Accents Vet Update

[Guest ashfundir]

Weakness in hind quarters and loss of appetite, are stemming from spinal disc problems in two areas. MRI and surgery are an option or continue on Tramadol for awhile to see if his appetite improves with the lessening of pain. Wondered if anyone has had disc surgery for removal of part of the disc to lessen pain. Was it successful? Would you do it again? Are there anyother options? We would appreciate any imput in regards to this. Thanks!!

[Burpdog]

I would try acupuncture and chiropractic before surgery.

[Trudy]

I personally am not a fan of chiropractic care for back/neck problems when you don't know exactly what and where the problems are.

 

Tramadol is not a very strong pain reliever. Ryan is currently taking 225mg a day for his neck problem. I asked his vet yesterday if that could be the reason for him being able to move more now and he said "not likely, it isn't a very potent pain reliever"

 

Surgery on the spine is tricky - it's on the spine and very near to the cord. Nick the cord and you could have serious problems.

What are the disc problems that he has that would require partial removal?

MRIs for a dog are expensive, but it will show disc problems an pinpoint what and where they are if that isn't already known.

Have you talked with anybody about surgery? What was the surgeons thoughts? Sometime surgery won't really get you anything as the scar tissue that builds after the surgery will put you right back where you were - so you had the risk, rehab, recovery and expense to be no further than you were.

[Guest ashfundir]

I personally am not a fan of chiropractic care for back/neck problems when you don't know exactly what and where the problems are.

 

Tramadol is not a very strong pain reliever. Ryan is currently taking 225mg a day for his neck problem. I asked his vet yesterday if that could be the reason for him being able to move more now and he said "not likely, it isn't a very potent pain reliever"

 

Surgery on the spine is tricky - it's on the spine and very near to the cord. Nick the cord and you could have serious problems.

What are the disc problems that he has that would require partial removal?

MRIs for a dog are expensive, but it will show disc problems an pinpoint what and where they are if that isn't already known.

Have you talked with anybody about surgery? What was the surgeons thoughts? Sometime surgery won't really get you anything as the scar tissue that builds after the surgery will put you right back where you were - so you had the risk, rehab, recovery and expense to be no further than you were.

 

 

You mention Ryan is taking 225mg a day for his neck, what is his problem and 225mg of what? We are worried about success of surgery, since human back surgery is so questionable with success.

[Burpdog]

I personally am not a fan of chiropractic care for back/neck problems when you don't know exactly what and where the problems are.

 

Dog chiropractors (certified by the AVCA) are not at all like human chiropractors. It's a totally different approach and type of adjustment. My vets (who are certified) can tell when there is a serious problem or a fixable problem.

 

Many times they suggest an xray before proceeding, and sometimes when they notice a change, they ask me to get an xray.

 

Usually vets underdose tramadol which is probably why it appears not to work. On a large dog, 100mg every 4 hours is not a big dose.

 

I believe Trudy said tramadol is what Ryan is on

[Guest boondog]

Hi. I remember you and Accent from a meet and greet at Petsmart in Columbus many months ago. I have thought about him often. I'm so glad you're here, even if it is under unfortunate circumstances. Have you had a tick borne disease (TBD) panel run?

[Trudy]

Yes, Ryan is on 225mg of Tramadol.

My understanding is 400 mg is the max dose, though I've had our vet and neurologist say what they said was the max dose.

 

He's also on gabapentin to help block pain receptors in his brain and muscle relaxants.

A chiropractor was an option for ryan given to us - but not to help his pain, only to help him move his neck. We passed on that option and he's moving his neck now more on his own.

 

Ryan's problem - nobody has seen what his MRI is showing. So we don't know. He likely has blood clots or pieces of tumor in his venous sinuses. Nobody knows how they got there and what caused them to begin with. Surgery isn't an option now, even if they are pieces of tumor. And since oral steroids caused a bleeding ulcer, we can't do much for him. On the bright side, his pain seems to be more controlled now and his range of motion is improving. His MRI results and some of the images have been sent to people around the country and they all say the same "weird, never seen that before, no idea what it is or why it is there."

The only thing to help is if it goes away on its own. Which still leaves us the question of what caused it and how do we prevent it from happening again. Our task is his pain management and we seem to finally be making headway in that dept.

