# Myasthenia gravis



## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Perdie*

I am so sorry to hear what your boy is going through.
I think I've heard this mentioned on the Forum.
Sure some other members will know.
I will be praying for him!


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

Is he still not well? MG is not common, but is definitely out there. I've never had a patient with it. If possible, a visit with a neurologist would probably be a fantastic thing for you and your boy. I hope you can get to the bottom of this soon.


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## perdie (Oct 30, 2008)

He's still lethargic, waking probably 1 hour out of 24. We are taking him to a specialist centre within the next week or so for further tests and an MRI scan. Im just so worried that he seems to be getting slower&slower each day and if it isnt MG (or is for that matter)valuable time is being wasted waiting around for results etc as Ive read some horror stories of dogs dying a few days after diagnosis.


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## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

I had to look up this disorder on google as I've never heard of it before. I wish I could offer some advice but will be keeping our fingers and paws crossed for a good outcome. Your golden boy is beautiful.


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## twinny41 (Feb 13, 2008)

My goodness Shona, cant he be seen quicker? Still, the vet must know what he is doing. I ggogled it too after you posted and as you say the symptoms for MG do seem more severe. Lets pray it's something thats easily resolved. I certainly am doing so! Hugs.


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

I would hope they could get him in quicker too. Our specialty center will allow us to send a dog in on emergency (ie immediately) if needed. It costs a little bit more (maybe $100), but in cases like yours, it would be well worth the extra money (esp. considering what your bill will be with an MRI, etc.). He's such a young dog to be having such terrible problems. I hope the doctors can get him sorted out.


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## BearValley (Nov 30, 2008)

I am really very sorry to hear that you might be dealing with MG. We had a puppy about nine years ago with it, "Bailey".

It began with her not being able to jump up on the couch one afternoon after a short run with my daughter. We thought that her legs were tired. When this persisted for a few days and wasn't "normal" we went to our vet who thought it was suspicious and sent us to a specialist.

The specialist looked at her gait and examined her and then x-rayed her neck. It showed mega-esophagus. In myasthenia gravis, the muscles don't receive the signals to contract and one of the symptoms is that the esophagus becomes very large because of that.

.


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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

My 1st Golden passed away from MG within roughly a month. Complications came at the end when she developed pneumonia, and I had to make the hardest decision in my life. She was put on prednisone and mestinon for the MG, her situation came on a little different than yours though. At first her symptoms were more like that of arthritis or lyme disease, further on when she went to squat to do her business, she would fall over on her side. It came to a point at the end when she was unable to walk. I have no idea if different treatments have come out for MG in the past 10 years.

I have been seeing the same vet for 18 years, he has been a vet for 36 years and did a internship and residency in veterinary neurology. I still sought a 2nd opinion from Angel Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston, MA supposedly one of the top in the country, and was told she had arthritis. I can't tell you how PO'd I was at that.

You might want to test for Lyme disease, there is also something called Ehrlichia, similar to Lyme disease. Here is a link. (I don't mean to scare you any more than you are, just thought it might help with a diagnosis)

http://home.earthlink.net/~hawkeye87/Ehrlichiosis%20Page.htm

Sorry I can't be of more help, it was such a long time ago. I never had a autopsy done to confirm the MG, But I'm sure it was, she had all the symptoms. It was not vestibular disease that older dogs sometimes get, she was 10 yrs old.


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## perdie (Oct 30, 2008)

Thanks for your kind comments C's Mom, we think he's beautiful too  we love him soooooooooooooooooooooooooo much


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I had a customer and friend with a 2 year old golden with MG. PLEASE get him seen sooner, it is the difference between life and death. The in-office test for MG is fairly conclusive, although the formal test takes 2 weeks to come back. Based on the in-office test, most vets will institute treatment with mestinon right away. You will see an unbelievably dramatic improvement almost instantly with the mestinon if it is in fact MG.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Perdie*

Your baby is gorgeous and like the other ladies said I would get him in immediately on an emergency basis if necessary.


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

Please have him seen/tested immediately or maybe they can give him the meds mentioned above? If he develops megaesophagus, it is incurable and dogs die of aspiration pneumonia. 

Our Max developed mega. due to mistreated hypothyroid but our vet thought at first it was MG. By the time he was correctly diagnosed it was too late. He was twelve and too weak from the aspiration pneumonia and his esophagus was paralyzed.
Prayers for your baby.


