Roo Has Lumbo Sacral Stenosis

[Guest WarmheartedPups]

Roo has been limping for about one month and getting worse. I took her to the Vets today and he said she had Lumbo Sacral Stenosis.

 

He is starting her on prednisone and limited activity.

 

He said on a scale of 1 to 10 ....Roo is a 3 at this point.

 

Basically he said she should not run any more....... She loves to run...LOVES TO RUN. and she probably shouldnt walk a mile every day....she LOVES TO WALK.....

 

Can anyone whos pup has this tell me about it......facts....treatment....your experience.

 

I am worried for Roo

[Wonder]

I'm sorry Linda

I was told the same thing about Sparks back in Feb. He's not taking any meds though. We don't do walks but he does love running in his new yard.

[ahicks51]

If your vet is not already familiar with the writings on LSS by Dr. Stack, they should be introduced to her tenets:

 

www.greyhound-data.com/dir/397/Lumbosacral_Stenosis.pdf

 

As a side-note, as LSS is an arthritic disease, the stem cell modalities used for managing hip and knee damage (mechanical injury as well as arthritis) *might* find some utility in managing LSS. I called up the company that makes stem cells for this sort of thing, and they said they did not currently manage LSS with stem cells, but there are constantly new trials going on.

 

It would be fascinating to see if stem cells in the LS joint would improve outlook in the greyhound.

[RobinM]

I am so sorry to hear this. How old is Roo?

[Guest argolola]

I will pray for your precious baby.

[CaliforniaGreys]

No experience here, but we sure will keep Roo in our prayers

[Hubcitypam]

The depro shots did wonders for Rex. He went from not being able to get up off the couch to bounding up and down the stairs. Not one of the three vets that gave him the shots (the first being Dr. Herron) ever said that he shouldn't run or go for a long walk.

IMO it beat the heck out of being on pred with its side effects for years.

 

Older vets are more likely to try the depro shot. Kennelmom ahould chime in here in a minute....

[tamborine]

If your vet is not already familiar with the writings on LSS by Dr. Stack, they should be introduced to her tenets:

 

www.greyhound-data.com/dir/397/Lumbosacral_Stenosis.pdf

 

Here's a link to Dr. Stack's site: http://www.greythealth.com/

 

If you scroll down on the left, you'll find the above-mentioned article. She has lots of other good info, too.

 

My Tammy suffered from LSS, too. I brought Dr. Stack's article to my vet, and they tried it. Unfortunately, Tammy's case was too advanced (and she was almost 14). Good luck to you & Roo.

 

[Guest MorganKonaAlex]

My Morgan just had the Depo shot and unfortunately, it didn't help him. Being a 13 year old tripod, I don't really have to worry about running. ;-)

[Guest Spencers_Greyt]

I'm so sorry! My boy Spencer started going lame in his back legs and then he started knuckling his feet. The vet said it's one of 4 things, none of which can be accurately diagnosed without an MRI or a CT scan. Disc compression (herniated or bulging disc), Fibrocartilagenous Embolism (FCE), LS or a spinal cord tumor. He felt that Pred would help all but if it is a tumor then it's non-operable and malignant. So I have had Spencer on Pred for about a week now. The MRI is $3,000 and then if there's surgery thousands more. I'm praying the Pred works. I have also taken him to a holistic vet that is giving him accupuncture and some Chinese herbs. I have to say that I have seen more improvement with the accupuncture than with the Pred. Spencer is also totally incontinent from this spinal problem. I'm not sure how it happened because Spencer is the laziest Greyhound ever and never runs or jumps or anything plus I have a ramp for him to get in and out of the car just because I didn't want him to injure his back! So anyway, I'm sure the Pred will help your girl. You might consider accupuncture as an option. Oh and Spencer did get Depro shots which I didn't notice made a difference.

Edited October 12, 2008 by Spencers_Greyt

[Guest fargosmom]

Fargo had LS and we dealt with it successfully for years with a combination of either Rimadyl or Deramax (sp?) combined with Robaxin (sp?) which I believe is a muscle relaxant. I was able to get the robaxin from my human pharmacy cheaper than from the vet, for what it's worth. The combination kept him pain free and mobile for over 2 years, and he even managed to run laps in the back yard on occasion. In addition, I found a local chiropractor who treats dogs who gave him a combination of physical manipulation and laser therapy, which helped him a lot, and I learned how to massage his pressure points along his spine, which at least seemed to make him feel better . . . the whole package kept him going for quite a long time, and we were able to have decently-longish walkies for a good long while. Good luck to you and Roo - hope this helps.

Cheers -

Cynthia, Cosmo & Zuzu

[Devotion]

Linda.

