Sam's Violet 11/8 brain tumor, B. Terrier

Welcome to Dodgers List, my name is Maureen, what's yours? I'm sorry that Violet is having an IVDD episode. Good job on starting the srtict crate rest. 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7 only out to potty for a full 8 weeks is the SINGLE most important thing you can do to help Violet-- it is the hallmark component of conservative treatment. …. No laps, no couch, no sleeping in bed with you, no meandering, scooting or dragging around during potty times. No baths, no chiro (aka VOM). In other words do everything you can to limit the vertebrae in the back from moving and putting pressure on the bad disc. The crate is the only surface that is firm, supportive for the spine, not inclining, always horizontal and keeps a dog from darting off at a TV doorbell and safe. The rest of the details of doing crate rest to ensure the best recovery in this excellent document:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/CrateRRP.htm

The purpose of crate rest is to act as a cast of sorts to let the disc heal… only limited movement of STRICT crate rest allows that to happen…there are no meds to heal a disc. Immediate neuro improvement may or may not come during the 8 weeks of crate rest… as nerves may take more than 8 weeks to heal.

You are right to ask about getting Pepcid on board to protect Violets stomach. We follow proactive vets and give our approx 13-20 lbs dogs 5mg of Pepcid 30 mins prior to steriods. Phrase the question to your vet in this particular way: "Is there any medical reason my dog may not take Pepcid AC?"

You need to call your Vet about Violet's coughing and nasal discharge too. She is brachycephalic (which is fancy Vet speak for having a pushed in face) and they are more prone to respiratory troubles because of this (I have 3 dogs like this) she may have picked up a bit of an infection or something (oh yipee-I know).

Could you give us a list of all of her medications - both the dosage and frequency that she gets? This information will allow us to help you more efficiently.

Keep us posted -we are all here for you and will do whatever we can to help.
Keeping you in thought and prayer (((hugs)))

Hi-
I'm Sam. Thanks for your reply. Violet is taking:

Methocarbamol 500mg- 1/4 tab every 12 hours
Medrol- 4mg- 1/2 tab tapered (every 12 hrs for 5 days, 1/2 tab every 24 hrs for 7 days, 1/2 tab every 48 hours for 14 days). (She is on the 48 hours tapered dose)
Di Gu Pi San .5g capsule 2 x a day
Cervical Formula- 180 mg- 2 pills 2x a day. (Jing Tang Brand)

Violet eats and drinks fine- no blood in stool.

I just took her to the dr. today and asked them to do a fecal and blood test on her to rule out any other possibilities... She also did well on her exam moving her neck from side to side and up and down. I had asked about combining the herbs and the drugs and the dr. assured me that they would be fine and that eventually when they kick in to remain on the herbs and get off of the med/meth.

She is not in any pain today or yesterday- for the first time in a long time. Her tell is a tic on her face and neck, shivering and yelping (if i pick her up- which i don't do unless absolutely necessary). Today she is her normal self. She had a second acupuncture treatment today and she is radiant. Even our other dogs who were moppy around her when she was blue seem to notice her difference.

Violet was not on strict crate rest until 2 weeks ago. I tried to keep her quiet and she kind of self-moderated herself before that, but until we had the xray I didn't really know that she needed it. (I know now how awful that was). I don't think she is a total IVDD case- or maybe it is just a mild form of it? I hope!!

The specialist appt isn't until December 6 (first one available)- but hopefully she will be somewhat healed up by then. I hope.

The dr. today suggested that the coughing was from post nasal drip. We've been running a vaporizer in the room and that seems to help. Last night was the first night that we only got up 2x- which was amazing.

We knew she was allergic to the pred because she broke out in hives and had dark splotchy red patches on her that looked like bruises. When we saw that we brought her to the emergency clinic and they gave her benedryl. It cleared up. We switched to the medrol after that and she was fine.

