This is Riley recovering from his ordeal today. He is still groggy from the anesthesia
It is with a very sad heart that I want to tell you that my sweet little Riley has been diagnosed with a very serious, very painful, neurological disease called syringomyelia. It is a found primarily in the cavalier king Charles spaniel. . We just had the diagnosis made today so it is all very confusing at the moment.
It was a very strange way that we got to this point. Riley has had some weird sometimes quirky things going on for a while. These include scratching ALOT. I had taken him to the vet several times and have tried several different things but the scratching only seemed to get worse. Recently he started licking his lips for long periods of time usually at night. He has been sleeping for most of the day and all night for several months now. He always sleeps with his head up on something. Last Thursday Riley couldn't walk up any stairs and couldn't jump. When I picked him up a few times he would yelp in pain. I had been doing research about the varied symptoms all of which , individually could mean nothing but all together led me to a disease called syringomyelia.( SM ) It is caused by an obstruction of the spinal fluid somewhere in the brain or spinal cord. The symptoms can come and go, or worsen, or stay the same, but it usually is a progressive disease. Unfortunately the only way to definitely diagnose this is with an MRI.
I have lived with this knowledge and a real gut feeling that Riley may have it but never wanted to hear that he did. After seeing the pain that he was in last week I finally got the courage to find out. I didn't go my regular vet because I really only wanted to see a neurologist. I did some more research and found that there was a neurologist who was very familiar with this disease and with Cavaliers. His name is Dr. Eric Glass and he practices at Red Bank Vet Hospital. I called on Monday and made an appointment for yesterday.
We met a wonderful caring doctor and were in a state of the art animal hospital. Dr. Glass got on the floor to meet Riley which was so nice to see. We discussed Riley's symptoms and Dr. Glass said that his symptoms were certainly indicative of SM. He also felt that Riley was in substantial pain. He suggested that Riley be admitted and that they do an MRI first thing this morning. I was heartbroken to have to leave him, but knew this was the right thing to do. What a long night last night was. In order to do the MRI, Riley had to go under general anesthesia. They did the MRI at 5:30 this morning. They called at 9:30 am and said Riley had done well with the anesthesia and was doing well. I was asked to come back at 2pm today to discuss the results with Dr. Glass.
I met with Dr. Glass who showed me the MRI and he explained everything to me. Of course he told me my worst fear that Riley did indeed have SM.
After that, my head was spinning. He said we have 2 options right now. One is to do surgery and the other is to try to manage his symptoms with medication. I told him I am not going the surgery route. I did not want to put Riley through what essentially is brain surgery. He said we will work on the medication route. he put Riley on a heavy dose of pain relievers and also prednisone and a 3rd medication for his stomach. I have to go back next week when he will probably add another medication. He said the pain is a neuropathic pain. That is the reason why the dogs scratch so much. It is not because they are itchy but it is due to the pain they feel and they try to relieve it by scratching. Knowing that is so sad because Riley has been scratching excessively for some time now.
So we start a new journey today. I don't know where it will lead or where we will end up. I will give Riley the best care that I possibly can and all the love that he deserves.
It was a very strange way that we got to this point. Riley has had some weird sometimes quirky things going on for a while. These include scratching ALOT. I had taken him to the vet several times and have tried several different things but the scratching only seemed to get worse. Recently he started licking his lips for long periods of time usually at night. He has been sleeping for most of the day and all night for several months now. He always sleeps with his head up on something. Last Thursday Riley couldn't walk up any stairs and couldn't jump. When I picked him up a few times he would yelp in pain. I had been doing research about the varied symptoms all of which , individually could mean nothing but all together led me to a disease called syringomyelia.( SM ) It is caused by an obstruction of the spinal fluid somewhere in the brain or spinal cord. The symptoms can come and go, or worsen, or stay the same, but it usually is a progressive disease. Unfortunately the only way to definitely diagnose this is with an MRI.
I have lived with this knowledge and a real gut feeling that Riley may have it but never wanted to hear that he did. After seeing the pain that he was in last week I finally got the courage to find out. I didn't go my regular vet because I really only wanted to see a neurologist. I did some more research and found that there was a neurologist who was very familiar with this disease and with Cavaliers. His name is Dr. Eric Glass and he practices at Red Bank Vet Hospital. I called on Monday and made an appointment for yesterday.
We met a wonderful caring doctor and were in a state of the art animal hospital. Dr. Glass got on the floor to meet Riley which was so nice to see. We discussed Riley's symptoms and Dr. Glass said that his symptoms were certainly indicative of SM. He also felt that Riley was in substantial pain. He suggested that Riley be admitted and that they do an MRI first thing this morning. I was heartbroken to have to leave him, but knew this was the right thing to do. What a long night last night was. In order to do the MRI, Riley had to go under general anesthesia. They did the MRI at 5:30 this morning. They called at 9:30 am and said Riley had done well with the anesthesia and was doing well. I was asked to come back at 2pm today to discuss the results with Dr. Glass.
I met with Dr. Glass who showed me the MRI and he explained everything to me. Of course he told me my worst fear that Riley did indeed have SM.
After that, my head was spinning. He said we have 2 options right now. One is to do surgery and the other is to try to manage his symptoms with medication. I told him I am not going the surgery route. I did not want to put Riley through what essentially is brain surgery. He said we will work on the medication route. he put Riley on a heavy dose of pain relievers and also prednisone and a 3rd medication for his stomach. I have to go back next week when he will probably add another medication. He said the pain is a neuropathic pain. That is the reason why the dogs scratch so much. It is not because they are itchy but it is due to the pain they feel and they try to relieve it by scratching. Knowing that is so sad because Riley has been scratching excessively for some time now.
So we start a new journey today. I don't know where it will lead or where we will end up. I will give Riley the best care that I possibly can and all the love that he deserves.
I do want to add that SM is a genetically inherited disease. It comes directly from one or both of the parents. I think it is quite obvious that Riley got dealt a pretty awful deal in this life. He will be loved even more for being such a brave little boy.
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