Diary of a Dog with Meningitis (SRMA)

Hello! This is Boson, my 15 month old Staffordshire Bull Terrier. He's a friendly, funny, sweet and mischievous boy who loves the beach and playing with umpteen burst footballs! This photo was taken 3 hours before our peaceful world was turned upside down. We would like to share our journey. The Start. Sunday 5th August 2018 began like any other Sunday. My husband walked Boson when he finished work at 5am, I walked him again around 9am. We had breakfast, then we spent the rest of the morning in the garden. We played football, sunbathed, took some pictures, generally loafed about. Around noon it was getting a bit warm for a little black dog and a pale northern girl so we headed indoors. Boson curled up for a couple of hours sleep. 3 o'clock, time to wake Boson for his afternoon walk. I gave him a nudge, he wouldn't move. I gave him a shove, and realised he wasn't being lazy, he couldn't move. I picked him up and placed him on the floor where hi...

9 Days After Diagnosis So we are at 9 days after his diagnosis of Meningitis, and thought I would post an update. Considering what he has been through, he's not doing too bad. He has more energy, is more interested in things and generally looks a bit brighter. He is still sleeping a huge amount, but likes his walks again, even if they are shorter than normal! Boson had a touch of the runs, the vet thinks its the antibiotics, but are reluctant to change them, and  he only has a couple of days worth left. So we got a tube of ProKolin probiotic paste, which seems to have helped. He weighed in at 15kg, a loss of 2kg in a week! He is fully back on his usual food now, and his appetite is incredible! We are feeding him little and often to gradually get the weight back on. His muscles have wasted away, another side effect of the steroids, and you can easily see his spine. He's a shadow of his former self. The predniso...

Boson had been progressing well. He was eating, playing, going for walks, albeit at a slower pace (apart from the eating!). Today he seemed more subdued and lethargic than be had been. He was eating, but was sick, then slept. When he started to clench his teeth til they squeaked, I got worried. Relapses can happen when the steroids start to be reduced, we are 5 days after the first reduced dose. I drove him to the emergency vet (the specialist centre who are treating him), but she wasn't worried enough to admit him, gave him a painkiller and anti sickness jab.  They are going to get the Neurologist to ring me in the morning, hopefully we can have a chat about reducing the prednisolone more slowly. I am trying not to panic at every little thing, but it's hard, knowing that relapses can happen quickly. Boson is sleeping deeply after his dinner, hopefully he's comfortable. We will see what tomorrow brings. Lynn and Boson x

Sorry its been a few days since my last post. So after speaking to the Neurologist on Monday, we took Boson in to get some blood taken, just to check what his body is up to. His liver enzymes and neutrophils (immune cells that are the first to the site of infection) were high, but this is to be expected at this stage of the treatment. His CRP (a protein that rises in response to inflammation) is normal, which the Neurologist explained as meaning he is technically in remission from meningitis! He was feeling better by Tuesday night, and had no further vomiting episodes. In general Boson is improving day by day. He has more energy, is wanting to go for walks and is playing with his toys. His appetite is ravenous, and he has taken to trying to scavenge pavement food. He have to watch him like a hawk! Despite this, he is still painfully thin, and would make a good model for the next RSPCA TV advert! We are feeding him 4 smaller meals of his usual ...

6 Weeks In It is six weeks since Bosons diagnosis of SRMA, and at the minute, he is doing ok. He likes short walks, is interested in his surroundings, but isn't interested in mingling with other dogs yet. He was super friendly before he took ill, but now he ignores other dogs completely! This isn't necessarily a bad thing as he has to stay away from others until his immune system recovers. He is still painfully thin, with muscle wastage of his head, neck and back legs but with a swollen belly (from the steroids) and looks pregnant! But he still has a crazy appetite, so the weight will come on eventually. Bosons steroids have been reduced now to two 5mg tablets twice per day. We have noticed a pattern of 2-3 days after a reduction in the dose he has an "off day", and will spend the much of the day sleeping. After 6 weeks I have learned a huge amount about this condition, so I thought I would put together a list of things I have picked up over t...

Bowel and Intestine Issues In the six weeks that Boson has been recovering, he has not had a firm poo. Being raw fed, his stools are usually small, firm and mostly odourless. The prednisolone is an irritant to his digestive system, and combined with the amount he is eating, the end product is huge, sloppy and very nasty. And they have been worse since the Omeprazole finished. Being unable to contact the Neurologist, our vet agreed to give Boson the once over. He has put on 1.5kg in the last week, his belly is normal (for him) and no enlargement of his liver. She gave us more Prokolin and Antepsin gastro protectant. Neither of these have helped, nor has any other additive we have tried. So, running out of options, we have changed his food back to dry kibble.  Almost immediate improvement! It seems he just can't tolerate or digest raw properly at the minute. But as long as he is eating well, and seems happier, he can keep going with it! To...

Since my last post things are just getting better! The dose of Prednisolone has now been reduced to 3 tablets (15mg) every other day. This seems to have resulted in Boson being a lot more like his old self! He's been tearing around the living room with his toys, barking at and chasing the lawn mower and is wagging his tail excitedly when we return home! It is such a relief to see his cheeky and mischievous side returning! Also his bowel movements are much better too, and no more paint stripping farts!! A tweak to his diet and the supplements seem to be doing the job! The massively bloated steroid belly doesn't look quite so big now either, and the intense thirst has also subsided. Boson feels more substantial too, less like I will break him if I stroke him too hard! I am going to get him weighed again tomorrow, but I would say another kilo on! He still has very little muscle in his hind quarters, and hills are hard work, but this should recover over time. A...

Hi! Boson is continuing to improve, to the point that he now has more about him than before he became ill! His dose of Prednisolone has now been reduced to 1 1/2 tablets (7.5mg) every other day, and with the reduction comes the welcome reduction of side effects. He is still at the point of starvation from an appetite perspective, but isn't as thirsty. The steroid belly has almost gone, and his muscles are developing nicely, mainly due to the energy he has now! Walks are long again, and we have a job tiring him out! He hasn't needed anything to help his stomach for a few weeks too! We have noticed that Boson has sprung up what look like acne spots. He knocked the top off one, so I gave it a gentle squeeze, and its was a hard ball that came out. Very much like a salivary gland stone, calcium deposits under the skin (calcinosis cutis). He has an appointment tomorrow to have the vet cast an eye over them. Maybe there's something we can give to prevent more ...

Good Evening! I can't really believe its 12 weeks since Boson first took ill. We weren't sure we would get to this point on that night 3 months ago. Boson has been through so much, and has been stoic and resilient throughout, and I couldn't be prouder of my brave lad. Physically he's nearly there. His muscles are filling out nicely, hardly surprising with the abundance of energy he has! The shaved squares on his back are taking much longer to disappear, the only evidence that there was something wrong. His medication has now been reduced to 1x 5mg tablet every other day, one more reduction in a few weeks time, then hopefully, all done with them in December. Steroids are life saving drugs, but come with a list of side effects that I wasn't prepared for! At least the steroid belly has gone now! So life is getting back to normal now. He has enjoyed meeting up with his best friend Tally, I think they missed each other, and had a riot at the beach! ...