Rickie Is Limping

[Rickiesmom]

Rickie, my 13 year old whippet has been limping - left front leg - for some time. He has corns on that foot that are hulled regularly. He has had x-rays - it's not arthritis. Two experienced vets saw some swelling at the elbow joint.

 

A follow-up exam found nothing. We are going to see an orthopedic surgeon next Thursday - the one who did Rickie's remarkable leg cancer surgery (rear right) and skin flap in 2009 for those of you who might remember.

 

Before the rads ruled out arthritis he was put on a combination of metacam, tramadol and amantadine (a nerve block like gabapentin) but still limped. That's a lot of pain med to break through.

 

I am turning to the collective experience of GT for ideas "outside the box" before next week's appointment.

 

This surgeon is someone I trust implicitly - his record is remarkable, and he is greyhound / sighthound knowledgeable, but I would still like to go in with some ideas.

 

Thank you for helping my little man.

Edited July 14, 2011 by Rickiesmom

[greysmom]

If the pain meds listed didn't stop his limping either one of two things: 1 - the limp is not being caused by pain, or 2 - there wasn't enough meds on board to keep it in check.

 

I'm not sure if that's helpful or not! Lime disease and other TBD can sometimes cause joint pain. He could have a small poke or puncture deep in the pads of his foot where you can't see well with either a small foreign body or something causing him to limp.

[Sambuca]

My foster has tendinitis in his shoulders that goes into the elbows. Is that a possibility?

[CaliforniaGreys]

I have very little experience with corns Mary, but could it be related despite that they are hulled regularly? As for Arthritis, it doesn't always show in an X-ray, although the meds you mentioned should cause a show of improvement..

 

Not much help I guess, but we will keep Ekko's special friend in our prayers for something simple and easily fixed

[TheFullHouse]

My Andy's corn was so bad he limped no matter what. Hulling did not bring him relief.

[Rickiesmom]

My Andy's corn was so bad he limped no matter what. Hulling did not bring him relief.

 

Thank you all for your ideas.

 

Judy, what did you end up doing about Andy's corn? I got Rickie a Therapaw boot but it's hard to keep on.

[GreyPoopon]

FWIW, Edie limps on her corn-y foot despite regular hulling. I know it's the corn because she's much better on soft surfaces like grass or fresh snow. I use a regular dog boot--not as good as a Thera-Paw, but good enough except when the corn needs to be hulled again. She's on pain meds (she has arthritis in the shoulder on the same leg), but they don't seem to help with the corn pain.

Edited June 17, 2011 by GreyPoopon

[turbotaina]

Turbo's another dog that will limp despite corn hulling. He'll get occasional periods (weeks, months) where he's pain free, but mostly he limps because of his corns. While tramadol does give him some relief, when his corns are really painful, nothing helps at all. FWIW, his corns are painful long before they're visible.

 

Oh, and Therapaw boots have been a life saver for us! They stay on quite well. You may not be tightening them enough.

[kjw]

We have a similar situation here - one of Millie's many corns is quite painful, even after being hulled. I sometimes wonder if some corn roots grow up further back into the toe, and rub on a nerve or cartilage or something, and that's what causes the continued limping. The therapaw does seem to lessen her limping, but it never seems to go away altogether. Poor little Rickie.

[TheFullHouse]

My Andy's corn was so bad he limped no matter what. Hulling did not bring him relief.

 

Thank you all for your ideas.

 

Judy, what did you end up doing about Andy's corn? I got Rickie a Therapaw boot but it's hard to keep on.

 

I got him a therapaw for walking on hard surfaces and was just about ready to remove the toe when he passed away from a massive stroke.

[Rickiesmom]

Thank you Judy. I am sorry if my question was insensitive, I know Andy's was an especially hard loss.

[TheFullHouse]

Thank you Judy. I am sorry if my question was insensitive, I know Andy's was an especially hard loss.

 

Not incensitive at all Mary. I hope you find some relief for your sweetie. Corns are awful to deal with.

[Guest iconsmum]

My Andy's corn was so bad he limped no matter what. Hulling did not bring him relief.

 

Thank you all for your ideas.

 

Judy, what did you end up doing about Andy's corn? I got Rickie a Therapaw boot but it's hard to keep on.

 

 

That was exactly us here - limping because of a really deep corn despite hulling or dremelling. Go to the thread on Murray Avenue corn cream - **advice - buy some - worked completely, no more corn, no more limping.

also **took a few months, it's a grow-out thing, so keep at it and don't get discouraged...

[Rickiesmom]

We saw the orthopedic specialist and he examined Rickie and also had a neurologist look at him. They felt he was painful in his shoulder and possibly his neck. A sample of the fluid in the shoulder joint was sent for pathology to determine if there was excessive inflamation.

