Guest 2nsnoe Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Hello, I'm hoping someone can give me a little insight on this topic. My 4 year-old greyhound, Stella, began having trouble rising from a laying position about 3-4 months ago. It started during the night one night and seemed to progressively get worse. She will scream and cry while trying to get up or even just move into another sleeping position. I took her to the vet where they did blood work, spinal x-rays and manipulated her to see where the pain seemed to come from. My vet determined that it is in the cervical spine area, but does not appear to be the spine itself. (X-rays were normal.) This left muscle, soft-tissue or nerve injury as possible causes. Stella began a regimen of first prednisone and muscle-relaxant. This did absolutely NOTHING for the pain. I called my vet and she added Tramadol to the mix. That pain pill hardly seemed to take the edge off, she was still screaming and crying when she got up, laid down, tried to put her head to the floor. Through the forum talk and talking to other grey owners, Gabapentin was suggested. This was a MIRACLE drug! Stella immediately felt relief and was back to her old, ornery self! I thought she was on the mend and soon to be off her medications. Now, after a month of Gabapentin (low dose- 100mg once a day) she is again screaming through the night when she moves. She seems better during the day - runs and plays and jumps with my other grey. She exhibits no other symptoms of spinal injury, she walks normal, no paralysis. Has anyone else experienced anything similar and did your dog eventually heal? Or is Stella going to be dealing with this her whole life? Am I going to have to keep increasing her gabapentin dose. Any insight will be helpful. Thanks so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatterseaBrindl Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Have you tried Chiropractic or accupuncture? Quote Nancy...Mom to Sid (Peteles Tiger), Kibo (112 Carlota Galgos) and Joshi. Missing Casey, Gomer, Mona, Penelope, BillieJean, Bandit, Nixon (Starz Sammie), Ruby (Watch Me Dash) Nigel (Nigel), and especially little Mario, waiting at the Bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2nsnoe Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 I haven't yet but acupuncture was going to be my next step if it didn't resolve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP_the4pack Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 I swear by my chiropractor if you think of going that route as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racindog Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 A GOOD accupuncturist/or chiroprator is prolly her best bet. She will prolly have issues off and on at least for her whole life. Personally I would restrict activity for a couple of weeks even after she is appearing to "be better." It can be very serious if not managed correctly and managing it correctly can actually make the difference between minimal trouble during her life and very serious issues. Thats been my experience with several hounds. Its a common thing with hounds in my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Neck pain is not an uncommon complaint with our retired hounds. Often robaxin, an NSAID and +/- gabapentin are prescribed along with a prescription of rest, rest and rest. You should also only use a harness from now on--no more walking with a collar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llm51807 Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 We had something similar going on with Cecil a few months ago. It started after a sprint around the pony corral at the fairgrounds which is usually pretty safe since it's filled with sand. Anyway, he came up a little gimpy and by that night was limping very badly and it seemed to be his shoulder. It didn't improve in a day or two so I took him to the vet. He was very stoic during the exam and nothing seemed to hurt. Vet said probably soft tissue and to keep him leashed. Limp got better, but he starting screaming when he was moving in the night and when he'd get up from lying down. I started giving him Rimadyl and it worked after a day or so. Took him off after 3 or 4 days and he started crying out again at night (and like Stella, seemed much better in the daytime). Took him back for X-rays fearing the worst and they were clean. We hate medicating but every time I took him off the meds he'd regress in a few days. We have an animal chiropractor relatively close-by, Dr. Sivula in Richfield, OH. Cecil had 3 treatments and went through a bottle of Ligaplex supplement and he seems to be 100%. No Rimadyl for almost 2 months and he's back to sprinting. Dr. Sivula diagnosed cervical spine issue based on X-ray and exam. If you Google cervical spine and dog, the first thing that pops up is an x-ray of a greyhound spine, so as racingdog says above, its probably pretty common in greyhounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2nsnoe Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Thank you so much for the feedback! It is so appreciated. We have only walked Stella with a harness since her injury. I spoke with my vet today and I am going to try doubling her gabapentin and I am taking her for acupuncture. It is hard to keep her down when she feels good. And I realize she needs to rest to heal. I'm really hopeful that the acupuncture will bring her relief. Thank you again for all the feedback! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racindog Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 Well bless you for finding her some accupuncture-thats prolly the very best thing that you can do for her(other than rest and restricted activity). I am sure you BOTH will be pleased and relieved at the results! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2nsnoe Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Well, we took Stella for acupuncture and she seemed to LOVE it. She seemed to enjoy the placement of the needles and she seemed to respond well. However, 2 nights ago she's back to screaming at night and all the next day. In fact, her pain seems to be worse. Gabapentin doesn't seem to be touching the pain anymore even after doubling the dose. Makes me wonder if it ever helped or it was just her pain waxing and waning. We have another acupuncture appointment tomorrow where I will consult with the vet about chiropractic care. I will also inquire about Robaxin. This is soooo hard because my husband and I feel so helpless. We don't want her to have any pain. Has anyone ever heard of heat therapy helping? And if so, what options are out there? Thanks for the support! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 Have you tried a NSAID or robaxin along with the gabapentin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llm51807 Posted October 7, 2014 Share Posted October 7, 2014 When Cecil was in pain and before we did the chiro treatments, I gave him Rimadyl which is for pain and inflammation. We really don't like meds for long term treatment unless it's absolutely necessary, but without the Rimadyl he was screaming every time he got up, especially at night. Not sure if Stella and Cecil even have the same issue, but Rimadyl definitely worked for Cecil's pain. Also, our chiro vet suggested heating pad for 20 minutes 3 times a day. I used a buckwheat neck pillow I heated in the microwave, so we did that too along with the Ligaplex supplement and the 3 chiro treatments. I was able to wean him off the Rimadyl a few days after the first chiro treatment and he never limped or screamed again. It's such a horrible sound to wake up to in the middle of the night - sorry you're having to go through this and hope you find a solution soon for Stella. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2nsnoe Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 We've tried Tramadol but not Robaxin or Rimadyl. I am going to ask my vet about them today at Stella's appointment. I can say that prednisone and methacarbomol and tramadol didn't touch her pain. Thanks for the tip on the heating pad, it seems like that might help. And hopefully her acupuncture today, along with Robaxin and/or Rimadyl will bring her some relief! I'll keep you posted. Thanks again for everyone's insight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 If pred, Tramadol and robaxin didn't help I would seek out a neurologist consult. This may be a surgical fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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