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Calling all dogs with Masticatory Muscle Myositis.

63K views 69 replies 39 participants last post by  maarnol0 
#1 · (Edited)
If you dog has been diagnosed with MMM, please share your stories here. I am looking for as much information as I can get my hands on. I have been researching both homeopathic and traditional ways to treat this disease.
My girl Alli was diagnosed about a month ago. When diagnosed, she could only open her mouth about an inch. She was started off with 30 mg of prednisone twice a day along with acupuncture and within a week she was able to open her mouth about 3 1/2 inches. We have been to a veterinary nutritionist and on her advice, Alli is also getting chinese herbs, centrum, selenium, l carnitine, gnc's triple fish oil, and vitamin e. She has been on a raw food diet and upon advice of the nutritionist, we have started adding more white fish and some pureed veggies. She is still only able to open her mouth about 3 1/2 inches.
If you have a dog that has MMM, please share your story here on the forum to help me and others dealing with this disease. It would be greatly appreciated.
I have also been researching the lines that it is found in. If you have access to their pedigrees, please PM me with a link to their pedigree.
I have read that some dogs will have to be on pred for the rest of their lives and some are able to come off of it completely.
I will keep this thread updated with Alli's progress and hope to read of others experiences as well.
Thanks in advance for your participation.
 
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#2 ·
Alli went for her acupuncture yesterday. We aren't seeing any more progress in her jaw function so the vet and I decided to up her dosage of pred to 40 mg twice a day for the time being. We did get the results of her titers. Her distemper/parvo titer came back within the normal range limits but her rabies titer came back the highest that my vet has ever seen. According to her, a rabies titer should come back at a .5 in order for a dog to travel to another country. Alli's rabies titer came back at an 11. My vet is now consulting with another naturalistic vet to see if there is some way to get that number down. I am still planning on taking her to a internist to see if anything else can be done.

Alli was given her rabies shot on March 3. She went in for her yearly Golden Retriever lifetime study exam on March 4 and about 1 week later I noticed her having trouble chewing. One week later, I tried to open her mouth and realized that it only opened about 1 inch. Blood tests and titers confirmed the diagnosis of MMM. It was really beneficial to have the blood results of the lifetime study to compare to the results from the blood we drew 2 weeks later.
I did contact the GRLS and was told that she is still eligible to remain in the study. Maybe in addition to their study on cancer in goldens, this study will also shed some light on this disease.

I will continue to update Alli's progress.

Would love to hear others experiences.
 
#3 ·
Our trainer's helper just lost her Belgian Tervuren to it. He was 2 years old. His immune system was down and he contracted pneumonia.
 
#4 ·
My experience with MMM

I have a mixed breed dog (German shorthaired pointer/dachshund/poodle, etc) who was diagnosed with MMM several years ago. She lives a very happy, full life and I just wanted to share with you all for those who have questions about a recent diagnosis.

We got Maia when she was a puppy, and we honestly don't know when the MMM came about. It wasn't a sudden onset which leads us to believe that she may have already had it when we got her at 12 weeks of age. As she grew, we noticed that she had a somewhat pointier head than other dogs, but just assumed that was the way she looks since she never had any symptoms that we noticed. None of our veterinarians noticed (she had seen several by the time she was a few years old - the vet at the rescue where we got her, and a couple others because we moved). Her third veterinarian is the one who "diagnosed" her - he made this diagnosis purely on the way her head was shaped and was very surprised that she didn't have much in the way of symptoms given her obviously atrophied muscles, aside from the fact that her mouth doesn't open quite as wide as her sister's.

Of course, we were immediately very concerned. It all made sense now why her head was so pointed on top! Being scientists, my husband and I immediately started researching this condition. The more we researched the more we became confused - mostly everyone online has dogs that have an acute bout of MMM followed by some flare-ups, but Maia at this point was already 3 years old and in the chronic stage. What would happen? Will she be ok? What can we do? Should we start her on steroids?

First, our vet didn't recommend any course of action. "As long as she isn't having any problems eating then we won't need to treat it.." But all the concerned pet parents online (most with acute cases) were treating with steroids. Through our own research we found that in cases of chronic MMM that steroids can actually make the inflammation and atrophy worse. We started making sure that she had something to chew on several times a week to keep her chewing muscles working, and that's all we have done for her.

