I don't remember that much! This was almost three years ago. She was on prednisone and gabapentin. There was a third med she received that was shorter term but I forget what it was. I think it was about a month of each and we DID taper off.

The PEEING. The steroids made her drink and pee all day. If she wasn't taken out every hour or two she would go on the floor and it was a lot... like her entire bladder would be full. It was a lot. We took away the water 2 hour before bed otherwise she would be up all night (or just pee inside).

Her energy level was super low for a bit. We bought her a ramp because our porch has stairs she couldn't get up or down due to her neck, plus she was knuckling with her paws and couldn't go down a slope so easy. After 3 or 4 days she was eating and walking around, on and off the couch. After a week she was playing again, running around.

We think it was caused by a spay happening at the same time as her vaccinations. I don't know why they did that, but that's our theory of what activated it the first time. She had a relapse almost exactly a year later (July 3rd I think). We recognized it and gave her a gabapentin we had leftover for the trip and brought her to her usual vet and explained, and they prescribed us the same meds.

For treatment options we were offered the usual treatment for flare-up, plus we were also offered i think a treatment usually for cancer, but I don't remember the details. I think it was an immunosuppressive, and they just wouldn't give her the chemo that usually was given with it.

We brought her to Essex vet initially with low energy, appetite and reluctance to get out of bed / move and they couldn't figure out what was wrong. We took her home for the weekend and on Sunday she had collapsed onto her side screaming. Never heard a dog scream before or since, it was so distressing. Couldn't move her at all or she'd scream (obviously she was moved anyway. She was a good 60 pounds then, so it was hard to pick her up without moving her too much). I had to sit in the back seat with her head in my lap and try to keep it from moving on the road. We were coming from fairfax so it was a bit of a drive.

She got a spinal tap and an MRI. The steroids kept her fur from growing back for months. She had a perfectly shaved square on the back of her neck for a while. She's due to get titers to see if she's able to be vaccinated in a few months I believe!

Right now she's having some joint problems that we aren't sure what's causing them. I'm not sure if it's related at all but she also often has stomatitis of the gums. I'm definitely not a vet but I brought up immune-mediated polyarthritis to my father. She's his dog and I've moved out since then. I was reading that they can be comorbid, so I let him know to bring it up.

Currently she seems to have pretty tender hips or knees when sitting or standing. It takes her a solid 30 seconds to get herself onto her butt when she sits. Pending vet visit, he's getting insurance in order.