rascalsmom

eewwwwwwwww! wipe Loca's dirty bum??? just kidding i'll try that. I thought of structural issues, too, Robin, as Rascal has a lot of trouble with that area. She once had a bladder infection and yeast infection and it was because of her structural issues. A lot of nasty stuff can get trapped in the folds of the vulva, and cause trouble. We always know to start tending to Rascal when she's licking excessively. I use baby wipes to cleanse the area (it is NOT her butt, rather her "girlie" parts)...the vet can show you how to manipulate the area so you can cleanse thoroughly...and then we put some prescription powder on her. (Neo-Predel, or something like that.) I always mean to take care of her "issues" on a more regular basis, but you know how that goes. Then I wait till she's uncomfortable, and her poor little girl parts are all red and really sore. If you can get a helper, it will be easier. It's amazing how quickly and tightly they can tuck that tail in!

{{{{Donna}}}} I know how you feel. Buddy is going through something quite similar, and it is SO hard. Fortunately Buddy isn't incontinent....I know if that happens my DH will say it is 'time'. But like Spencer, Buddy has had so many ups and downs, it's awful. It really does sound like how Buddy is when it's really bad: hard time getting up, getting down, even walking. He's all hunched over with his head down, you can just tell he's hurting and depressed. I hope the acupuncture helps your guy. Buddy is going on Thursday to see about that. Hang in there, along with me. Someone (and I am not the ONLY someone) knows exactly what you're feeling.

Yeah, this up and down with Buddy is really wearing me down. I can't imagine how he must feel. He was doing so well, then the rimadyl (apparently) started upsetting his stomach; so on Wednesday we discontinued that. Started giving pepcid before meals. His appetite still hasn't rebounded to what it was when he was on the whole drug regimen of rimadyl, tramadol, gabapentin (well, at least before the rimadyl started giving him trouble). Now the girls seem to be largely on strike against their kibble, too. What the heck? They pick off all the goodies and leave the kibble. I cooked more chicken, hoping Buddy would eat more, he ate some of his breakfast but didn't even eat all the chicken. Hopefully his trip to the holistic/acupuncture vet this week will yield favorable results. I never did like roller coasters. Thanks for bearing with me; I just needed to vent.

No advice here, but lots of prayers for the spunky old gal. I sure hope she's feeling better soon!!

There are a LOT of us dealing with this problem. My male dog, Buddy, has recently had a lot of issues, just search my past topics and you can follow the progress of what has worked for Buddy. The neurologist is pretty sure it is lumbosacral stenosis. LS link

Oh no....I hope you get some answers.

UPDATE: We just got back from our follow-up with the neurologist. Here's what he said. 1. Don't give him any more rimadyl. :!! 2. Give him a pepcid twice daily, before meals. 3. Continue the tramadol and gabapentin, he can be on those forever. 4. Continue the "exercise limitations", i.e. no stairs for 2-4 more weeks. 5. Since we have discontinued the rimadyl, he doesn't feel we need to do bloodwork; so no needles for Buddy today! 6. He has gained a couple of pounds!! 7. I asked him about acupuncture, he said definitely pursue it, it can be very helpful. We are going there NEXT Thursday. and, the icing on the cake, 8. NO CHARGE for today's visit! All in all, a great visit! I took the big guy to Petsmart afterward, and we bought some new treats. The chewy kind (Canine Carry Outs) that mean mommy never buys, but Buddy loves....He is now exhausted!

He ate his breakfast, too! Well, he didn't eat the FIRST breakfast I offered him...kibble with ground beef and some Nutro beef & rice chunks canned food....so I gave him a bowl of kibble with Chicken Soup canned food on it, and he liked that better! Talk about finicky! At least he ate, that's all I care about....

