Gracie Doodle Has Masticatory Myositis (Eosinophilic Myositis)

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

I have hesitated posting this discussion but at the encouragement of Nancy (Ned & Clancy) I am now willing to do so in the hopes of educating everyone of this strange disease. My husband and I just could not wrap our minds around the diagnosis when the vet suspected this a few months ago. But when Gracie Doodle showed signs again this last week and would cry out in pain when she yawned or tried to open her mouth to carry a toy or tennis ball, we knew the diagnosis was probably right. I took Gracie back to the vet today and he reconfirmed that it had come back. We had her on Prednisone for a one month cycle and felt it had done the job but now hindsight tells us that she needed to be on it for 3-6 months. We hated what the Prednisone did to her and so wanted our sweet happy Doodle back to normal. She was fine for maybe two months but in the last week it started over. Her first signs were on one weekend outing with my husband people would come and give her a pat and suddenly in the middle of the day she started ducking her head and pulling away. When they got home my husband asked me to come over and pat her. She did the same thing to me. She continued to do it to the point that it looked like someone had beat her and she was shying away in fear. This showed up on a Saturday and we had her at the Vet that Monday morning. He gave her an exam and pretty much nailed it on the head. He gave us a three page print out of the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment which put us into a tail spin of denial and saying this couldn’t be happening…not to our Gracie Doodle who has never had one medical problem or ailment in her life. Fox tails in the paws doesn’t count!! The doctor went through the various tests there on the spot that he could so he could eliminate other ailments. There is a blood test that is given which takes about 10-14 days to get the results back and costs around $400. But the down side of this is that there is a 15% chance the blood test with show negative…but that doesn’t necessarily mean she doesn’t have the disease. For sure a biopsy of the Temporalis muscle on the top of her head would tell. We were not ready to go there. This all became a “Catch 22” where we were damned if we did and damned if we didn’t. This is something you want to catch in the earliest stages possible. Waiting 2 weeks for the results were not an option for us but the vet still insisted on the test. So the next day Gracie was sedated and had x-rays of her head, jaw, neck and teeth. We were looking for anything that might explain her pain like a bone shard stuck in her throat, gum or anywhere in her mouth, cracked tooth…anything. And there was nothing other than a teeth cleaning while she was out. Meanwhile, she was put on Tramadol for pain and Prednisone twice daily for 10 days, then one a day for 20 days and then one every other day for another 20 days. The blood test came back and showed a false negative which is what we were warned. We still had to treat her assuming she did have this disease. During that time she dragged around the house with not a lot of pep, panted, peed a lot but her appetite did not increase as they had said it would do. About two weeks into the treatment I found a huge dark brown stain on my carpet that had no chunks or smell. It turned out it was bile from Gracie. The medication was too acidic for her so we had to start giving her an antacid every day and keep an eye on her. This medicine is nasty stuff and can cause ulcers. Luckily that was enough to calm her down but we did get a few throwing up cycles always on the carpet and not the wood floors! At the end of the treatment she seemed to be doing so well that the Vet suggested we wean her off the pills which were gladly were willing to do. Life went on for a few months and we had our happy, bouncy fun loving Gracie Doodle back. Then last week while I was out of town my husband noticed she was giving little cry outs when she would push her tennis ball out of her mouth after fetching it. Also, when she yawns she gives multiple sharp quick cries. This scares her and she comes running to us and hides her head in our legs. I feel so horrible for her because I know she is in pain and she also gets so concerned about us when she cries. She wants to lick our faces to reassure us she is OK but we know she is not. She has lost her spirit with her toys and tennis ball. If any of you know my Gracie, her tennis ball is her obsession beyond all obsessions. She would catch and carry two balls around all the time. Now she can’t open her mouth wide enough for one ball. She also always greeted us at the door with a toy in her mouth and leave toys all over the house. Now the toys are all in her box and nothing is left out to put a smile on our face to know that Gracie had been there. We went to the vet today and she is no longer going to have a repeat of tests because there is no need. She has gone back on the medications and we will reassess things after a month. We are looking at probably 3-6 months of treatment. But there are no guarantees and it can always return. The one thing we know, if left untreated he jaw could likely lock for good. ABSTRACT: Masticatory muscle myositis is an inflammatory myopathy in which patients most commonly present with jaw pain or an inability to open the jaw. This disease is an autoimmune process in which circulating antibodies specifically target the masticatory muscles. Patients can present either in the acute or, more commonly, chronic phase of the disease. Dogs generally demonstrate no other neurologic or physical abnormalities, which may help differentiate this disease from other causes of trismus. Masticatory muscle myositis requires early detection and aggressive immunosuppressive therapy to improve the prognosis. I scanned this three page report that the Vet gave us that explains what this is all about. It does say that Golden Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers are one of the more common breeds to get this. So after it is all said and done…what does this all mean? What is the final outcome? I do not like what the final paragraph on the third page of this scanned document is saying. What is to become of my Gracie Doodle? This is why it has been so hard for me to discuss. I only told Nancy last night at dinner before they headed back home to Riverside. I just want to cry all the time and no one can give me answers or alternative ways to treat this. This is nothing contagious. It has to do with the dog’s autoimmune system so does that mean it is genetic? There is no way to test a puppy for this…nothing. Why have I been around dogs my entire life and never heard of anything so far-fetched that can happen to a dog? My heart and mind are on overload. I guess I need to take my husband’s attitude…each day when he wakes up he is thankful for another day. This is the way we need to approach things I guess but that won’t be easy for me

