Sundrop Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Our 6-year old boy started limping about 3 months ago. We've taken him to three vets and a battery of tests & treatments (and meds) and it's only gotten worse. After 3 x-rays, no tumors were seen (yay!) but he's not responding to any treatments/rehab (including being on 3 separate pain meds, one for inflammation, one for general pain and one for nerve pain). We finally got him in a referral for a diagnostic sonogram and the vet at the speciality clinic said his bursae is very inflammed - he has severe bursitis in that shoulder. So, good news - no damage to his tendons/cartilage, no tumors, broken bones, etc. The vet at the clinic said this wasn't super common, though he has seen it in a couple ex-racers due to the stresses placed on their bodies. Our boy retired just before his 5th birthday, so he raced a pretty long time. He recommended a steroid injection (he said something like Depovedral(?), though I Googled that and came up with nothing but variations of the Depo vera shots - but he said it was a general steroid). After the injection, strict rest. I've had steroid injections in my knees to help with arthritis pain following some injuries in my youth -- would his shot be similar to that? I haven't met with my vet yet, but I'm trying to get some preliminary info. Do any of you have experience with this? Did the shot help? Did you have to have more than one? The specialty vet said he's seen the bursitis "go away" after one injection the couple of cases he has seen. Any advice is appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BiancasMom Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 My grey (5 years old at the time) had inflammation of one of the tendons in her shoulder. She responded with strict rest and NSAIDS. Then she did it to her other shoulder but responded to the same treatment. A friend of mine has an Australian Cattle Dog that he uses in Search and Rescue. He is a very active dog and he had the same thing that did not heal with rest. They injected his shoulder and he responded. You wouldn't know it now, he's back to S & R. I don't know what kind of steroid they used, but your vet probably means Depo-Medrol. (It's the only thing I can think of that sounds like Depovedrol). Good luck with your guy, I hope he feels better in time to do zoomies in the snow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3DogNite Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 My boy, Power, has a calcification of the biceps tendon,, It causes him to limp and occasionally will give him extreme pain, after he runs too hard, or tweaks it somehow.. From what my vet said, this could be surgically removed, but would more than likely come back. there is also a "pulsed laser" of some kind that is supposed to break apart the calcium.. we haven't tried either of these, and have had luck with regular supplement dose of Yucca Intensive (from Greyhoundgang.org) and glucosamine. could your boy have calcification of the tendon ? i don't know anything about bursitis ,, just a stab in the dark here. good luck! oh, my guy went thru the nerve pain pills, steroids, and anti-inflamitories and the only thing that really pulled him thru was the Yucca Intensive,, and strict rest. Quote lorinda, mom to the ever revolving door of Foster greyhounds Always in my heart: Teala (LC Sweet Dream) , Pepton, Darbee-Do (Hey Barb) , Rascal (Abitta Rascal), Power (Beyond the Power), and the miracle boy LAZER (2/21/14), Spirit (Bitter Almonds) 8/14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I myself have had shoulder surgery twice (so far) and a number of steroid injections. If they help, they work miracles. They don't help everyone, and it usually takes a few days for the effects to kick in. Results have lasted me a few months. I am going in on Monday to have my hip injected (huge scary needle that requires a radiologist so they make sure to stab you in the correct place!) and am looking forward to being able to walk normally again, for a while! Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundrop Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 Thanks for all the responses! I'm not sure about calcification of his tendon - I'll ask my vet. I haven't spoken to her yet regarding his sonogram, but according to the specialty vet, his bicep tendon looked "perfect" and he didn't see anything wrong with the soft tissue, but saw the "very nasty and immediately noticeable" inflammation in his bursae. I will definitely ask! Our vet is a holistic vet, so I'll ask about the Yucca, too. I would feel much better getting him off as many meds as possible, so I'm going to see if that would help him. I'm hoping they can do the injection and that he responds well - but anything I can do to prevent it coming back, or getting worse, I will do. As much as I hate it, I'm going to restrict his movement as much as possible. He's going to miss his walks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonnaBehr Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Our 6-year old boy started limping about 3 months ago. We've taken him to three vets and a battery of tests & treatments (and meds) and it's only gotten worse. After 3 x-rays, no tumors were seen (yay!) but he's not responding to any treatments/rehab (including being on 3 separate pain meds, one for inflammation, one for general pain and one for nerve pain). We finally got him in a referral for a diagnostic sonogram and the vet at the speciality clinic said his bursae is very inflammed - he has severe bursitis in that shoulder. So, good news - no damage to his tendons/cartilage, no tumors, broken bones, etc. The vet at the clinic said this wasn't super common, though he has seen it in a couple ex-racers due to the stresses placed on their bodies. Our boy retired just before his 5th birthday, so he raced a pretty long time. He recommended a steroid injection (he said something like Depovedral(?), though I Googled that and came up with nothing but variations of the Depo vera shots - but he said it was a general steroid). After the injection, strict rest. I've had steroid injections in my knees to help with arthritis pain following some injuries in my youth -- would his shot be similar to that? I haven't met with my vet yet, but I'm trying to get some preliminary info. Do any of you have experience with this? Did the shot help? Did you have to have more than one? The specialty vet said he's seen the bursitis "go away" after one injection the couple of cases he has seen. Any advice is appreciated! My girl was thankfully diagnosed with Bursitis in her shoulder at age 6 when I took her to the vet when she started limping. I say thankfully because my first girl was diagnosed and died from Chondrosarcoma. We treated her for the Bursitis with 1/2 of a 227 mg Previcox daily and she never limped from that point on. She passed at age 11-1/2. 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...
Sambuca Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 My foster has tendonitis in both shoulders. He has been treated with 2 sets of cortisone shots. The first set did nothing for him. The second set seems to be working. hopefully he continues to improve. If not he gets surgery. The vet said she won't do more than 2 sets of shots on him. Your guy has a different diagnosis though. They sedated him for the shots and was awake in well under an hour. Sedation is safer than anesthesia thankfully. I hope yourpup feels better soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I'd suggest before you go too far into treating you see an actual orthopedic vet. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundrop Posted August 3, 2011 Author Share Posted August 3, 2011 Yeah, the specialty vet who consulted with us was an ortho vet. The ultrasound was done by a radiologist and then the ortho spoke with both of our vets and our rehab tech. So we now have 4 vets involved, and one rehab specialist - so far the consensus is to try the shot, done by the ortho vet at the specialty clinic. I have another phone call tomorrow morning with another vet at our practice who has had some ortho experience, just to get a final opinion on what the dangers are, what we can do to help him, etc. Will know something definite tomorrow, and decide how to proceed. Thanks for all the advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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