He really checks EVERYTHING we give him out of our hands. If he finds a pill, then he tucks his tail and it is really more traumatic on him than simply shoving them down his throat. So that's what we do. Put the pills in a ball of cream cheese, roll in parmesan for easy handling. That way, he doesn't have the actual pill stuck in his throat, melting and tasting bad. Anyway....the vet tech FINALLY called back around 5:30 yesterday (the doctor wasn't in). She told me to STOP the rimadyl. In the meantime I had gotten a pepcid into him about an hour before I put his dinner down, fed him dinner, then gave him the tramadol and gabapentin. And the good news is, with only THREE pills to give him, I can get them ALL in one cheese ball, so only have to shove ONE thing down his throat! He was fine...did not vomit, even begged while we ate dinner! That's my boy!! The technician did recommend getting him checked over. Our regular vet is out of town this week, and Buddy was supposed to go for blood work on Monday (23rd) there....the tech suggested I bring him to them TODAY, and they might even do the blood work then, which would save me a trip to the regular vet. DH and I talked it over and that's what we're going to do....take him to the neurologist today, have him rechecked, hopefully just get the blood work done then--although I question if he really needs the blood work now, since we are discontinuing the rimadyl....will talk to the doc about that today. Just let me say...I do not know how some of you deal with really, really serious illness (such as osteo) in your dogs. This has been so hard for me. Those of you who've been through much worse certainly have my undying admiration. And many, many thanks to all of you for your continued support and suggestions!!

Darn. It's always something, isn't it? I hope he feels better soon, and leaves the boo-boo alone!

FIngers tentatively crossed here, for Beau and the z/d food....

Yes, I agree! He was doing SO WELL, his appetite was wonderful, and now this. I just hope maybe taking the rimadyl out will help, if they say to do that, and I'm going to get some pepcid, too. I just hate the thought of shoving yet another pill down his throat. He "checks" every tidbit I give him for pills now. This morning he wouldn't even eat his post-pill pieces of chicken.

No, he isn't getting anything like that. What would be the proper dosage? I do have a call in to the neurologist's office, as our regular vet is out of town this week. They talked about removing the rimadyl from his medication mix anyway, so maybe we will try that. Does tramadol upset the stomach, too? Anyone know? Most any of those meds *can* upset the stomach but rimadyl (or any NSAID) and antibiotics are the prime offenders. Procedure here when using those types of meds is: - Give 10mg famotidine (one regular-strength Pepcid) - Wait 30-40 minutes - Feed meal - Give other meds as soon as meal done That's assuming meds don't have to be given on an empty stomach; rimadyl, tramadol, and most antibiotics don't. I don't like to give Pepcid more than twice a day unless vet recommends more. You can ask vet about carafate. I prefer the Pepcid regime but needs/results vary with these meds. Good luck! Thanks for the information. Fortunately he is not on antibiotics anymore. I would much prefer to dose him on your suggested regimen, but sometimes it just isn't possible. My DH goes to work pretty early (7:00 usually, sometimes even earlier!), and I really need him here to help me. He opens Buddy's mouth while I put the pill-filled cream cheese ball back in his throat. I really cannot do it myself. So he generally gets his meds BEFORE he eats. Then he loses his appetite.... I think perhaps we will try giving him the pills AFTER he eats, in the evenings at least. I will have to give some thought to how to handle the morning pills. He is just not ready to eat as soon as he gets up, even when he isn't on meds.

No, he isn't getting anything like that. What would be the proper dosage? I do have a call in to the neurologist's office, as our regular vet is out of town this week. They talked about removing the rimadyl from his medication mix anyway, so maybe we will try that. Does tramadol upset the stomach, too? Anyone know?

Well, he just heaved up what he ate for breakfast. I think I will be calling the vet today to see about discontinuing something. Poor old guy. Did I mention how happy I am that I gave him tuna this morning?