She is doing great. We haven't noticed an improvement nor a worsening of her "condition". She is a happy dog, now 5 years old. Do we worry about her? Of course. Comparing her head shape to her sister's, the difference is striking and I feel like I should have known something was wrong so long ago! But there's nothing we can do about it, and she is living a very happy life. All we can do is provide her a loving, happy home full of chew toys.

The only other symptom we have noticed over the years which may or may not be related is her stools are consistently looser than her sister's. We have tried changing foods, using probiotics, and giving pumpkin with her food, all of which help a little. But her stools are nowhere near as firm as I think they should be! Of course, I do believe the rawhide and chew toys contribute to this as well, but I guess it is better to ensure her jaw muscles are being exercised than not.

Now that we are living in Chicago, we will be taking her to Dr. Karen Becker's clinic to see if there is anything we can do to stop it in its tracks. I have a feeling she will recommend a raw diet along with supplements.

Please if anyone can share their experience with this sort of diet I would be extremely helpful.

Abbie
 
#5 ·
Thank you so much for your input. It is good to hear of others experiences. I hope you continue to update on Maia's condition. I had read of Dr. Becker when I was researching the disease but I don't live close to Chicago. I would be interested in hearing about her treatment protocols. As far as the raw diet is concerned, Alli has been on one since she was about 16 weeks old and has always done well on it. The veterinary nutritionist that I consulted with, advised adding more fish and veggies and less fatty meats.
Alli update --- The increase in prednisone had a horrible effect on Alli and caused a problem that eventually led to anemia so severe that she had to have a blood transfusion. I had called the vet to let them know that the increase in pred was robbing her of quality of life and that I wanted her taken off it. She could no longer play, or go up and down stairs and the slightest movement was like torture. The vet agreed and said that it had to be taken down slowly. One morning, Alli threw up and just by chance, I decided to look at her gums. They were white. Not pale, white. I couldn't tell where the gums ended and the tooth began. I rushed her into the vets office and after blood work found that her PCV level was 11. There was a shortage of dog blood and none available so I raced home to get one of my other girls as a donor dog. After the transfusion her PCV level was 20 and the next day it was 22. For the next 2 weeks we were on a roller coaster of PCV ups and downs with it staying between 17 and 20. No diagnosis was made as to the cause. She was weaned off the pred very quickly from 80 mg a day to none in less than 3 weeks. We believe that the anemia may have been caused by a bleeding ulcer which may have been caused by the pred. I have been treating her with sucrulfate every 4 hours and so far her levels have started coming up. Last week it was up to 26 and this week it is 28. Alli has been off the pred for about 2 weeks now. She is retaining about 3 1/2 inches of jaw function and is acting like a puppy again. She plays and rolls around with all of the other dogs and has even begun barking again. At this point, it is all about her quality of life and so far, she has that back. I know that prednisone has been a lifesaver for some but for me, I think I will pass. I will continue with her acupuncture, raw diet and supplements and my vet and I are already looking for an alternative if the MM rears it's ugly head again.
 
#6 ·
Hi Goldhaven, I have a two year old golden with MMM. She is not doing well, we are on our 3rd relapse and she is not doing well with the drugs. We are trying a new drug called Cyclosporine as we are transitioning from Prednisone. Kyra had atypical presentation given that it wasn't bilateral, we suspect that her random eye swelling early on in puppy months was an early indication of the disease. I'm not trying to be a Negative Nelly and it sounds like your pups case was not as severe as Kyra's. I just want you to know that there are others out there. Anyway, please feel free to reach out. We are doing diet and all sorts of things to try to nip this in the bud. I'd be interested in hearing what works for you because we are struggling.
 
#7 ·
I am sorry to hear that Kyra's MM is so severe. I would be interested in knowing how well the cyclosporine works for your dog. It is one of the alternatives recommended by my vet if the MM comes back. Alli is no longer on any medication for the MM and because of her reaction to the pred, she can't go back on that ever again.

Also, what kind of a diet are you feeding? Are you still doing vaccinations? I have had several vets recommend never vaccinating Alli again.
 
