Back Pain

[Walliered]

I took Da Vid to the vet today because he has been panting a lot lately. She pushed on his lower back and he reacted sharply. She has him on 1/2 tablet of Deramaxx (that would be 37mg and also started him on Clomicalm 80mg for his thunderstorm anxiety. He has slept all day and has refused food this evening. Is this too much for him to take?? He weighs about 80 lbs. Thanks so much, Nan in Savannah

[OwnedBySummer]

Assuming there is no soft tissue damage or other injuries or problems which would prevent chiropractic care... have you considered a dog chiropractor? I would rather try that before medication.

Edited July 26, 2011 by OwnedBySummer

[TheFullHouse]

A half a Deramax is just fine. As for the other drug, none of mine have taken it.

[OwnedBySummer]

Have you tried a Thundershirt for his thunderstorm anxiety? They don't work for every dog, I understand, but boy, it sure works for Summer! The difference is absolutely amazing!

[Walliered]

I have a Thunder Shirt and it does nothing for him. He has been on Prozac and Valium and they do nothing either. So, the vet wants to try this medicine he has never taken before. He has slept since noon, but one thing I can say is he is not panting!! I will see if we have a dog chiropractor in or near Savannah..thanks. I know he cannot stay on a pain medicine for the rest of his life. The vet said it probably was a track injury, but it really does not matter, I just want him to stop hurting. Thanks again, Nan

[macoduck]

We used Clomicalm for Gracie's separation anxiety and it was a big help. She was only on it for 3 months total and that included gradually upping the dose adn then gradually reducing the dose.

Did your vet tell you that Clomicalm could not be stopped cold-turkey?

[GeorgeofNE]

That's the amount of Deramaxx George takes, and he is significantly smaller at 64 pounds!

[Walliered]

No, the vet did not say I could not stop cold turkey. Thanks for telling me. The only dog chiropractor in Savannah is a woman by the name of Karen Voss. I know nothing about her and her website does not list any comments by patients (she is also a people chiropractor). I do know that Trupanion Insurance will not cover it and I have no idea how much money we are talking about. I know I should not really care about the money, but I am on Social Security and it looks like that may be cut back! Thanks, Nan

[OwnedBySummer]

I pay $40 per chiropractor visit for Summer. She injured herself slipping at a play date, skidding along on her back. Took about a month for the injury to show up. That surprised me but I was told by many people that that is often the case. She had to go for adjustments every week and now we go every two or three months. Her chiropractor is also MY chiropractor, LOL! And she's certified in both. She also does horses and cats. Adjusting a horse's back is something I'd like to see!

[KF_in_Georgia]

Nan, a vet in Pendergrass, Georgia, charged me $45 a visit. I made sure we had spinal x-rays first to be sure there was nothing major to worry about. (Sam is 11 and has spinal arthritis.)

 

You might want to ask your vet about Methocarbamol. It's a muscle relaxer, and it's been really helpful when Sam has been tensing up his back muscles due to arthritic pain. It doesn't make him loopy, and it doesn't seem to have a ton of side effects. It can be given with things like Deramaxx, but I'm not sure about using it with Clomicalm. Sam takes the Methocarbamol morning and night; he takes an NSAID only when he seems to be really ouch-y.

 

Clomicalm takes a couple of weeks to build up to full strength in a dog's system. When you're ready to get the dog off Clomicalm, you have to taper down slowly, the same way the drug built up in the dog's system. Jacey took Clomicalm for about three months while we worked on her separation anxiety. The vet prescribed 50 mg capsules, two or three times a day. (She's 50 pounds.) She did quite well on just two capsules a day, which is nice since Clomicalm isn't one of the cheaper drugs. When we started tapering down, she did two capsules one day, one capsule the next, for a week or so; then one capsule a day for a week; then one capsule every other day to the end of that prescription refill. She did fine. Clomicalm can have some side effects (on the liver, I think), so you'll need to do blood tests; talk to your vet about how often.

 

I don't think Clomicalm should be making your boy sleepy, but he may be sleeping extra in relief if the Deramaxx is helping him really be able to rest pain-free. Just be sure he gets enough food on his stomach to keep the Deramaxx from causing stomach trouble.

[Walliered]

Kathy, thanks for the information about Methocarbamol. And thanks for telling me about keeping food on his stomach, but that is a problem as he is not eating or drinking at all. He has been asleep since noon yesterday. He raises his head when I walk near him and he did get up to go outside last night, but that is it. He is due medicines around noon today, but not sure whether to give them or not?? I think I will ask vet to do X-Rays. She did not suggest them, but if I take him to Karen Voss she will probably need to see some. As you can tell, I do not have a clue what I am doing. Thanks, Nan in Savannah

[Guest BrianRke]

I would look into acupuncture. I personally know of several greyhounds that have greatly benefited from the treatment.