If surgery were an option for Ryan, it would be a very difficult decision because they don't know what they'd be trying to remove and what his prognosis would be after surgery. But none of the neurosurgeons at the hospital are willing to touch him and several others consulted agree that this is a nature takes its course.

 

 

If you do surgery, I'd make sure you have a surgeon that has done this many times before and can tell you what they think are the outcomes for his case. Ask your surgeon - if this was your dog, what would you do? How risky is surgery in the area he needs it. Would both discs need to be fixed and can that be done at the same time. What other options do you have besides surgery.

 

 

If Ryan's neck problem was a disc problem, we'd probably do the surgery to fix the disc. But it isn't a herniated or ruptured disc pressing on his cord, it's clots or pieces of tumor that can't be removed surgically.

 

 

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask for other surgeons to talk to about it or bring him for another opinion if they are only pushing surgery. This is your dog and you need to be comfortable with the option you provide for him.

[Guest ashfundir]

Hi. I remember you and Accent from a meet and greet at Petsmart in Columbus many months ago. I have thought about him often. I'm so glad you're here, even if it is under unfortunate circumstances. Have you had a tick borne disease (TBD) panel run?

 

 

Glad to hear from you. We have had numerous blood work done and tick tests. Yesterday's trip was to Med-Vet in Cols. Our local vet. is welling to work on pain medications to help. The fact there were 2 areas of disc problems seems to be a concern to him. So for the time being we'll try the medication. He wants to use some predisome(spelling?) to start with along with the Tramadol. Hope this helps.

[Guest lizmego]

I personally am not a fan of chiropractic care for back/neck problems when you don't know exactly what and where the problems are.

 

Dog chiropractors (certified by the AVCA) are not at all like human chiropractors. It's a totally different approach and type of adjustment. My vets (who are certified) can tell when there is a serious problem or a fixable problem.

 

Many times they suggest an xray before proceeding, and sometimes when they notice a change, they ask me to get an xray.

 

Usually vets underdose tramadol which is probably why it appears not to work. On a large dog, 100mg every 4 hours is not a big dose.

 

I believe Trudy said tramadol is what Ryan is on

I second going to see a chiropractic/acupuncturist vet. Effee, then aged 9, had difficulty getting up and down, as well as stopped shaking her body and limping a bit. I've told this story on other posts, but our traditional vet wanted to take x-rays although they did say that it probably wouldn't show what was the matter. So we got a Rx of Rimadyl. Then we took her to a chirorpactic vet. A couple of adjustments on Effee with the vet showing me how Effee could not move her neck to the left. Its something I had never noticed before, Effee just learned to live without turning her neck to the left. We also had acupuncture done. We went back about every 2 weeks for 3 months and then every month for 3 more months and now we go when I see Effee losing strength in her right hind leg (neck is all better, although she still has "warm spots" on her back, which indicate inflammation). Dr. Pat just stated that Effee's stiffness probably stemmed from a racing industry and then it just compounded on itself and manifested itself by limping and the lack of movement in her head. Effee is now 11 and I think is even more healthy than she was when we adopted her at age 5.

 

I will state that our chiropractic vet is wonderful, however I have seen a chiropractor give adjustments at a greyhound event and it looked really bad. The chiropractor was picking up the dog by its front legs and pulling on him which looked uncomfortable for the dog and dangerous in terms of how he was pulling on the legs, not to mention the dog placing a lot of weight on to his back and hind legs since his front legs were off the ground. Dr. Pat is incredibly gentle. She is also trained in Eastern Chinese medicine but is also a licensed vet, altho' does not do surgeries or dentals. So I would definitely get a recommendation for a chiropractic vet in your area.

 

Here's the link to find a Chiropractic Vet in your area http://www.avcadoctors.com/search_for_avca...fied_doctor.htm

Edited October 11, 2007 by lizmego

[Newgreymom]

I also agree with Chiropractics! We have had huge success with it with our Greys and our Dalmatian...I would start with the least invasive and go from there. Just a thought...

[Guest boondog]

Hi, again. Ashfundir, I'd like to ask you about something. Don't worry, it's good! You don't have enough posts for me to send you a message through greytalk. Could you please email me at dzielawa @ hotmail.com (take out the spaces)? Thanks!!!

 

 

Julie