Guest Angelwings Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 (edited) I have a 9 year old rescued greyhound. He is in pain and I have had him to the vet many times. Took xrays and nothing showed up. I had taken him in for acupuncture treatments and they seemed to help for a short time. He has been on pain pills which seem to take the edge off. He will go up and down the stairs. My one vet thought it could be degenitive disk disease in his neck from racing. If this is the case he would have to have scan imaging which is really expensive and than maybe expensive surgery. No one has said any thing about pulled neck muscle's. He has had this about four different times before and than I have taken him to vet and he was put on pain medicine and it went away but not this time, it's not going away. Any help would really be very much appreciated! Edited November 20, 2008 by Angelwings Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DebR Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Wish I could help. I'll keep him in my prayers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4My2Greys Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Wow your greyhounds problem sounds nearly identical to what I've been experiencing with Nadir. I even took him for accupuncture which did seem to help when he had a flare-up last year. Nadir's problem is in the lumbrosaccral portion of the spine. I finally bit the bullet and took him for a neurological exam which included X-rays MRI and a cerebrospinal fluid tap. Interestingly the costliest portion of the exam the MRI didn't reveal anything. I am now waiting on the results of the cf tap. They also drew blood to check for tick borne diseases another result I am still waiting on. Having your greyhound checked for tick borne diseases to rule this out. The test is fairly inexpensive usually less than 100.00 and treatment is a long course of the antibiotic doxycyclene(sp?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest meakah Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Have you seen different vets? If not...get a 2nd...3rd opinion. Is there a veterinary college in your area? I would try there as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozgirl2 Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Has the vet ever put your grey on steroids? My Cody had a bulgy disc (and we did do the very expensive MRI...) and was on prednisone for the rest of her life - helped tremendously along with the acupuncture (which we did monthly for the rest of her time). She lived 1.5 years after her back was hurt, died at 12 from something else. Quote Jeannine with Merlin, the crazed tabby cat and his sister, Jasmine, the brat-cat With Angel Cody(Roving Gemini), and Weenie the tortie waiting at the Bridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burpdog Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I had taken him in for acupuncture treatments and they seemed to help for a short time Did you follow up? Many times with a serious problem, you must continue the treatments. Is the acupuncture vet perhaps certified chiropractic (AVCA)? Sending prayers! Quote Diane & The Senior Gang Burpdog Biscuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grey14me Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 a muscle relaxer and an anti-inflammatory drug might help... Quote Michelle...forever missing her girls, Holly 5/22/99-9/13/10 and Bailey 8/1/93-7/11/05 Religion is the smile on a dog...Edie Brickell Wag more, bark less :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Angelwings Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Thanks for the replies. The one acupuncturist said he didn't like what he seen and the next time I seen his partner and he said he didn't see anything. The one vet said he thought it was authorities. I had called my Vet from Mi. where I adopted Morty from and he said they can develope dengenerative disk disease from racing in neck and lower back. Today I mailed his xrays to Dr. Feeny at the University of Mn. So I am hoping he can give me a diganoise's. He is suppose to be a expert at reading xrays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greyhound1 Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 More prayers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jerrybird Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Do you mean arthritis? I hope that you are able to get a diagnosis soon from Dr. Feeny that will help your boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytloves Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 What is he doing that makes you know he is in pain? Could it be deferred pain? Like a shoulder or even a leg? Do you know what angles of x rays they have taken and of what areas? I have heard of some people out here that have dealt with the lumbosacral stenosis and the degenerative disc. Not sure what the treatments would be for the first, but I think the other is NSAIDS and steriods and rest. I would look for a vet college in your area. Some are at least, lower cost with good care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Angelwings Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 He will yelp out in pain. I did send the xrays today to the University of Minnesota(vet college) for Dr. Feeny to read. I guess if he need more xrays he will let me know. Morty gets lot of rest. He's a very big boy and they ran the heck out of him at the track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytloves Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Guess I ddi not pick up the Univ of Minn was a vet college! The only thing I would caution for are the views. They tend to take pics of where we think it hurts and really study that and it may not even be there. These guys have a way of fooling us as to where it hurts. Wish they could talk! Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4My2Greys Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 He will yelp out in pain. I did send the xrays today to the University of Minnesota(vet college) for Dr. Feeny to read. I guess if he need more xrays he will let me know. Morty gets lot of rest. He's a very big boy and they ran the heck out of him at the track. As I said before and I repeat, you need to have tick titers run to check for tick borne diseases. They can and do affect the central nervous system. I have been having trouble with Nadir's back for over 2yrs now. I had x-rays taken at several different vets and they could never find anything. I took him for accupuncture to a vet who was also a qualified chiropractor at the beginning of this year, which did help for awhile, but the pain came back again recently so I took him to Auburn University Vet School for a full neurological exam. This alone was $1200 and that is not a complete bill. So far I have spent over $4000 between trying to find out what is wrong and treatments. The MRI and spinal tap showed nothing and it looks like things are pointing to a tick borne disease. This is something I could have found out and have had him treated for and cured a long time ago by have tick titers run in the first place. It could have saved him a lot of pain and me a lot of money. They may very well find something on Morty's x-rays but if they don't before you submit him to more x-rays and a very expensive MRI have him checked for the tickborne diseases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trudy Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 The only treatment so far is acupuncture and pain meds? And there are lots of pain meds out there, if the one he's on when it is a problem, isn't strong enough, try a different one or a combination (talk to your vet) If they think it could be a disc problem, they should try some steroids. 24 hours and he should have some relief from the steroids if it is a disc problem (not sure how it will help for degenerative disc problems). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 What Trudy said. And: He will go up and down the stairs. Don't let him. If he has signs of a neck/back issue, he should be on leash walks only, no stairs, no jumping up and down or in and out of anything. Quote Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in IllinoisWe miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Angelwings Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 He will yelp out in pain. I did send the xrays today to the University of Minnesota(vet college) for Dr. Feeny to read. I guess if he need more xrays he will let me know. Morty gets lot of rest. He's a very big boy and they ran the heck out of him at the track. As I said before and I repeat, you need to have tick titers run to check for tick borne diseases. They can and do affect the central nervous system. I have been having trouble with Nadir's back for over 2yrs now. I had x-rays taken at several different vets and they could never find anything. I took him for accupuncture to a vet who was also a qualified chiropractor at the beginning of this year, which did help for awhile, but the pain came back again recently so I took him to Auburn University Vet School for a full neurological exam. This alone was $1200 and that is not a complete bill. So far I have spent over $4000 between trying to find out what is wrong and treatments. The MRI and spinal tap showed nothing and it looks like things are pointing to a tick borne disease. This is something I could have found out and have had him treated for and cured a long time ago by have tick titers run in the first place. It could have saved him a lot of pain and me a lot of money. They may very well find something on Morty's x-rays but if they don't before you submit him to more x-rays and a very expensive MRI have him checked for the tickborne diseases. He will yelp out in pain. I did send the xrays today to the University of Minnesota(vet college) for Dr. Feeny to read. I guess if he need more xrays he will let me know. Morty gets lot of rest. He's a very big boy and they ran the heck out of him at the track. As I said before and I repeat, you need to have tick titers run to check for tick borne diseases. They can and do affect the central nervous system. I have been having trouble with Nadir's back for over 2yrs now. I had x-rays taken at several different vets and they could never find anything. I took him for accupuncture to a vet who was also a qualified chiropractor at the beginning of this year, which did help for awhile, but the pain came back again recently so I took him to Auburn University Vet School for a full neurological exam. This alone was $1200 and that is not a complete bill. So far I have spent over $4000 between trying to find out what is wrong and treatments. The MRI and spinal tap showed nothing and it looks like things are pointing to a tick borne disease. This is something I could have found out and have had him treated for and cured a long time ago by have tick titers run in the first place. It could have saved him a lot of pain and me a lot of money. They may very well find something on Morty's x-rays but if they don't before you submit him to more x-rays and a very expensive MRI have him checked for the tickborne diseases. If Dr. Feeny does not find anything on the xray, I will have him checked for the tick borne diseases. We do live in a high lyme disease area. Good luck with your dog! Oh how I hate to see animals in pain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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