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Post by Doris & Maui on Jul 31, 2015 14:24:03 GMT -7
Feather and Fur is our vet when we live on Oahu!!! I love them! Feather and Fur referred us to VERC where both Paris had her liver shunt surgery and Maui had her recent spinal surgery. VERC is new in the last 2 years and they have the best surgeon and vets there!
Yes, Paula. I think that is an excellent plan. He is comfortable resting and sleeping today. Maybe this shot will get him over this hurdle. At least it isn't his spine!
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Post by Doris & Maui on Aug 2, 2015 11:18:08 GMT -7
Update on Maui. Maui is doing well. I haven't seen a limp for almost a week. My question is about the tapering of the Prednisone. She was on a 1/2 tablet once a day last Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. On Monday her kidney values were elevated so local vet said to start tapering her off the Prednisone. Tuesday off, Wednesday on, Thursday off, Friday on, Saturday off, Sunday (today) on. Is that long enough to stop the prednisone now?
Update on London. London is also doing well. I am still crating him after his limping/not bearing weight on Thursday night from what the vet said was a sprained shoulder. He had the steroid shot Thursday night and I am hopeful that is all he needs. He is walking fine and other than panting more, he seems back to normal. I will crate him for a couple more days. I would rather be safe than sorry.
Doris and Maui
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,595
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Post by PaulaM on Aug 2, 2015 12:56:17 GMT -7
Doris, as you have read, there is no way to tell if all the swelling in the spinal cord is gone.... one only knows when a test taper of pred is started. Your job is to watch for any hint of pain surfacing. With kidney issues, your vet has that to consider.
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Post by Doris & Maui on Aug 2, 2015 20:31:42 GMT -7
I guess I didn't clarify my question. I wanted to know if tapering the prednisone to 1/2 tablet every other day for a week was long enough for the tapering before discontinuing it altogether.
Doris
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,595
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Post by PaulaM on Aug 2, 2015 20:36:14 GMT -7
Often we see the every other day Pred dose is 3-5 days.
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Post by Doris & Maui on Aug 5, 2015 22:32:50 GMT -7
Update on Maui. Sunday was her last day of Prednisone. She is doing well. I think she has come to realize that crate rest is for her own good. I have not seen the limping. Sometimes in the morning when I bring her food she wants to do this little dance with her front feet and in backing up she seems to be a little stiff on her front legs. She is learning to become calmer and I have taught her to lay in her bed before I give her the bowl of food. Although Maui's surgery did eliminate Maui's neurological symptoms of walking drunkenly I found a heartwarming video of Boulder the dog that beat some seemingly insurmountable odds that I hope will inspire some of you that are struggling right now with your best friends.
Meet Boulder:
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Post by Sara & Trudi on Aug 6, 2015 0:37:11 GMT -7
Great video! Thanks for posting!
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Marjorie
Moderator~
Member since 2011. Surgery & Conservative
Posts: 5,724
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Post by Marjorie on Aug 6, 2015 5:16:40 GMT -7
Great update on Maui, Doris. And thanks for posting the encouraging video about Boulder. The only thing I have to disagree about is their consideration of euthanasia if Boulder hadn't started walking again. I know it's much more difficult to have a dog of Boulder's size with paralysis but paralyzed dogs can have a wonderful quality of life even if they don't walk again. And nerves can take a very long time to heal - even a year or more. We've seen dogs gain improvement years later. So while I enjoyed watching Boulder's recovery, the moral of the story is - never, ever give up!
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Post by Doris & Maui on Aug 10, 2015 16:27:42 GMT -7
Maui had her blood work done again this morning at the vet. Her BUN Creatin went down to 33 from I believe it was 44 two weeks ago which has improved and the other value (forgot what it was called is now normal). Vet said to give her a 1/4 10mg tablet of Pepcid AC to see if that would help lower the BUN.(I have the generic version of Pepcid AC.) Although she has not limped for over a week I notice that sometimes after standing or going to the bathroom she quickly lies down with her head between her front paws as if she needs to rest her neck. The vet prescribed 25mg Quellin [carprofen] chewy once a day. Is that the usual dose? London, who weighs twice as much as her, was prescribed the same dose of Quellin for his shoulder sprain.
