Dermatomyositis

C

calicoquette

Forums Regular
Our rescue sheltie, Sara, age 7, has Dermatomyositis(DM). She also has a vacular liver problem, and takes Denosyl and Marin daily. Recently the problem has intensified, and new areas are cropping up all over the place. It began with lesioins and hair loss on her face, and is now in her ears, under her neck, and on her feet. We, of course, had her to several different vets, including a holistic one ,through the years, and have tried prednisone, and a variety of topical ointments. There is a human drug,Trental, which has been effective in some cases, but can effect the liver, so this is a risky option. I was wondering if anyone on the forum, and perhaps the veterinarians on here, can give me any suggestions. Thanks!
 
I wonder if Vibrant Pets would help? Several of us use it here and it is worth a try calling them. Just do a search on Vibrant pets in the health or it could be the grooming and it will have a link to them.
 
Poor Sara :cry:, so sorry she is going through all of this. While you look into VP, also look into Omega 3's, fish oils, etc, those are excellent for the skin too..:smile2:
 
Thanks folr the suggestions. She had all the omega supplements,but they didn't help. We also tried various dogfood varieties in case allergies palyed a role. I'll check Vibrant pets.
 
At one point and time I was terrified that Smudge had DM. However, I was told that red mange (hereditary condition) goes away, and DM does not. The person who told me this was not a vet though.

I really do believe that Smudge had red mange and not DM, but it made the possibility of DM very real and scary.

When I researched both DM and red mange on the internet there is a lack of sheltie pictures, so I didn't have very many pictures to compare it to. There also isn't a lot of information about it on the internet.

I'm curious to see what others will suggest.

(pictures are of Smudge with red mange)
 
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calicoquette said:
Our rescue sheltie, Sara, age 7, has Dermatomyositis(DM). She also has a vacular liver problem, and takes Denosyl and Marin daily. Recently the problem has intensified, and new areas are cropping up all over the place. It began with lesioins and hair loss on her face, and is now in her ears, under her neck, and on her feet. We, of course, had her to several different vets, including a holistic one ,through the years, and have tried prednisone, and a variety of topical ointments. There is a human drug,Trental, which has been effective in some cases, but can effect the liver, so this is a risky option. I was wondering if anyone on the forum, and perhaps the veterinarians on here, can give me any suggestions. Thanks!
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I have not had much personal experience with DM,fortunately. I don't know of anything else other than the treatments you mention. I know they are doing research at Texas A and M perhaps you could email them for help.
http://www.shetlandsheepdog.org/joomla/texas-a-m-dermatomyositis-studies.html
 
Thanks. I have contacted them in the past. This is a terrible disease. Sara is a wonderful girl, and was the best of our shelties in pre-agility. She was to go on in this, but tore her cruciate ligament one winter when she slipped on the ice in our yard. Then the poor girl had orhopedic repair surgery. She was also a perfect therapy dog, but now her face looks so bad, that we must leave her at home because of her appearance.
 
calicoquette said:
She was also a perfect therapy dog, but now her face looks so bad, that we must leave her at home because of her appearance.
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:cry: I am so sorry. When Smudge got sick I left him at home, too. I was afraid of what other people would say about him and about me. He's one of the worst socialized dogs in the world because of it. :no:

If you find out something new please be sure to post it.
 
My liitle Dakota also has DM

calicoquette said:
Our rescue sheltie, Sara, age 7, has Dermatomyositis(DM). She also has a vacular liver problem, and takes Denosyl and Marin daily. Recently the problem has intensified, and new areas are cropping up all over the place. It began with lesioins and hair loss on her face, and is now in her ears, under her neck, and on her feet. We, of course, had her to several different vets, including a holistic one ,through the years, and have tried prednisone, and a variety of topical ointments. There is a human drug,Trental, which has been effective in some cases, but can effect the liver, so this is a risky option. I was wondering if anyone on the forum, and perhaps the veterinarians on here, can give me any suggestions. Thanks!
Click to expand...
My 2 year old sheltie, Dakota was diagnosed with DM when she was 6 months old. We immediatley put her on vit e, pure alaskan fish oil, ester-c, organixs dog food and vit -e lip balm, for the scars that Dr Rees from A&M recomended. She is the expert on DM. She is now located in Dallas, Texas. Depening how bad it is, Trenta,l for what I understand is a pretty safe drug. I would go to a dermatologist that is familiar with DM. If you should have any questions please feel free to contact me. you can even contact Dr Rees.

Marla
 
Thank you for your suggestions. How successful were these treatments? Have any of the areas healed? Once Sara's flair-ups calm down, she never regrows any hair .
 
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