A Pain In The Neck.....

[Guest sweetpea]

Okay, I'll try and keep this concise, I'll really really try.

 

Thanksgiving-ish, Sweetpea injured her neck, we don't know how.

Vet put her on Tramadol and prednisone for a week, then re-evaluate.

 

The prednisone did it's anti-inflammatory job, unfortunately, it also earned

it's own notation in her chart: To be used only as a last resort.

(She peed 18 times in 24 hours, we live in a 2nd floor condo, it was a nightmare. )

 

We didn't use very much of the tramadol, it made her so stumbly, and the prednisone was wreaking

enough havoc, we did not need her falling down the stairs on one of our many potty walks.

And, once the inflammation went away, so did the pain.

 

Follow up visit, x-rays show no anomalies in her neck or down her spine.

We do a little dance of joy and go on our merry way.

 

10 days ago, my sister says Sweetpea is whimpering again when she gets up out of bed

(which is how the first round manifested).

 

She makes an appointment with our vet, which I ended up cancelling because Sweetpea

isn't showing me any indications of pain.

She's twisting herself up into a little ball to sleep, she's doing the full ear-flappity

head shake when she stretches, she's up and down out of her beds with no problem.

These were all things she couldn't do when she was hurting the first time around.

 

Two nights ago, Sweetpea whimpered a couple of times when re-positioning in her bed;

and then again the next day when getting up out of her bed.

It's so sporadic, but it's also persistent, so I made another vet appt, for Monday.

 

Today, she's fine, chipper and spry, rubbing her head against me with vim and vigor

(which I try to minimize because I don't want her to hurt herself, but it's hard 'cause she's so

freakin' cute!)

 

Any ideas what is wrong with my girl? Is it a pinched nerve? Arthritis? Would a strained muscle re-strain?

I know that just because nothing showed up on the xrays doesn't mean there's nothing there.

It just seems clear that something is inflamed, some of the time....I'm perplexed

 

 

Thanks for any help!

 

Buzzy

[Guest Lakota]

I have seen remarkable improvement in some dogs from using Chiroprators and Acupunture. If it was me, I would try taking her to a clinic that offers these treatments.

[Batmom]

Could be soft tissue. Best is rest (to the extent possible) and anti-inflammatories. If she's been off the prednisone for a week or so, could try one of the NSAIDs (Rimadyl, Deramaxx, Metacam). If she's still squeaking now and then, it would be a good idea to give another 10 days of anti-inflammatory med.

[Sambuca]

It sounds to me like every time she wimpered lately, she's been in bed or getting out of bed. If she doesn't seem to be having issues with her neck it could just be her leg fell asleep. I know my carpel tunnel really acts up while I'm sleeping, maybe she has something like that.

[TheFullHouse]

I agree with Batmom. Metacam is a good one to give. It's what I give Valentino when he has an arthritis flair. He doesn't have many at all but when he does, it works great.

[kudzu]

I have seen remarkable improvement in some dogs from using Chiroprators and Acupunture. If it was me, I would try taking her to a clinic that offers these treatments.

Ditto & double ditto.

[Guest Diablo]

My Zigane started to walk funny, she didn't seem to be in pain. could still run in the garden, jump in the bed and everything else. The first x-rays didn't show much, it was only after my vet did a myelogram (x-rays with contrast) that he saw herniated discs in her neck.

Side effect of myelogram was that she had a couple of epileptic seizures over the next few days after she had it.

 

In the past, I had good results with hydrotherapy for one of my other dogs.

 

Fingers crossed it isn't anything serious.

[OwnedBySummer]

If the Metacam doesn't improve, I would "guess" that it's not a soft tissue injury. Then I would definitely consider a chiropractor. Summer came up limping in late November, after a run. Then she did it again Dec.10, again after a run. So... we went to the vet, did the Metacam. We did a followup with the vet a couple of days ago and she still had a bit of a gait problem, so we did x-rays. Nothing. Even had a radiologist look at them for a 2nd opinion. Nothing. So I went to the chiropractor today, one who is familiar with greys, too. She discovered that Summer's pelvis was out of whack, throwing her hind leg out of whack and causing her to strain it when running at speeds. Summer had fallen in the autumn, skidding along on her back, and no one thought too much of it as she seemed pretty fine afterwards. But we suspect this current condition may be from that fall.

 

Sorry for all the background. But today, after her FIRST visit to the chiropractor, she walked more confidently on our scary shiny tile floor than she ever has before. Her tail wagging is higher and more enthusiastic, too. And her gait is already improved.

