, but I'm very interested in Dr. Sisson's treatment after reading your post. I don't know if the moderator would allow it, but is there any way I could speak to you personally about Brooke's treament - what it was, how it was done, etc? I'm in such a panic here with a broken heart that I may lose my Bailey. Would you be willing to email with me? I would so appreciate any information you could give me. waynorth@paulbunyan.net I live in a rural Minnesota area and my own veterinarian is unfamiliar with encephalitis, so I'm on my own in this. I desperately need help to save his life. Thank you. I hope your baby is still doing well.

Nanci, How in the last yr have I missed this thread?? I had no idea that Brooke has been thru so much or that she had GME - and I had never heard of this condition -- what a trooper she is!! You too!!

Waynorth you can send YorkieChick1 a private message, by clicking on her name here and a little pull down will show up - click on the one to send a private message or above to the right, where it says Welcome, waynorth - click where it says Your Notifications and choose the first option & go send a message -- Welcome to YT -- I am so sorry you are dealing with this condition. I'm sure Nanci will help you :)

I emailed and pm'ed you Waynorth!! Please call me, I can help you and Bailey boy!! There is hope, don't be discouraged.

Renata,
I was going to tell everyone in KC that this was my first post. I was trying to find info to help Brooke fight the GME. A YT member, Divapup, told me about the NewGMEDogs Yahoo group and that is how I found Brooke's neurologist in Boston, who saved her life!! So technically, YT saved my Brooke's life!! She has the heart of a lion and I am so proud of her!! She is an inspiration to me and just writing this and thinking of her makes me tear up...I can't imagine my life without her and now she is in remission and hopefully I can use my knowledge to help save another person's pup.