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Anyone Had Any Success In Treating Meningitis?


Jibba
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My daughters puppy who is 4 mths old has been taken to the vet with early stages of meningitis, i was just wondering if anyone has heard of or had a dog that as gotten better?

my daughter who is 7 doesnt understand, she knows he is sick, but i dont know how i am going to make her understand if the BIG decision has to be made.

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It seems to depend on what type of meningitis the dog has.

The treatment of meningitis in canines usually depend upon the type of the disease. Steroid responsive meningitis is known to be the most common type of meningitis in dogs. Bacterial meningitis is difficult to treat and usually high doses of medications are required for elimination of the cause. In order to carry out the diagnosis of the illness, physical and neurological examination, laboratory tests, spinal fluid analysis, X-rays and CT scans may be recommended as part of the treatment. Steroid medications, anti-Inflammatory medications, antibiotics or anti-seizure medications may also be recommended in the course of the treatment. Most importantly, love and supportive dog care is what is required in abundance from the owner. Different breeds of dogs may show varying improvements during the healing period of the disease. Some breeds may get cured by a gradually reduced schedule of medications while some might have to continue to take a long-term schedule in order to avoid relapses or future recurrences.

At the slightest recognition of the meningitis symptoms in dogs, the sole responsibility of any owner is to seek advice and help of a vet; at the earliest. Many owners have had to go through the phase wherein they had to suffer the loss of their beloved pets due to delay in treatment. So, keep a close watch on your dogs health and ensure to provide them with everything that is needed for them to live long, happy and healthier lives!

Source: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/meningitis-...ms-in-dogs.html
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I've got a dog who's had steriod responsive meningitis, he's now fit and healthy. He had months of cortisone on a decreasing dose, was ok for a bit then relapsed so the cortisone started again. He's been completely off cortisone for over 12 months now

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I dont believe anyone should contemplate taking the word of just one vet and making "that" decision based on one opinion. Make sure you follow up and spend the money to take your dog elsewhere to ensure the diagnosis is correct. I know of a few people who have been told that their dog had 'suspected meningitis'. They found out this was not the case and I would hate for you to lose your little one if not necessary. There is a testimonial at:http://www.######.com/testimonials_2_24.html which is of a standard poodle "Beau" that was given this diagnosis and went on to live and find out it was incorrect and was healed through chiropractic treatments. Stay positive and one day at a time!

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Our Hungarian Vizsla was diagnosed with SRMA from symptoms when he was 6 months old. He is to finally have his last meds tomorrow ... after 16 months of slowly weaning him .... we went really slowly due to him also being diagnosed with IMHA five weeks after the SRMA being diagnosed. What symptoms did your pup have and how did the vet diagnose the pup? If it is SRMA the dogs turn around very quickly with high doses of prednisone ... we saw this happen within 24 hours but he still remained rather vacant and "zonked" for many weeks. Has your vet prescribed any meds yet? Sometimes they will also prescribe an immuno-suppressant such as azathiophrine along with the prednisone.

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the puppy was or has been not quite there for a few days, high fever for a day, head tilt, pain on touch, a little wonky when walking, stiff back legs, squinting his eyes, and shying from a head pat. the vet kept him over night, just incase it is lead poisoning but i dont think so, she suggested prednisolone, and some other drug that is immuno suppressant and isnt goot for growing cartilage, but we dont have any other option.

Vet has diagnosed on syptoms alone so far, and if he repsonds to the drugs then there is a simple cheap diagnosis. he will be coming home from vets today, as if its meningitis, theres not much more she can do, so i can do it at home with him, the poor little guy.

Ish thats very interesting, was it by chance Desmo? and what did he turn out like, i always loved him.

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if you do have to make the decision to put the dog down then tell your daughter the truth. Kids cope very well. They cry for a bit then get on with life. My daughter was only 5 and it was her first day at school, her granddad was in hospital and our 7 month old pup had to be put down. The only thing I didn't tell her was I made the choice, I just said the dog had died.

Hopefully you'll get a good outcome though :confused:

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picked puppy up today he is brighter than yesterday and no fever, he is on prednisolone and another drug that starts with art, but we are hoping all will be well, he tried to play today so he is much better all ready

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Ish thats very interesting, was it by chance Desmo? and what did he turn out like, i always loved him.

No, wasn't Desmo - he's healthy and happily living in Sydney as far as I know :D It's Monza who's had SRMA

Glad to hear your puppy is home and feeling better

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Great to hear the pup is feeling better. With Flynn ... and his drug regime we found that it did affect his growth. He has managed to sneak into the standard height for a vizsla but was obviously meant to be bigger when you see the size of his feet! From experience.... if your pup is on high doses of prednisolone see if the vet will allow you to add a gastroprotectant. Our vet did not allow us at the start ... reason being that she believed we would only be at high doses for a short period but after 5 weeks we believe he got an ulcer and had a bleed internally and he was diagnosed with IMHA! We were then allowed to use liquid Zantac which I just brought from the pharmacy but the vet gave us the dosage.

Edited by Red Dog NZ
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ah red dog good idea on the zantac, i too have had a dog with haemalitic aneamia, so i know what thats like.

Great to hear about desmo ish, and poor monza he was or still is i suppose a sweetie.

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