I Need Some Advice

[Guest l_davison]

Hi: My Mag was just diagnosed with Caudia Equina, and multiple areas of degenerative spinal disease. She is 10 years old and I was told she was in stage 2. Back legs drag, she cannot go for a walk more than 5 minutes, the legs shake, and she is in obvious pain. We live in London Ontario and do not have the experienced greyhound vets that America has. They will not do the shots (forget the name) nor would I want them to attempt it if they are not experienced. The vets have put her on Meloxicam Oral Suspen (once a day) and Tramadol 50 Mg tabs twice a day. They told me it was just a matter of time. I was too hysterical to ask many questions at the vets office. What can I expect and how much longer do I have with my babe? They are concered with the Rapidity of Progression of Associated Neurological Dysfunction (typing this from the report they gave me.) Any advice and what to expect would help me so much. I know I have to prepare for the day I let her go, but I am so heart broken. She has been my life for 8 years and last year I experienced health problems so my buddy and I would go for an hour walk each evening. Now she can't even go 5 minutes. I never saw it coming and missed stage 1 altogether. All I do is walk around crying and I'm sure that is not good for my sensitve grey babe. Let me know what I can expect and when will I know when it is time to let her go. Thanks

[Guest BatesieGreys]

I don't know anything that could help, but I am thinking of you both. They have lots of different wheelchairs for dogs now. Maybe that could help her for a while.

[racindog]

Love will get you through this. Don't worry about "when." All any of us have is today so just enjoy and be grateful for today. She will probably help you through this more than you her. She will probably tell you everything you need to know at precisely the right time. They are so wise and their boundless love overcomes all. This is what has been my expereince. You both are in my prayers.

[Batmom]

Ah, just saw that they won't do the shots. Find a vet who will. Gotta be somebody. Might scout for a vet who sees a lot of sporting dogs -- they're usually used to giving Adequan injections and http://greythealth.com/lumbosacral.htm would be similar.

 

Hugs for you and your girlie.

Edited July 8, 2009 by Batmom

[Guest Energy11]

I don't know too much about this condition in dogs. With humans, is it usually a surgical procedure to relived the pressure on the nerves.

 

I would get in touch with Ohio State University, and Dr.Couto's team, for their thoughts, and see what is recommened. couto.1@osu.edu (Dr. Couto). Greyhound@cvm.osu.edu (Drs. Marin and Vilar). Good Luck!

[sweetdogs]

I agree with finding a vet that will do the shot. The link Batmom provided is written by a vet & says specifically that the shot does not go into the spine at all. There should be such a minimal risk & such a potential benefit that it is worth finding someone to do it.

 

Another thing you might look into is acupuncture. There are quite a few people here who have had success with it in their older, back-end weak hounds.

 

Don't be upset because you missed stage 1 - our hounds will hide as much pain & weakness as they can. Put your energy into finding a vet that can help your pup. (I know there are bunches of peeps in Canada & hopefully they'll chime in with some vet suggestions.)

 

Best wishes ( & ) to you & Mag - don't give up yet!

[Guest kydie]

Healing white light from Pa. You will know "when", don't worry about it everyday, one never knows when "time" is up for us either, I too think I would look in to accupuncture, to help the pain,

[Guest CaleenD]

I know there is a greyhound-experienced vet in Tillsonburg, ON at Ostrander Veterinary Clinic. I would give them a call (519-842-7845) and ask if anyone there has experience with this. It's worth a try.

 

Aside from looking for a new vet, just love the heck out of her. I can't imagine your pain at the moment, so I won't say that I know how you feel, but I wish you strength to get through this.

 

Keep us posted on how she's doing.

[sweetdogs]

Another thought, you may want to look into a harness to help her get around a little better. More for getting in & out of the house than for a long walk. I got this one for my old boy: assistance harness for greyhounds. Custom made & really fast shipping.