#8 ·
Yes, the pred is awful on Kyra. The vet was shocked by her appearance and she had lost 6 pounds. Last relapse we added Azathioprine which caused all her hair to fall out and that drug, given that it's a chemo drug, causes cancer so we were reluctant to go there again given our last golden died of cancer and the rate among American goldens is 61%. It makes me sad because she is two years old and when she is sick she is like an old lady. I have a Hungarian golden who is one and just wants to play with her sissy and cannot. We do not vaccinate Kyra except for Rabies. We did the raw food diet for a while but then had significant problems with her anal glands so now we are on grain free dry food mixed with canned along with pumpkin and salt free green beans (canned). I do recommend avoiding vaccinations however we think it was Trifexis that initially triggered the disease. This last relapse I had the bug man spray the ornamentals and although they assured me it wasn't dangerous when it was dry, she ate a piece of one of the plants and here we are. I am in touch with the breeder and we went through a rough spell with the initial diagnosis I am forwarding her the GRCA article. I'm at the point of considering a quality of life decision with Kyra...if the good days are fewer than the bad, then.... It's not about me, it's about her. Anyway, attaching pic of her and Sissy Aspen prior to the relapse.
 

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#9 ·
The bad news is that Pred is the fastest acting during a relapse and unavoidable. You could start your pup on that and another drug at the same time but both Azathioprine and Cyclosporine take time to build up levels that suppress the immune system. There isn't another option for immediate treatment other than Pred, I'm afraid. If you've heard something different, please let me know. The Pred is killing my baby.
 
#10 ·
Alli went to the vets yesterday for a complete blood panel and checkup. We are still monitoring her PCV levels to make sure they are still going up and she hadn't been in 2 weeks. I got the results this morning and so far, so good. All of her blood work is normal and she gained an inch (up from 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 inches) in jaw function. Her PCV level was 39 which is a far cry from the 11 when she first went in.
We are pretty sure that her flare up was because of the rabies vaccine. There was a blood test before the vaccine and a blood test after which showed this to be true. Because Alli's rabies titer came back so incredibly high, I had asked the vet how to get it back down and she said she didn't know of any way to do that. After Alli's transfusion, I asked if maybe the fact that she lost so much blood and was given blood from another healthy dog, if that would bring down the titer enough to hold the MM at bay. My vet didn't know the answer and said that we will just have to wait and see. We are still in the very early stages, and I know that she will have this disease the rest of her life but so far things are looking up for her.
I know exactly what you mean about quality of life. There were times when I would look at her and want to cry. If I thought that she would have to live like that forever, I would have made the decision to euthanize her.
I think that the acupuncture really helped her and will continue to have it done about once a month. I have also spoken to a massage therapist and my vet agrees that if she were to have her jaw massaged that it may help with further jaw function.

How much pred are you currently giving her?
I will look for some of the articles that I researched when Alli was first diagnosed and post them for you.
 
#11 ·
Mmm

My girl Brandi got diagnosed at 1 year old. Searched high and low for possible causes -parasites, vaccines, viruses, dna predisposition etc. Took her to many docs and spoke to a lot of owners who have dogs with mmm. personally feel that dogs can end up having multiple triggers. I will be getting tigers done before vaccines to see what her levels are. If the are high, I'm going to try to get a waiver. In addition to taking prednisone (now at 20mg) began at 60- way too high for her weight she is taking plant sterols, probiotics, gi-end cap(-had horrible diarea for over 1 month And lost a ot of weight) and probiotics. Originally told to change diet to bland with rice from raw- I believe the rice made her worse. Once removed , stools started firming up. In addition one of my vets- also practices homeopathy. She Put her on lysson for 3 days - reduce levels of rabies vaccine and thuja for 3. Recommend you find a good homeopathic/alternative vet who has been successful in treating mmm.
Fast forward, I'm still cooking for her, introducing good liver foods, pureed
peas,pureed beets and yams (panel is up due to prednisone) mouth opens fully,we walk 1 mile a day -trying to rebuild muscle and I get her to play
everyday with other dogs. Everyday seems to be more positive but I'm always
concerned about a relapse. Once she's stabilized and off the prednisone, I will continue using alternative medicie and acupuncture to balance her autoimmune responses so hopefully her body will not attack itself again. Time will tell. Good luck with your golden, let me know how you make out. I'll keep my fingers crossed for all are golden angels.
Patty
 
#12 ·
Tess also has MMM, there are a couple of threads about her on the forum, e.g. http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...standard/117239-tess-mysositis-confirmed.html

So far she has had three attacks, the first one affected her jaw and eyes, the second one her head, the third one wasn't quite clear, only that her energy level was way off and she didn't want to jump anymore. She is only on Azathioprine at the moment, two per week. We titer every 3-6 months, and adjust the medication accordingly. At the moment things are going really well with her.
 
