my Ddog has just been diagnosed with syringomelia -anyone know much about it?

[ameliesfolly]

Poor wee thing . She is a CKCS so we had suspected but she's just had an MRI and has been diagnosed as having "extensive" syringomelia. We are yet to have a proper consult with the vet so just wondering if anyone here has any experience with this please.

The main bit that bothers me is how we can tell if she is in pain. I have trodden on her before (accidentally!) and she doesn't even yelp. She once got a grass seed in her ear, a long way in and made no sound though it was obvious she was in a lot of pain then. We want to do our best for her but the main issue for her quality of life is how much pain she might be in.

[AdriftOnMemoryBliss]

we suspected our last Cavi had it but it was never confirmed, we had him before there was a big thing about it.. and were so annoyed because we'd done SUCH extensive research on his breed lines to minimise the chance of the Mitral Valve issues after losing the previous dog at only 7 because of it. :(

All i can say is as long as the dog is eating, drinking and seems ok in itself, just carry on.

Our dog was on steroids because of mysterious paw biting behaviour and constant scratching at his ears, but they could never get to the bottom of why, he was 8 when they started talking about this issue and we felt at that age it wasn't worth investigating.

[TrionicLettuce]

I'm so sorry about her diagnosis

I've no personal experience but this page on the Cavalier Health site has very extensive information about all aspects of CM/SM. This section has some useful information about monitoring pain levels in dogs with SM.

[Bubble2bubble]

So sorry, that is dreadful :(
I have no direct experience but there is a huge amount information and experience here

[Cheerfulmarybrown]

My experience is limited and a decade or so ago with a clients dog. It was heartbreaking as the dog belonged to an elderly lady and it was her reason for living after the death of her husband. Pain did seem to be a major problem with syringomelia for her dog.

Look for subtle signs from your dog, this could be itching, rubbing, stiffness, your dog may prefer to be touched on different areas from where the pain is so watch to see if they present this to you etc. Your dog could be more withdrawn if in pain preferring to sleep than play or sleeping more than usual, look also for licking as this is a stress release and the dogs do it to feel calmer if in pain.

If I remember correctly the clients dog had surgery I think to increase the flow to the brain this worked for a few years and appeared to keep the dog pain free for this time.

It is a bastard disease and all the worse as it is caused by breeders that do not seem to care for the heart break it brings to loving owners and dogs.

I hope Lonecatwithkittens will be along to give the correct vet advice.

I am sorry that you are having to deal with this.