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Hi vets - looking for some advice 🐕
My 9 year old lab pit mix was put on prednisone and gabapentin for neck pain 2.5 weeks ago. I noticed that when I started to taper the prednisone down, he seemed to become sad again so I took him to the vet. The vet noticed the muscles in his face atrophied a bit and he wouldn’t let her open his jaw. It’s been a few weeks since he has been able to yawn or play with toys, but I didn’t notice his face until the vet mentioned it (she also did not realize the muscle loss during his exam 2 weeks ago). She suspects Masticatory Myositis. I know prednisone causes some muscle atrophy as well, so could it be that? Or maybe something wrong with a tooth? It’s just all confusing because he was dealing with some neck pain and now all of a sudden he can’t open his mouth more than an inch and he seems depressed. He also cannot be put on Prednsione anymore because his ALP levels are too high since he started it 2.5 weeks ago. I feel so bad for him. He’s just laying next to me and I can sense he’s in pain 🥺 If it is MMM, will other course of treatments help?