#13 ·
MMM and Relapse - Unexpected "cure"

Our 10 yo golden retriever appeared to contract MMM in March 2014 one week after receiving a Rabies vaccine. She could not eat and could not hike with us (because she couldn't open her mouth wide enough to pant). Our vet tried to open her mouth under anesthesia and couldn't. He put our dog on 20 mg 2 x p/day. A blood test sent to the San Diego lab came back inconclusive, but our vet concluded that our dog likely had MMM, due to her symptoms and quick response to the Prednisone.

Our dog was on Prednisone for the next 4 months. The Prednisone appeared to cure her condition, however, a few months later she was diagnosed with low Thyroid. A month or so after getting our dog's thyroid under control (with oral Thyroid), our dog began to have difficulty opening her mouth again. She seemed to have difficulty eating, yawning and drinking too.

Unsure whether Prednisone would again work on the MMM, our vet put our dog on a trial of Prednisone (20 mg 2x per day) for 4 days. Within a few days of beginning the Prednisone (for the second time) our dog's head appeared to be completely sunken in, cheeks hollowed out and unable to lift her ears and it had NO effect on the symptoms of MMM. Like you, we began searching out as many resources and on-line experiences that we could find. Most of the vets that we consulted, recommended a continuation of the Prednisone (which had appeared to aggravate if not cause the muscle atrophy in her head and face).

We found naturopathic vet in Park City, Utah that was the answer to our prayers. She gave our dog a thorough examination (evaluating her diet, symptoms and her overall condition, observing how our dog sat, drank and ate.) In our first appointment, Dr. Hanneman gave our dog a chiropractic adjustment to our surprise. (Everything we had read suggested that acupuncture may have some benefit and so we were expecting acupuncture). Before we left Dr. Hanneman's office, the range of motion in our dog's jaw had increased enough so that she was panting and we could see her tongue and lower teeth. Within 3 hours, our dog picked up a toy and began chewing it, which she had not done for more than 6 months. Within 2 days, the range of motion in our dog's jaw had significantly improved and continued to improve over the course of the next month, while the muscle in her head and face began to fill in and improve her muscle mass. She can move her ears, lift her lips around her mouth, chew her food.

We were completely shocked with our dog's nearly complete recovery from a 2 hour appointment with a naturopathic veterinarian trained in chiropractic. Dr. Hanneman was pleasantly surprised too.

I hope that this post gives some of you pet owners hope that there is a cure for your pet's MMM condition. ("Cure" is my conclusion, not Dr. Hanneman's.) :)
 
#14 ·
Our 10 yo golden retriever appeared to contract MMM in March 2014 one week after receiving a Rabies vaccine. She could not eat and could not hike with us (because she couldn't open her mouth wide enough to pant). Our vet tried to open her mouth under anesthesia and couldn't. He put our dog on 20 mg 2 x p/day. A blood test sent to the San Diego lab came back inconclusive, but our vet concluded that our dog likely had MMM, due to her symptoms and quick response to the Prednisone.

Our dog was on Prednisone for the next 4 months. The Prednisone appeared to cure her condition, however, a few months later she was diagnosed with low Thyroid. A month or so after getting our dog's thyroid under control (with oral Thyroid), our dog began to have difficulty opening her mouth again. She seemed to have difficulty eating, yawning and drinking too.

Unsure whether Prednisone would again work on the MMM, our vet put our dog on a trial of Prednisone (20 mg 2x per day) for 4 days. Within a few days of beginning the Prednisone (for the second time) our dog's head appeared to be completely sunken in, cheeks hollowed out and unable to lift her ears and it had NO effect on the symptoms of MMM. Like you, we began searching out as many resources and on-line experiences that we could find. Most of the vets that we consulted, recommended a continuation of the Prednisone (which had appeared to aggravate if not cause the muscle atrophy in her head and face).