Buddy was doing so well. He still is, basically; but his appetite seems to be lessening. He still needs to get some weight back on! I am wondering if it is one or more of his meds...he is taking rimadyl, tramadol, and gabapentin, and I notice that rimadyl and tramadol can both diminish the appetite.... I just wonder which one it is. He is going for blood work on Monday, to check his liver and kidney values. I am hoping we can discontinue the rimadyl. He's taken it without problems before, but only for maybe two weeks at a time. He's been on it since Jan. 31st this time.

Oh, Robin, I don't know how you are holding it together. You are obviously a VERY strong woman. Your dogs are so lucky that you are their mom. I get incredibly stressed when Buddy misses ONE meal (like he's been doing the past two days), since he lost 8 pounds....can't imagine how I would deal with what you are. You, your dh, and Beau will all be in my prayers. I hope you find an answer soon.

oops, you already tried the bread suggestion....

I just had a thought....the specialist (neurologist) suggested we get blood work after Buddy's been on the rimadyl for a couple of weeks....our usual vet will be out of town all next week....perhaps I could get the other clinic to do the blood work and urinalysis. Maybe if I get a really good feeling from them, my decision will be made...or if I do not get a good feeling, it would also be made. Will have to run this idea past the DH. This might be a good way to check out the other vet, and still assuage my guilt!

I guess bone spurs must not be very uncommon....Buddy has one, too, in the lumbosacral area.

No really "definitive" reasons, but I am thinking of switching vets. Here's my dilemma. Five years ago I started going to a vet who USED to be with a nearby clinic, but she opened her own clinic. She's a very quiet type, but I have always trusted her with my pets. Her clinic is further away (20-25 minutes). It is also not as nice of a facility as the clinic she left....it is clean inside, but the surroundings are not that great (the grounds). She and her husband (who incidentally is very strange) built it, so it's not really fancy.... She is the only vet there. She has ALWAYS been very accommodating, if one of my dogs is injured or needs to be seen, she will say "bring them right up"...she did this even while she was at the previous clinic. Her prices are considerably less than the previous clinic. However, since Buddy's recent bout of LS, I am thinking of switching. The reason is, the clinic that does all the vetting for our adoption group has WAY more experience with greyhounds. I was told that the vast majority of their practice IS greyhounds...and there are TWO doctors there, one of whom studied under Dr. Couto. This place is in the opposite direction than our present vet, about the same time to get there, but you can take an interstate to get there....present doctor is a two lane state route, and can be maddening if you get behind a slowpoke!! Not sure I would go to the second doctor as I'm told she's more of a surgeon, but the one who studied with Dr. C....that is very tempting! So is this a no-brainer?? In a way I feel bad, since I do like our present vet and she's always done right by our dogs and cat.....what do I do??

Buddy has been showing signs of weakness for probably a year, mostly reluctance to go UP stairs. We also noticed some toenail dragging while on walks. We atttributed it to him getting older (he was 12 on Jan. 31). Spencers_Greyt, the neurologist we went to agreed with us that the MRI wasn't really indicated; he was pretty sure it was LS, and he uses the MRI mostly as a means of positively diagnosing something with the thoughts of going straight to surgery....he knew we weren't really willing to put Buddy through back surgery at his age, and he agreed that the MRI would just be a big expense for something he was pretty sure was LS.

Thanks for the link, Carolyn....I didn't realize there was already a poll about this.

I would consider depo medrol injections as prescription drugs, for sure. The neurologist I took Buddy to said he has never done those, though....

As you may know, my 12 year old, Buddy, has been diagnosed with "lumbosacral disease/cauda equina". He is currently on tramadol, rimadyl, and gabapentin (Neurotin). After a week of this treatment, he is feeling MUCH better. I do, however, have an appointment later in the month to see a holistic vet, perhaps to do acupuncture and/or chiropractic. My DH thinks maybe we don't need to keep this appointment....so I thought I'd do an informal poll to see what you all, who have dealt with this disease, have tried, and what degree of success it has had. Please choose what you've tried, and then comment as to what has seemed to have helped the most for your dog. Thanks!!