[IndyandHollyluv]

Oh gosh. I am so sorry. Hugs to you and Mag. My Indy, 11-1/2, has mild to moderate lumbosacral stenosis / disk protrusion. I started him on joint supplements a few years ago (Get Up and Go through Greyhound Gang). He had a MRI in Feb08 ($$$). Neurologist put him on Prednisone for three weeks but Indy did not respond well and was quite miserable. The vet then prescribed a three-drug cocktail, but after reading all the potential side effects I decided not to give him the meds. Currently, I give him Metacam and Tramadol as necessary.

 

In Nov08, I took Indy for his first acupuncture treatment. Wow. The treatments have been incredibly helpful. I cannot believe how much the acupuncture has helped Indy. Are there any vets near London who offer the service? Definitely worth a try. I live near Detroit and would gladly recommend my vet but I know that would be a long ride for your baby girl (if she can handle it?). Are their any such vets in Windsor?

 

My Holly, also 10, is having some back issues as well. I attribute much of the problem to jumping in and out of my little SUV. The downstroke is the culprit. So I finally purchased a ramp and they are just NOT interested - despite all the practice sessions. Sigh.

 

So I understand. If I had started them on a ramp years ago, their backs would probably be in better shape. By the way, our walks are quite short now but maintaining some muscle tone is also important.

 

I would absolutely try acupuncture being giving up. Meds will help reduce inflammation and reduce pain, but acupuncture works wonders.

 

Don't give up!

Edited July 8, 2009 by IndyandHollyluv

[Guest caiteag]

There are LOTS of greyhound experienced vets in southern ontario.. you just have to keep looking. My bridge angel Quinn had LS (Cauda Equina) and got the shots and did very well on them for a couple of years.

[Hubcitypam]

Dr. Stack has said search out an older vet to do the shots. Sometimes the younger ones have been biased against depro-medrol in vet school. FWIW They really helped my Rex.

Edited July 8, 2009 by Hubcitypam

[greyhead]

So sorry for the shock and pain this has brought you. Though we caught it earlier, acupuncture has done wonders keeping our large 8.5 y/o boy up and going. Sounds like finding someone to also give depo medrol shots is also necessary, so hang in there and find them. She needs to get up and moving to keep her muscles because that's what will maintain her quality of life and keep her with you as long as possible. (That's the advice we received from the acupuncture/chiropractic vet we see for this.)

 

We're a caring bunch on GT and we're here for you. (And you aren't even expected to follow all our advice without question!) Please keep us updated.

[kudzu]

Until you can find someone to give the shots, ask for a prescription for gabapentin. It can cause some problems with equilibrium for the first couple days as your body gets used to it but it can be a true godsend for treating nerve pain. It is used for dogs frequently & I take it myself for a form of stenosis. It will not treat the cauda equina but it can help significantly with the pain it causes.

 

Good wishes & hopes you can find some help.

Edited July 8, 2009 by kudzu

[HopeForHounds]

There are greyhound savvy vets around your area. Do you know Tina Kelly, TinasTroups? Her vet is great. I'll let her know about this thread.

[Guest TinasTroops]

Thanks Janet for sending me the link.

Louise I am very sorry your having to go through this alone and not having a vet able to help. Please feel free to email me off line and I will help you as much as I can.

 

In regards to Vets in Ontario there really is a number of realy good vets here and many are or have been in communication with Dr Couto of OSU over the years.

 

I have a list of complied vets in and around our areas for you to be able to choose and work with.

