Welcome to Dodgerslist, Rachael! First thing to know is that it IS in the cards for your Seamus to get back to enjoying life whether immediately walking during the short 8 weeks of conservative treatment it will take a disc to heal or waiting on more nerve repair - IVDD is not a death sentence. Find out why that is true:
www.dodgerslist.com/index/SDUNCANquality.htm ☐ Glad you are on the same page about crate rest. The hallmark component of conservative treatment is the crate rest part. With little blood supply discs are much slower to form good scar tissue than it takes a blood rich broken bone to heal. That 6 weeks of a cast for a broken arm to heal is similar to the recovery suite being a kind of cast for the disc. 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7 for 8 weeks provides limited movement to allow good strong scar tissue to form. Super tried and true tips for setting up the recovery suite:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/CrateRRP.htmSTRICT means:
- no laps - no couches
- no baths - no sleeping with you
- no chiro therapy - no dragging or meandering at potty times.
Carry to and from the recovery suite to the potty place and then allow a very few limited footsteps. Using a sling (long winter scarf, ace bandage, belt) will save your back and help to keep a wobbly dog's back aligned and butt from tipping over. A harness and 6 foot leash is to control speed and keep footsteps to minimum as you stand in one spot. An ex-pen in the grass is an excellent alternative to minimizing footsteps with the physical and visual to indicate there will be no sniff festing going on!
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/slingwalk.jpg☐ You are reporting signs of pain - shivering, trembling, yelping when picked up or moved, reluctant to move much or slow to move, can't get comfortable, tight tense tummy. Full pain relief is expected in 1 hour and stays that way dose to dose when the pain medications are correct for your dog.
Alert your vet about the pain! He can adjust the very low dose of Tramadol. 25mg is like giving no Tramadol for an 18 pound dog. Tramadol does not work well unless given at least 3 times a day. It is a short acting drug. PAIN is an EMERGENCY, always! Pain slows down healing! Studies have shown a correlation between less pain and faster recovery from disc injury.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16542131dodgerslist.com/literature/healingpain.htmWe are not vets and do not know the specifics of each dog's health. We are making this suggestion based on what we've seen qualified vets prescribe in the past and only as a basis for discussion with your vet.
☐ What is the Tramadol tablet milligram.. Are you giving half a tablet meaning the tablet itself is 50mg?
I am surprised that Seamus wasn't put on an anti inflammatory, that is imperative. The disc is pressing on the nerves of the spinal cord and when nerves are pressed for too long, they die causing paralysis. It is best to tackle the swelling ASAP to prevent a worsening of neuro functions. An anti inflammatory will work on resolving the swelling. That can take from 7-30 days. This is very important! More info on inflammation and swelling and the medications to fight it for background in discussing with your vet:
dodgerslist.com/literature/healingsweling.htmDiscuss with your Vet or hopefully a specialist who is more used to dealing with IVDD on a daily basis, they see many, many cases. Here is an article that tells how to find the best vet for your Seamus and it also has a search engine to find one hopefully in your area:
dodgerslist.com/literature/VetchkList.htm Please include the all important stomach protector, such as Pepcid AC. Phrase the question to your vet this particular way:" Is there a medical/health reason for my dog not take Pepcid?" If there is no reason, we follow vets who are proactive against not eating, vomit, diarrhea, bleeding ulcers by giving doxie weight dogs 5mg Pepcid (famotidine) 30 minutes before the anti-inflammatory.
☐ If there is pain or neuro diminishment, dogs can benefit greatly with acupuncture or laser light therapy. These therapies can be be started right away to help relieve pain and to also to kick start energy production in nerve cells to sprout. So if this therapy is in your budget, seek out a holistic vet.
www.ahvma.org/find-a-holistic-veterinarian/ Why Chiropractic is not recommended for IVDD dogs:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/chiropractic.htmExcluding an emergency of pain not being controlled or diminishment of nerve functions that require prompt vet help, we have excellent resources for many IVDD questions members have. While you are waiting for a reply, do check out our "All things IVDD" resources for getting the recovery suite setup to an overview of just how Conservative Treatment works:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature.htmThe unknown is simply too scary a place to stay in. Are your ready to get up to speed on all things IVDD and fight the IVDD enemy? Excellent page to start with "Overview: the essentials" and then read all you can as soon as possible. Are you ready? Here's the link
www.dodgerslist.com/healingindex.htmAll of us here have dogs with IVDD, so we know what you are going through having gone through it with our own dogs. We are here to help! Healing thoughts and prayers!