 

The results came back pretty normal, though the specialist did feel that there was excessive fluid there. The recommended next step is to see the neurologist again, and probably go for an MRI to cover the neck and shoulder area to try and narrow down the specific issue. I should be able to get him in either late this week or next week.

 

I can't imagine doing spinal surgery on a 13 year old dog - I am going to see how strong a hunch the neurologist has about what's wrong, and if she has one, then maybe we can treat for that and see if he improves.

 

In the meantime, as always, I would be interested in your thoughts.

Edited July 6, 2011 by Rickiesmom

[greytpups]

Bailey had a tumour in her paw which pressed on a nerve and as a result, we amputated her toe...just putting it out there fwiw. Mary, i hope you get some answers soon. Have you tried the thera paw again to see if it brings relief...if not, it may confirm it's a shoulder issue. I know he doesn't like the thera paw, just wondering if it might help narrow it down a bit for you.

[Rickiesmom]

Jan I can't find the wretched thing. I put it away in about March or so since it wasn't really working for us, and I have no idea where - all the likely places have been turned inside out several times. It must be around somewhere and hopefully I'll be inspired to look in the right spot soon. The vet did check his toes very thoroughly and didn't seem to think they were the problem, but I agree, worth a try with the boot again, as soon as I find it.

 

Meanwhile, I have changed him from a collar to a harness, so if it is his neck, hopefully this will help him.

[Guest CampWhippet]

Wish I had something to ad but I have never had this in an old one except the all-around arthritic pain.

 

I sure hope Rickie is feeling chipper despite the discomfort.

[robinw]

I hope Rickie feels better soon.

[Burpdog]

Have you tried acupuncture?

[Rickiesmom]

Not this time, yet. Our neuro consult is tomorrow and I will discuss this with her. She knows and respects the practitioner I use, who also does gentle chiropractic (which may not be advisable if she believes the issue is in the neck).

 

Depending on what she thinks, I do want to try some simpler things before taking him for the MRI which will involve anaesthetic, as good a diagnostic tool as it is. SInce I don't know how quickly I'll get an MRI appointment, it may make sense to book it and then have the other vet over to examine Rickie and see what he thinks he can do for him.

 

This neurologist is very good and saw Rickie several years ago when he had a sharp pain anytime he took a step up, so she knows him a bit. She is sighthound knowledgeable.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Did they do x-rays of the neck also? Or just the leg?

[Guest zombrie]

No advice, just

[Rickiesmom]

Did they do x-rays of the neck also? Or just the leg?

 

Yes they did.

 

I'm just back from the neurologist - will gather some notes and post.

[Rickiesmom]

We had a very long and detailed appointment. Rickie has seen this neurologist before and I really like her - experienced, methodical, detail oriented, and clear in her explanations.

 

She said when a dog presents with front limb lameness, it's almost always orthopedic. She tends to see dogs like this when an orthopedic cause cannot be determined (Rickie's case) or when the dog also shows symptoms of a neurological deficit, such as neck pain, which Rickie does not show evidence of. She sees maybe 3 cases like this per year. Trust my beloved little lemon to be one of them.

 

Based on the neck x-rays he has one calcified disc in his neck, but there is no indication, on the x-ray, that it is intruding on the spinal cord. However, pending an MRI, this is still one possibility.

 

The other possibility from a neuro standpoint is a nerve sheath tumour. She couldn't feel anything on physical exam, but this would also show up on the MRI.

 

If it should turn out to be the first problem, surgery would be possible. I didn't ask any questions about this - didn't seem much point til we know. Nevertheless, it would be better than if he had a tumour, as the usual treatment in this case would be amputation, and age aside, Rickie isn't strong enough for that - his other front leg has a partially fused carpus and some arthritis, and his back right leg isn't strong due to the amount of muscle removed 3 years ago when he had the cancer surgery.

 

Should there be no evidence of either of these issues, then we return to the orthopedic surgeon who would scope the shoulder and at the same time they would do an EMG to assess nerve function.

 

I asked about acupuncture, and she thought we should wait to find out if the problem is a tumour.

 

She didn't seem to be leaning toward any particular possibility, so I really don't know what to expect.

 

The sad thing is, limp aside, Rickie is a happy boy - loves his food and treats, his frisbee and ball.

 

I should have mentioned above - she doesn't think it's the corns.

Edited July 7, 2011 by Rickiesmom

[Batmom]

Hmmm. If he has corns on that foot, I would strongly consider starting there. Might be worth trying a nerve block -- or even lidocaine? -- in the toes with corns to see if that resolves the limp. Anti-inflammatories and pain meds usually won't do much for corn pain.