Guest lgmaddox Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Greetings - I haven't been on this board for awhile so please bear with me. I know this has been a topic before. My hound, Grace, is about 14 yrs old. Old, I know. She started with symptoms of lumbar stenosis about 2 years ago, including fecal incontinence (my favorite symptom). We have tried Metacam, Rimadyl, Adequan (which did nothing), Ultram (she won't eat), accupuncture, and various supplements. A regular vet and a holistic vet. She has had two episodes of being agitated and unable to support herself. I'm about to try depo medrol injections. Does anyone have any experience with this, or with anything else that made a difference? I'm preparing myself for the beginning of the end, but want to try everything we can first. Any insight would help. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethGPAPS Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Isabella lived to be 15.5 and had LS for the last couple of years of her life. We also did the regular and holistic vet stuff and then tried depo medrol but it didn't really do anything for her. She eventually got to the point where she couldn't get up and I had to let her go. It's worth a try, though, because some dogs do have good results. My vet was not familiar with the usage so I printed out the Suzanne Stack article and brought it to him. Quote Rugrat's Rebel (Simon) 09/03/1995-03/22/2010, Silly Savannah 05/14/1995-02/13/2009, Isabella de Moreau the Sloughi 05/15/1993-10/14/2008, Hammy the IG 06/11/04 and ChiChi the Chihuahua 2003 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicocat Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Depo Medral has been helpful for many LS hounds. I pray it will be for your Grace. Quote Ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KennelMom Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Gave our boy Caesar a new lease on life for many months. Towards the end we had to use the shots and tramadol and finally the shots seemed to lose their effectiveness. But I think it's worth a try. I'd definitely try them again if I had an LS hound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lgmaddox Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Thanks, you guys. My vet said it's hit or miss re: what will work for a hound and what won't. I was rather disappointed with the Adequan, but will definitely try the depo. It can't hurt anything other than my checkbook. This is a frustrating diagnosis. I opted out of a lot of the holistic stuff, b/c as old as she is, I just want to slow the progression and keep her out of pain as long as possible. Gracie wouldn't tolerate water therapy, she'd just freak out, splash around a lot and then eventually poop in the water. Helpful. I do have Dr. Stack's article. I'll post a picture of her once I can load one up. She's my girl, my old stinky beast. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudzu Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Do give try the shots. Another suggestion if those do not help or help but not sufficiently is to try a combo of metacam & gabapentin. I have lumbar stenosis & arthritis. NSAIDS & gabapentin make a tremendous difference for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KennelMom Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Let us know how it works out for your pup. Our vet charged us $18 for the injection and no office visit fee. In the beginning (ours were the first hounds they'd ever tried it on), they did shave little squares of fur off at the injection site...so that looked a little funny. Otherwise, it only took a couple minutes of their time and I saw results in probably about 36 hours (if my memory is correct...it's been a few years) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandimom Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Thanks, you guys. My vet said it's hit or miss re: what will work for a hound and what won't. I was rather disappointed with the Adequan, but will definitely try the depo. It can't hurt anything other than my checkbook. This is a frustrating diagnosis. I opted out of a lot of the holistic stuff, b/c as old as she is, I just want to slow the progression and keep her out of pain as long as possible. Gracie wouldn't tolerate water therapy, she'd just freak out, splash around a lot and then eventually poop in the water. Helpful. I do have Dr. Stack's article. I'll post a picture of her once I can load one up. She's my girl, my old stinky beast. Thanks again. I know this is not a funny situation but I did have to laugh with the poop in the water. Took Brandi for PT long time ago and swimming was one of those and she liked to poop in the water too even with her life vest on. The lady who owned the pool asked us not to come back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubcitypam Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 The shots brought Rex a new lease on life. He went from struggling to get off the couch to coming up the steps with no problems. They were something like $65 and his lasted loner than most -- about 6 