# Atypical myopathy



## nfrider (6 June 2012)

Has anyone had a case of atypical myopathy recently?


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## Cuffey (6 June 2012)

These are reported cases for this spring--you may have to register and log in to read--free

http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=20027


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## Wundahorse (6 June 2012)

Yes this was confirmed by lab results of my 27 year old Arab mare who tied up the previous weekend.She seems recovered now but will need to monitor in case it recurs.


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## rotters13 (6 June 2012)

Your horse SURVIVED atypical myopathy?! I didn't think there were any documented cases...


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## Wundahorse (6 June 2012)

Oh i wonder if the myopathy my horse has had is the same thing.The Vet rang today and said myopathy was confirmed via a second round of blood tests which went to a lab in Liphook.She is due next week to take more bloods to check her muscle enzymes.The condition she has is related to tie up.I did check the link someone posted and thought the condition looked dire.


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## SaharaS (6 June 2012)

I lost my boy 9yr old TB gelding otherwise perfectly healthy sound and never had the vet out..till that fatefull day. Aug 2010 so while ago but as with most other cases -all I know of it was fatal and fast.literally a matter of hours. One thing i will say is you may be incredibly lucky, tho for your sake i sincerley hope it is a different condition.  If you are likely to be upset don't read the para between rows of stars, nothing graphic but I don't want to upset you xx 

not for easily saddened people:
********** ***********
He had a weird sudden colic 2 mondays previous and totally unexplained but with some oddness to it, I didn't feel comfortable at all(not that you ever do with colic, but you know what I mean) nor did the vet. He said if ok within 4 hours, we'll be lucky...tho the luck only lasted for two weeks.the second onset was stupidly fast and thsi time there was no going back. no chance of op..vet was senior partner and did absolutley everything he possibly could..when he'd tried everything, he took some fluid from outside the stomach lining and it was like black treacle..he had only a matter of hours before his liver & body would pack up so I knew it was time. He lifted his head up & gave me a hug, luckily a good friend he knew and the vet were with him, i had to go round the corner-had a bad run and lost rather alot of animals in a short space of time and all really rare odd or weird things so I was beside myself & didn't want to distress him more before anyone snarls at me. 
***********sad bit over ************************

That said i hope you and you horse are lucky and he makes a full fast recovery -there are many 'new' & partially unknown things about and some maybe you are lucky and have a lesser case of it. I genuinely think it just as grass sickness can affect some horses in harder ways than other because we are all individuals with individual genetic make up. I wish you the best luck for the best prognosis, Liphook are excellent you are in the best place xxx


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## Wundahorse (6 June 2012)

When the Vet came again last week she did say that liver damage is a serious condition related to tie up,but i did call the vet out immediatly when her symptoms emerged and i wonder if that helped.I am a bit confused though, atypical myopathy seems fatal which is why i question if there is another form which is milder.My mare did have slight jaundice in her gums but this has completely subsided.Vet said she was bright,lively and in excellent condition for a 27 year old which probably helped.


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## SaharaS (6 June 2012)

Wundahorse I've pm'd you x


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## Angelbones (8 June 2012)

rotters13 said:



			Your horse SURVIVED atypical myopathy?! I didn't think there were any documented cases...
		
Click to expand...

We had 2 with it last year - but found them very early and they were on drips and medicated within 4 hours. Both survived after a lot of real hands on care round the clock for a week. One has now been sold to a happy hacking home and one is back hacking out and escorting young racehorses up the gallops (and he was the one who always suffered from azoturia). There is hope if you are lucky and get there early enough though sadly for many horses they are too badly affected by the time it is diagnosed


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## rotters13 (9 June 2012)

When my horse had it; (atypical myglobinurea but I understand this is the same thing), the vet told us that he knew of no cases where the horse had survived. And we had a vet out that night, but by 4pm the next day he had been put to sleep.  So I'm hoping for you that what your horse has is different (or surely you would know!)


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## applecart14 (9 June 2012)

Without trying to cause panic I thought I would warn users to this forum that if any horses suddenly start head shaking and if this is accompanied by any of these symtoms: frenzied vocalisation, lethargy, stiffness or recurrent choke like retching neck spasms, then this is now a clear indication of the possibility of atypical myopathy as five horses that were suspected of having AM prior to admittance to Liphook Hospital all developed the symptoms above, these were symptoms that until then presumably hadn't been heard of, or thought relevant as the data hadn't be collected.  These are early warning symptoms of atypical myopathy and we should all look familiarise ourselves with them.  2 out of the 5 horses at Liphook made it.  

Here is the link about it:

http://www.horseandcountry.tv/news?title=atypical+myopathy
__________________


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## much-jittering (9 June 2012)

Re Wundahorse - surely the fact it's called ATYPICAL myopathy, means that there is plain old 'myopathy'. This is the wiki link to what it means in people, which I presume is the same as in animals, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myopathy

I would imagine Atypical Myopathy got it's name as many of the clinical signs are similar to a 'normal' myopathy.

Horrible condition to watch, devestating because you so want yours to be in the minority that make it. Sadly the one I worked with wasn't.


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## SaharaS (9 June 2012)

applecart14 said:



			Without trying to cause panic I thought I would warn users to this forum that if any horses suddenly start head shaking and if this is accompanied by any of these symtoms: frenzied vocalisation, lethargy, stiffness or recurrent choke like retching neck spasms, then this is now a clear indication of the possibility of atypical myopathy as five horses that were suspected of having AM prior to admittance to Liphook Hospital all developed the symptoms above, these were symptoms that until then presumably hadn't been heard of, or thought relevant as the data hadn't be collected.  These are early warning symptoms of atypical myopathy and we should all look familiarise ourselves with them.  2 out of the 5 horses at Liphook made it.  

