Dog going blind.

Dr. Marie replied:

So sorry to hear that Vinnie is going blind. This is very unlikely to be because of Trifexis. One possibility is something called SARD, Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration. This is a condition where the retina at the back of the eye loses it's ability to process vision. Unfortunately there is nothing that can be done about this type of condition.

There are other possibilities. A condition called optic neuritis where there is inflammation in the optic nerve can cause blindness. A tumor affecting the optic nerve is possible as well.

These things can be very difficult to diagnose. The best option that I can see would be to ask your vet for a referral to a veterinary ophthalmologist. These vets specialize in eye issues with pets and have access to other tests that general practitioners do not have.

If this is SARD (which is the most likely explanation) the good news is that it is not painful at all to Vinnie.

Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

Prednisone is a good idea. If there is optic neuritis then this means that the optic nerve is inflamed. The prednisone could really help. There are different types of optic neuritis. Some can be what is called, "immune mediated" which means that the immune system is attacking the nerve. If this is the case then the Prednisone will help and in some cases, long term Prednisone may keep the problem at bay. But there are many other causes as well and quite often the cause is not found. In those cases, there is no known treatment.

There are no natural treatments that I can think of.

Regarding Trifexis, I know it gets a bad rap but I think that this is internet hype. You have probably seen my blog post on potential Trifexis problems. The comments section of that post is scary with post after post of people having complaints. However, I regularly search VIN (Veterinary Information Network) where tens of thousands of vets discuss veterinary medicine and vets are not echoing this problem. Believe me, if there was a serious concern about a medication vets would be discussing it. There is the odd dog who has some vomiting after Trifexis and some do get some temporary dullness. But, blindness, optic neuritis and the like have not been noted as far as I know. If this type of thing was happening, the FDA would be on it very quickly. I personally believe that some competitors of Trifexis are posting a good number of these comments.

I'm glad to hear that you have an appointment with the ophthalmologist. Feel free to let me know what he or she says once you have had your visit. You can do that by replying to this post.

Dr. Marie.