Stetson

Question
Four months ago my Jack Russell Terrier male (turned 11 last month) began showing signs of loss of movement on the left side of his face.
He has been to FOUR veterinary facilities and he is worse that ever.
His eye has receded and they don't think it is a brain tumor.
They are so sure it is "idiopathic" that they didn't even do an MRI.
His blood work shows he is super healthy.
He isn't able to blink well so we have to put genteal gel into the eye. This causes goop and scabbing ALL around the eye. The scabs crack, peel and bleed. He is living in a cone all the time now.
If you lift his top lid...after all the Genteal and problems THAT treatment causes, it is incredibly bloodshot and red.
I don't know WHERE to turn now.
Any thoughts from anyone?
Thank you!
Stacey

Answer
Well I am not a vet Stacey but he could be suffering from Ocular Myasthenia Gravis, which is a disease where the muscles will lose their tone and sink into the skull and the eyes can't move well.

You might want to look up some articles online about it:
http://dogparvosymptoms.org/myasthenia-gravis-symptoms/

I am not saying that he has this, but it's a possibility.
I don't understand why they won't do an MRI on him. If he isn't having other symptom such as the generalized weakness etc then that's probably a good call on their part.

Idopathic just means that there is no reason for this happening, but is there ever a reason for disease?

It's quite possible that this will reverse itself with time. It is also possible that he has a form of Bell's palsey, which dogs do get.

http://www.webmd.com/brain/tc/bells-palsy-topic-overview?print=true

From what you are saying, this sounds more like what he has.
You didn't mention any treatment, prednisone, etc. So what has the vet put him on, other then the eye drops or gel?

You might want to ask the vet what the possibility of him having Bell's Palsey is and how can it be treated.

I hope that you can find an answer soon. Please let me know how he does.