Michelle's Trevor 11/9 Conservative

Good Evening All,

To your left is our baby Trevor, a Mini Dachshund. He is 6 yrs. old (7 in Jan.) and a very handsome 12 lbs. if I do say so myself. He was taken in on Nov. 6th. for extreme pain in his back. He was put on Previcox- 1/2 a 57mg, 1 time a day. Robaxin-1/4 of 500mg, 3 times a day, Tramadol 1/2 a 50 mg 3 times a day, as needed, Pepcid AC 5 mg 1 time a day and pumpkin 2 times a day. We had not found Dogerslist at the time and crated Trevor at night and when we were at work. We did let him out to lay with on the couch with us, until bed.

Saturday, the 9th, we slept in late and when we let Trevor out of his kennel, he was wobbly in the rear. We called the Vet and was told to give the medication until Monday (his Dr. was on vacation until the 18th).
Very upset and scared, (crying my eyes out) my husband immediately started researching his condition and found Dogerslist. Trevor has been crated 24/7 since, except to potty and we CANNOT thank you enough for the wealth of information on this site! I believe it has saved him...

...by Saturday evening, he could not walk. He only urinated twice, each on Sat. and Sun. Monday, we were told it was IVDD and needed to decide if we were doing surgery. Financially and without guarantee, we decided to go with conservative care. After more research on Dogerslist, I called the Vet's office to see about switching Trevor to a Steriod and she did not want to do it without the recommended washout period and did not want to stop the anti-inflammatory, since he was getting worse. I was mad because I wanted Trevor to have the best chance at recovery but understood her position.

After reading about Laser Therapy and Acupuncture, I contacted another Vet because ours does not offer it. When he questioned me about Trevor's meds, I told him and he asked why he was not on a steroid since he has lost neurological function and I explained that Trevor was walking when they started him on the Previcox. He said that he understood BUT he would like to see him and possibly switch him to the steroid.

Wed. the 14th, we saw the new Vet. After his exam, with the "happy tail", deep pain sensation and the fact he hadn't lost bladder control, he recommended the switch to steroids, asap, even with the risks. He said he could treat an ulcer but couldn't make him walk again if he got worse. So we went for it. We did a 36 hour washout and started
Dexamethasone, one time a day
upped his Pepcid AC to 10mg a day
stopped all his other meds.

Trevor has been making visible progress everyday!! He started lifting his butt to try to stand in his kennel and when he potties. He is still peeing and pooping on his own. He has even started to squat to pee again! Over the weekend, he started "walking", which did appear at first, to be "spinal walking". Still wiggly in the rear and knuckling, he was trying.

Today I got home from work and he was standing in his kennel, making it very known he wanted out. When we went out to potty he was walking on his own a little more, with very little knuckling. He is trying to put pressure on his paws, which is a good sign??? Or, I could just be overly optimistic.

I know we still have a long way to go, but I can honestly say, "Thank you Dogerslist!!!" I don't know what would have happened, had we not found this site when we did. You have provided us with so much education and hope!

With that being said, for now we have no questions. We are taking one day at a time and are very blesssed to have this precious baby in our lives. No matter what, he is still our baby. He loves treats, belly rubs, kisses and licking his daddy's face everyday after work. (which he still does, beacuse daddy sticks his head in his crate everyday after work to conduct this daily ritual)

Good night and God Bless!