Here is the link about it:

http://www.horseandcountry.tv/news?title=atypical+myopathy
__________________
		
Click to expand...

Thats a really good point actually, thank you fro highlighting it & the link..you'll understand why having lost one to grass sickness and one to EAM, I had a hissy fit at my vets last autumn when one of mine who had constantly reoccurring  choke like spasms (one vet idiotically thought it was just air or blood pumping thru his veins-can't put what i said at him before launching him off the yard muttering appollo) this was accompanied one day by tremors all over -all 4 quadrants and hysterica screaming. the shakes ewre uncontrollable and he had turned on me the day before-totally out of character. all the vets i spoke to were in no hurry to come out till I sent one a video message. It was awful. She said she would speak to senior partner and i'd rung back 5 times since and no one contacted me. Since, if i ever have a doubt & think it is happening again I will simply call up & say possible colic simply to get them there (diff vets but not risking). Both times I lost my horses, they shared symptoms like these to different degrees-the one all three had, was the uncontrollable shivery shakes.

the lines between both EAM & grass sickness are so fine and some are so subtle, If you are ever at all in doubt, no matter how subtle it is, err on the side of caution..I'm not one to call a vet lightly but I know my horses and will never again be told I'm being neurotic. the first 2 times this happened, I had no horse to show for it within a 10 days -2 wks.I'd rather have peace of mind and mess up a vets evening than be fobbed off. Good practice also to know your horses individual heart/pulse/temps. only takes a moment to check and can often be an early indication of something amiss.

 I would also always insist on the eye drop test and would get that done sooner than later. its inobtrusive,takes under 2 mins for results(eyelashes curl when vet applies if it is positive grass sickness) does not hurt & frankly could be the time you need to take action that might actually be able to let you do something. I shall sop ranting now, but some vets really need to: "loose the Ego & save a horse"...


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## Wundahorse (10 June 2012)

Whatever form my mare had,which i now believe to be the milder one,she has recovered uneventfully and is back to her old self which is lively and forward going.Have just started light hacking which she is managing exceptionally well,with no recurrance of muscle spasms and other signs of tie up.The vet is back on thursday to recheck her bloods,and i will ask her then which particular type of myopathy she had.It is scary though as her gums were slightly jaundiced for a while where her liver was processing all the toxins from the muscle damage.The vet arrived within 1 1/2 hours from the omset of her symptoms and i feel this aided her recovery.I am so glad it happened at the time it did otherwise the symptoms may not have been picked up so reapidly.


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## ghostie-x (12 June 2012)

In October 2009 a 7 month old TB foal at my old job got Atypical Myopathy. We found him out in the field with the 3 other foals and he couldnt move. We saw he haf the symptoms of tying up but thought surely that was'nt


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## ghostie-x (12 June 2012)

In October 2009 a 7 month old TB foal at my old job got Atypical Myopathy. We found him out in the field with the 3 other foals and he couldnt move. We saw he haf the symptoms of tying up but thought surely that wasn't the case.
We brought him in and the vets came out-he was x-rayed as they suspected injury to his stifle!!! (due to not moving). Later on he was sweating and when he staled his urine was dark red. His muscle enzyme count was off the scale and the vets worked wit


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## ghostie-x (12 June 2012)

In October 2009 a 7 month old TB foal at my old job got Atypical Myopathy. We found him out in the field with the 3 other foals and he couldnt move. We saw he haf the symptoms of tying up but thought surely that wasn't the case.
We brought him in and the vets came out-he was x-rayed as they suspected injury to his stifle!!! (due to not moving). Later on he was sweating and when he staled his urine was dark red. His muscle enzyme count was off the scale and the vets worked with those in Newmarket and told us the diagnosis.  AM


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## ghostie-x (12 June 2012)

In October 2009 a 7 month old TB foal at my old job got Atypical Myopathy. We found him out in the field with the 3 other foals and he couldnt move. We saw he haf the symptoms of tying up but thought surely that wasn't the case.
We brought him in and the vets came out-he was x-rayed as they suspected injury to his stifle!!! (due to not moving). Later on he was sweating and when he staled his urine was dark red. His muscle enzyme count was off the scale and the vets worked with those in Newmarket and told us the diagnosis.  There had not been many cases of AM back then and luckily awareness has been raised more.
Our poor foal was on a drip for 24hrs and his respiratory was failing him. The only choice was to PTS which was heartbreaking for all involved  I hope I never have to see another case.


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## ghostie-x (12 June 2012)

Oh dear sorry about the above posts! Stupid smart phone!!!!


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## applecart14 (13 June 2012)

ghostie-x said:



			Oh dear sorry about the above posts! Stupid smart phone!!!! 

Click to expand...

Never mind you got there in the end 

So sorry to hear about the foal though.


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## charlie76 (15 June 2012)

We had three cases at the end of last year.  It cones on very quickly.  Two of ours first symptoms were a sudden on set of very bad choke like symptoms. They were struggling so hard to breath their eyes and nose were bleeding.  They appeared to go rigid and had muscle twitches all over.  It was awful.  The third just had the twitching but she died of liver failure after three days at the vets.  We had then pm


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## charlie76 (15 June 2012)

Done and they said the liver and kidneys were like mush. They were fine at lunchtime but by three ok they were dead.  Awful. Ours did not have raised muscle enzymes though.


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## MeganAbigail (14 December 2012)

ivejust had the veys out, and sshe fears he has this, im worried to hell as yo are all saying 4 hrs etc...  figers crossed for my boy


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