It’s a name with big words, Masticatory Muscle Myositis, and it’s the condition that I am currently being treated for by our veterinarian. Two days ago, I didn’t want to open my jaws so Wen could drop in my daily medication for my gall bladder and I wasn’t anxious to chew either. After noticing that something was wrong, Wen tried to see if I had a sore tooth, something like a stick or piece of wood stuck in my gums, or Myositis, because I screamed in pain when trying to open my jaws widely. My appetite was normal and I ate my dry food, but I chewed tentatively when given a treat or an ice cube. I also didn’t catch my favorite squeaky bottle toy in my mouth when she tossed it to me and I didn’t carry it around in my mouth, biting on it incessantly as per usual.
One of Wen’s previous Scotties, Duffy, had Myositis and evidently he screamed when trying to open his jaws also, so Wen made an appointment with Dr. Nina, our vet, to get me checked out yesterday morning and I spent half the day at the vet. After an exam and bloodwork, I was prescribed medication to treat Myositis and antibiotics to cover all the bases and Wen picked me up and took me home.
Myositis is something that you don’t get over quickly, so I have two months worth of meds to take and hopefully, I’ll regain the full use of my jaws. Meanwhile, my meds are hidden in yummy soft food so that they are easy to get down.
Masticatory Myositis is an autoimmune disease where the body attacks its jaw muscles and there is no certain cause, so it’s a mystery how I came down with it. I can still chew, so fortunately it’s not worst case scenario. We just hope and pray that I am able to recover fully and that there isn’t a lot of muscle wasting in my face from the progression of the disease, so cross your fingers!
