Multiple Problems: Stiffness, Whimpering, Gurgling, Lethargic, Restle

[Guest greyhoundude]

This is a long one, so you may want to grab a cup of coffee or tea first...or pass on this one if you're not into length, multi-sympton posts...

 

My grey, Tom (he'll be 9 in July, and he's a large grey), is having several problems (see topic heading). They *seemed* to begin when he jumped into my Honda CRV seven weeks ago and began howling and favoring his left leg. He was in obvious pain, limped for a bit, then seemed to shake it off. The exact same thing happened a couple of weeks later, so no more jumping in the car for Tom. Since that time, he has shown signs of stiffness (but no chronic limp), but has yelped a couple of times since from simple activity in the back yard. I give him Deramaxx, which my vet OK'd, when he needs it. He's been to the vet twice in the last week. Both vet visits were on *good* days for Tom...days he was in no obvious pain. Between vet visits, however, his condition varied from good to miserable. On the last vet trip, X-rays were taken of his back, neck and rear left leg (leg appears to be OK)....all showing nothing glaringly wrong. Vet said that, for a greyhound of his age, his spine was one of the best-looking he's seen in terms of calcium deposits. A prescription of Methocarbamol, to be used only when the pain seemed very severe, was given to me. I have not used it yet. Blood work was also done, which looked fine. Urine looked good, prostate looked good, anal sac was good. Chiropractic work was recommended, and Tom has an appt next week for that.

 

Now, to add to all of this...and this is the way the last 4-5 days has gone...Tom seems to have some sort of stomach problem. Here's a typical day: Tom whimpers through the early morning hours, not able to get comfortable. I let him outside when he whimpers, but he usually doesn't leave the patio and wants back inside. His stomach gurgles and he's quite lethargic. He still has an appetite (except for this morning...he didn't touch his breakfast). He lays around most of the day looking quite miserable and lethargic, then, miraculously, in the late afternoon he perks up, we go for a brief walk (actually a trot, as he's moving quite well by this time of the day) and he seems to be fine until it's time to sleep. The pattern repeats. When he sleeps during the day, there's no whimpering....none. The whimpers begin around 3 AM.

 

Last night, around midnight, he vomited. I was surprised to see two Pepto-Bismol tablets, which I had given to him at 6 AM (!) still perfectly intact and undisolved. It looked like he tossed up the entire contents of his stomach. I don't *think* he's eaten anything he shouldn't have been eating...and the tummy-gurgling has been going on for days....I keep a pretty close eye on him...but I can't be entirely sure.

 

Now I'm wondering if the stiffness and the stomach problem are part of the same source. I know it's a lot of symptoms to be discussing and Tom's problem may simply be "old age."

 

Any thoughts are appreciated.

[Guest lauri]

I'm having issues with my almost 9 years old grey, Miles. Funny...years ago he hed the calcium deposit thing in his leg as well. It was pretty scary as we went through all the measures to be sure it wasn't cancer.

 

Miles has always had a bit of a tummy issue but nothing that has sent him to the vet.

 

YET...

 

Until Sunday. He's been eating sand and grass so I started 'looking' for stuff. He became kind of lethargic and weak at times , not eating at times and his gums went really pale last week. He'd seem fine for a while and then not fine. Weird! Testing galore revealed he's bleeding from the stomach - probably an ulcer or IBD. X-rays and ultrasounds ruled out masses or tumors.

 

One thng the vet did say on his first appointment was, "Well...he IS getting up there in age."

 

I guess if humans chemistries change as we get older, so can a dogs.

 

He's now on meds to help heal his tummy and a bland diet. He's actually eaten two days in a row now!

 

Good luck with your pup!

[Burpdog]

stomach problem

 

Deramaxx is very hard on the stomach. If you are giving it, stop and call your vet.

 

Do you have an alternative vet close? If you do not know, email me your city/state and I'll look for you Burpdog@msn.com

 

 

[Guest trevdog]

Pepto tabs are not good either. Maybe some carafate or even liquid pepto would be better.

[Guest MZH]

Gosh, I'm sorry Tom is so out of sorts. If he needs pain relief, the methocarbanol would be good to try as it does sound like a muscle problem. If he's in pain, that alone could be upsetting his stomach. So can Deramaxx, for sure.

 

If the methocarbanol doesn't work, you might have to go to an organ ultrasound to see if something is brewing that xrays can't see.

 

Has he been checked for tick-borne diseases? They can present with the oddest symptoms.

 

Thanks for posting about the undissolved Pepto tablets. I had read years ago that unchewed Pepto tablets don't dissolve in stomach acid and that they need to be chewed, but I haven't been able to verify that. I think you just did!

 

PS Tramadol works well for pain relief if the Robaxin doesn't do the trick.

[Jiffer]

Until I got to the part about xrays and the vet visit, I would have sworn you were talking about my Echo a month and a half ago. She hurt her back when she was body checked by Atlas and then later the same day, she slipped on the ice. (She's a month shy of her 10th birthday). She was favouring her rear left leg when she have an episode of pain, which included the greyhound scream of death and utter panic while trying to run on three legs.

She went on a low dose of prednisone daily for a week (7mg), then every other day (5mg) for two weeks and now she's back to normal.

[Guest greyhoundude]

Update: It seems that the Deramaxx may well have been causing Tom's stomach discomfort. The Deramaxx usage was discontinued and my vet recommended something called GastriCalm, which seems to be doing the trick! Last night Tom (and I!) got a full night's sleep for the first time this week. Hopefully, the stomach problem is behind us for the moment so we can concentrate on Tom's other ailment, which appears to be muscular-skeletal. He's heading to the chiropractor next week then on to acupuncture treatment. He has also been receiving glucosomine/chondroitin (in the form of JointMax) daily for some time now.

 

Thanks to all of you who took the time to read/respond/email with suggestions and concerns.

[CaliforniaGreys]

I'm glad Tom is doing at least a little better. The acupuncture should really help. Will keep him in our prayers for relief soon.