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## perdie (Oct 30, 2008)

Thanks so much for all your wonderful feedback and kind words of encouragement and support, I find this forum invaluable not only for information but for understanding from people who loves their animals as much as we love ours.
Ive trawled the internet til the early hours and Im not convinced with the MG possibility, I am leaning more to hypothyroidism. Of course Im no vet and will have to discuss this with him but, Im feeling a lot more positive of a manageable outcome. Thank you once again for kindness&wisdom xx


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

I have never known a dog to be that sick simply from hypothyroidism. I hope it isn't MG and I hope you find out exactly what it is sooner rather than later.


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## GoldenCamper (Dec 21, 2009)

IowaGold said:


> I have never known a dog to be that sick simply from hypothyroidism. I hope it isn't MG and I hope you find out exactly what it is sooner rather than later.


 Ditto to the above. I'm not a vet, but both of my Goldies have been hypothyroid and never acted like your dog. Whatever it is it sounds pretty serious to me. Sooner you get to the vets the better. I wish you the best.


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## Meggie'sMom (Dec 24, 2007)

Meggie was diagnosed with MG a little over a year ago after developing aspiration pneumonia from megaesophagus. She was put on azathioprine (1/2 tablet every other day) and we did titers every 6 months. Her last titer in early December showed her almost normal and they told me to back her off to every 3rd day then every 4th day. Her hind end weakness is getting worse and we just pulled a titer yesterday to re-eval. 

The tiers take about 10 days to come back and hers cost $115. Worth it for the peace of mind. 

We feed in an upright position even though they think her mega-e has resolved. If he has always thrown up it is a good possibility and certainly worth doing the upright feedings. Meggie and I actually kind of enjoy it. It is time consuming, but if it will keep her from having pneumonia again, we'll do it. We simply use an old couch, I sit on the back of it and pull her up to balance on my legs. We feed and she sits for 15-20 minutes afterward. There is a very supportive community of people online for mega-e, just google it.

In diagnosing her for MG she was tested for many other things. One I remember was Addisson's Disease. It is frustrating to wait for results, but being proactive will give you something to do that will feel constructive. 

I wish you well and hope that you get something conclusive soon. Waiting and not knowing is so hard.


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## Meggie'sMom (Dec 24, 2007)

Forgot to add: Megs water bowls are elevated too, but she is given fluids in the upright position (I cook her homemade chicken broth, just dilute with lots of water) and I give her the knox blox chicken broth that you will find on many mega-e sites to keep her hydrated. Easy to do and she loves it.

If you find that mega-e is a diagnosis, I can also suggest that Honest Kitchen Keen formula is a wonderful consistency for feeding and I feel absolutley great about feeding their foods.


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

I hope you are able to get him sooner and that his diagnosis is easily treatable. This must be very troubling for you and for your pup! Crossing my fingers and thinking good thoughts.


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## zippybossrock (Jan 12, 2008)

My heart goes out to you....I lost my 20 month old golden, Holly, to MG. When I took her to the vet for the first visit when she got sick, I was given a course of antibiotics for her and she seemed to improve while on them, and then as soon as she was done, she got worse. We went through this a few times....which I found was a textbook symptom of MG. Short spurts where you'd think there was nothing wrong and then, bam! right back to the way she was. Hopefully its not MG, and something treatable. Its a horrible disease, and when coupled with mega esophagus...ravaging. It was a painful, but necessary decision we made to have her put down. Our vet told us that no treatment would give us our dog back....they way a 20 month old pup should be. I wish you well and am hoping for the best for you.


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## BearValley (Nov 30, 2008)

Our Bailey was diagnosed at 9-10 months and her quality of life ran out at just 13 months old. She was a really great patient and we tried everything for her, she just ended up with a bad, bad case of it.

.


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## perdie (Oct 30, 2008)

So, had to take jamie back to the vets today, his condition got a little worse - vomiting&diahorrea,severe lethergy. the vet said his heart rate was very low. The good news is the initial blood work is being tested for MG and the result should be in Friday. He took some more blood and is testing for thyroid problems. Please keep you fingers crossed for us, we're very worried. Thank you so much x


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Man, I don't think I could wait until Friday, you must be a lot more patient than me. I'd probably be hauling ass over to the vet school to figure things out, pronto.

Best of luck to you and Jamie, I sincerely hope it's something treatable and won't worsen with time.


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## perdie (Oct 30, 2008)

Well a blood test is a blood test, theres no magic machine that will make the results appear quicker unfortunately! An mri or xray wont diagnose MG or hypothyroid.