[OwnedBySummer]

Kathy, thanks for the information about Methocarbamol. And thanks for telling me about keeping food on his stomach, but that is a problem as he is not eating or drinking at all. He has been asleep since noon yesterday. He raises his head when I walk near him and he did get up to go outside last night, but that is it. He is due medicines around noon today, but not sure whether to give them or not?? I think I will ask vet to do X-Rays. She did not suggest them, but if I take him to Karen Voss she will probably need to see some. As you can tell, I do not have a clue what I am doing. Thanks, Nan in Savannah

I had x-rays to take to the chiropractor, as you mention. I had forgotten about that. I had had them taken as we were trying to figure out what was wrong. Chiropractors do like the x-rays, they can sometimes see things that the vets do not as they are looking at them differently. Plus it's reassuring for them to know there is nothing wrong with the bones before they start adjusting things.

[Walliered]

We have an appointment for an X-ray tomorrow. That is, if she agrees to take it without putting him to sleep. I cannot find anyone that does acupunture near Savannah, Georgia. This is a one horse town. I did find a chriopractor in Savannah that does people, cats and dogs...so, I will be taking him to her next week. However, does anyone know if they will hurt him with the X-rays or at the chriopractor? If so, then that puts a whole new light on it. Thanks again, Nan

[KF_in_Georgia]

X-rays were not a problem with my boy, but it may depend on how comfortable your boy is at the vet. Sam let them take their pictures and gave them no trouble. (He loves his vet and the tech and cooperates with them for everything.)

 

The chiropractor stuff does hurt. Sam--never a stoic boy--screamed like a banshee. But when she reached again to adjust another spot, he just stood there. And he felt much better afterward. He could curl up tight like a cat again, which he hadn't done in months. That was the first visit.

 

On the second visit, she adjusted a spot lower down his spine and it really hurt. He leaped and spun around and I think that was the closest he ever came to wanting to bite someone. But then he just turned around and let her work on his back again, while he tucked his head against my chest and made little squealing noises. Again, he felt a lot better afterward.

 

But what bothered me is that within three weeks of the last chiro visit, he was in pain again. He was yelping and squealing when he tried to lie down or to get up after he'd been lying on his side. And the chiro was hours away, he was in trouble on a weekend, and he was in pain right then. So I got drugs from my vet--methocarbamol for his muscles and an anti-inflammatory for the pain--and he hasn't had any yelping incidents since then. If I can find a chiropractor closer to home, I'll see if visits there will help Sam. But he hates car rides, and I don't want to continue to put him through the long traveling and the painful adjustments if they're not going to give him relief for a longer period. I hate to make him depend on drugs, but he's an old man and I don't see the value of putting him through painful chiropractor adjustments that don't give long-term relief.

 

If it turns out that your boy has an alignment issue that can be fixed by a chiro adjustment--or even just relieved for months at a time, then I think the temporary pain is worth it. I'm just not sure it's worth it for chronic issues that Sam seems to be having.

[joejoesmom]

Just wanted to mention since I don't think anyone else has. Many vets recommend something to protect the stomach when taking an NSAID (Deramaxx is one of the NSAIDs). OSU recommends 15 to 20 mg (depending on size of greyhound) of Pepcid (famotidine) about 30 minutes before each meal. NSAIDs can cause gastrointestinal bleeding which, although rare, can be life threatening. If you notice that his poop is very dark, you might want to have the vet do a hemocult. If your vet suggests Peptobismol tablets, these may cause the poop to be very dark -- nothing to worry about.

 

You might also try gabapentin and/or tramadol for the pain. These don't have the gastrointestinal side effects. However, tramadol is similar to an opiate and can cause similar side effects (nervousness or lethargy for example).

 

If nothing else helps, you can go to a specialist and talk to them about something like a depomedrol shot (given into the back).

 

Regarding the thunder phobia. You very kindly sent me your thunder cape to try on Joe. I have had some minor success but nothing earth shattering. A friend recently loaned me a CD called "Through A Dog's Ear". We have only had one thunderstorm since but it has seemed to help Joe better than anything else I have tried. If it continues to help for a few more storms, I will post more about it.

 

Jane

[Walliered]

Vet took X-rays today and he has a degenerative disk in his lower back. It looks pretty bad on the film. Has anyone had experience with this? Thanks, Nan