Weak Hind Legs

[vsrenard]

My senior girl, Zola, is 13.5 years old and has had arthritis in her hind for many years. It's mostly manifested as shaky back legs and a limp if she does too much. She's a pretty feisty girl (!!) but she's pretty good about regulating her own activity when the pain is more than she can handle so I don't restrict her activities too often.

 

Last week, she had a couple of days where she was clearly feeling some pain and was slow (no specific activity or injury to point to), and we gave her some tramadol. A couple of days alter, she apparently lost her ability to use her back legs (I was out of town). She could hop on and off couches, if there was carpet under her feet, but was wary of walking on the hardwood floors and could not walk the mild incline in our backyard to pee/poo and had to be carried.

 

Vet palpated her spine and found soreness in her mid-lumbar region. Her blood panels and urine labs are normal. No x-rays done, but she had normal response to pulling her legs back into place when he manipulated them to awkward positions. He noted she was stoic with her pain (she is) but that she was definitely in discomfort when he moved her legs around.

 

He suspects she strained something and prescribed rimadyl and tramadol. Five days later, she can kind of walk in the house (but still avoids the hardwood floors, and is shaky even on the carpet), and is able to walk the mild incline for her turnouts. But she clearly doesn't want to move, and hangs out on the sofa 23.5 hours of the day. She's lost her playful energy but she is still alert and interested in what's going on around her (when she's not tranqu'd by the meds). Her appetite is not normal but she is eating about 1/2-3/4 of her usual amount.

 

How long do I give her for marked improvement before I should worry? She seemed to get a lot better in the first 48 hours after the meds, but is now in a plateau. Should I back off the meds and see how she does? I have a call into the vet but am also looking for any personal experience/advice.

 

Thank you,

Vanitha

 

[Remolacha]

My first grey had back end/spinal problems when she got older. Steroids helped her short term, but what really helped was acupuncture. It helped some right away, but took about a month for the full effect, but she went from not being able to stand, much less walk, to about 90% normal after a month of acupuncture. We were able to increase the time between sessions after that to first once a month, then once every six weeks. The other thing that helped in the interim was snow adequan injection. I would definitely try the acupuncture!

 

I hope Zola can get better!

[Guest DogNewbie]

Hey! I don't know if this will help, but when we first got Wiley he was shakey , wobley, and unstable when he peed. About a month after we got him we put him on therabites joint chews. These are vet grade glucoseamine and conducting. They have helped immensely.

 

Good luck!!

[dante2zoe]

Have you considered gabapentin and robaxin? If she has spinal issues, it is likely, imo, that she has some nerve pain. The gabapentin would help with that. And, if she has some pain, she probably tenses her muscles and the robaxin is a muscle relaxer and can help with that. That combination has worked well for Brady.

 

Wishing your sweet Zola well!

[Guest MnMDogs]

Have you considered gabapentin and robaxin? If she has spinal issues, it is likely, imo, that she has some nerve pain. The gabapentin would help with that. And, if she has some pain, she probably tenses her muscles and the robaxin is a muscle relaxer and can help with that. That combination has worked well for Brady.

 

Wishing your sweet Zola well!

 

I'd also suggest gabapentin and robaxin. The last 2 years of Mork's life we kept him on a variety of meds for his arthritis and back end issues. We also used adequan injections as well (I was doing them myself). He still had good days and bad, but right up intil the end he had bursts of playfulness so we know he wasn't feeling too bad.

 

I think you still have many options to keep your sweet old girl comfortable and happy, it's just finding the right combination.

 

Good luck with Zola.

[greytpups]

Ben has been limping for awhile and I asked our holistic vet about gabapentin and she was reluctant because she said it may cause them to become (I forget the exact word she used) dopey-like. Did anyone experience this? I opted for another acupuncture treatment instead btw and recommend this as well.

[Guest LazyBlaze]

If she has tweaked something in her back it may take a few weeks of being patient and just letting her very slowly increase her activity. I personally would not back off with the painkillers as she will be delicate. My old terrier suffers from arthritis and had a bad flare up around Christmas with tenderness around the spine/lumbar area as you describe (he had an awkward jump down from something and twisted a bit). I would say it took about six weeks for him to get back to normal activity levels (he was taking things very slowly and gingerly to begin with). Tramadol really helped our boy, along with his Onsior, but it took a couple of weeks to fully kick in and have optimum effect. Fingers crossed Zola is feeling better soon.

[dante2zoe]

Jan, there is a chance of some dizziness when first starting gabapentin. As the body adjusts, that wears off. At least, that has been the experience of those I know who have taken the medication themselves or for their pets. Also, you start small. 100 mg every 8-12 hours and ramp up from there, if needed. Greyhounds can take it every 8. However, Brady is doing just fine taking it every 12, so that is what I do. He now gets 200 mg twice a day and spinal pain is the least of his issues. He is getting adequan and acupuncture, too, but he has so many health concerns and they help with most of them.

 

Good luck!

[XTRAWLD]

Kasey was getting a weak hind end for some reason a year or so ago - he started missing our bed after launching, etc and hesitated going up stairs. I figure I would try a supplement and much to my amazement, weakness fully gone after a few weeks. (Of course every case is different).

 

Have you looked into Fresh Factors (by Springtime)? - http://www.springtimeinc.com/product/fresh-factors/All-Natural-Dog-Supplements

Edited May 14, 2014 by XTRAWLD

[Guest MnMDogs]

Mork had zero adverse effects from the gabapentin

[EllenEveBaz]

No adverse affects from gabapentin here, either, but I wish we were closer than a two-hour drive to an animal acupuncturist.