Mark's Shorty 4/22 conservative - GRAD 6/17

Mark, I'm sorry to hear Shorty is having another disc episode. Your actually starting STRICT rest is going to play a good roll in his hopefully in time healing the damaged nerves.

Need to make sure you are on the same page about protecting the spinal cord. STRICT REST MEANS:
◼︎ Avoid dangerous detours. Follow the "Roadmap." Tape it to your fridge. D/L and print out: dodgerslist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Roadmap-for-Fridge.pdf
◼︎No laps ◼︎no couches ◼︎no baths ◼︎no sleeping with you
◼︎No chiro therapy whys: dodgerslist.com/2020/04/22/chiropractic/
◼︎Carry to and from the potty place. 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!
◼︎No PT for conservative dogs during 8 weeks to heal disc
◼︎At home laser or acupuncture for severe neuro damage is best.
◼︎ Transports are always a risk to the disc of too much movement. Vet visits must be weighed risk vs. benefit for dogs with little to mild neuro diminishment.


Here are lots of tips and ideas to make the next weeks of disc healing rest go smoother: dodgerslist.com/2020/05/14/strict-rest-recovery-process/

RIMADYL
--Is he still on the 12.5mgs 2x/day dose.  What date will that end?  Am trying to figure out how many days-course was prescribed.
-- When increased neuro diminishment happens caused by too much movement, let the vet know you did not do strict rest.  Advocate for Shorty to be moved to the most powerful class of anti-inflammatory drugs...a steroid. Usually it would be prednisone.
   Normally a 4-7 day washout is advised from the stop of Rimadyl to the begin of Prednisone. It is an emergency when there is neuro diminishment to stop the spinal cord damage!  THEREFORE if two stomach protectors (Pepcid AC®-famotdine) and Sucralfate are on board there can be a switch right away, dispensing with washout days.

To avoid more risk to the disc, see if you can call ER tonight where he has been seen and has a file. Any vet working ER can read the file and prescribe. Otherwise you have to wait til Sat morning and CALL/PHONE your vet to advocate for:
  Prednisone (steroid)
  Adding traMADol as the general analgesic 3x/day if there is any pain displaying when having to move or nearing the next dose of the other two pain meds.

Thanks for the other questions. I do everything other than a sling when he potty's. 

For the rimadyl they just said 25mg broken up to twice a day, the vet did not give an end date.

He was supposed to go in for Acupuncture Monday but with him getting worse I'm debating if I should do that or not. My vet already told me a few days ago he did not want to put him on prednisone and it was too much of a risk. I will consider what to do and either call the emergency tonight or first thing tomorrow morning. 

Thanks for the help! 

Let the vet understand the reason for neuro diminishment (lack of strict rest until 4/22).

Adovcate for prednisone. Hours matter when there is loss of neuro function. Prednsone, I have seen in my own dogs, can turn the diminishment around in a matter of hours if started early in the diminishment.

Hire a mobile vet if you want acupuncture. At home crate rest is the safest for his healing disc.

All anti-inflammatories have dangers including Rimadyl. He should already be on Pepcid AC (famotdine). Going to a steroid like pred can be done if both kinds of stomach protectors are on board.

Anti-inflammatories remedy pain by reducing inflammation. Vets choose an anti-inflammatory during a disc episode to get painful swelling down in about 7-30 days. These powerhouse meds do wonders OR they can be dangerous. Vets who practice safe medicine and owners up to speed on medications make all the difference. Did you get all four questions right?

Update on Shorty. I've talked to 2 more vets since last night, both said absolutely do not put him on Prednisone and it's best to keep him on rimadyl. That's 4 total vets that would not make the move over.

Shorty is having more trouble standing (but he's also now on trazodone), both vets think he should get surgery which I am now seriously considering. That will have to wait until Monday at least since they would not schedule him since it's not an emergency yet and the Neurologists are not in on the weekends. I still have hope that he could stabilize here.

For now, continue on the Very strict crate rest. This will give Shorty's disc the best chance to heal. I am not sure if you have had the chance to look at this link Paula pointed you to. It may help you make your decision on surgery:
dodgerslist.com/2020/02/10/surgery-vs-conservative/

Quick update on Shorty. He's finally stabilized [?meaning].  1 treatment of acupuncture really made a huge difference [?meaning]. I've got him on strict crate rest for the next 6-8 weeks, we'll see if he starts to improve.