Vinnie To Vet Tomorrow...

[Guest bernadette]

I've read it more than once I asked the vet about it, she said whatver exam/manipulation she did was pretty much the same. Seeing how this goes... the Rimadyl seems to be helping, but he's still not 100% and maybe he never will be. Yesterday he had good, short walks but last night and this afternoon, he was SLOW again by the end. More time maybe. He hasn't eaten yet today but it's pretty hot out. He lost three pounds in between the last vet and this one (span of three to four weeks) so getting him to eat is a concern for me.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Sometimes the Rimadyl can upset their stomach. I would give Pepcid before the Rimadyl, and give the Rimadyl on a full stomach. If the x-rays are inconclusive then maybe it's a soft tissue injury. The Rimadyl should help with that. How far are you walking him? He might need to take it easy for a while.

[Guest bernadette]

Not far at all, actually. Hard to gauge... Some walks now are good, some not. Some start good and then end not so good. His activity is definitely being limited now.

Luckily, I don't think we're one of the unfortunate ones where his appetite/stomach is affected by the Rimadyl... No signs of it anyway. The lack of appetite has been the same for weeks. He has had one meal today so that's good (of course he ate right after my last post..!), still time for one more.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts- I've said it before, such a great resource!

Edited June 16, 2012 by bernadette

[Guest bernadette]

OSU has suggested a neurology consult.

[Guest bernadette]

So, OSU suggested neuro exam based on what I told them. Vet suggests orthopedic exam given her findings of a neck issue and rear right leg being a little wonky. Understood, OSU hasn't physically examined Vin, this is their suggestion based purely on my emails- I tried to include everything. Vets suggestion was try a clinic that has both so that the specialists can talk with each other and we can figure out between both what's going on.

Still down to one meal a day, 6pm and he still hasn't eaten. He can't sustain on scrambled eggs...!!!

[Batmom]

Scrambled eggs and maybe some noodles and cottage cheese? Sending hugs for you and your boy.

[Guest bernadette]

Thank you. We mixed his favorite- scrambled eggs into his food yesterday morning after letting his food soften in chicken broth. He picked out what he could of the eggs and left the rest until the evening, maybe 7ish when I added pasta. Chicken broth AND scrambled eggs... I can't believe he's not scarfing this.

[Guest bernadette]

One meal again for Vinnie yesterday, in the evening as usual. He had a decent couple of short, short walks last night but this morning wasn't so great. I do not believe in my heart of hearts that we are dealing with something as simple as a pulled muscle. His backend almost seems like it's wasting away and there is such weakness and maybe some uncoordination. He WILL trot at times which is nice to see. He WILL do zoomies in the house, which we can't let him do right now. But his walks are where it really shows up. This morning I watched his right rear leg start to fold under him but he caught it and righted it.

I found a new lump on him last night. This one is deeper than the other two and it's on the right, front leg, right at the tip corner of his shoulder blade. Not round, it is longer- like a grain of rice and soft, but deeper. He definitely flinches when I try to pick it up or my finger rolls over it. Thoughts on this?

The vet suggested Ortho, OSU suggested Neuro. I think we will end up somewhere that offers both.

 

His younger days:

 

 

More recently:

 

 

[Houndtime]

Living in New Jersey, you have excellent specialists at Red Bank and North Star in Robbinsville. We saw Dr. Davis at Red Bank for Fuzzy's back and we liked him a lot. North Star has very fair pricing and they love greyhounds there. Both practices are a little far for you, but not terrible.

[Guest bernadette]

Thank you. We were thinking Red Bank but I will investigate the other as well.

[MP_the4pack]

Ditto on Red Bank. And we loved the neurologist Dr. Glass.

[Guest bernadette]

Does anyone else have thoughts on North Star? Very pleasant phone call, helpful and I was told that they see many greys. Would love more reviews...

 

Thank you all.

[Houndtime]

North Star is a referral practice and only treats specialties. In other words, you cannot go there for your annual check up and vaccines. If you are looking for reviews try posting on GHF on NJ board on Facebook. They recommend that practice. My New Jersey vet, Dr. Christine Newman of Harligen Veterinary Practice recommended them to me. I am please with both Red Bank and North Star, but I was at each one for a different reason. North Star is a little less expensive. Good luck whichever you decide.

[Guest bernadette]

Thank you. I will definitely stick with Dr. Lorraine Marks at Round Valley as my regular vet- she is great. I was just looking up reviews on North Star today, thank you!

[greyhead]

Just wanted to thank you for sharing those photos of the very handsome Vinnie!!! And good luck with your specialist choices. (Sometimes we've gone with the one that can take us soonest. Not saying you should do that, but it can be a consideration.)

