Violet: Update & Qx On Disc Issues

[NeylasMom]

Can't remember when I last updated on Violet's issues with intermittent lameness & muscle spasms, but there are a few old threads if anyone wants the full history.

 

Brief summary is she started with lameness over a year ago, in October of 2016 that we initially thought was orthopedic until an acute incident in April seemed to indicate a neurological issue. The neuro that we saw then seemed confident that it was a cervical disc issue, but to my dismay he didn't x-ray her whole spine. Since we've had varying degrees of issues with a more noticeable increase in hind end issues I decided to see a new orthopedist, who was recommended by Violet's PT as someone who would really work to "solve the puzzle", and make sure we got x-rays of her whole spine (neuro only x-rayed her neck much to my disappointment).

 

I love the new ortho. He basically x-rayed her whole body and feels confident he has ruled out any orthopedic issues. He got some cracking in her toes that he thought could be arthritic, but her x-rays look great and that wouldn't be causing all of this. He did get a pain response at the base of her neck in front of her shoulder blades that he felt confirmed the suspected cervical disc issue the neuro saw, but again nothing on x-ray (as you might expect). However, there was an abnormality at the L6-7 area of her lower spine that indicates a disc issue there as well.

So long story short it looks like we are dealing with issues with 2 separate discs, one toward the base of her neck that he feels is bulging left and one in her lower spine that also seems to mostly affect her left side. When she had diarrhea I stopped her fish oil and saw a drastic regression to the point that she wouldn't do our basement stairs. Now that she's back on it she's back to her "normal" and is doing fairly well though I don't let her off leash.

 

She has been on Robaxin and receiving PT (cold laser and massage) since early on and we added Gabapentin and acupuncture after the acute incident in April. I'm not going to do the MRI right now because of Violet's poor reaction to anesthesia so the question is just what else, if anything we can do to keep her comfortable and active. The ortho did recommend adding an NSAID to her regimen. I had considered that in April, but the neuro seemed to discourage it and we have some concerns about her kidneys so I ended up adding in Duralactin (a milk protein that has been found to have anti-inflammatory properties), but have no idea if it helps. I will likely do blood work and then try Galliprant for her. The ortho actually recommended a homeopathic remedy called T-relief. I'm pretty skeptical of anything homeopathic, though he claims he has seen good results for patients who really couldn't take NSAIDs. We could also try other natural anti-inflammatories though we tried Curcumin and that didn't sit well with her stomach.

 

Any other suggestions? Any experience with multiple disc issues, how fast this might progress, etc? My biggest concern is that she is only 8 and this is only going to get worse. I would really like to let her get back to being able to be off leash occasionally to play with her sister, but there is no middle ground with that - if she's off she's going to be crazy. Is that a terrible idea? I did let her off a couple of times in September and she actually did okay so I'm willing to give it a shot and see how she does. I just don't want to send her back to that acute incident we had in April where she was so painful she was crying out in pain.

 

Anyway, don't really know what I'm asking - just looking for any input at all. I'm glad we ruled out osteo and anything nefarious like that, but am disappointed we have not one, but two potential problematic areas.

[turbotaina]

So, you can add trazadone to the gabapentin to really reduce activity levels...

 

Obvs I dont have suggestions here, but glad you got some answers from the new orthopod.

[XTRAWLD]

Gaba and metacam over here for neck and limping issues. Made a world of difference. He is also on Longevity from Springtime as a supplement. I haven't done cold laser because imo it's too difficult of a thing to pinpoint since it's also general arthritis...and cold laser over the whole body would take like 3 weeks LOL Other options are tramadol or cartrophen shots, but like NSAIDs they affect the organs. Kind of have to weigh your options....quality of life vs. quantity you know? Keep her moving, keep her walking, keep her active, try to limit jumping - but dogs will be dogs. That's really all we're doing and so far so good.

[Remolacha]

My first grey started having disc issues (lower back) and acupuncture really helped her. She went from barely being able to stand to about 85%-90% normal mobility in about a month and stayed that way until she passed. Now, she was 11 when this started and had a heart condition, so she was already not very active but it is something to consider.

[NeylasMom]

My first grey started having disc issues (lower back) and acupuncture really helped her. She went from barely being able to stand to about 85%-90% normal mobility in about a month and stayed that way until she passed. Now, she was 11 when this started and had a heart condition, so she was already not very active but it is something to consider.

We are already doing acupuncture - started it in April after her acute episode as mentioned above. How often did you do it to maintain once she was doing better? We have been doing it weekly since we started and only in the last month or two have we started to space it apart. We had gone to every 2 weeks and right now are in the middle of our first 3 week stretch. It would be nice if we could go to monthly. Obviously our experience may be different, but curious what you did?

[Batmom]

PT would probably get you the most bang for your buck (and for your effort), to strengthen neck/shoulder/back/butt muscles as best she can tolerate.

[Remolacha]

We are already doing acupuncture - started it in April after her acute episode as mentioned above. How often did you do it to maintain once she was doing better? We have been doing it weekly since we started and only in the last month or two have we started to space it apart. We had gone to every 2 weeks and right now are in the middle of our first 3 week stretch. It would be nice if we could go to monthly. Obviously our experience may be different, but curious what you did?

Once she was as good as she was going to get, we went monthly. Tried stretching it to 6 weeks once, but she started to go downhill, so we went back to monthly, that seemed to be often enough for her to maintain.

[NeylasMom]

Cool, thanks. I would be thrilled with monthly as its a close to 2 hr ordeal sometimes given how long it takes and where my vet is.

[NeylasMom]

So has anyone used any natural anti-inflammatories successfully for disc issues?

[XTRAWLD]

i tried Tumeric. Couldn't get over the stench from the pores though. Not sure how much it helped but it was not worth the stink IMO.

[Remolacha]

The acupuncturist recommended a TCM called Body Sore, it is more of a pain med than an anti-inflammatory, I think. Sugar wouldn't take it, but one of my current dogs who has numerous arthritis/mobility issues takes it and it helps.

[seeh2o]

My vet had Doodles on a supplement for muscle spasms, after her FCE she would get them in her back even with regular cold laser and acupuncture treatments. It really helped a lot, her squeaking in pain completely stopped. She was on Standard Process Naturally Bound Minerals.

 

The other thing that comes to mind - have you considered getting an Assisi Loop for home treatments between her cold laser and acupuncture sessions?

Edited December 12, 2017 by seeh2o

[NeylasMom]

We've actually used Body Sore in other situations, not sure why I didn't think if that. I'll talk to my vet about it at our next acupuncture appt.

 

My vet had Doodles on a supplement for muscle spasms, after her FCE she would get them in her back even with regular cold laser and acupuncture treatments. It really helped a lot, her squeaking in pain completely stopped. She was on Standard Process Naturally Bound Minerals.

 

The other thing that comes to mind - have you considered getting an Assisi Loop for home treatments between her cold laser and acupuncture sessions?

Thanks, I'm a fan of the SP supplements so I'll check that out. And we currently have Violet's PT's Assisi loop. I thought at one point it was helping. Now I'm not sure. Its so difficult to tell and they are not cheap (we cant use hers forever).