Pet Forum / Miscellaneous / Animal Health / August 2004

Hello, I'm hoping someone can help me get a handle on what's wrong
with my dog.  This is a lengthy post, but I want to put down the
entire medical history that I know.

I have a 13 and a half year old Dalmatian who was diagnosed with GME
over 3 years ago.  The GME diagnosis was made by elimination, after an
MRI, brain stem tap, etc.  Initially, she was put on a heavy dose of
prednisone, which eventually controlled the neurological symptoms she
was experiencing.  The prednisone was then tapered to a much lower
dose.  Two times since then the symptoms worsened, which were again
controlled by increasing the prednisone dosage.  For the last nearly 2
years she has been on a very low dosage of prednisone -- 5mgs every
third day -- and has not exhibited the GME symptoms (pronounced
imbalance, etc).

Over the last year and a half, she has exhibited typical symptoms of
arthritis.  She has become weak in her hips, drags her feet on
occasion (particularly when tired), and "dips" at the rear if she has
to stand still for long.  Her hips and spine were x-rayed, and was
determined to be basically orthopedically sound, with little
indication of arthritis (though I was told she had a "mild form of
arthritis").  She has become slowly more symptomatic, but is still
able to go for walks and, although hampered in her range of motion and
abilities, does not seem to be in pain.  It was recommended that I put
her on rimadyl, but I have not, because of the lack of pain and
potential side-effects, particularly in combination with the
prednisone she still takes.

She had blood work done about 6 months ago, to monitor any long-term
effects of the prednisone, which indicated some kidney degradation (I
was told that this is normal in older dogs and hers was slighlty worse
than a dog would be if it were not on prednisone), but otherwise
basically normal indicators (other than an atypical white blood count
that indicated an infection -- that was cleared up with antibiotics).

6 weeks ago she exhibited pronounced head tilt, loss of balance, and
nearly constant panting.  I was advised to do nothing for a few weeks
to see if it went away on its own, due to geriatric vestibular
disease.  Indeed, the extreme tilt, balance issues, and panting did
resolve themselves, but a constant, though minor, head tilt remains
still.

In spite of all of these issues, she was basically stable and had a
good quality of life until a new problem arose just a few days ago.
Lately, she has had problems sleeping at night, apparently due to
stomach issues.  More specifically, although she has been normal in
the days, and sleeps in the early evening when we watch tv or read,
about the time we go to bed she becomes extremely restless and
agitated.  She paces around the house and lies down for a few moments,
only to spring up and pace again.  Also, these bouts are accompanied
by heavy panting, even though it is not hot here at all.  This can go
on for several hours.  During these episodes, I have listened to her
stomach, which makes a great deal of digestive noises.  A few nights I
was able to calm her by giving her some food and a Pepcid, then
calming her to rest.

Last night, however, she was inconsolable.  She was panting and pacing
constantly.  I tried to feed her some, and had given her a Pepcid
several hours earlier.  She did this on and off all night, culminating
in pooping and peeing in the hallway (she had been walked just before
we went to bed, as usual).

Does anyone have any ideas on what is going on with her, and what we
might consider doing next?

I really appreciate everyone's ideas and help.  Thank you.