Guest MorganKonaAlex Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Almost 2 weeks ago, the dogs were greeting me at the door when Cinder landed her front feet on top of Cobb causing him to yelp. He got progressively uncomfortable as the evening went on. I took him to the EVet. I declined xrays at the time because it wouldn't change the course of treatment. Cobb is almost 13 and I wouldn't put him through a spinal surgery. He's been on heavy duty drugs with the hope it's muscular and might improve. He didn't appear to be improving so I had xrays taken last Thursday and sent to Tufts. Their diagnosis is LS and arthritis. No disc disease. At the moment, he's on: - 500 mg gabapentin x 2 - 50 mg tramadol x 2 (or 3) - dexamethasone steroid x 1 - diazepam (valium) x 2 I would love to hear what LS and spine arthritis treatments worked for others. Specifically, has anyone tried the underwater treadmill? My previous grey, Morgan, had LS. We tried an Adequan injection with him but it didn't seem to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kestrel Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Badger has both LS and arthritis, but his arthritis is in his hips rather than his spine. He is on 75 mg of carprofen/rimadyl twice a day; Adequan every three weeks (after the initial loading we did every 4 weeks for a while but really noticed when it started to wear off); glucosamine and chondrointon once a day; and grizzly salmon oil twice a day. We haven't tried the underwater treadmill, but he's not quite 9 and still really mobile. He gets three walks a day and we live in a hilly neighborhood, so there's lots of up and down. We started the carprofen when he stopped wanting to go out for a mid-day walk, knowing how important exercise is to maintain the muscles. I think there have been a couple of recent threads on underwater treadmills. Hope you find something that helps him! Quote Kendra, devoted walker of Henry (Tom Jones: Great Son x Lucia) Missing Badger (Vf Get R Done: Quicksand Slip x Ll Tee el See), 5/04 - 2/14, who opened our hearts and our home to greyhounds; Kenzie (Slatex Kenzie: Randy Handy x Slatex Chrisy), 4/03 - 10/14, who really knew what a good dog she was; Falcon (Atascocita Sabat: Dodgem by Design x Atascocita Barb), 9/10 - 1/20, who was grumpy and snarky but eventually a little bit cuddly, too; Grandpa Grey the Galgo Español, 2008 (?) to 2022, who made us feel lucky to be the ones to teach him about pet life; and Lucia (Larking About x Anastasia, 5/12 to 8/23), our first brood matron and the sweetest speckly girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MnMDogs Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 (edited) Mork has both as well. For several / many months, we managed as follows: Adequan once every 3-4 weeks Gabapentin 300 mg 3x/day Tramadol 50-100 mg 3xday He seemed ok. But he hadn't walked any significant distance for well over a year... We assumed that was the way it would be for the rest of his life. Well...8 weeks ago he broke his toe (a nightmare for a dog with his issues PLUS corns and missing toes). We added Rimadyl, then ultimately metacam (didn't like the side effects of Rimadyl at all). The addition of the NSAID has made a world of difference! He now walks about a mile a day (runs some of it!), and seems much younger than he did last year! He's 13 and 5 months I'm not sure if the metacam would be a better option than the steroid, but it may be a consideration? Words can not convey the change the metacam has made in Mork. Just curious, what is the reason for the benzo? I should add Mork also does have disc disease, which was confirmed when he had the thorough once over before we realized he'd only broken a toe. He presented in such a way everyone thought it was much much much more serious. ETA- sorry, this wasn't one big paragraph when I typed it. I blame the iPad. And now it's not a big paragraph... I look crazy. Edited February 13, 2013 by MnMDogs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeofNE Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 If my dog were 13, and was in enough pain that he needed that level of drugs, I would not be thinking about any further treatment of any kind. It's a very personal matter--just my 2 cents. My dog hates to even get his feet wet; water therapy would be akin to torture for him. Maybe your dog loves water--I suppose it might feel good, but I doubt in the end it would fix anything. Quote Susan, Hamish, Mister Bigglesworth and Nikita Stanislav. Missing Ming, George, and Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MorganKonaAlex Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 We were hoping it might be a muscular issue and he'd be feeling better by now with the help of the drugs. I believe it's time to call it but my husband's not quite there yet. In Cobb's case, he loves the water. I have to keep the kiddie pool out to keep him out of my goldfish pond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhead Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 Spencer has LSS and disk issues. We started treating him with acupuncture/chiropractic from a rehab vet certified in both, and that kept him in good shape for the first four years! Going into year 5, at age 12, we had to add drugs. But I'm thinking the acu/chiro might be productive for your dog under the circumstances, since getting his back jumped on may have cronked his spine in a way that a rehab vet could address as ours did. (We never did water therapy because Spencer really doesn't like being immersed in water. The rehab vet had recommended swimming in his case, not the treadmill.) Quote Mary with Jumper Jack (2/17/11) and angels Shane (PA's Busta Rime, 12/10/02 - 10/14/16) and Spencer (Dutch Laser, 11/25/00 - 3/29/13). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fasave Posted February 13, 2013 Share Posted February 13, 2013 I can't believe Cobb is 13. How time flies. No experience but wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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