I have been corresponding with a really nice man, who lives in Scotland of almost a month now. He was (is) in desperate for help and found my name through a web ring. Basically I told him I am not a vet and that he should go back to his vet or get a second opinion. I will let his notes explain the situation. I told him I would forward any replies so if you would rather write him directly, write me privately and I will forward his e-mail.
Thursday, November 08, 2001 8:05 AM I was wondering if you could offer some advice for my King Charles - "Ben". He is about to turn 9 and we have had him for about 15 months now. (we "adopted" him from someone who wasn't able to look after him anymore). He has been great. We changed his diet totally as he had been spoiled and got him into a healthy state. About 2 months ago we changed him on to Iams to help his immune system as he was always getting complaints. Last week he started getting very wobbly on his feet. When out for walks, he actually fell occasionally. I took him to the vet and he has suggested that his back legs aren't "functioning" with the rest of his body. He called it something,but it had about 5 big words in it and I can't remember what it was. He prescribed Steroid painkillers and I've to take him back in a week., but it is very hard to watch him walking without getting upset. he is in no pain, but I cannot understand why this has suddenly happened, unless it is directly related to his age. Thursday, November 15, 2001 11:06 AM Since I wrote, we have been told that it is likely he has suffered a slipped disc in his neck, which is affecting his nerve ends. He is now on 4-a-day, steroid painkillers and confined to a cage(apart from the toilet) for 2 weeks to restrict his movement. Have you seen this before? Will he recover? The Vet has been helpful, but he/she aren't the ones getting upset every time we watch him struggle to walk. Monday, November 26, 2001 5:41 PM This is the latest with Ben and again it appears that no-one, not even the "specialist" is sure of the problem. Our local Vet though the problem was with his neck,possibly a disc or similar, causing a nerve problem, thus affecting his walking. We were referred to a specialist in Glasgow. They assessed Ben and tried to determine where the problem lay. They said it could be one of three things; - a tumour near his spinal cord - his immune system causing an inflammation around the spinal area - a chronic disc problem, possibly pushing against the spinal cord. The took him in for 2 days and carried out a "milogram" (injecting fluid down the spinal cord channels) to see if anything showed up under an x-ray. Nothing. They also took 2 samples of fluid from around the spinal cord and I'm still waiting for the results to come back. To be honest, after the �700 it has cost, so far, I would have expected some sort of answer , but everyone is baffled. He is now talking about doing a MRI scan at the end of December if there is no improvement by then. The specialist's recommendation is to confine Ben to a cage for 4 weeks and 2 steroid tablets a day, 1 in the morning and one at night. Ben is 9 and also took a small fit under the anaesthetic. They have graded his heart murmour at a 4/6. I just wish something positive was coming out of this as I don't want to see him suffer. It is so distressing seeing him fall over when he walks. Do you know any breeders who have seen or heard of this condition before?. _________________________________________________ I really feel for this guy and hope that some one has some ideas as to what is going on with his dog. TIA, Susan Susan K Platt Claymoore Cavaliers Grand Blanc, MI 810 695-8979 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.usol.com/~claymoore ========================================================"Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 1999 by its original author.
