Hi there, I have been scouring the internet trying to learn everything i can about meningitis as my 1 year old Brussels Griffon has been suffering with it for the last week and a half. She has been on steroids for several days, but her mobility is getting worse and all her legs are now buckling under her. She has a stiff neck and just wants to lie still. She has just had the first Cytarabine this evening and i am desperately hoping that it will help. Does anyone know how long it may take to work? I am really trying to stay positive and cheerful around her but it is breaking my heart to see her struggling and in pain. If anyone knows anything else that could help i would really appreciate it. Also i was wondering if anyone has experienced this as a reaction to flea treatments?

I know lots about meningitis in humans.
Nothing about it in dogs.
Light is very painful, a darkened quiet room
is what you want while ill. Would think this would apply
for dogs too.
Hope she's feeling better soon.

Is canine meningitis very common?
I only ask because I have heard of two other cases within the last week, in dogs owned by people on another forum.... different breeds, not show dogs, and a long ways apart.
It's not something I've heard of much before but maybe it is me who is out of the loop.

in pugs it is called pde or gme, i do hope she is ok, speak to your vet,they should be able to answer all your questions and worries,
let us know how she is
xx

http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/board/topic/121320.html

have you seen this blog topic?

a friends dog had it, was almost on its death bed by the time they got her to the specialist.  do a search on here for more info.  she  is clear now but her eyesight  isn't  great and has brain  damage. 
where do you live as there is a great specialist in  Surrey. cost  thousands in treatment and spinal taps.. she still enjoys her life which is important.

Any questions i can ask  my  friend who is  a fountain of knowledge on  the  subject now.. PM me if needed...

Hi Emma. So sorry to see that your pup has meningitis. a disease that appears to me is becoming more common. My last girl had GME and was given high dose prednisolone and Cytarabine, gradually reducing in dose over 16 months. Her first sign was sudden loss of sight tho she had had intermitant back stiffness for some time. The GME was controlled by the end of her treatment but she sadly had other problems and her liver failed due to her needing the pred long term. Losing her truly broke my heart.
Where was your girl diagnosed ? She seems to be on the accepted treatment but I would say that if her mobility is worsening, her Pred dose is not high enough. Prednisolone is the mainstay of treatment & the doses have to start high, and I believe you should have seen some improvement by now. Have you been told what type of encephalitis your girl has? I haven't heard of it being connected to flea treatments but many vets now think there could be a connection to vaccinations. Once a dog has had meningitis they shouldn't be given any more boosters. Check on this with your specialist ok.
Try and be positive, this awful disease can be controlled with correct treatment tho I must say most GP vets don't seem very gen'd up on it. The main thing at the moment is to get the Pred dose high enough.
Good Luck and if you need any more info just ask ok.

Emma, 
Any news on your girl at all? Hope she is showing some signs of improvement, which i know can take a long time, but the smallest bit of hope can go a long way x

Hi Emma. I'm just bumping this up to ask how your pup is doing ? Let us know eh.
Regards.

hi there,im posted this as an update for gme meningitis...our beautiful mini english bull terrier passed away very quick on  14th may 2011..6 days before her 1st birthday...the tears still flowing and hearts broken..why lola why us.....lola was fit and very well 9th june..wednesday we went for our long walk with a lady who looks after dogs whislt owners on holiday lola always has great fun running free with all different tpyes of breeds.....thursday morning postman came i held her by collier and she yelped....mmh some thing was not right  i thought lots of rough and tumble the day before strain muscle in her neck..
i went out for a few hours and she had her ears back ans shaking...i thought shed done a wee  somewhere  my partner came home and he agreed so we took her straight to vets..the vet said tummy problem and lola had large shoot of meticam lola was back to normal...friday some more meticam ok.....saturday morning she yelped couldnt jump on the bed  when straight back to vets..still said tummy again more medition and we came home...sunday morning lola could move on my daughters bed couldnt stand up legs buckling under her so so sad to see..rushed her back to vets who refers her to landfords pet hospital...they gave lola morphene and we left her there..monday they did cat scan on brain lola had water on the brain  a tap on her spine was also done...lola was very very ill..they wanted to start the next treatment a drug for cancer like radiation  i asked vet will this give her 2 years 5 years the vets said no months..we could not put our baby through that no way......i was with lola till the end..i sat on the floor it was like..mums her now she snugged in and gave her leg to the vet ..it was so so peaceful...i wake to silence wheres my lola...lola did have a 1st flee treatment 1 month previous  who knows......im still waiting for blood results but the vet said this will make no difference....we did the right thing i looked the vet in the eyes and asked her if it was her dog would she do this she said yes......the£ 10,000 was there to cover all costs but we didnt want her in pain or to suffer   RIP LOLA WE LOVE YOU.XXXXXXX

So sorry for you loss , I empathize with your pain it takes time but be safe in the knowledge that you did the right thing for her RIP Lola x

My heart goes out to you, so sorry for your loss.

I'm so so sorry for you, for what it's worth, I think you did the right thing for Lola, it's a decision we all dread, but putting your friends needs before your own is, I believe, the most loving act we can do for them.

It's still early days for you, but you will slowly start to feel better, although it may not seem so just now.

thankyou to you all for your loving comments...friday 25th may 2012..update..  lolas blood results came back negitive no parisites found..lola allso had HYDROCEPHALUS WATER ON THE BRAIN...so with the gme menigitis all conected our poor little girl had no chance  ...    all so very very fast....the weekend has been hard and only time will heal..if i can help anyone with information my email is juliejaya@aol.com.....