 

Scooter was diagnosed with LS. the one thing that 2 vets told me though was to keep up his exercise which was a daily walk of about 1.5 to 2. miles. I don't know, but I took there advice and he did great until he got osteo 9 months later. I too, went with the shots. I did see an improvement but not the dramatic improvement I had hoped for. PLEASE pm me for any other info.

 

Keeping you and ROO in my thoughts.

 

PS I haven't been on in a while due to the hurricane so I hope everythings ok in your family. Hugs!!!!

[Guest BlackandBrindle]

Oh Linda

 

I have no advice but I wanted to let you know that Roo is in our thoughts and prayers.

[Guest LolasMom]

No advice, just lots and lots of love and well wishes for sweet baby Roo.

[VinnieAndRexsMom]

So sorry to read this news. I hope the vet can find a good treatment for Roo.

 

Hugs,

[Guest greytfulhounds]

My Joanie had LS and I printed out Dr. Stack's protocol for my vet. Thankfully, she is very willing to learn new things & she sought out advice from an ortho doctor regarding administering the shots and she gave Joanie the Depo Medrol shots. We also used acupuncture & some chinese herbs. I do believe the treatments helped Joanie. Never did my vet tell me she could not run or go for walks......Joanie was a lot older & slower but we were never told to limit any activity. IMHO, I would think that movement & not inactivity would help a condition like this?

 

Sending prayers & good thoughts to Roo!

[Burpdog]

Chiropractic and acupuncture have helped my guys. As my vet says "all old dogs have some degree of LS). I never limited their activity because they were advanced age and had issues. When they can't run with treatment, that's when you start to look at sending them off.

 

Sending prayers.

 

edited to add: many of mine have been on a low dose pred the last year or two of their life if needed.

Edited October 12, 2008 by Burpdog

[Guest KennelMom]

Our Caesar suffered from LS. The depo shots gave him a new lease on life for a while. When they quit working, tramadol managed the pain. When it seemed tramadol no longer worked, we said goodbye. I never limited his activity. If he wanted to run, he ran. The last year or so he had no interest in going on walks...a combination of his personality and his LS. But if he wanted to, I would have taken him on walks he could tolerate. It was pretty obvious to us when he was having pain or trouble.

[nyGreys]

Linda, I'm sorry. Roo will be in my thoughts & prayers.

Edited October 12, 2008 by nyGreys

[Guest WarmheartedPups]

Thanks for all the kind words and advice......so......

 

It sounds like I would like her to exercise and run and be normal........... with meds....she loves her walks and a short run....but any exercising makes her more lame.

 

I dont want to keep her in a cage with no walks etc......its what gives her joy.

 

So I will hope we can find a drug/drugs/therapy that works.

 

My heart hurts to see my Roo girl in pain......

 

She starts the Prednisone tomorrow....please say prayers that the meds work for her.

[Batmom]

Sending lots of prayers for your beautiful girlie.

[Guest greyt2love]

Praying for your Roo, and that you can find a protocol that works for her and lets her enjoy life.

[Guest GiJenn51]

Linda-- I have no experience with LS-- But I'm praying hard for Roo. So is Ruler.

[Guest caiteag]

My Quinnie was diagnosed at age 12 and lived for a couple of years with LS after that. Had he been diagnosed earlier, I believe we could have had longer with him.

 

1) Your vet was wrong about limiting exercise... you want to keep her moving. Take her for however long of walks she can handle. If she feels good enough to play, let her play.

 

2) Quinn had depo-medrol shots supported by additional pain meds when needed. That therapy worked well for him.

 

3) Quinn was on glucosamine and also Omega 3's for joint support and they also helped.

 

4) Keep her hind end warm through the winters.. the cold will affect her more and reduce her mobility. We used to warm towels in the oven and wrap them around Quinn's back end when he started to get too cold.. though his blanked generally did the job pretty well.

 

5) Watch her carefully with stairs and uneven ground.. make sure you get behind her when she is going up stairs, so you can help her if she needs it. You may need to eventually start limiting her access to stairs, but don't worry about that just yet.. for now just be there to support her on stairs if needed.

[greyhndz]

I've had 2 oldsters with LSS, both of whom lived quality lives until 14.5. My own Roo (Ruby) certainly had hind leg weakness, but not enough to keep him down. I did not impose any restrictions, but he did on himself, primarily by no longer jumping onto my bed. Robyn had more pronounced symptoms, including fecal incontinence, but continued to do everything she loved to do until her last 1-2 years, when she had to stop jumping in and out of the car, and actually stopped going for rides in the car because she didn't want me lifting her in. When she was falling and unable to stand, that was her signal that she'd had enough, but it took about 2-3 years to reach that point.

 

IMHO, limiting jumping up and down is important, but I'd never limit walking or running; these pups will pace themselves. The depomedrol injections, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, etc. -- all great options. I really believe in quality of life, especially for oldsters, and not allowing them to do what makes them happiest (as long as it's not a high-risk activity) is, for me, a top priority.