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Generally teaching hospitals can expedite things, although maybe that's just my experience. When we were working with U of I's teaching hospital to figure out what was wrong with Carmella, we would know things that day or by the next day. But you know your dog better than I do, obviously :, so if you think it's okay to wait, then I'm sure he'll be fine. Best of luck to you and Jamie, this must be hard for you!


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## BearValley (Nov 30, 2008)

An x-ray of the esophagus could give you a _really_ good idea if it was MG. That was the first thing they did with Bailey after watching her gait.

.


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## maggie1951 (Apr 20, 2007)

Fingers crossed for Friday poor Jamie and you Shona these dogs sure love to worry us.
Daisy Charlie and Blarney send there love 
xxx


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## honeysmum (Dec 4, 2007)

Kdmarsh, I don't think it is a case of patience, Shona is out of her mind with worry about Jamie and unfortunately here in the UK although our Veterinary schools are among the best in the world they are not always on our door steps and as bad as it may seem we can not all hall ass halfway across the country at a moments notice, so no Shona isn't feeling patient waiting for the results she has no choice,unless she wants to leave a young school age son home alone for 24 hours.


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

Did he have just a general profile also (with electrolytes)? The Addison's suggestion is a good one, especially given his most recent symptoms.


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

honeysmum said:


> Kdmarsh, I don't think it is a case of patience, Shona is out of her mind with worry about Jamie and unfortunately here in the UK although our Veterinary schools are among the best in the world they are not always on our door steps and as bad as it may seem we can not all hall ass halfway across the country at a moments notice, so no Shona isn't feeling patient waiting for the results she has no choice,unless she wants to leave a young school age son home alone for 24 hours.


Um, okay, then she's not patient. :uhoh:

I still am hoping the best for Jamie!


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## Meggie'sMom (Dec 24, 2007)

I'm so sorry Jamie is so sick. The titer for MG does take 7-10 days to get results. We were just as anxious to get Meggie's back so we would know the monster we were fighting, but it's one of those things you just have to wait for. My understanding is that the titer was sent to a lab and was not done locally at our vet school. 

An x-ray can show megaesophagus, but that does not mean that Jamie has MG. Mega-e can result from other conditions and can be idiopathic. I think we were more afraid of never knowing the cause than getting a diagnosis. At least we had an enemy to fight.

Good luck to you and your boy. This has to heart wrenching. Hugs to you both. I hope for better news soon.


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## davebeech (Feb 11, 2006)

Shona, I missed this thread completely, but seen your other thread on the uk forum, I'm so pleased you have found the issue and hoping for Jamie's speedy recovery.


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## perdie (Oct 30, 2008)

Thanks Dave, not out of the woods yet but we're thrilled the preliminary results are treatable wahooooooooooooooooooo! so happy!


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## perdie (Oct 30, 2008)

Toxoplasmosis for anyone following this thread


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

MUCH better diagnosis than what was originally feared. I'm so glad that Jamie is going to be okay. Is toxoplasmosis hard to get rid of? It's a parasite, right?


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Wow-I am glad it is something treatable! I would never have guessed toxoplasmosis-isn't that usually cats?

So, hurry up now and get well Jamie!


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## Tanyac (Jun 18, 2008)

Could do a flip right now, I know how desperately worried you have been about Jamie, Shona, and just want to see the young lad back to his proper self. he's a special boy. Give him a great big sloppy kiss from me (oh alright then, from Obi and Izzie.


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## BearValley (Nov 30, 2008)

That is just terrific, infinitely better than what we had feared!

Cheers!

.


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

Wow! Who'd have thunk it? Glad you got a diagnosis!


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## perdie (Oct 30, 2008)

Kisses all round!lol
Toxoplasmosis can affect any warm blooded animal including humans. Its a parasitic disease (spread mostly by cat poop&raw meat) that can have a wide range of smptoms most significant in Jamie appeared to be severe lethargy,muscle weakness,low heart rate,vomiting&diahorrea. His medication is not pleasant and can make him worse for a short time before he gets better, if that doesnt work it will be a course of anti-malaria drugs combined with antibiotics. He will be retested after his first course anyway but still waiting on his other results. Thyroid will be back Thursday/Friday and MG is to be redone as the first test was damaged.


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## honeysmum (Dec 4, 2007)

Shona whoo big sigh of relief here I hope and pray all other tests come back okay.
Try and keep in your mind this is treatable might be horrible and very upsetting for you and Sam and even more so Jamie in the short term, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is looking brighter by the day big hugs to you all and:crossfing for the rest of the results.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Perdie*

Perdie

So glad the diagnosis is not so bad.