I hope today's prognosis continues toward a complete recovery!! Thank you for helping to answer my questions and offering education.
S

Hi!
Thanks for your help. Violet only started on strict crate rest on Nov. 8 (2 weeks ago). We are ok to take Pepcid A/C- we had a bad night the last two nights- the coughing/backward sneeze is aggravating Violet's neck- we spoke with our vet who prescribed Tramadol 25mg every 8-12 hours. We just picked it up today and will start her on it tomorrow morning (I want to be awake when we give it to her). I questioned why was she ok immediately after the acupuncture and hurting during the night and i was told that it was because the toxins are being flushed by her body and it is to be expected. Violet is great during the day, but nighttime is when she hurts.

We also noticed that when she tried to shake her ears that she threw her neck out and appeared to be in pain. We washed out her ears thinking that maybe they were contributing to her runny nose and itchiness. We'll see.

Just when I think we have this under control, we get kicked around again. Thanks for listening.

Hi Sam,

It is important to give Violet the Tramadol tonight and every 8 hours on schedule.  It has a short half life so it works better given every 8 hours..   Methocarbamol can also be given every 8 hours, please discuss with your Vet..  She will rest much better if her pain is under control.  She won't be able to sleep if she is in pain and she needs her rest so she can heal.  

Just a thought, my dog Tyler does the reverse sneezing/ ear itching when he has an allergic reaction to something..  Another throught, she may be reacting to the Chinese herbs.. I would try stopping those just to see if the reverse sneeze/ear itching clears up.. Put on your detective hat.. When did the reverse sneeze start intensifying?  Quite often itching ears, skin and reverse sneezing tend to be allergy related.. Try eliminating the herbs first..and see if that helps..

From:  www.dodgerslist.com/literature/cervical.htm
A disc problem in the neck can be more painful and may take longer to resolve because a dog moves its head with almost all actions and when any other part of the body moves. That constant movement means that healing can take longer because the neck doesn't get the rest to allow the disc uninterrupted healing.

These are additional things you can do to help with a cervical disc problem during the 8 weeks of 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7 with conservative treatment:

Make sure the medications are fully controlling pain from dose to dose with no break through in pain. Continued feedback to your vet is vitally important until the pain medications have been properly adjusted for your dog. There is no "one-size-fits-all" pain control.

Signs of pain are holding the head in an unusual position...head held high or nose to the ground, shivering/trembling, not wanting to move much or moving gingerly, yelping, tight/tense stomach muscles, holding leg up flamingo style...not wanting to bear weight on the leg.

These are the typical pain medications used to treat IVDD:

Tramadol as the general pain reliever. It has a short half life of 1.7 hours and may need to be prescribed at a minimum of every 8 hours.
Methocarbamol treats muscle spasms stemming from aggravated muscles due to nerve trauma related to the spinal cord inflammation.
Gabapentin may be added to the mix for hard to control pain. Veterinarians are finding this medication works very well in combination with Tramadol.

An anti-inflammatory can take 1-2 weeks or longer to resolve all pain. During the taper prior to termination of a steroid is the time to watch for any signs that pain is returning which would indicate that more time on the steroid is needed. After repeated attempts to go off any anti-inflammatory, if pain cannot be totally resolved, surgery should be a consideration.

Raise food and water bowls to head height to avoid bending down to eat and drink.
If you feed kibble, moisten each meal with equal parts water and kibble and allow to hydrate in the fridge overnight. Then warm slightly in microwave, just to take the chill off, before serving. This will eliminate pain from crunching kibble.

No chew treats or kongs during recovery. Chewing on those makes the head and neck move a lot and can deter healing and cause more pain.

Snuggle Safe is a commercial product that will keep warm the whole night. Wrap in a towel piece of fleece fabric as a soft place to rest the head or snuggle with. Snuggle Safe is available at pet shops or on-line.

Raise the crate up on a table so there is no need for your dog to to raise the head to look at you or watch the world from the crate.

Laser light therapy has proven to be very beneficial in resolving inflammation, pain and speeding up the healing process so if that is a financial option for your family, it is recommended.   www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingacupuncture.htm

Hello-
We met with the specialist and unfortunately received bad news. My poor Violet has a brain tumor. We have her on chemotherapy and she seems to be responding to it well. We are going to take it day by day and try to give her the best life possible. Thank you for your support and education.
-S

Sam, we are all so hoping that the chemo will help Violet. You and Violet ARE in our thoughts.

Thank you all!