Welcome to Dodgerslist, Amanda First thing to know is that it IS in the cards for your Brutus 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.htmAny Vet that thinks putting a dog to sleep is the answer is not the Vet for Brutus. He does not know how to treat IVDD. There are two treatments, conservative treatment and surgery. It would be a good idea to find a Vet that understands this disease. Here is some good info on how to find them..
dodgerslist.com/literature/VetchkList.htmIn order to help you more, could you please answer these questions?
☐ Brutus needs to be on an anti inflammatory to work on the swelling that is pressing on the nerves of the spine. This is VERY Important. Steroids are generally used when the dog has lost the ability to walk. NSAIDS are used by many Vets as well. Never use both.. One or the other or there could be severe damage to the stomach and GI tract.
What was the start dose IF on a steroid, date of taper?
Stomach protection is a must: Phrase the question to your vet this very particular way: Is there a medical or health reason my dog may not take Pepcid AC (famotidine)? If there is no reason buy Pepcid AC at the grocery store. We follow vets who are proactive against not eating, vomit, diarrhea, bleeding ulcers by giving doxie-weight dogs 5mg Pepcid AC (famotidine) 30 minutes before the anti-inflammatory and thereafter every 12 hours. Source: 0.44mgs famotidine per pound twice a day
www.1800petmeds.com/Famotidine-prod11171.html☐ Do you currently observe any signs of pain?
•restless, can't find a comfortable position
•slow or reluctant to move much in crate such as shift positions
•shivering-trembling •yelping when picked up or moved
•tight tense tummy •arched back, ears pinned back
•not eating due to painful chewing or in too much overall pain
•head held high or nose to the ground.
•looks up with just eyes and does not move head and neck easily.
•holds front or back leg flamingo style not wanting to bear weight
•not their normal perky selves
Full pain relief is expected in 1 hour and stays that way dose to dose of correctly Rx/d pain meds. You are seeing pain that means the pain meds are not yet right and need adjusted.
♦️"There is medicine and there is healing. Healing requires rest and comfort, and all patients should be kept as comfortable as possible. Studies have shown a correlation between less pain and faster recovery from illness, surgery, or injury." ♦️ Barak Benaryeh, DVM, DABVP. "Identifying Pain in Geriatric Patients." Veterinary Team Brief. NOV/Dec 2015.
☐ Let us know 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.
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/slingwalk.jpgAn 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!
☐ Why Chiropractic is not recommended for pain for an IVDD dog:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/chiropractic.htm The unknown is simply too scary a place to stay in. Are you 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.htmWe are here for you!