We found naturopathic vet in Park City, Utah that was the answer to our prayers. She gave our dog a thorough examination (evaluating her diet, symptoms and her overall condition, observing how our dog sat, drank and ate.) In our first appointment, Dr. Hanneman gave our dog a chiropractic adjustment to our surprise. (Everything we had read suggested that acupuncture may have some benefit and so we were expecting acupuncture). Before we left Dr. Hanneman's office, the range of motion in our dog's jaw had increased enough so that she was panting and we could see her tongue and lower teeth. Within 3 hours, our dog picked up a toy and began chewing it, which she had not done for more than 6 months. Within 2 days, the range of motion in our dog's jaw had significantly improved and continued to improve over the course of the next month, while the muscle in her head and face began to fill in and improve her muscle mass. She can move her ears, lift her lips around her mouth, chew her food.

We were completely shocked with our dog's nearly complete recovery from a 2 hour appointment with a naturopathic veterinarian trained in chiropractic. Dr. Hanneman was pleasantly surprised too.

I hope that this post gives some of you pet owners hope that there is a cure for your pet's MMM condition. ("Cure" is my conclusion, not Dr. Hanneman's.) :)
Thank you for posting. This is exactly the reason that I started this thread. I never even thought to try chiropractic.
I am so happy that your dog is doing so well and you consider her cured. I am much more cautious than that. I fear calling it a cure and prefer to say that she is in remission. Alli had all of the symptoms of the prednisone. She lost all muscle mass in her head, jaws, and back. I am happy to say that she has made a complete recovery. She has full jaw function, regained all of her muscle mass, and is off all medications. I am very careful about everything that goes into her body. That includes food, vaccinations, and even anesthesia. Unless it is a matter of life and death, she won't be sedated, which means that she won't be spayed. Since we really don't know for sure what causes this, we have no idea what could make it return. That is my biggest fear.
Alli is in the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study. I contacted them to let them know her condition and they said that she can remain in the study. That is a big help to me because her condition will be monitored very closely. I am hoping that in the near future, the study will include titres.
Thanks again for posting, I hope your dog remains cured and I will be seeking out a canine chiropractor, just in case.
 
#15 ·
My 3 year 10 month Siberian was diagnosed last Wednesday with MMM. The vet gave her a shot of long acting steroid. I have to take her back in 2 weeks from that date. She wasn't eating anything. Only drinking water. I had been taking her to another veterinary clinic for 3 weeks in a row. I kept telling them it appeared it was painful for her to chew.The vet checked her teeth and didn't see anything wrong. She started with an ear infection, then it went to an eye irritation. I was told to drop her off in the morning and leave her at the clinic and they would look at her and try to find out what was wrong. When I went to pick her up they told me they hadn't even looked at her yet. They also needed authorization to do blood tests, CBC and a panel. I took my dog home rather upset they hadn't even looked at her. I called to get the blood test results the next day and the vet was in surgery and they told me she would call me back. The day went on and I never received a call. I stopped by and picked up the blood test results and promptly took her to another veterinary. It took that vet less than 5 minutes t diagnose her. She tried to open her mouth and couldn't. She said I know what I need to know she has Masticatory Muscle Mitosis. She explained a little bit about the disease. Gave her the steroid shot. I started feeding her small amounts of baby food. Today she finally ate some Little Caesar dog food. The vet told me to give her Prescription Diet canned food. I couldn't get her to eat that. The shot seems to be working. She's able to open her mouth some and she actually chewed a little soft dog treats today. The visual signs are that her tissues around her skull are sinking in some. I was told that's normal and may return to normal. I've not heard of this disease until last week. They don't know what causes it, and it's primarily found in larger breeds. She (Roxie) will probably on canned food for some time. Oh, and the vet that did the blood test finally called me back the evening I was coming home from seeing the other vet. She went on to explain the blood test results and told me it appeared she had an infection of some sort. She wanted to do an ultrasound of her stomach. So I told her it was in the dogs jaws. I went on to explain that I'd taken her to another vet and she had been diagnosed. I also told her, if you ever see a dog with the muscles hardening around their jaws, that's probably what it is. I'm hoping I got Roxie treatment in time so that it won't be a lasting effect. I'm just thankful I kept getting her checked and didn't stop until I found out what it was. She hadn't eaten in 5 days. But I'll be looking for a good healthy diet for my girl to help her through this. I wish you luck with yours.
 