 

The long and the short... a good chiropractor is a wonderful thing!

Edited December 24, 2010 by OwnedBySummer

[duncan41]

If you aren't doing these things already; walking with a harness instead of a collar and using a raised feeder/waterer (mine is 18") along with no jumping on furniture, beds or in/out of vehicles. No running, playing, rough housing. I know it sounds harsh, but it needs time to calm down - I don't think we give these guys enough time to heal. I have been through this myself with Suze and if I remember correctly, it took 3 weeks of severe restrictions with an anti-inflammatory to get over the hump, and she was only 2+ years old at the time. Hope Sweetpea feels better soon!

[robinw]

This happens to Phoenix every once in a while. He sees a chiropractor, which really helps. As others have suggested, it might help to use a harness and to restrict her playtime. Whenever Loca had neck problems, I used to massage her neck and back with something like Ben Gay. That also seemed to help a lot.

[greyhead]

Hi Buzzy! We remember you and Sweetpea fondly from Eric and Anne's playgroup. You didn't mention how it's known that Sweetpea hurt her neck, as opposed to a shoulder or something else. How'd you figure it out?

 

You're right that something might be wrong that x-ray doesn't show or doesn't show well. I don't want to make this about us, but we just had an MRI on Shane that showed a "healed" but still problematic injury to his pelvis, while the earlier x-rays didn't show that it was a problem. He's about to start rehab, using hydrotherapy, massage and range of motion work. But for the last two years acupuncture and chiro adjustments have gotten him through, from a practitioner that comes up to Kent every two weeks. That's as far north as she goes, I'm afraid, but she's really good and less expensive than most, I'm told ($65). They're having a "sale" on MRI's in Tacoma, in honor of their new neurologist; let me know if you want to know more.

 

I'm so sorry that Missy Sweetpea is having trouble. Not to mention what the prednisone and 18 outs per day did to you! Wishing you both relief now and in the New Year!

[Guest sweetpea]

Thanks guys! (My sister scoffed when I wanted back online so soon to see what responses I might have gotten....

oh, she of little faith!)

 

I think it is probably true that I didn't make her stay quiet long enough to heal properly.

 

She does have a raised feeder, but I'm not sure it's high enough, it looks to be only 12 inches high.

 

We did try a harness on her, but she really didn't like it at all, and combined with how loopy she was

on tramadol, my sister had to carry her down the stairs one time. (I'm glad I wasn't home for that,

I probably would have had a heart-attack!)

 

How we determined it was her neck, well that took a little bit of sleuthing.

At first, I would hear her yelp, come a-running, and find her up and limping.

 

I would palpate her legs, her back, her shoulders.....nothing.

 

I asked her, but she wasn't telling.

 

Believe me, the sudden onset, combined with no obvious injury or trauma, combined with the limp;

my heart took a nose dive and my head followed riteawayqwik. After a few hours of barely contained

near-hysteria, I said to myself, "Self, this isn't doing anybody any good, AT ALL." And I got to work

gathering as much data as I could to present to the vet.

 

The problem was, nobody was ever around to see what she was doing that caused her to yelp.

The next morning, I stepped into my closet and then back out again, and Sweetpea was lifting

her head, to try and get up and follow me (yup, even into the closet) and THAT was when she yelped.

 

The vet tried a series of range of motion tests, and agreed it was her neck (I was on speaker-phone, it

hurt my heart to hear her yelp like that )

 

Okay, so it looks like I have some options to discuss with my vet.

Thanks again, you're da best!

 

Buzzy

[BatterseaBrindl]

Sorry SweetPea is not herself.

 

I would also seriously consider the Chiro/Accupuncture route.

 

However...do not have her on any medication when you take her.... otherwise they may not be able to tell how much pain she's actually in.

 

I also wonder if this latest yelping is unrelated to her previous neck injury.

But if you really belive it is in her head/neck area, it could be her ears.

[IndyandHollyluv]

I am sorry about Sweetpea. My Holly, 11-1/2, receives chiropractic adjustments and acupuncture. I can't say enough good things about the treatments. On a few occasions, Holly had a cervical disk out in her neck. Sometimes it has been the pelvis. Adjustments have made all the difference in the world. If it's soft tissue - well that's another story. But if it's skeletal, I sure would encourage you to have her seen by a chiropractor. Proper alignment is so important for these dogs with long spines.

 

If left untreated it will cause her a long-term world of hurt and problems.

 

Good luck!