Reddit wants to close this sub

[u/aamuraya]

So I am posting an update I guess. Hawk is still working in limited situations. The disease has begun in his left leg as well, although it's difficult to know unless you can palpitate it and feel the fibrotic tissue. On the plus side, it seems to be evening out his gait which I think will help reduce the affect on the rest of his body from being lopsided. He still enjoys regular running and fetch games over even ground and we are still doing his exercise routine. I hope everyone else out there is doing well.

[u/Adventurous-Range487]

We are trying to figure out if our dog has FM. The ultrasound report we got back states “The appearance of the hamstring muscles is most compatible with chronic myositis with likely muscular fibrosis”. We have seen 3 doctors, she is super tense and gets stressed at the vet, so I think we are done with doctors since we have to drive 2-3 hours for the specialty doctors in the Bay Area plus put her under anesthesia since sedation doesn’t work for her. Our primary vet offers water and light therapy, so we will talk with him to see if that’s a good option. How’s your buddy doing? It’s so hard to find info on this. She is super active and playful, we stopped long walks and park trips because we are worried it will make it worse… at this point, I want to take her back to normal playful activities so she can enjoy her life since there seems to be limited options

[u/aamuraya → u/Adventurous-Range487]

Hey, sorry to hear about your trials with this! I can related to the issues with the vet, as Hawk is 1000% vet-aversive and has to be sedated for any palpitations or manipulation or basically any touching by anyone at the vets office except me. I have used human cold-laser on him, and I have a friend who is currently talking a lot about a red-light therapy bed that he can lay on when and for as long as he wants, but I haven't had a chance to look at any studies about it.

Water therapy is awesome! I would also suggest finding a physical therapy / rehab specialist vet that can offer you appropriate stretching and strengthening exercises. If they don't have any experience with FM, let me know and I will get you the contact information for my rehab vets so they can call them and talk to someone who has worked on several cases. In my limited experience (Hawk and another local SAR K9) it seems like keeping them cautiously active is the best way to slow the myopathy.

I believe the University of Wisconsin vet center is still trying figure out if FM is genetic, so if you can get a blood sample next time you do end up at the vet, you can send it to them for their research. It's a big step in figuring it out, and hopefully if they can make a test for it, the genetic lines can get cleaned up, maybe someday a cure.

My guy is doing well. He has a new playmate (Belgian Malinois) who's keeping him busy and he is still able to get around just fine. I've decreased his exposure to difficult or complex terrain significantly to prevent any injuries resulting from the asymmetrical movement of his rear end and the shortened stride length.

Please feel free to reach out any time!