Violet's In Pain - I Think Her Back :(

[turbotaina]

Ugh. I was hoping your appointment was right now so I could bug you for updates

[racindog]

So sorry Violet's back has been giving her trouble. It is all to familiar to me. It has been my experience that IVDD diagnosis' are sometimes made somewhat like a coverall for back issues so in my experience the actual diagnosis hasn't mattered much. I don't think there is much we can do other than support them and help them as best we can with love. I have found the robaxin, tramadol combo to be the most effective thing along with accupuncture and some quality neutraceuticals like Fresh Factors, DGP pills, Duralactin etc-whatever helps that particular dog. All mine that had spinal issues did well on the robaxin/tramadol combo for quite a while. Eventually the injury seems to deteriorate more and then steroids are added. At this point it seems there is an overall decline-faster or slower depending on the dog. However sometimes a low dose actually knocks that inflammation down enough to help them 'get better.' I had one remain on a very low dose for a few years with no problems(except muscle wastage) and one that never req'd them again after he recovered-at least not yet. With ALL of them it was of utmost importance to restrict their activity. And 1 cautionary tale about the robaxin. There seems to be with some dogs an optimum dose that is greatly beneficial and a too much dose that is exceedingly harmful. Cash became very painful and tense and hard as a rock and wasn't improving. The substitute vet told me to increase the robaxin from 1/2 tab to a whole tab. Shortly after I did her back totally went to hell and she crossed over soon after and after enduring such pain. When the regular vet got back she told me that the increased robaxin dosage probably relaxed her muscles so much that it allowed her spine to slip out of place much worse than it was before when her tight, albeit painful, muscles were actually stabalizing it. So its a balancing act and thats just something to be aware of. I so wish I would have known-that someone would have warned me of it- before I blindly trusted the substitute vet who obviously didn't know about it herself-or didn't care-whatever. There is a homeopathic named hypericum that was most useful and helped as well which was prescribed in 200C by my accupuncture vet. It specializes in pain associated with nervous system involvement and of course arnica is helpful too. Prayers for Violets quick recovery. Some of mine did in fact recover pretty good for quite a while so stay optimistic! Hugs.

[dmswartzfager]

Hrm. Wish I had seen this yesterday. Sure looks neuro to me, and dogs with a neck disk can certainly show that hunched back posture. I will be curious to see what the neurologist says. 12:30 is not a normal "new" appointment time for us at BVNS, so I assume you are going elsewhere and I won't get to see you and her at some point in the process... (but then again, I didn't look too closely at today's schedule before I left yesterday, since today is my day off... )

[NeylasMom]

Hrm. Wish I had seen this yesterday. Sure looks neuro to me, and dogs with a neck disk can certainly show that hunched back posture. I will be curious to see what the neurologist says. 12:30 is not a normal "new" appointment time for us at BVNS, so I assume you are going elsewhere and I won't get to see you and her at some point in the process... (but then again, I didn't look too closely at today's schedule before I left yesterday, since today is my day off... )

We go to VOSM. We just finished up. I'll post more later, but yes, he is fairly confident its cervical. X-rays were pristine.

[Walliered]

My 9 year old Greyhound had Cervical Disc Arthroplasty in 2015. It was a very successful surgery.

[turbotaina]

We go to VOSM. We just finished up. I'll post more later, but yes, he is fairly confident its cervical. X-rays were pristine.

 

Next step MRI or is he able to give a DX based on what he saw today?

[dmswartzfager]

We go to VOSM. We just finished up. I'll post more later, but yes, he is fairly confident its cervical. X-rays were pristine.

 

Ooh, I might have questions later, then, and see if my neurolocalization is correct...

[NeylasMom]

 

Next step MRI or is he able to give a DX based on what he saw today?

Next step is always an MRI. They won't definitively diagnose neuro crap without one. But the diagnosis on the report says cervical myelopathy, which I think is just their way of saying she probably has compression of her spinal cord in her neck, but we don't know why. Likely age related or due to some injury, but he mentioned that things could turn up as they're doing the MRI more indicative of something inflammatory so they'd take a spinal fluid sample at that point.

 

It's good that the x-ray is clear in that it rules out cancer and bone infection though I would have been really surprised if either turned up. Disc issues can sometimes show up in some form on x-ray and my understanding is that if you could actually see something on the x-ray it would be because the disc issue was pretty severe, so that's also good, but again nothing surprising since she's recovering quickly and already not in that much pain any longer (she actually did her first full wet dog shake after we got her out of the car at the vet's).

 

He didn't really push for the MRI at this point and I'm not keen on doing it right away because of the anesthesia. So he wants me to keep her on the Gabapentin and Tramadol for a while and really restrict her activity for 2 weeks and then we'll go from there. Also, no chiro for the time being, but I can follow through on the acupuncture consult and we'll increase the frequency of her manual therapy again for a while.

 

I'm afraid though that the most likely scenario is this is something she won't fully recover from and we'll have to deal with it in some form indefinitely. I just want her to be able to play with Skye and run off leash. She's only 8 so the thought of having to limit her from those things for the rest of her life is really disheartening.

[Remolacha]

My first grey had that, but at the back end instead of in the cervical area. Acupuncture was a life saver for her, literally, as she had collapsed and couldn't walk. After we started the acupuncture, she got back to 80-90% normal function. Glad she is feeling better!

[NeylasMom]

My first grey had that, but at the back end instead of in the cervical area. Acupuncture was a life saver for her, literally, as she had collapsed and couldn't walk. After we started the acupuncture, she got back to 80-90% normal function. Glad she is feeling better!

Thanks. A few people have mentioned acupuncture really helped in this type of situation so that's encouraging. Zuri got it for his LS, bit while I think it did help him some, it certainly wasnt life changing.

 

I had to decide between having her PT come to do manual therapy or stick with the acupuncture consult so we're going to do the acupuncture and Courtney (her PT) will come on Tuesday. I'm good with that because she's more painful again after being manipulated today so I don't know how much Courtney could do tomorrow. Plus I'd like to talk to my vet about additional supplement options. She's more into chinese herbs, but there might be something they use for this that it won't hurt to try. I may also try Boswellia since it has anti-inflammatory properties.