Emma's health: continued - GOLPP

As promised, here is another brain dump on Emma's health. She is, after all, my six million dollar dog. Okay, I haven't spent that much, but I'll bet we're on our way to $20,000. Yikes. I try not to think about it. Today, I'm going to talk about GOLPP, which I mentioned in yesterday's post stands for Geriatric Onset Laryngeal Paralysis and Polyneuropathy. GOLPP is exactly what its name implies: it's a whole syndrome which has as one of its main symptoms laryngeal paralysis, and which mainly occurs in older dogs.
Emma was diagnosed in October 2009 by Dr. Pattie at Aldie Vet Hospital as having laryngeal paralysis. Emma had had a difficult summer that year, with heavy panting when we'd go for walks in the heat. She just couldn't handle the heat at all. Once the weather cooled, the problem (hoarse heavy panting, almost gasping for breath) went away. But Emma LOVES visiting the vet, so when we were there that October, she got excited and did the same kind of panting. As soon as Dr. Pattie heard it, she suspected LP. That heavy panting is called "stridor." Once I had a name, I started researching LP online. I stumbled upon a fantastic Yahoo group, called simply LP, for people whose dogs have been diagnosed with this disease. At first, I was pretty panicked. Laryngeal paralysis is what it sounds like: one or sometimes both sides of the larynx become paralyzed and basically don't open appropriately when the dog breathes/pants. Since dogs get rid of heat by panting (almost exclusively), if the larynx isn't opening correctly, oxygen and air can't pass appropriately. Therefore, dogs with LP often overheat because they can't pant correctly.
The paralysis is caused by a nerve problem (hence the "neuropathy" in the name GOLPP). The nerves that control the larynx are the real problem (not the larynx itself). Unfortunately, not only are the nerves of the larynx affected, but alot of other nerves as well. Most dogs with LP have weak hind ends, because the nerves that control the back legs also seem to be affected. The messages that tell the brain how to move the legs don't get through very well. Emma has, in the last year, gotten weaker in her hind end, and occasionally lists to one side or doesn't seem to know where she's putting her back feet. So every once in a while she'll fall or misstep. To make Emma's situation worse, she also has arthritis, which is of course pretty common in older dogs. She has arthritis in her spine, and she has hip dysplasia (her right hip). She also has arthritis around her repaired knee (she blew a cruciate ligament years ago, and had TPLO - tibial plateau leveling osteotomy - surgery). So she gets acupuncture and laser therapy twice a month to try to keep her flexible. I also walk her a lot to keep her strong.
Another unfortunate side effect of her crappy nerves is that it makes Emma's incontinence worse. Emma has had urinary incontinence for years, and has taken Proin for it. For the most part, until last year, the Proin worked quite well. However, Proin doesn't work as well now. Most likely it doesn't work as well because the problem isn't as much a bladder sphincter problem for Emma as much as a nerve problem. Again, the nerves don't send the appropriate message to the brain - that message might be "hold your urine" or it might be "hey you have to go to the bathroom." Regardless of which message, the message isn't getting through. So Emma leaks unknowingly. I can't really give her any more Proin, so we just follow her around with towels. She'll have a batch of good days (4 in a row!) and bad days (when I have to do laundry every day).
Emma had surgery to fix her larynx in early November 2010. She had what's called a unilateral tieback (UTB). In a UTB surgery, the surgeon permanently ties back one side of the larynx. This makes the larynx always open on one side, so air can pass. All of a sudden, her breathing is quieter, she doesn't pant as much, and she can cool herself like a normal dog. It is apparently a bit tricky to eat and drink - most dogs take a few days to get used to how their new throat feels. Also, their bark is affected. Emma used to have a deep bark (unless she was excited, then it was higher pitched). Now it's hoarse and high pitched. It sounds quite pathetic actually. :) But she was never a big barker, and honestly I'd rather she breathe than have a big bark. The surgery carries some risks (more than the average surgery) but Emma came through quite well, and is just about back to normal. So at least she won't suffocate to death. Obviously the surgery doesn't fix the nerve problems at all, so those have to be managed separately. But as I said, at least I don't have to listen to her suffocate to death, or overheat.
If anyone needs information about LP, please feel free to ask me. I'll most likely send you to the Yahoo LP group anyway, but I do have a lot of personal experience and am happy to share it. Okay, that's it for today.