#17 ·
I moved my dog to a cooling holistic diet, grain free, no vaccinations, just heartworm meds only, natural flea and tick killer after the third relapse. Also moved her medication to Atopica and she is doing well except that she suffered major muscle atrophy after all the rounds of pred so her hips are shot. She's only 4, was diagnosed at 14 months. Once I get in a better financial situation I plan on adding regular physical therapy and acupuncture for her hips and her jaw muscles. I can only financially manage her special diet and meds at the moment because my other golden is special needs as well.
 
#19 ·
I have never heard of this disease and know nothing about it, but I do want to say I am sorry you sweet much loved dogs are going thru this. You are right to avoid any vax if possible. back in April 2002, I took my 2 1/2 year old golden girl in for her annual vax. it was Good Friday and I was the last one and spent some time talking to my vet--we are in a small town and he had come here 5 years earlier and we had gotten to be good friends. But by this time his reputation was fast growing and he even had clients bringing their dogs and cats out from Corpus Christi. So he was busy and we didn't have the time to chat like we had when he first came here.

Well, hubby and I had planned to go to the Good Friday Service at church, but due to my having yakked with Rickey and then got home and we were hungry, I decided to skip church and started working on supper. Our kitchen and livingroom is partially separated by a bar and I was at the bar mixing salad and I saw KayCee sit down behind the recliner (it's back was to the bar) then get up and run down the hall, head and tail down. She sat down for a few seconds, then ran back and got behind the recliner, She did a repeat and when she returned to the recliner that time I went around to check her and as I reached I could feel the heat. I also saw her eyes were swollen almost shut and it looked like she had pencil erasers under the skin all over her snout.

Ran and got the thermometer and I I got back and laid her down I could her stomach was one fire endgine red thick hive. Her temp was just under 107, which is lethal. Called me vet, got his answering service and they said they would contact him at once. While waiting we wrapped her in a wet towel and poured cool--not cold--water over the towel. and bathed her feet with alcohol. It seemed forever, but was only a few minutes and our vet's wife called and said he had called her from church and told her to call us and tell us to get KayCee to the hospital , which is only a tick over a mile from our house. Got there and he had injections ready and we stayed until her temp went down to 103. Told me to take it every 15 to 30 minutes and if it started climbing, call him. But it didn't./

He was pretty sure it was the lepto that caused the reaction. She had never had a problem with any of her ax in the pasty. But he decided to be on the safe side, no more vax except law required rabies and even then he bucked our town law. Texas said rabies vax every 3 years, but leaves it up to each county and city to make their own law and at the time our city was every year. But he only gave her one every 3 years for the rest of her life.

THEN I made the grave error of switching my much loved Hunter (KayCee's ;littermate and my avatar) from the monthly pill to the 6 month injection, ProHeart6 and it killed him Oct. 2003 at age 4 years, 2 months. Ten moths later the FDA made them pull it because of the high number of deaths and reactions. It was off the market for 4 years being reformulated and is back, but I will never use it.

So I learned to avoid as much as possible. Dogs here HAVE to have heart guard prevention year round. We have had to put on mosquito spray while duck hunting in Dec. and Jan. So we have n o choice. But I avoid all I can. Our 112 1/2 yer old golden girl had her rabies vax 2 months ago and had a bad seizure just under 48 hours later. No proof it was related, she had had had one once before, a year ago and we don't remember details or anything different at that time except possibly that followed a Bravest tablet.

you are wise to avoid any vax or drugs that are not 100% necessary. One thing--when one of my goldens had to have a tooth removed and also a mouth tumor at the same time, I pureed his food and he could lap it I did this until he could chew. If you dog has severe trouble eating, this might be a way to get it to get enough nutrition. Good luck with your precious dogs. up
 
#22 ·
Just got diagnosed

I have a 10 year old lab and we were diagnosed last week. We have been on 10mg twice a day of prednisone and it seems to be helping him. His was so bad that his third eye lid was coming up to cover some of his eyes. We went to a specialist and did the blood work but her tested negative, but the vet seems to think that he has it. His face, back and top of his head has started to sink in. He is now able to open up his jaw more and is able to eat soft food but will probably be on the prednisone for 5-6 months before we finally get off it. I honestly think stress triggered his. We went on vacation and had a new person watching him at there kennel. So I believe that stressed him out and he had anxiety which I think triggered it. I pray that this does not flare up again because I don't even want to have to make a decision to euthanize him. I will look into a naturopathic veterinarian. Thank you all for sharing your stories and experiences.
 