Added current Vet List (03/26/09)

 

Vet Info

 

Ostrander Veterinary Clinic Tillsonberg

http://www.ostrandervet.ca/

Phone: (519) 842-7845

Dr Julie Boutin

http://www.ostrandervet.ca/

 

Tansley Woods Veterinary Hospital Burlington

2025 William O'Connell Boulevard, Burlington, ON L7M 4E4

Telephone : 905-331-1870

http://members.burlingtondirect.info/1-905-331-1870/

 

Burgess Veterinary Emergency Clinic Burlington

1-775 Woodview Road, Burlington, ON L7N 3S1

Telephone : 905-637-8111 Free Call

Email : drburgess@bvec.com

Website :

www.bvec.com

 

St.Marys Veterinary Clinic St Marys

Dr. Larry Joosse

282 Jones Street W (POBox214)

St.Marys Ontario

519-284-3501

 

 

Staples Animal Hospital London

Dr. Staples

London

 

Hartzel Animal Hospital St Catherines

133 Hartzel Rd., St. Catharines

Ph: (905) 685-7349

http://members.londonontariodirect.info/1-519-472-9301/

Dr. Tracy Hobbs

 

 

Dr. Shawn Tucker Exeter

Thames Road Veterinary Clinic

74 Thames Road West

Exeter, Ontario

519-235-0001

http://www.ibegin.com/directory/ca/ontar....67-thames-rd-w/

 

Dr. Finnigan

Main west vet hospital

1 Broadway ave

Welland, Ontario

905-735-7877

http://www.profilecanada.com/companydeta....ital_Welland_ON

 

In addition to this, if the Adequan injections are what your vet is suggesting, I am not sure why it is all that difficult for them to want to admister.

 

My eldiest has been on Agequan injections for over 2 years, recomended by my Vet. I was taught how to adminster the injections myself and truthfully they are very simple. I buy a bottle every handful of months, keep it in the fridge and inject once a month if needed.

Unfortuntaly my Vet is in Caledon which would be a 2.5 hour trip for you from London.

I will ping Jiffer (Jen) on here too, she lives in London and has 4 greyhounds and knows many of the Vets in the London area.

Edited July 8, 2009 by TinasTroops

[Guest TinasTroops]

Here is some additional information for you as well,

 

http://www.pethealthcare.net/phclibrary/ca...%20equina_i.pdf

 

http://www.caudaequina.org/stories.html

 

http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/ortho/oj/1999/ht...j12sp99p73.html

 

http://www.videxgsd.com/CAUDAL_EQUINA_SYNDROME.htm

[Guest Greensleeves]

I just wanted to pop in and say that my vets are just a general small animal practice, not the "greyhound specialists" we're so often told are absolutely necessary... and they had never given the Depo-Medrol injections, either; but after other treatments gave Whistler no relief, they were willing to give them a try. I showed them Dr. Stack's article (linked above), and they consulted with other vets, and agreed. They keep the Depo-Medrol on hand because it's apparently commonly given to cats for something (?), and the dose recommended by Dr. Stack is much less than the standard kitty dose!

 

Whistler showed so much improvement, that it's now a standard procedure in their practice.

 

There are lots of options, as the other posters have pointed out. I think most of our LS babies eventually get taken down by something else entirely (for Whistler it was cancer), so do what you can to lessen her pain, improve her quality of life, adjust for the difficulties (put down rugs on slippery floors, know that incontinence--urinary and fecal--can happen, etc), and try not to worry too much.

[Guest DorasMom]

So Sorry to hear about what you and your pup are going through!

I don't know much about the specific situation you are in but I can second the recomendation for Dr. Julie Boutin at Ostrander Veterinary Clininc in Tillsonburg.

I bring all 6 of the greyhounds in my family to her . She is one awesome lady! Very knowledgable about the hounds and just a wonderful vet all around!! She'll take the time to listen to all of your concerns and answer you to the best of her abilities.

If above # is busy you can also reach the clinic at 519-842-6818.

[Jiffer]

I'm so sorry to read this.

 

I don't know if any of the above will do the injections, but a couple of other vets to try would be Dr. Hoover at Northdale Animal Hospital (Huron and Adelaide) he's been our vet for 5.5 years now), or if you're looking to seek alternative therapy (ie: Acupuncture, Chiropractic, and Chinese Medicine), Dr. Robertshaw on Spruce Street in Aylmer has been an absolute doll. Both of these vets are just fantastic guys and they just adore greyhounds.