[Guest bernadette]

Vinnie just ate a bowl full of food, I was so happy until he regurgitated it all. I mixed in a little shredded cheese (for pasta) and because the food absorbed all of the chicken broth, each piece seemed to have some cheese sticking to it. He ate it all and then gave it back to me in four piles on the floor, all perfectly shaped kibbles, the same as it went down. Maybe it's because he ate too fast..? Maybe because he is used to now eating only one meal in the evening?

[tbhounds]

Forgive me as I haven't read the entire thread but, did the new vet do any radiographs or an ultrasound yet??

[Guest bernadette]

Not of the abdomen, is that what you're thinking? This was a first. He ate this evening and has been fine- thankfully. I have discovered that chicken broth makes him gassy...!!

[greyhead]

LSS is not that hard to diagnosis using Dr. Stack's method. You don't need to wait for a neurologist or anyone else to suggest an MRI. The only point to doing an MRI really is if you will follow it up with an operation to correct something, which most of us don't find necessary. I don't know what's going on with the poor guy's tummy, but somebody needs to treat him for something before too long because he's definitely not improving.

[Guest bernadette]

Wouldn't diagnostics potentially give us a diagnosis- and then allowing us to decide on treatment? No one has given me a diagnosis as of yet, I definitely can't do it. OSU suggested neuro, that wil be my next step.

Thankfully he never throws up, what he does eat, he keeps down. I think he scarfed too quickly today. Improving- no. He is definitely feeling better thanks to the Rimadyl but whatever was going on is still going on.

[Guest bernadette]

So, the new lump was his microchip.. yes, I feel silly. Has this happened to anyone else?

 

We are still at a consistent one meal per day, in the evenings. His weight is steady, so that is good. He still has neck pain and something is wrong with his backend, his rear right leg especially. He has been biting at the right hip and today I noticed he has been biting/licking at the same leg, behind the knee.

His walks still start off well and then by the end he is slow and 'wonky'.. it appears to be less coordination and wobbly.. not as sure footed. Yesterday he took a few steps hunched up like he was walking and pooping.. so we added Pepcid AC (vet thought maybe the RImadyl, his poo has been normal, no diarrhea) and he has been ok so far since. I think we will be visiting North Star.

[Houndtime]

If you do go to North Star, please mention my name. I think they like to know when a patient is satisfied enough to recommend their practice. I probably will not be going there anymore since we have moved to Delaware. Though, I have gone once since we moved, but, it is a trip.

[Guest madredhare]

Tom was having some difficulties with his right rear last week. He was biting and chewing on his foot and leg and having shaking and weakness in the back end. My vet seemed to think him biting on the foot/leg might have been because of pain. He has been on gabapentin 3 times a day for a week now and we are having improvment with that.

[Guest bernadette]

I am having trouble keeping all of the different meds straight, there are so many out there. We have been doing Rimadyl 75mg twice a day for almost two weeks. He may be in less pain (not completely gone) but his back end is just not right.

[gryhnd_adoptee]

So, the new lump was his microchip.. yes, I feel silly. Has this happened to anyone else?

 

We are still at a consistent one meal per day, in the evenings. His weight is steady, so that is good. He still has neck pain and something is wrong with his backend, his rear right leg especially. He has been biting at the right hip and today I noticed he has been biting/licking at the same leg, behind the knee.

His walks still start off well and then by the end he is slow and 'wonky'.. it appears to be less coordination and wobbly.. not as sure footed. Yesterday he took a few steps hunched up like he was walking and pooping.. so we added Pepcid AC (vet thought maybe the RImadyl, his poo has been normal, no diarrhea) and he has been ok so far since. I think we will be visiting North Star.

 

Our first greyhound developed calcium deposits on the tips of several vertebrae of her spine, and also had some disk degeneration going on. Her symptoms started out where she would not give me a good ear shake because she had pain in her neck. She would also bite at both her front legs as if she had bugs crawling all over her. Turned out that all that was going on affected the nerves all down her spine and legs. She also developed shaky back legs and got very tired after standing for any length of time. The vet said the biting she was doing was likely nerve pain radiating down her legs which may have been very much like when we get pins and needles if we sit on a leg for too long. That was her way of reacting to the odd feeling she was having when the nerves were pinched.

 

We restricted her to just short leash walks, changed her collar up for a harness to take any strain off her neck, and would not let her jump up on the furniture any more. She was on Synflex (liquid glucosamine) and deramax was given on her worst days to help relieve the pain and inflamation. She also got acupuncture and chinese herbs on a regular basis which helped to relax the back muscles and increase circulation.

 

This was all many years ago. Fast forward to today where we now know much more about the health issues of greys, and hindsight being 20-20, I would have also taken her for a chiro consult after her x-rays were done. I take my two girls to a chiro now and the results have been amazing. A chiro consult might be worth a try.

Edited June 28, 2012 by gryhnd_adoptee