Update on London...now I am wondering if it is not just a shoulder sprain as he was unable to get up without help this morning. I trimmed the hair around his pads thinking it might have been making him slip but something else, maybe his back, is bothering him. I gave him the 25 mg Quellin [carprofen] and when I got home he was much better but...he tried to jump up on my leg when out to the bathroom and gingerly got down quickly as if his back was bothering him. He is in another crate. Looks like an ICU around here.
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Marjorie
Moderator~
Member since 2011. Surgery & Conservative
Posts: 5,724
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Post by Marjorie on Aug 11, 2015 4:42:59 GMT -7
As for Maui, the dosage of the Quellin is correct - The recommended dosage for oral administration to dogs is 2 mg/lb of body weight daily. The total daily dose may be administered as 2 mg/lb of body weight once daily or divided and administered as 1 mg/lb twice daily. Product Label: bayer.naccvp.com/product/basic/view/1040115?e=LSdew7K4HnVeeL2EuzyjnfL5DhrACqQQ
However, I'm concerned as to why the vet prescribed Quellin. Quellin is an anti-inflammatory. The swelling from the surgery should be gone by now. Did the vet do a neuro exam and feel she was having neck or back pain? Did the vet feel she was having another disc episode? Or did he feel her muscles were sore from too much movement? Was this her regular vet or her surgeon? Since Quellin isn't a pain pill, if Maui is having pain, she also needs pain meds if she's having neck or back pain. But you need to find out whether something compromised the neck surgery or whether another disc has ruptured/torn. You'll need to keep Maui on strict crate rest, carried in and out to potty, until this can be determined. If her regular vet did the blood work yesterday, you should get a consult with the surgeon ASAP so he can examine Maui.
As for London, he also needs an emergent consult with a neurologist since you're seeing a worsening of his condition. Good job on crating him - keep him strictly crated, carried in and out to potty, until he can be examined.
If either dog goes in for a neuro consult, you should stop the meds that day so a good neuro exam, which is done based on pain, can be made.
When your dogs are both doing better, here's a video that may help you train them to keep both feet on the ground and not jump up on you as that's not good for their spines:
Please do keep us updated on both of your little ones.
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Post by Doris & Maui on Aug 12, 2015 17:36:22 GMT -7
MauiThanks Marjorie for the suggestions and video. I held up on giving Maui the Quellin as she seems to be getting better each day. She started carrying her set of plastic keys, her favorite toy, and lays down chewing on them as well as her little bear that she loves. I am giving her the Pepsid AC each day. Forgot to answer all of your questions. The vet really didn't examine her per say. She prescribed the Quellin after I told her that sometimes Maui acts stiff in her front legs. She thought it may have been muscular and not from the disk. Without proper tests, I don't think it is possible to know. The vets here do not even have the capability to do an ultrasound as well as CAT scans or MRIs. When Paris had the liver shunt surgery last year I had to fly her over for an ultrasound as well as surgery. On this island you could literally wait 2 months or more before someone comes over to do one. As far as London, we have no specialists on our island to take him to and I don't have the money to fly him over to Oahu now after being without a car for 4 weeks and having to have the transmission rebuilt. Yesterday was the second day of giving him the Quellin and he threw up a little in the evening. This morning I gave him the Pepcid AC a half hour before he ate and got the NSID. He eats fine, drinks, potties, and doesn't seem in any pain. Sometimes he can get up on his own and sometimes not. Once he is on all fours he acts fine. I am hoping this is just from his shoulder sprain a while back. I was reading about the "M" disease and hoping that is not what this is. I have come to realize while it may be paradise it is far from it when you need special care for aging dogs. Our house is almost ready to be put up for sale and hopefully it will sell fast so we can get back to Oahu and have these guys checked out.
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Post by Doris & Maui on Sept 2, 2015 14:36:01 GMT -7
Aloha! Update Tomorrow is Maui's 8 week graduation and she is now doing great! For the last few days I have let her walk around in the family room. Until I can get ramps, I have fences around all of the furniture and the stairs. At night even though she loved to sleep on the bed with us, she is now satisfied in a little fenced area sleeping in her bed. All of this crate rest, although tough at the start, has made her a calmer dog. (Believe me that is surprising as she is quite the little spitfire!) Just a note on London. We believe his problem was arthritis because in a few days he was fine. We do have him on a diet and he is losing some much needed weight. Maui and Doris
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,595
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Post by PaulaM on Sept 3, 2015 8:05:37 GMT -7
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