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## Meggie'sMom (Dec 24, 2007)

Hope the meds kick in and Jamie is feeling better soon.


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## Bella's Mommy (Jan 30, 2010)

Hi,
I have recent first hand experience with myasthenia gravis (MG). My female golden was seven when she developed rear leg muscle weakness which was progressive but advanced to her only being able to walk a few steps before having to sit. However it can effect all four legs in some dogs. I took her to the vet who suspected MG despite never having seen a case. He did a "tensilon test" which is a quick acting, dramatic but short acting antidote. My girl went from not being able to walk to running in seconds after receiving this test. A few minutes later the weakness came back as it was before. Also of note is it is very common for dogs with MG to have a condition called Megaesophagus (ME) along with it. The ME can be extremely dangerous and life-threatening complication. In ME, the muscles in the esophagus become weakened to the point where the esophagus essentially becomes a big useless tube. When the dog eats or drinks they can regurgitate the food because it sits in the esophagus and does not make it down to the stomach. The danger here is if the food would aspirate into the lungs which can make the dog develop pneumonia. I am a bit suspicious about your dog's issue sometimes with eating and coughing. In ME, this can manifest itself this way. The coughing can be because he is having issues with esophagus. There are ways to manage this which I will discuss later. After such a dramatic response to the tensilon test, my vet contacted Internal Medicine vet specialist who we went to see. My girl had some ultrasounds and a very very expensive lab test done. This very expensive lab test is only done at a lab in CA and is a definitive test to diagnosis MG. In our case, her lab came back a whopping 12.6 (positive test result is 0.6), . She was placed on mestinon. I modified her food as well as held her in a completely upright position for 30 minutes after each meal to make sure her food got to the stomach and stayed there. She had alot of issues at night with regurigation of saliva. Normally the healthy esophagus, will keep saliva at bay, but in her ME, it would accumulate in the esophagus and she would regurgitate this, so I would attempt to keep her head and chest elevated in the evening (not an easy task). We had to keep her on the Mestinon for awhile and adjust the dosage and we were eventually able to wean her off. She actually did very well (her vet originally thought it was a death sentence) but I did everything possible to help her through this and thank god she was the most compliant wonderful girl and trusted me completely.
This post is about a week after you originally posted, so perhaps you have an update. There are some warning signs here with the leg weakness and also the feeding/coughing issue. I would have the vet do a tensilon test first which may give some indication of the diagnosis and then go from there. I would be very careful with feedings. At very least have his food dishes elevated until you can rule out these very serious conditions.
If you are still having issues, have an update (hopefully positive) or would like more information, please let me know, I will try to log on and check frequently. Good luck with you sweet and handsome boy.


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## perdie (Oct 30, 2008)

Bella's Mommy, thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post on what is a difficult&upsetting subject for both of us. Jamie has been diagnosed,in the interim, with toxoplasmosis. He had the MG test the first day we took him to the vets, unfortunately the blood sample was damaged so it has to be re-done but they want him to get his tox treatment over with first as they will be retesting for that too to make sure the treatment has worked.
MG is still a concern for me as he still has a little muscle weakness, to make things more complicated he may have a heart problem too either caused by the tox or revealed by it or it may just be nothing. We just dont know:-( hopefully more will be known within the next 2 weeks. Thanks once again for your reply, I appreciate all the advice I can get xxx


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## Claire's Friend (Feb 26, 2007)

Prayers and good thoughts being sent to you and your boy !!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

wow, what great news! I'm so glad to hear it's something that can be treated!


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

I too am so relieved for you and hope the muscle weakness will be resolved with treatment!


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## perdie (Oct 30, 2008)

awwww thanks everyone, it really has been one of the most emotional weeks of our lives. I didnt realise what an integral part of our family our Jamie really is  we love him so much.


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## Bella's Mommy (Jan 30, 2010)

To Perdie,
You are most welcome. My heart goes out to you and Jamie. He is just too young to be having to deal with this. I just look at the picture and I want to give him a big hug and Bella would like to give him nose kisses. OMG how I remember the feelings you are having right now. Golden Retrievers are so very special and just totally capture your heart. My suggestion to you would still be to elevate the water and food bowls at least until you are completely sure that it is not MG/ME. I will be thinking of you and Jamie as you deal with his health issues. He is lucky to have you. Please also give us updates (hopefully good) as they develop. Please give him a hug for me.


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