IVDD flare or something else?
★1 Bicks weighs
31.6 lbs.He is currently on Gabapentin 300mg, every eight hours. He has been on this since 8/13.
He is also taking Tramadol, 50mg, every eight hours. He has been on this since 8/21.
He is also on Prednisone, 3/4 of a tablet every 12 hours. He started this the evening of 8/22. He will start to taper down Thursday 8/28.
He is on Omega 3's, liquid form, 2 pumps per day with dinner.
He started CBD oil on 8/22 as well. We are going back and forth between the treats and the liquid.
He is not taking any stomach protectors, he is eating and drinking with no issue or stomach upset.
[Moderator's Note. Please do not edit
31.6 lbs
Prednisone as of 8/22 20mgs in a tab?:15mgs 2x/day for 6 days, 8/28 test taper _pain/_neuro
gabapentin 300mgs 3x/day
tramadol 50 mgs 3x/day
no GI tract protector Pepcid AC on board! ]
★2 Bicks is a Beagle, he will be 7ish in November. My name is Michelle
★3 Bicks was diagnosed with IVDD back on 6/3/18. He went to surgery on 6/4 as he had issues with his L3 and L4 discs. This was after a month of conservative treatment starting in early May of 2018, by June 3rd he was paralyzed, but still had feeling.
When Bicks presented with back pain again late in the day on 8/12, we got him into VCA Aurora (IL) through the emergency department because it was their neurology department that did the surgery back in June of 2018. On 8/13 he was seen by the ER doctor, not the neurologist as neurologically Bicks looked good. He is able to walk with no issues, he can turn his head, he can curl into a ball. He can squat, even balancing on 3 legs to pee and squats to poop with no pain or issues.
★4 Original date of surgery was 6/4/18. Bicks made a full recovery, we started rehab 2 weeks post op. He did cold laser therapy, water therapy and acupuncture. We have continued every 3 month visits with the rehab vet at IVRSM in Hanover Park IL, seen by Dr. Rosemary LoGuidice DVM, Diplomate ACVSMR, CCRT, CVA, CVSMT, FCoAC.
Date of new incident is 8/12/19. We have no idea what happened, all of the sudden Bicks was complaining of pain when we laid down to snuggle him.
We have been following the course of treatment as indicated by VCA in Aurora. They told us Gabapentin and 3 weeks of [current conservative or post-op?] strict rest. We are not crating Bicks for his rest. My husband works from home, as long as everyone is gone, Bicks is content to sleep the day away in his dog bed. Bicks has been completely confined via a gate system to our kitchen family room, he can't go far. VCA said this was ok. In the past 14 months, Bicks has maybe jumped on a couch 10 times. We really took it to heart that we had to limit his jumping to prevent reoccurrence.
Bicks was seen on 8/13 at VCA. On 8/14 I took Bicks in for acupuncture, he did really well. You could see the change in him immediately. He felt better, he had a great weekend. I took him back for a 2nd acupuncture treatment on 8/19, they said he looked really good. No hot spot in his spine, no more arching, he looked really good. We let him walk out of the office because he was feeling so good. Mistake. As we were walking out, a room door opened and there was a dog. Bicks is highly reactive to other dogs, he lunged at the dog and yelped in pain. We were hoping rest would help and it was just a minor issue, it wasn't. Bicks will cry out every time you put him down after taking him outside to go potty. Not when you pick him up to take him out. Only when you put him down. So on 8/21 I called the vet and we added Tramadol after 24 hours, still crying out in pain when you put him down. On 8/22 I called the vet, got him on Prednisone, that seemed to help. By 8/23 you could see that he felt better. I took him back in for his acupuncture on 8/23, she knew about the incident on 8/19 and said again his spine felt fine, no hot spot and that he looked good. We were cautiously optimistic now. Late afternoon Sunday 8/25, Bicks is laying in his bed in the kitchen with my daughter as I'm cooking. Bicks knows that when Mom is chopping veggies that he's going to get some, so we were trying to confine him but let him be part of the action. I give my daughter some yellow pepper to feed him while is laying in bed, he goes to sit up and yelps in pain. No idea where this came from, he had been up a bit more than usual that day because he is peeing a lot on the prednisone. He continued to yelp every time we put him down and then last night around 9:15 after his last night potty break, I picked him up and he yelped in pain. That's a first in the 2 weeks that we have been going through this. He cried again when I put him down but settled down for the night with no issues. He changes positions during the night with no incident, no crying out in pain. This morning, he was up, wagging his tail 100 miles an hour as usual, ears perky and I carried him downstairs with no incident, until I put him down in the grass.
★5 Yes, Bicks is still in pain, only when we put him down, he yelps one-three times, walks it off and then goes and lies down in his bed. He is having zero mobility issues in these two weeks. He is not shivering or trembling. He only yelps, with the exception of the incident last night, when we put him down and after 2 days of not yelping. His back in not arched. He does tense up, I can feel it when we put him down in the grass or in his bed. He wiggles too and I am carrying him close to my body and making sure he feels protected. His head is normal. I'm contacting my vet today to see what we need to do to get pain controlled better. I'm also contacting IVRSM to see if they can get him in for cold laser therapy today.
★6 Eating and drinking very well. Poops normally, pees more but that is due to the prednisone. His urine stream is good. He is fully mobile, some mild ataxia due to the Gabapentin. His tail with happy talk is going it's usual 100 miles per hours.
This whole situation is just odd to us. Back in May of 2018 when we were going down this rabbit hole to surgery, we continued to see his mobility get worse and he was in pain all of the time. It's not happening like this now. Bicks is walking normally, trotting even. We won't let him run, we are monitoring him closely going potty. We can't put him on a leash in the back yard to go potty, because the little stinker remembers that last year after surgery we would put him on his leash in the back yard, then walk him out front. So instead of doing his business, he goes right to the gate and wants a walk, which is not happening. Instead we let him do his business and then tell him to get back inside. I'm limiting my picking him up because that seems to be causing him so much more pain and discomfort, at least until he lays down again. And when he does lay down, he does go on his side, showing me his belly and wanting it rubbed.
My husband and I are beside ourselves with worry and honestly at a loss as to where we go next. This just doesn't seem like what we dealt with last year, particularly that Bicks is so mobile.
Thanks for listening!
Michelle
