Acupuncture Virgin

[3DogNite]

My Darbee-doo just had her first acupuncture treatment.

She is 14+years old and has been showing too many signs of LS for me to ignore. so,, without any references, off we go ~

 

she did ok,, there were about 12 needles. Darbee didn't relax right away like I expected her too. Eventually she did lay down, This treatment was done in a Vet office, so it's no wonder that she was a bit nervous. do you think I will being seeing different behavior right away from this treatment? will she be really sleepy, thirsty, hungry,, stiff and sore? The vet said I could give her Tramadol (Darbee doesn't do well on Rimadyl) if I wanted too for her general old age aches and pains.

 

I'm sure she has some aches and pains,, but I don't know about general pill popping just because of age? or maybe I should?????

This vet/acupuncturist is not my regular vet.. so maybe i should make a call for a consult with him. i feel a little conflicted about all of this, but know that she SHOULD feel better... if only they could speak human and tell us exactly what's happening

 

I gave the vet/acupuncturist Dr. Stacks LSS article. I really want Darbee to have the Demro-medrol shot. But the gal I saw wasn't at all willing to do that with out first doing all kinds of other tests, including x-rays and she mentioned an MRI (i think)

 

sorry to ramble, but I just know there are a bunch of you out there that will put me at ease about the acupuncture treatment,,

at least that's what i'm hoping

Thank you!!!

 

[CaliforniaGreys]

I've only had 2 of my dogs get acupuncture. Usually you won't see improvement after the first session, but will after the 2nd or 3rd.

It was a big help for both my boys and hopefully will help your girl

[brandimom]

I believe 100% in acupuncture and chiro. My 8 year old grey has been going for 4 years on a monthly basis. She is on Pred every other day and when we did a complete blood panel recently her liver and creatine were within the normal range. We expected to see elevations due to the Pred. When I asked the holistic vet about it he said since she has been getting treatments it keeps her meridians in line. My bridge baby had renal failure and also received acu and I really believe it kept her alive for more years than we expected. I think all dogs react differently. My two greys never lay down when they have the needles in them. Once we get them back in the car to go home they are very relaxed. I also think the acu helps my grey that has a weak back and weak legs which is why she is on pred. Give it some time. You can also PM if you want more infor.

[Guest greytfulhounds]

My Joanie had LS. My vet is a holistic as well as conventional vet so she is experienced in acupuncture. I started out taking Joanie every two weeks for acupuncture......she would always lay down & relax by the end of the visit. I honestly did not see a huge improvement in the LS. My vet is very open to me bringing her information so I took all of Dr. Stack's information to her. She researched it & talked to a specialist and agreed to the shots. The first shot was a huge difference and Joanie did well for a about a month or so. We did a second round and I really did not see a good result. Sadly, Joanie was really declining & we could not keep weight on her and she eventually let us know that she had had enough.

 

However, I have had wonderful results with my Rhonda & acupuncture. Back in March her back end gave out on her......she is only 5 years old. X-rays showed that she has a narrowing between two of her cervical discs that caused the back end to give out. For the first week she was on Pred & another med. One week into treatment we started to drop the Pred dose & started electro-acupuncture.......each week we lowered the Pred until we got her completely off of all meds. She is still going for the acupuncture but she is doing so well that after this last treatment the vet does not want to see her again for 3 months. Thankfully, it has been a success. Rhonda never lays down during the 30 minute treatment but when I get her back in the car she lays down & it is very hard for me to get her out of the car because she is that relaxed.

 

Good luck to you & your baby with treating the LS.

[RobinM]

There is usually no noticable changes for at least 3-5 sessions and sometimes it gets worse before it gets better but it does usually get better!

[3DogNite]

Thank you! I re-read my post, and i sure sound like a nervous Nelly!

I have not heard about the could get worse before it gets better... I'll have to watch her ,,, so far she seems fine, but hungry and thirsty.

I have often wondered about a low dose of Pred. that could be an option for Darbee as well ~ i'll bring it up to my regular vet.

 

as always,, the information I learn here on GT is invaluable!

[Guest vahoundlover]

Boss had immediate improvement after his first needling. We were warned that we may not see any improvement and that he may get worse. He always started his appt standing but halfway thru he would lay down. He also took several different herbs, one of them was Body Sore, the chinese name I couldn't tell you. We started our appts every week then tapered them off slowly to every 4-6 wks as needed. We did this for two years. We honestly don't think Boss would have been with us for those two years without acupuncture. We tried the electro acupuncture twice. The first time Boss did really well. The second time it made him much worse and the vet felt horrible. It was a last ditch effort, we knew it wouldn't be long before Boss left us and we were desperate to do anything to have more time with him

[MandysMom]

Mandy has been seeing an acupuncturist for almost 4 years. It has been great. The original reason we started doing acupuncture was to help with back spasms that came from walking "off" due to undiagnosed corns. I noticed a little difference after the first visit and a significant difference after the fourth visit. We increased the time between visits and now go every 7 - 8 weeks (when we went over 8 weeks, she started having major back spasms). For the first three years, Mandy would stand and whine most of the visit. She would also shake off the needles at least once during the 20 - 25 minute session and the Doc would have to come back in and redo them. Since Mandy does everything on her own timetable, she is finally getting better about just sacking out for the entire session, which she's done the last couple of times. It is interesting -- when she's been having more debilitating spasms, the needles actually move around when they are first put in and then calm down and become still. Also, I watch her belly go from almost white to pink to red with the increased blood flow and she relaxes visibly as the blood starts moving.

 

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

[Guest LynnM]

In general, a dog will rest pretty well for the rest of the day, and you'll see the most improvement in the next day or so.

 

Also, they get good and relaxed... be ready for some BIG farts.

 

I have seen acupuncture work very well on both young, healthy dogs and the elderly.

 

Lynn

[IndyandHollyluv]

Acupuncture and chiropractic? Absolutely YES!!!

 

My regular vet does not offer either service. Don't feel conflicted or the need to consult with regular vet. Just more $$$. One of my hounds, Indy, needs to tour the room during the acupuncture session, so the vet (who is kind and awesome) just casually follows him. Sometimes Indy is up, then down, then up. Restless, not restless. Just depends. You just go with the dog's flow. It will be fine.

 

Hugs to Darbee.

[Guest gralover]

Perhaps you could talk with your regular vet about the Depo medrol-when my Markie was getting lamer in the hind end and falling, he was willing to try anything. We tried the Depo shot first, without any effect-so that seemed to rule out the LS diagnosis. I tried accupuncture with another vet with his ok-since she was one of the few around who did it-had several treatments, and he seemed to tolerate them well but we didn't see any changes with him so we stopped and then went for an ultrasound with our regular vet to try to find out what else might be going on-Markie was losing significant weight in addition to the hind leg issues. Wishing you and Dar-bee well and hope whatever you do it will help her! I'm impressed by her age-I had one grey that lived to 14 1/2.