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bellenzo Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Enzo had the injections for about two years before I lost him to an unrelated disease. The first one only lasted a couple of months but the others kept him pain free for up to six months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lgmaddox Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Ok, we have an appointment for our first depo on 10/3. I will let you guys know how it goes. I swear she's worse when it rains. Or floods, as we're in Atlanta. Also - has anyone had experience with DogGonePain? My holistic vet recommended it - as it's a tad pricey I'd like to hear what you guys think first. As far as the poopin, yeah - she has an uncanny knack for pooping in totally inappropriate places, like the back seat of my car. Even after I've already pooped her before getting in. If she's nervous, she poops. One thing I WILL not miss, when this is all over (besides the vet bills) is dog poop. Tried to upload a picture, but it's too big of course. Old brindle with the skinny white face, big sad brown cow eyes. You get the picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fritofeet Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 I've done the DGP with Diesel, and it did help at first. If you go to their website, you can get a week's worth in samples. The thing that honestly seems to be working for my big guy is a glucosamine/myristol complex... myristin He has been on it since the beginning of the month, and he has zoomed around the yard, doesn't have a problem jumping up on the couch like he did, and generally seems like he is in less pain. That for me is priceless, as he is generally my Eeyore. This one they use for hip dysplasia, and people have told me glucosamine doesn't help LS, but I do see a huge difference in him. He eats his food, his ears are up, and he is generally under my feet again. He still won't go down the stairs, but that's ok. I do have some DGP leftover I can send you, and am about to re-order the Myristin, so if you want a sample of either-pm me and I can send you some. Hugs to your pupper... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonnaBehr Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Ok, we have an appointment for our first depo on 10/3. I will let you guys know how it goes. I swear she's worse when it rains. Or floods, as we're in Atlanta. Also - has anyone had experience with DogGonePain? My holistic vet recommended it - as it's a tad pricey I'd like to hear what you guys think first. As far as the poopin, yeah - she has an uncanny knack for pooping in totally inappropriate places, like the back seat of my car. Even after I've already pooped her before getting in. If she's nervous, she poops. One thing I WILL not miss, when this is all over (besides the vet bills) is dog poop. Tried to upload a picture, but it's too big of course. Old brindle with the skinny white face, big sad brown cow eyes. You get the picture. Please post the results, one way or the other, with the Depo shot. My 12-1/2 year old male has had it for two years and the fecal incontinence started about 6 months ago. For the most part, I can get him out and kind of know when he has to go. Can't control when he does it while sleeping (usually on the sofa which is covered and has waterproof pads under the blankets) and he did it in the car for the first time last week. He is on Previcox (227mg) and 50MG of Tramadol twice a day. He won't try the steps to come upstairs at night, thank goodness. Good Luck. Quote Mom to Melly and Dani Greyhound Bridge Angels - Jessie, Brittne, Buddy, Red, Chica, Ford and Dodge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lgmaddox Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 Please post the results, one way or the other, with the Depo shot. My 12-1/2 year old male has had it for two years and the fecal incontinence started about 6 months ago. For the most part, I can get him out and kind of know when he has to go. Can't control when he does it while sleeping (usually on the sofa which is covered and has waterproof pads under the blankets) and he did it in the car for the first time last week. He is on Previcox (227mg) and 50MG of Tramadol twice a day. He won't try the steps to come upstairs at night, thank goodness. I'll definitely let you know. Gracie started with symptoms about 2 yrs ago too, right after we moved into a 3rd floor apartment. Needless to say, I transferred to a first floor. She doesn't poop when sleeping, but I'll come home from work to a mess, even after an afternoon out. First thing she did was quit the stairs, and jumping on the bed. I don't want to barricade her in the kitchen during the day, so I've literally covered the apartment floor with old towels and sheets. Diapers just seem worse, then you get to clean the doo off the dog. Right now, she's on 50ml metacam, glucosamine 1000mg, flax oil 1000mg, vit C 250mg, and tramadol (can't recall the dose). We're actually going in on the 30th, switched appointments, so I'll let you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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