Advanced Lumbosacral Stenosis

[Guest caiteag]

Quinn was diagnosed with LS over 2 years ago now. We have been REALLY blessed that the depo-medrol shots have worked extremely well for him. The first year, he only had 2 sets of shots. Since then, the length of time between shots has gradually decreased.. 5 months to 4 months to 3 months and now 2 months.

 

Just after he had his shots 5 months ago, he started drinking excessively and having more urinary incontinence problems. We tried him on PPA and he didn't do well on it, so we took him off it right away. We also tested his kidney levels to make sure there wasn't a more serious problem. There was no sign of kidney trouble, thankfully. The urinary incontinence problems did slowly improve after that. His vet and I discussed the possibility that while he had never had side effects from the depo-medrol previously, the incontinence could be a new side effect. We made the decision to cut back his depo-medrol dosage a little bit on his shots 2 months ago to see if it would help with the incontinence. It did, but he hasn't had the same level of pain relief as he has gotten from previous dosages.

 

So when he gets his next shots tomorrow, we'll be back to the original dosage and we'll deal with any incontinence problems that crop up. We also discussed the fact that the higher dosage may not help as much anymore either. We know that the effectiveness of the depo-medrol can go down over time and usage. So we talked about what kind of pain support we can give him if the depo-medrol doesn't do the trick this time. She mentioned tramadol. I know a lot of people on here have used tramadol for a variety of purposes.. I was wondering if you could tell me about it.. has anyone used it for LS? Did it help? What kind of side effects could we be looking at?

 

I'm wanting to make the right choices for my old man. I want to make sure we maintain his quality of life and keep his pain under control.

[Burpdog]

I've used oral pred and occassionally tramadol for this. I've had the majority of them maintain on 10-20 mg per day which is a low dose.

[Guest caiteag]

I've used oral pred and occassionally tramadol for this. I've had the majority of them maintain on 10-20 mg per day which is a low dose.

 

Thanks Diane, I'll talk to her about both possibilities tomorrow.

[patricia]

Sending good thoughts and gentle hugs.

[Guest KennelMom]

Caesar was in the same situation as your boy...though he never had any side effects from the depo-medrol, they just eventually seemed to lose effectiveness. We eventually discontinued them and kept him on a maintenance dose of tramadol. I forget what we started him out on, but eventually we had to increase it and increase it to keep him pain free. Ultimately, the LS is what we lost him to. We had decided, with our vet, how much we were willing to give him and when he needed that much we concluded that we were basically drugging him into just existing...and that wasn't the quality of life we wanted for our boy. His LS was pretty bad.

 

It's tough.

[Guest caiteag]

Caesar was in the same situation as your boy...though he never had any side effects from the depo-medrol, they just eventually seemed to lose effectiveness. We eventually discontinued them and kept him on a maintenance dose of tramadol. I forget what we started him out on, but eventually we had to increase it and increase it to keep him pain free. Ultimately, the LS is what we lost him to. We had decided, with our vet, how much we were willing to give him and when he needed that much we concluded that we were basically drugging him into just existing...and that wasn't the quality of life we wanted for our boy. His LS was pretty bad.

 

It's tough.

 

We have known for some time that LS is most likely what we will lose Quinn to. We're going to try the dm shots one more time at least... but we've known all along that the day when the shots stopped working would probably come. It is hard, but I will do what is necessary to maintain his quality of life, and when we can't do that.. we will let him go. I don't want him just existing in some kind of drug induced stupor. He has too much pride and dignity for that.

[Guest PNWtrillium]

Sequoia had what was probably bone cancer eating away the top of her right femur. When Deramaxx didn't do the job any longer, she took 50 mg Tramadol twice a day. I didn't notice any negative side effects. Only that she was up and running again -- being a dog. It was only for a couple of weeks, though, until the bone gave out, so I can't say whether there might have been problems over time. (She was six.)

 

Big hugs to all of you and a noisy kiss to Quinn. What a sweet face. You've all been very lucky to have these last two years. My heart is with each of you.

[Guest minzenon]

Check with your vet to see if human sinus tablets (containing pseudoephedrin only) are safe to use with the medication he is on. I have had terrific results with it. Only had to use it for 4 days - One tablet morning and night. No side effects. Cheap and very effective. It works (on animals) on the central nervous system which in turn controls the bladder. You can use a longer course if need be and drop the dose back to one a day or even half. Shae didnt need too, he was fine after the second day but I kept him on for another 2 days. That was over 5 or so months ago and he has only had one other time where he has needed them for another 2 days.

[NancyB]

Sending good thoughts and prayers for Quinn

[Guest crazy4greys]

Have you taken him to get chiropractic adjustments and or acupuncture if there is a vet in your area? It does help.

 

My bridge boy Phoenix had LS and had an allergic reaction to the Tramadol. But my bridge girl Autumn was on Tramadol for her hip and narrowing of the disc spaces and it did help, but as her pain got worse, she was on 9 pills a day, 3 pills 3x a day.

 

[NevadasMom]

Nevada was on Tramadol for her back problems & it didn't work well for her. She gets very nervous on them, drinks excessively and leaks urine when she takes Tramadol.