myositis

Hi

my sisters 6 year old chocolate lab has been diagnosed with myositis. has anyone else heard of or been diagnosed. Thanks

Sorry, no experience. Sending good thoughts.

I was diagnosed with myositis resulting from a misdiagnosed back injury. The injury was in 1992...the correct diagnosis/treatment in late 1994...and I have major issues to this day (I also can't keep ribs/spine in place if I'm not careful because my tendons and ligaments got stretched and weakened and don't support my muscles properly). I don't do anything in the way of meds. My pain is now dependent on how careful I am relative to posture/movement/tension (physical lack of movement or stress-type). Dislocation requires readjustment to eventually alleviate pain...I "sore up" really fast. Anti-inflammatories of any kind mess with my blood pressure and some swell up my ankles.

No experience but sending prayers

Myositis is a general term for inflammation of the muscles. There are more than one type of myositis. The most common form found in the Lab is a genetically related myositis that causes general muscle atrophy where most of the entire body is affected. These dogs can function but have difficulty swallowing as the muscles of the esophagus is affected as well. One of my colleagues had one of these fellows and he was a gentle, special dog. The other form is called masticatory myositis which is an autoimmune disease that most affects the muscles of the face and head. Dogs that have this problem continue to regress and the muscle tissue is replaced with fibrous tissue making the muscle ineffective. These dogs will get to the point that they are unable to open their mouths. The treatment that is mostly used is prednisone in order to reduce the overactive immune system. We have had pretty good luck stopping this degenerative problem using acupuncture. Might want to investigate that modality. Good luck.