How Do You Know If It's A Disc Problem?

[Guest lynne893]

Hi again,

I've read a lot of posts this morning about disc problems, but am still uncertain what the symptoms would be.

 

Timber's had a limp in her front left (and weakness, wobblyness in her back left leg) for a while, managed pretty well by Deramaxx, but in the last month or so, she really hesitates to put any weight on the front left-- holds paw up when standing still.

 

Got an ulcer from pain meds, went in for xrays and medicines on Friday, came home MUCH worse for the wear. I don't know if she is worse because she's off the Deramaxx (maybe the Tramadol isn't working yet?), or because of the lifting and shifting her for the xrays and examination. (I found bruises on her stomach/side and under her front left arm when we got her home.)

 

But the past 48 hours, she's had more hind-end weakness, her front right leg is like a club-- practically useless and she's in obvious discomfort, and she's walking VERY slowly with her head down.

 

NEW symptom I noticed yesterday-- if you gently (gently!!) touch or stroke her along the left side of her back/spine, she spasms and pulls away. It's like there's a sensitive area along the spine on the same side of the body of her other pain. We've never noticed this before.

 

What are the symptoms of a herniated, compressed, torn, injured, etc., disc? Could this be what's caused her limp and her weakness all this time?

 

How does a dog GET a disc problem? (Is it hereditary, or caused by an injury?)

 

She used to jump up into our bed when we went to work, I'm wondering if maybe she jumped down and injured something.

 

I'm at a loss! We'll let her rest up today and take her back in to the vet tomorrow.... I just want to get the pain under control so she can go back to her normal life (she's only 9 1/2 years old!)!

 

Thank you...

[msjpk]

I am not sure if Lou has DDD but I am suspecting that. Xrays tomorrow to confirm.

However, if your baby is in pain, call vet and get something that will work for pain.

Lou"s head hangs down and he yelps in pain and cannot find a comfortable position to lay in.

He is on short walks, no stairs and I have him dexamethasone and muscle relaxer.

He has had a good past couple of days.

 

[Greys4Us]

We are dealing with a compressed disc problem currently with our lurcher Otto. Otto loves to walk and last week came back from a long walk hesitant to come up the basement stairs. He started panting and standing still a lot. That was followed by pacing and panting and whining. This went on for a day and we thought that perhaps he had a blockage from eating fiberfill from a stuffie. We had just bought new stuffies for the dogs - Otto is our resident assassin of stuffies and he had his way with them.

 

A trip to the E-vet resulted in a tentative diagnosis of a lower back injury. When the E-vet lifted his tail to take his temperature, he screamed and nipped. We also got a trembling pain reaction from him when we massaged his inner thighs. We took him to our regular vet for x-rays and those revealed the disc problem. This may have been going on for awhile because Otto has slowed down a lot this winter.

 

Currently, he is on tramadol and rimadyl twice a day and Gabapentin once a day, all for pain. He's on total crate rest for at least two weeks and we hope this helps as we surely do not want to face surgery with him.

 

Here are the symptoms we noted: panting and pacing constantly, standing still, reluctance to lie down, whining, trying to recline or lie down without success, difficulty doing stairs (he used to bound up them).

 

There may be other symptoms relating to a compressed disc that Otto is not exhibiting, but hope this at least helps.

 

I also think you might want to look into an MRI. We've had similar problems with other dogs that only an MRI will diagnose. Good luck!

 

 

 

[Batmom]

Ask your vet about continuing the Deramaxx (unless your pup was having a bad reaction to it). It can be given along with Tramadol. Tramadol is a pain killer; Deramaxx is an antiinflammatory. She may well need both for a time.

 

Wish I had something more helpful to offer. Sending hugs and prayers.

[Guest lynne893]

Thank you all, again, for your comfort, knowledge and support.

 

We're going to get in touch with the vet tomorrow to see if they want her to come in again (honestly, just getting her in the car to the vet would be a near-impossible feat!). We might just be able to do a phone consultation and see if she can rest up some more before shuttling her in for more tests.

 

I'll keep ya'll posted!

 

Meanwhile, anyone else have advice/symptoms to share about disc problems?

