Muscle Atrophy

[aleksandra321]

Hello,

I have a very big problem with my dog. She is one year old and she is constantly ill. No veterinarian can find out what is wrong with her. She is a street dog, and from the first moment I found her, she has  health problems. Her white blood cells go up and down all the time, and she has a high body temperature. Two weeks ago, she had an operation (sterilization) and it appeared that maybe the problem was in her uterus and ovaries, they were all swollen. After this the dog was very cheerful, but just there days after the operation she had a stroke or some clot in her brain. A couple of days she was in a really bad situation, now she is stable but she can't stand up and walk on her own. She moves her front and her back legs, but she is very week. Can someone tell me what can I give her to make her stronger, and what to do, so that her muscles don't atrophy.

[aleksandra321]

Regards

[aleksandra321]

First I would like to thank you about the advice  you gave me. The explanation I wrote about the puppy is unclear because I don't really know what is really happening to her. The puppy was ill for a very long time and no one could figure out what was wrong. The symptoms were high fever, exhaustion and her white cells were always going up and down. The vets thought that is some kind of a hormоnal disorder so we decided to sterilize her. After her ovaries and uterus were removed, the vets saw that they were damaged. We thought that we solved the problem and that she is going to be alright, but only two days after the surgery the puppy had a brain stroke, a thrombus. Now she can only move her legs, but she can't stand up and walk and sometimes she has high fever. We give her vitamins and take her to massages and acupuncture and we hope that this will help. If you have some advice I will be very grateful.

[ginger899]

Yes it's not only a case of muscle atrophy, but of something going on with her health-wise, which needs to be solved.
Blood-work usually does show up most things, so long as they are looked for. I agree that the vet should check for the presence of Tick-borne disease.
Are all her other blood values OK? Liver/Kidneys, etc?

White blood cells "up-and-down" do seem to show that there is some infection present...unless those blood-values were taken before her spay surgery, (when an infected womb could have been causing the problem) -and now they are normal.....

However, if in your vet's opinion there appears to be nothing clinically wrong any more, but what is wrong is she is suffering from the after effects of the post-surgery blood clot, plus weakness -then re-building her strength, muscle mass, and her general condition would be the next job. If she has been off her feet with illness for quite a while, she will have lost muscle strength. And recovering from what sounded like Pyometra -plus surgery, plus a life-threatening blood clot will have taken a lot out of her.
But it's best to make sure that any investigation into her health issues are complete first.
I think you need to get back to your vet to clear this up.

Once her health situation is more clear, there are things can be done to help her regain her strength. A high-quality diet. Gentle massage of her leg muscles, and back. And swimming can help to build muscle strength again when walking is hard. Please consult your vet about these ideas.

[Margot49]

Sorry, not sure exactly what you are describing.  Muscle atrophy is wasting away of the muscle and doesn't sound like you are describing that.  Has the dog been tested for heart worm or tick borne diseases?  Does the Vet feel these symptoms are a result of the stroke?  Sounds like possible infection going on somewhere.  Did the blood values improve after the spay surgery?