NeylasMom Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 (edited) We're at our I think 4th acupuncture appt since Violet saw the neurologist for the suspected cervical disc issue and wow does it help her. I have seen notable improvement in her pain after each visit. The first visit her muscles were so tight along her back the needles were bouncing out and once in, huge swaths of muscle would just twitch in response to the needle being there. The second time she had a reaction to a different needle, further up by her shoulder blade. She yelped really loudly (scared the vet), but about 30 sec after the vet got the needle in she just laid down and went to sleep. It was bizarre. Last week she was more stressed and didnt relax until further in, but today the vet got the needles in down to her tighter back muscles and Violet started to relax. Its incredible to see her respond - she'll keep her head up for a minute, but her whole body relaxes and her eyes start drooping closed like a kid on Christmas Eve and then after a minute or two of that she just lays down. The vet finished putting in the needles with Violet on her side with her head propped up on a pillow. When Zuri had acupuncture I was never sure how much it helped, though I thought it helped some, but in this case there's no doubt. I'm sort of fascinated by it and want to have it done myself so I can know what its like. Anyway, between this and massage therapy/cold laser and rest, she is doing SO much better. She is off the Tramadol and we are introducing more activity through longer walks (so far, so good). I am still trying to be really careful about limiting her play and bounciness (hard! ), but I let her get in and out of the car on her own and she is playing a little with toys on her own. I also added in Duralactin, which may be helping and her PT gave us a really cool device - The Assisi Loop, which I think may also be helping: http://www.assisianimalhealth.com We're just over 3 weeks from when she was in really bad pain. I'm really pleased with her progress though its somewhat frustrating that we're basically happy to be where she was when she started PT 6+ mos ago. But I'm hoping maybe in a while with the benefits if these additional therapies I'll feel comfortable letting her play more and even run a bit. For now, the longer walks with no noticeable pain from her, just some muscle tightness is a pretty good place to be. Edited May 16, 2017 by NeylasMom Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dante2zoe Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Good to know! Our 12 YO foster has two compressed disks in her neck. Fortunately, she isn't the type to be bouncing around. She has been on Previcox, Cerenia, tramadol, gabapentin and Robaxin with cold laser treatments twice a week. Three weeks later, she can now take walks with our girls for up to 1.25 miles - at a strolling pace. We haven't tried acupuncture even though I had good results with three other dogs. We have moved and our old vet who performed the treatments is no longer practicing. Glad to hear that Violet is recovering nicely. Tough road and so hard to watch. Quote Cindy with Miss Fancypants, Paris Bueller, Zeke, and Angus Dante (Dg's Boyd), Zoe (In a While), Brady (Devilish Effect), Goose (BG Shotgun), Maverick (BG ShoMe), Maggie (All Trades Jax), Sherman (LNB Herman Bad) and Indy (BYB whippet) forever in my heart The flame that burns the brightest, burns the fastest and leaves the biggest shadow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XTRAWLD Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 That's great news. I do not have access to an acupuncturist unfortunately, or I would have tried this with Ryder already. Hope you continue to see improvements. Quote Proudly owned by:10 year old "Ryder" CR Redman Gotcha May 201012.5 year old Angel "Kasey" Goodbye Kasey Gotcha July 2005-Aug 1, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greysmom Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 I'm so glad the acupuncture is helping Violet! FWIW, that's the exact experience Lilly has when we do needles, and she's not going for a muscle issue but for her IBS. The first few sticks are always kind of running around behind her as she tries to get away, then, that *one* needle goes in and >>poof!<< she's all relaxed for the next 30 minutes!! Lilly gets them all over - 5-6 down both sides of her spine, one in the tip of each ear, 3-4 in each leg, some in her chest, some in her sides. She knocks most of the first ones out, but the vet comes back and puts them in again after she's "cooked" for a while! Quote Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora) siggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 then, that *one* needle goes in and >>poof!<< she's all relaxed for the next 30 minutes!! That's exactly how it happens. So glad we're not alone in having that experience. The first time it happened was after that really loud scream - she has never yelped that loud for any of her chiropractic adjustments or the previous acupuncture session, or even when the neurologist manipulated her neck in her exam, so I was freaked out. She stopped eating (I feed her cheese while the needles go in) for a really short period and then she started eating it again and then, bam she was down, completely prone on her side. I was afraid she was totally shutting down in fear, but she would still eat the cheese so she was just relaxed. It was so so strange to go from one extreme to another. At least now I'm more familiar with how she's going to react so I don't freak out. Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remolacha Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 I am glad to hear the acupuncture is helping! It really helped my first grey with her spinal issues, so much so that I decided to try it for my own arthritis, and yes, it really did help! Very relaxing, I can understand how the dogs can doze off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoomdoggie Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Glad to hear that the accupuncture is helping! We got both accupuncture (with electric stimulation) and chiropractic for our late greyhound, Zoomer. Several months after having his rear leg amputated because of osteo, he began having back issues. I know the treatments helped, but he was never able to relax during the accupuncture, but the chiropractor adjustments really loosened him up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsmcd7 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 How much does vet acupuncture cost? I'm curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neighsayer Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Great to hear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greysmom Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 How much does vet acupuncture cost? I'm curious. Depends on the number of needles used. They come in packs and my vet charges a per-pack fee, in addition to an office charge. Our practitioner is a licensed veterinarian in addition to a certified acupuncturist and chinese herbal medicine specialist. The office charge is $65, and the acupucture session comes out @ $30, so total $95 per visit, which we do once every three or four months. I'm sure it also depends on your geographic area, and the general costs of vet treatment. Quote Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora) siggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 (edited) How much does vet acupuncture cost? I'm curious.Its likely going to vary a lot depending on where you live. My vet, who is a DVM, but also certified in acupuncture and chinese medicine charges a flat fee if $68.55 per treatment. For comparison, the chiro charges us $80 for an in home treatmnet with a slight travel charge included and the PT that comes to our house charges $85 per session/hour. However, that same PT at the specialty ortho facility costs us $145.Thankfully Violet's insurance covers 80% of all of this! Edited May 17, 2017 by NeylasMom Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmdsmoxie Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Here is a story about a racing kennel having acupuncture done to some of their dogs that you might find interesting. https://www.facebook.com/darcy.kennels/videos/383209688445687/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smurfette Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 Great it helps. My boys get laser accupuncture once a month during their physio session. 3 pups age 7, 11, 12 and no additional pain meds or other meds. Quote Sorry for butchering the english language. I try to keep the mistakes to a minimum. Nadine with Paddy (Zippy Mullane), Saoirse (Lizzie Be Nice), Abu (Cillowen Abu) and bridge angels Colin (Dessies Hero) and Andy (Riot Officer). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsmcd7 Posted May 31, 2017 Share Posted May 31, 2017 Here is a story about a racing kennel having acupuncture done to some of their dogs that you might find interesting. https://www.facebook.com/darcy.kennels/videos/383209688445687/ Very interesting!! Depends on the number of needles used. They come in packs and my vet charges a per-pack fee, in addition to an office charge. Our practitioner is a licensed veterinarian in addition to a certified acupuncturist and chinese herbal medicine specialist. The office charge is $65, and the acupucture session comes out @ $30, so total $95 per visit, which we do once every three or four months. I'm sure it also depends on your geographic area, and the general costs of vet treatment. Thanks Its likely going to vary a lot depending on where you live. My vet, who is a DVM, but also certified in acupuncture and chinese medicine charges a flat fee if $68.55 per treatment. For comparison, the chiro charges us $80 for an in home treatmnet with a slight travel charge included and the PT that comes to our house charges $85 per session/hour. However, that same PT at the specialty ortho facility costs us $145. Thankfully Violet's insurance covers 80% of all of this! Thanks. Is it too late to get pet insurance for a 9 year old greyhound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted May 31, 2017 Author Share Posted May 31, 2017 Very interesting!! Thanks Thanks. Is it too late to get pet insurance for a 9 year old greyhound? You would have to check with individual companies. I looked into switching Zuri when he was maybe 11 because I hated the VPI policy I had him on (there weren't as many choices when I got him) and I love Healthy Paws, which is who the girls are covered by. I don't remember the details, but I think starting at age 10 there were some stipulations - you could only get a lower percentage of coverage vs the 80-90% they offer on younger dogs and of course they're going to exclude any pre-existing conditions. So in the end I just didn't think it was worth it though frankly given VPI's limiting schedule for reimbursement and the fact that not too long after Zuri got bone cancer maybe it would have been worth it. I really look at insurance as just a way to be able to pay for more expensive treatments in the case of accident or major illness, not to try to cover my vet bills so your mileage may vary depending on your goals. What I do know is no company is going to insure a dog that age without excluding pre-existing conditions (and they will want medical records) and the premiums are going to be significantly higher. Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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