 

Thank you!

[Guest gr8hound47]

Hi again,

I've read a lot of posts this morning about disc problems, but am still uncertain what the symptoms would be.

 

Timber's had a limp in her front left (and weakness, wobblyness in her back left leg) for a while, managed pretty well by Deramaxx, but in the last month or so, she really hesitates to put any weight on the front left-- holds paw up when standing still.

 

Got an ulcer from pain meds, went in for xrays and medicines on Friday, came home MUCH worse for the wear. I don't know if she is worse because she's off the Deramaxx (maybe the Tramadol isn't working yet?), or because of the lifting and shifting her for the xrays and examination. (I found bruises on her stomach/side and under her front left arm when we got her home.)

 

But the past 48 hours, she's had more hind-end weakness, her front right leg is like a club-- practically useless and she's in obvious discomfort, and she's walking VERY slowly with her head down.

 

NEW symptom I noticed yesterday-- if you gently (gently!!) touch or stroke her along the left side of her back/spine, she spasms and pulls away. It's like there's a sensitive area along the spine on the same side of the body of her other pain. We've never noticed this before.

 

What are the symptoms of a herniated, compressed, torn, injured, etc., disc? Could this be what's caused her limp and her weakness all this time?

 

How does a dog GET a disc problem? (Is it hereditary, or caused by an injury?)

 

She used to jump up into our bed when we went to work, I'm wondering if maybe she jumped down and injured something.

 

I'm at a loss! We'll let her rest up today and take her back in to the vet tomorrow.... I just want to get the pain under control so she can go back to her normal life (she's only 9 1/2 years old!)!

 

Thank you...

 

Hi Lynne,

Our 3 year old grey was just diagnosed with Degenerative disk disease about 3 weeks ago. He had gotten infected anal glands and kept crying out when he would lay down so we thought that what it was. Took him to the vet to have his surgery to his anal glands and told the vet about his crying out. So he did x-rays and neuro exam and was diagnosed with DDD. Our boy would hang his head and arch his back when he was walking, slowing going up stairs. We tried Rimadyl for him did not work, switched him to Tramadol and Prednisone and he is much better. Our vet did say it could have been from an injury, hereditary, he also said when they run full out, their necks take a lot of beating from the up and down motion. I know our vet said to check and see if he has the capabiltiy to back up, that if they can't do they it can be a sign of that disk getting worse. We did notice when he was having his most pain, he could not do that well. But now that he is better he can back up with no problem. Good luck with you baby. Keep us informed of how she is doing.

Cindy

[Guest lynne893]

Thank you, Cindy, for your personal experience.

 

Timber was in to see the vet again today and he is perplexed. He said it might be disc related, and gave her a shot of Dexamethasone (6mg) and 1 unit vitamin B12. She regained some stability today and regained her appetite after that.

 

We're taking her in to a specialist tomorrow morning. Probably for MRI.

 

I'm really exhausted and scared.... I love this dog so much, like we all do. I just hope there's a relatively simple solution and that we can keep her quality of life up and pain under control....

[Guest gr8hound47]

Good luck Lynne tomorrow with the MRI. Sending good thoughts for you baby tomorrow.

Cindy

[Guest lynne893]

Hi again,

Quick update. Timber got a shot of Dexamethasone at the vet yesterday, which helped give her strength and appetite and even seemed to block a lot of the pain and discomfort.

 

In to see the specialist today who first wanted to take a coagulation blood panel to see if she has any kind of clotting disorder (she's had big bruises) before proceeding to order MRI or other tests/scans. He doesn't seem to think it's a disc thing, so far. He's thinking orthopedic or neurologic issues.

 

She was fine this morning, as fine as she could be in these circumstances, and I was feeling really good about that steroid. I went to work, came home, and learn from my husband that she got up on our bed twice today (which of course means she had to jump back down off it on to our wood floors) --- just about the WORST thing that could happen to a dog with disc problems or orthopedic problems, right?! I could kill him for letting her up there, and I'd even warned him that, feeling better from the steroid shot, she might try... and he let it happen. And of course, tonight her limp is really bad again.

 

Thanks for your concern. I'll keep ya posted.