[Colleen, Jake & Baxter]

Nancie

I am so sorry.  Thank you for letting us know.  I can understand how frightening these weeks have been.  My own DH is pretty good at keeping it together while I can easily go off the deep end with my EMO (emotions as my DD would say) thinking the worst.   My prayers are for extra wisdom and discernment for the doctors that are treating Gracie.  I also pray that you and Gracie will grow stronger with each day.  You and DH are her best advocates and Gracie Doodle is in the best  of hands....yours.  Please keep us posted.  I know that I can speak for DK in telling you that many on here would want to know how you and Gracie are doing. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

There is nothing worse than to know that our babies are in pain.  I remember what it was like when Guinness had the Pancreatitis....I felt like my heart was broken.  My friends here on Doodle Kisses helped me so much during that time.  I found comfort in knowing that my "Doodle friends" were sending prayers and positive energy our way.  It does sound like your Vet is on top of things and that with treatment Gracie will be able to live a pain free life.  I say spoil her like crazy and try to stay as positive as you can right now for her.  I really believe that with this treatment you'll have your special Doodle girls back real soon.

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

Nancie, I am so sorry to hear about Gracie Doodle's illness.  I read your post with tears streaming down my face.  Sending positive thoughts and prayers for Gracie to have a complete recovery.

[Sue & Lily Grace]

Nancie, I too am glad that you posted about Gracie's problem. It helps us all to be aware. It also will help you because once you share, your burden also has been shared. My prayers will include your family and Gracie. Love her.

[Martha & Cooper]

I am so sorry to hear this.   What a horrible illness for Gracie Doodle and you to deal with. I hate to hear that she is in pain.  The tramadol made Cooper a little crazy and we had to give him half the recommended dose.  

Since I personally deal with an autoimmune illness, I have experience with them and can tell you that she may need to be on a maintenance (low) dose of prednisone for a longer period of time.   I  have been on prednisone in varying doses to control mine.   Not a nice drug, but very necessary to control autoimmune illnesses. 

There are so many of us here with sick doodles now, we should start a support group for their owners.  :-(   

Hugs from Me and Cooper to you both

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I've been thinking the same thing, Martha. An Owners of Chronically Ill Doodles Support Group.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

What a fantastic idea - you really should start one, none of us ever know if or when something could happen to our precious fur babies.

Peace and Love to you all!

[Leslie and Halas]

I'm so sorry to hear this.  What a huge shock this must have been for you.  I agree with others about the study - it was such a small sample.  Try to enjoy every day, and be patient while the medications do their thing.  I'll be thinking about you and Gracie Doodle.  She WILL get better!

[Donna K & Quincy]

Sweet, beautiful Gracie, I am so sorry that you are hurting and I pray that you will be feeling better soon. Nancie, I am so sad to be reading this and I just want you to know that we are thinking of you guys and sending all the postive thoughts we can. It is always amazing the weird things that can happen to us all both canine and human, yet it is also amazing that we somehow find the widsom and courage to deal with things as they come. I have no doubt that Gracie will have the best care possible from her family and I'm positive she'll be back to her old self soon. Although he seems to have quite a lot of competition for Gracie's affections, Quincy sends a big doodlekiss and lick to Gracie and said to tell her she is the girl of his dreams.

[Traci -Bexter & Maggie]

Nancie,

I am so sorry to hear this about your precious Gracie.  I'm sure this seems like a nightmare & you were hoping you'd wake up and it wouldn't be happening.  I understand why you hesitated to post this because when you tell people then it seems more real.  I can't imagine your worry.  I have never heard of this before.  Gracie is just an absolutely perfect-looking doodle!  She always looks so happy in her pictures.  It is hard to believe she is dealing with this.  Sometimes when things "turn real" they get a little less frightening, because you have people to support you.  I sure hope that is the case with you here.  Please know we are all pulling for Gracie to heal completely.  I know it is so sad to have to keep her from playing with her favorite toys/balls because you will always be so worried when she does.  Please keep us posted.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

how awful, im so sorry Nancy. thankfully you are an alert doodle mom and saw the signs. Hopefully the treatment will work. im glad you posted about this, so you can get the support from the fantastic people here on DK

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I am just happy the prognosis is good and there are treatment options. I am so sorry you are going through this. Totally different, but our chihuahua has kidney disease and we struggle with that on a daily basis sometimes. He is only 8 years old! We do what we can and love him with everything we've got. I know you will do the same with Gracie doodle and all will turn out well! Taquito was diagnosed over 2 years ago and is still doing okay - not any worse. We have control over the situation - you will have the same over Gracie's! There is hope!