Depo-Medrol Injections For Ls - Who Has Tried It - Experiences?

[Guest Yankeegreyhound]

I tried it on Sara and she definitely had relief from it. She was 12 1/2 and a back leg tripod. It will not cure the LS but it could offer relief so it was worth a try. I had to let Sara go for other reasons so she only got the one shot but I definitely would have gotten her another one when she was due. IMO, it couldn't hurt her so I tried it.

[Wendie]

I have been wanting to try this for my Joe for the last 9 months or so but cannot find a vet within 2 hours of me who will do it

Edited December 28, 2013 by Wendie

[Rickiesmom]

Some of the problem may be that a lot of vets do not realize the injection isn't into the spinal canal, but to either side. It is important to confirm that information. They may still not want to do it, but that at least eliminates a potential area of misunderstanding.

[o_rooly]

I took Aston to a grey-savvy vet and asked about it -- he said that he'd be willing to try it, but that he wanted to try prednisone first to test Aston's reaction to steroids. Well, the pred just trashed him -- high BP, severe infection resulting from suppressed immune system, all muscle tone lost. Do the depo-medrol injections have the same positive/negative systemic effects, or do they stay local?

Of course, Aston felt FANTASTIC on the prednisone -- no arthritic pain, anywhere.

[Guest MnMDogs]

My understanding is that the injection will have the same systemic effect, and since it's an injection, Aston would be subject to those effects for however long the prednisone is circulating. It's one of the reasons my vet has been very hesitant to try this with Mork.

 

Sorry pred had such a negative effect on Aston systemically :/. It's tough for these LS dogs. We just added amantadine to Mork's drug regimen, and he's once again on the upswing.

[NeylasMom]

My understanding is that the injection will have the same systemic effect, and since it's an injection, Aston would be subject to those effects for however long the prednisone is circulating. It's one of the reasons my vet has been very hesitant to try this with Mork.

 

Sorry pred had such a negative effect on Aston systemically :/. It's tough for these LS dogs. We just added amantadine to Mork's drug regimen, and he's once again on the upswing.

Is that really true? I honestly don't know, but a cortisone injection generally doesn't have the same effects as an oral steroid in humans.

[Guest MnMDogs]

Is that really true? I honestly don't know, but a cortisone injection generally doesn't have the same effects as an oral steroid in humans.

That's what my vet had discussed with me- that she was worried about a systemic injection of steroids since if there was a bad reaction, there's no way to quickly rid the body of the steroids.

 

Isn't a cortisone injection somewhat different (I'm assuming you mean into a joint?) I wouldn't consider that systemic, but to me, this depo medrol is more similar to an ESI that people would get. For the studies I work on, we don't consider a cortisone injection into a joint a systemic injection, but we would with something like an ESI.

 

But I'm obviously not a dr (I don't even play one on TV, just at home)

 

Eta- now I'm wondering if I misunderstood my vet... But since I've had wine, I'm can't type anymore, or it will be more of a babbling mess.

Edited December 28, 2013 by MnMDogs

[Batmom]

From what I've read previously, there may be some systemic effects from locally injected intramuscular steroids but not of the magnitude you get from oral or IV steroids. The main concern would be with local effects if an injection is given in the same area too often (more than every couple of months).

[AstasMinion]

Asta only got that injection once, but it definitely helped her.

[Finnsliz]

That's what my vet had discussed with me- that she was worried about a systemic injection of steroids since if there was a bad reaction, there's no way to quickly rid the body of the steroids.

.

We had that exact same discussion with our vet. Since Wink had been on steroids previously with no ill effects she was willing to try it. She had never done it before. She took the information I had given her from Dr Stack, did a little more research for herself then did the injections. Unfortunately there were no positive changes, but it was worth the try.

[dbullwinkel]

Missy has had a couple in the past. She was 14 in July and has had LS for at least 6 years. Acupuncture has helped her a lot. She recently had a flare up..I thought it might be the end for her. She ad a depo shot Tuesday. Limping and back end swaying decreased noticeably Wednesday morning. Acupuncture today. Hopefully will continue to help. My vet did say her hind hend is getting weaker..which I understand. Good luck to you and your hound.