Knuckling And Tripping Again

[Guest ss556]

Alan started taking Traumeel tablets 2 weeks ago and it wasn't long after that- that I could see he was no longer in bad pain. He also started acupuncture 2 weeks ago (2 treatments) and he was like a young grey again! He walked better, always trotts & runs better than he walks anyway. Well I guess the neurological disorder is back, 6 days after his last acupuncture. I'm heart broken. Today was a little worse than yesterday. He gets his next acupuncture treatment next Tuesday. I won't go through MRI's, scans, surgeries etc. so I don't see the point of a neurologist. Can anyone share neurological diseases their greys have or had?

[Xan]

I don't have any experience, but wanted to offer a hug and a bump.

 

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[CaliforniaGreys]

No experience here either, but wanted to offer prayers for Alan

[Guest Snowy8]

Awwww Alan... I don't have any experience with this...but I have experience with prayers for healing!

[Guest ss556]

Well thank you for the prayers, I appreciate them. I would like to hear from GT'rs who are dealing with rear leg weakness, what they have done for it, meds, etc. I already bought a harness "just in case" and I sure hope I dont' have to use it too soon.

[RobinM]

I would call dr. Donato and let her know. Sending prayers.

[Guest Snowy8]

I'm bumping this so it can stay where people will notice it...

 

[Cully]

No help but Allie is sending :kiss2 :bighug

 

 

[Guest vahoundlover]

Other than calling your vet and the acupuncture vet, I don't know what to say. You could ask the acupuncture vet about Hindquarter Weakness tea pills,Boss takes 14 a day... it also comes in a powder (Boss didn't like it).

 

Sending lots of prayers.

[Guest argolola]

I will pray too.

[Fiona3]

Hobbes had neurological problems last summer that began with weakness in his legs and severe knuckling. Our vet treated him with Prednisone for the inflammation and that really caused vast improvement. At 13 he still had wobbly legs but the knuckling disappeared. We could monitor the amount of the daily dose by watching for signs of knuckling. He started out with 40 mg. a day, then was reduced to 35, 30, then 25. He seemed to do the best at 30 mg. per day.

 

I don't know if your vet has tried addressing any inflammation with a steroid but in our case it worked. Best of luck with Alan. I know how hard it is to watch them walking and moving around with the knuckling. Please let me know if I can provide more information and keep me posted. Hugs to Alan.

[Guest ss556]

Unfortunately for Alan, he cannot take steriods as he has kidney disease. I will have to speak to the holistic vet and see what she says. Maybe she can give Alan something that may help him. His knuckling comes and goes, but it gets more frequent after he's been walking for a while. He can still trott and run a lttle though.

[Guest HersheysMom]

Poor Alan! I realy wish you had a good chiropractor there that didn't have prices through the roof. I'd continue the acupuncture. Hershey only knuckles rarely now but it is when he is going slowly. He can also trot and run no problem.

 

Feel better soon Alan

Edited May 15, 2008 by HersheysMom

[Burpdog]

Tootsie has good days and bad days She gets adjusted once a week now. If the vet didn't come to the house, it would be very rough.

 

So yes, they have days where the knuckling is worse than others. Seems to go with the weather too--rainy days are rough.

 

Sending lots of prayers.

[Guest Carla]

Susan,

 

Sending white light and positive thoughts to you and Alan.

 

Hugs,

 

Carla

[Batmom]

I honestly would talk to a neurologist and consider at least an MRI or CAT scan to try to pinpoint his problem. Right now, you don't know what his problem is, so any acupuncture, chiropractic, etc. is a shot in the dark. Without knowing where/what is going on, something like chiropractic could make him worse rather than better.

 

Sending big hugs.

[AngelWhispers]

Patsie, 12 yrs old had severe knuckling and weakness. I had a full set of x-rays done and we found a severe compression of the C7and T1 vertebrae. The vet was a little surprised because thats not normally where greys get neck problems and/or back problems. Patsie does great with metacam as needed and her knuckling and weakness are only periodic now, and it's usually after she's been out running and playing with "her boys".

If you haven't run tests or had a full set of spinal x-rays done, I wouldn't assume that the knuckling and weakness are caused from a neuro problem.

[Guest ss556]

I had a set of xrays done last week (he was not put "under"). My vets were going to a meeting w/ the xrays to let the radiologist interpret them. The holistic vet saw them and said he has some arthritis and narrowing of some discs. So far, no one said it's horrendous. I am putting a call in to my vet today to see the radiologists comments. And thanks, Diane and AngelWhispers - it does seem to come and go - of course I will continue to watch him.

[patricia]

Sending my many prayers and gentle hugs.

[kudzu]

So many things share the same or very similar symptoms. Sometimes a neurologist can at least give you an idea of what may be going on without MRIs, etc. Depends on the neurologist though. Had a GP vet say my dog's hind end problems were from hip dysplasia. Orthopedist felt it was neurological with ideas that it was spinal based on something seen on the xrays. Neurologist felt it could be from discs or a lower motor neuron disease. Only an MRI would tell us. I put the MRI idea on hold for monetary reasons. We chose conservative therapy for a month which was NSAID & leash walks only. He continued to worsen so switch to pred which made things even worse. Then he seemed to improve a bit, at least outwardly. However, neuro found possible probs in front legs & felt improvements were from my dog learning to compensate for his neurological deficits. This dog was younger, 7 yo, & eventually a number of tests were run. Special handling with anesthesia was needed because of his renal insufficiency. End result was that he had a lower motor neuron disease & not disc problems. This was the initial suspicion of the neuro all along. All the tests just confirmed the diagnosis & let me know I had not missed something treatable. (It also sucked up all my available credit taking years to pay off.)

 

Along the way LS was a suspicion & degenerative myelopathy was an early rule out. Blood work was done to look for Cushing's, Addison's, thyroid, parathyroid, diabetes etc. & so on. It is interesting to note that a neurologist at UFL felt it could be linked to his renal failure or at the very least the CRF contributed to the problem. Human renal failure patients frequently develop a form of polyneuropathy. (My guy's LMND was also a polyneuropathy.) If CRF contributes to hyperparathyroid then that only makes it worse. I am not saying that is what is going on with Alan. Just mentioning it since what was a suspected culprit for my big guy who, btw, was some sort of shaggy, sighthoundish looking mix but not a GH.

 

Tramadol for pain management is safe for dogs with CRF. Gabapentin for nerve pain may be a possibility. In your place I would inquire about it. What about Adequan injections? Though this is an exceedingly rare case of it possibly causing renal problems there are many dogs & some cats with CRF that have used Adequan with success. What kind of antioxidants is Alan getting? They can benefit both renal failure & neurological problems.