#23 ·
Recently diagnosed. My 6 year old girl was doing great. She stayed with grandpa while we went on vacation. 10 days later and she was eating SUPER slow (totally abnormal for Goldies). It took me two more days to recognize that she wasn't opening her mouth. First thing Monday, called vet. Blood test confirmed MMM. 30mg of prednisone BID x 2 weeks. Some improvement. Now on 20mg BID and gaba for pain. Mouth is open, but oh the boniness of her head. It is so stark. What bothers me more is that she seems depressed. She won't play with our other girl. They used to play A LOT. I lost my first Goldie to liver cancer at this age. Now, I see a subdued Goldie and that makes me nervous.
 
#24 ·
Thank you goldhaven for this thread. I feel so alone dealing with this disease. Most vets have never treated it. I've been a vet tech for 27 years and this is the first case I've ever seen. My dog was diagnosed at 1.5 years old. He's now 3.5 yo. I went to an integrative medicine specialist and he was treated with pred, azathioprine, acupuncture and Chinese herbs. After 13 months he was finally off all meds and doing great. 9 months later (July 2017) he relapsed. I went to a regular vet who put him on pred and atopica. I also have him on herbals that I ordered myself (from an herbalist/vet). He does horrible on pred but I know it's for the best. I don't think the atopica is doing anything. I have an appointment with an internal medicine specialist in 2 days just to get a better plan. I wish I knew what triggered this round so I could avoid it.

He doesn't get vaccines anymore and I'm switching back to a home cooked diet. Would love to find more alternative treatments or even more recent studies on this disease. There's not much out there.

Donna, my goldie is also very subdued (highly unusual for him) and eats slow (also highly unusual). It's very sad.
 
#25 ·
Just posted this on another thread, but thought I should add it here. Getting bummed about the prognosis...
---

Hi All, It's been a while since I've posted about our now 1 year old, Sadie, but she's been having a scary situation that I thought would be helpful to share. About 3 weeks ago, we noticed a little eye tearing and puffiness/redness of her left eye. We had just installed a fence, and attributed it to some allergies since she was spending a lot more time outdoors. Over the course of 2 weeks it came/went and affected the right eye some too. It didn't seem to bother her at all, so we thought we would just watch it. We went away for vacation and when we got back this week, we knew something was wrong.

She was not opening her mouth very much - taking little sips of water with the tip of her tongue and eating very slowly, and she was drooling much more than she's every had before (previously just with waiting for treats, etc.). I had remember her seemingly poking herself in the mouth retrieving a stick around the time that it all starting and I was worried she had lockjaw from tetanus or possibly an oral abscess that had spread infection in her skull - but she still seemed in good spirits.

Took her to the vet yesterday and even under sedation, they couldn't get her jaw opened. They sent us to a referral center and she had a head CT that didn't show any abscess. They also weren't able to open her mouth under sedation, but the oral surgeon who was there felt fairly confident that he knew the diagnosis...

Masticatory myositis

As a people doctor, I've never heard of this, but it all started to make sense. I feel so awful that we waited so long to have her see the vet as the prognosis really seems to depend on how much damage has taken place. At this point, she's started on steriods and seems to be a little better this morning. We have labs for the 2M antibodies pending and we expect at least a week before we'll really see much improvement.

Ugh...just feeling awful for this little girl.
 
#26 ·
Hi, Do not lose hope. My Golden, Lucy will be 8 years old 10/01/2009. She was diagnosed with Masticatory myositis in March 2014 at 4 1/2 years old. We are thinking either Rabies or Parvo vaccine precipitated this. Nonetheless, our vet recognized it instantly, thankfully. Lucy loves her teeth brushed but when I attempted to do so she cried out , so of course, I made an appt. She was given a Prednisone of treatment 20 MG weaning eventually for 20 days. We saw instant improvement. Unfortunately came back in 01/2015 put her on another regimen & has since occurred 4X since then. Initially all we noticed was her jaw while brushing teeth & her reluctance to play with her squeaky toys & tennis balls which were a daily ritual. The last re- occurrence, her eye bulged & teared first. We , once again had to give Pred, we've been lucky, our vet works with us, we give minimal, start out with 20MG for a week, then every other day, then take it down to 10 MG every other day & now 10 Mg 2X weekly as maintenance. This seems to be working well.Aside from some muscle weakness in hind legs, which acupuncture has helped with, no other issues. We also were advised to give Lucy Pepcid AC with the pred, a tablet with each pred or 1/2 tablet when Pred is cut in half. Along with that we also were advised to give her 1 tlbs coconut oil on her food & a vitamin regimen of Ester-C, 1000MG & Fish Oil 1000MG daily as well as vitamin E 400IU & B- Complex vitamins every other day. All seems to be working . She is happy , energetic , playing & walking 3 1/2 miles with me daily, as well as keeping her weight of 69 Lbs.
 
#27 ·
Cooper's story

Cooper is 4.5 yrs old and was just diagnosed with MMM. Blood test confirmed after he had symptoms of eye puffiness and trouble opening his mouth. Vet initially put him on a non- steroidal until we could get the blood tests back. Cooper seemed to do better each day he was on the non- steroidal so I was certain the blood test would come back negative. No luck, so now he is on his second 10 day stint of steroid with much longer to go.

Pred is an awful drug ... makes me heartbroken to see the side effects - his aggressive hunger, severe muscle loss, lots of panting, lots of water consumption and therefore lots of potty breaks. His mood has completely changed - not the same affectionate dog, nor even the same personality of happy go lucky wanting to take long walks and play with his ball and chew on bones and sticks.

He also has severe muscle loss in his face and seems like entire body since having started the pred. Vet says the pred can actually cause the muscle loss but she doesn't want to back off the pred earlier than planned in case it is the MMM. We are getting acupuncture treatments once per week but I am curious about any other herbal supplements that may help. Some posts mention the K9 immunity - is that something worth adding to his diet? I wish I could put him on raw but he has such a sensitive stomach and suffers from gulping fits if he eats anything too far off from kibble, even cooked fresh food. Anything else I could be doing for him at this point?

Has anyone reached out to their breeder to advise them of the diagnosis? I did so and never got a response back. Not sure if I should keep pursuing.
 
#28 ·
Thank you for this thread. My 6 year old English Bulldog, Idgie, is currently being diagnosed with MMM. It seemed to have come out of nowhere. She couldn't open her jaw on the left side and her third eye was swollen. It's been 6 weeks and about 6 vet visits and about $4K to finally figure what's going on. She's also had several rounds of facial swelling as well and has been so depressed and lethargic. It just breaks my heart to see her this way. She had a CT scan this past week and I am thankful that it's not cancer or a tumor causing all this. They did a muscle biopsy and should get results back this week. They started her on pred and is showing improvement in her jaw opening and her mood and energy. Though the hunger symptom is hard to watch. She's also super gassy which isn't normal for her. She's also on an antacid and a med that prevents ulcers.

I'm extremely interested in treating her naturally as bulldogs are super sensitive to meds and these seem to be hard hitting. Thanks to all the suggestions here. We will be seeing a neurologist at Tufts University Vet hospital next week to talk next steps and I'll be asking about all I've seen here. Definitely will be finding a holistic vet to consult as well.

I have chronic Lyme disease and I am seeing that my treatment and hers might look very similar. I hate seeing her beautiful schmooshy biggo bully head become so sunken and small.

Now to figure out her triggers and get her well.
 
#29 ·
Mmm

My 4.5 year old Rottweiler 'Flower' got diagnosed on 2 Jan 2018. She was put on steroids and 'blended wet food' as she could not open her jaw anymore. After some days she was able to eat 'wet food'. After 1 week her poo was pure liquid and full of blood. She was put on antibiotics. Her head started caving in real bad. After 12 days, from one moment to the next she was limping badly (just coming out of her bed). Her back knee made horrible noises. X-rays were taken and it showed her other knee had the same predicament. She was in so much pain. So now we were looking at 2 knee operations. We made the very hard decision to let her go, with her immune system so down from the steroids, there was no guarantee these operations would even work, and the very long re validation. I want my dogs to be happy and playful, I want my dogs to be able to be dogs. I have no idea if the steroids did this to her, as until recently she was a very playful active dog, that went on long walks. She used to play with the 18 month old Rottweiler boy we have as well. Now there is a BIG empty space.
 
#30 ·
I'm so sorry about your girl. 4.5 is way too young to say goodbye. You took care of her in the most loving and unselfish way possible.
 
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