lg248
New Member
Posts: 4 
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Post by lg248 on Jan 6, 2014 12:20:50 GMT -7
Good afternoon, I am here hoping I can get some advice and answers that I cannot seem to find elsewhere. I have a 7 year old doxie named Oscar. I started noticing some changes in him over the summer. The first is when I took him to our lake and noticed that he really didn't "kick" his back legs anymore, just kind of kept them together and kind of paddled them. He also started getting muscle twitches in his hind legs once in awhile. Well, I live in Michigan, and over the past couple months the weather has been getting colder, and he has been getting worse. At night, when I touch around his hind legs he growls at me, and I can feel his muscles twitching.  So, of course, I took him into the vet. They did an exam, and did X-rays to see if they could see anything, but nothing showed up. They could touch his hind legs and he acted perfectly fine at the office. He still loves to chase after balls and walks perfectly fine. So the vet put him on Metacam. They said it's a milder pain medication and to give it when he seems to be in pain. Well, now...this is an every night occurrence. He seems to always be in pain due to the cold weather I am assuming? The metacam does not seem to really be doing anything at all for him, and I feel like a helpless and sad mama. I was wondering if anyone has ever experienced anything like this, or knows what the next step should be or what this could be. You can literally feel the muscles in his hind legs bind and twitch to the touch. I can't stand seeing him in pain, and my vet unfortunately does not seem to know what to do next? Help?! |
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,565
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Post by PaulaM on Jan 6, 2014 12:57:04 GMT -7
Welcome to Dodgerslist. My name is Paula what is yours? We know alot about disc disease, however we kinda depend on a vet to give a diagnosis. There can be other things that cause pain such as arthritis. If there is any hint or suspicion that a disc is becoming involved and causing the pain, then the prudent thing is to do 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7 until you have a diagnosis that is not IVDD. Crating is to prevent a prematurely aging disc to further tear and cause severe damage to the spinal cord. I would perhaps seek a 2nd opinion from a specialist (ortho or neuro) to determine the cause of the pain and the correct course of treatment. For example arthritis is helped by activity…while a dog with a disc episode is at great risk for spinal cord injury with movement. Your local DVM vet can give you a referral to a specialist. These directories will identify where they are located: www.acvim.org/ [neuro specialist directory] online.acvs.org/acvsssa/rflssareferral.query_page?P_VENDOR_TY=VETS [ortho specialist directory] The warmth of a rice sock to rest his head on or lean against might provide some comfort. Fill a sock with 1-2 cups of dry rice. Knot the end. Microwave for 1-2 minutes. Test in crook of your arm for warm not hot temperature. Wrap in a towel so it's not too hot for the skin and place in crate. Let Oscar snuggle against when you are present to supervise in case he has a desire to munch on the warm rice. Note: human heating pads can get too hot burning skin. Snuggle Safe is a commercial product that will keep warm the whole night. tinyurl.com/4jk2cx7 [snuggle safe] If this does turn out to be a disc episode, we can share some very good information with you. Please keep us posted. |
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lg248
New Member
Posts: 4
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Post by lg248 on Jan 6, 2014 13:40:04 GMT -7
Hi Paula, My name is Laura. They are not sure it is a disc problem at this point. They do want me to see a specialist, and they do want to do an MRI as of now. After calling to a few places the cheapest MRI and specialist is going to be around $4500. Why I will do whatever it takes for my baby, I just wanted to reach out and see if this was a common problem with doxies or if anyone has ever seen anything like this before in one of their own. My vet has told me that he is learning right along with me when it comes to this issue as he has never encountered this before. So just wanted to see what the best course of action was before spending thousands. But if that is what needs to be done, then I am 100% going to do it.  |
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,565
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Post by PaulaM on Jan 6, 2014 14:12:10 GMT -7
Are you in California or New York? An MRI seems to run in the neighborhood of $2K. A specialist consult maybe $200? $4500 sounds high, must be including surgery if needed too? You might check adjacent states where less onerous taxation helps a business to offer their services at a better price. The key is to look for a board certified specialist. Check this database to see if anyone notes MRI information: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/surgerycosts.htmwww.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingsurgery.htm |
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Post by Linda Stowe on Jan 6, 2014 21:19:51 GMT -7
Laura, I do see you said you live in Michigan. We know of some very good vets there. Can you tell us specifically. The specialists we know there, I don't believe charge that much for an MRI.
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lg248
New Member
Posts: 4
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Post by lg248 on Jan 7, 2014 8:31:50 GMT -7
Yes, I live in the Farmington Hills area. Ive called a few specialists around here, and for the specialist consult and full MRI, the lowest I found was $4200. CRAZY!
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Post by Sherry Layman on Jan 7, 2014 8:53:21 GMT -7
That was just the charge for the MRI? That didn't include an estimate for surgery costs? Most vets won't do the MRI unless you plan to proceed with surgery so it wouldn't surprise me if they are just adding that to your total to give you the information. That seems very out of line with what we have seen.
Can you make an appointment for a consult without the MRI...proceed with that after you've had an exam and conversation with the specialist if it's deemed helpful? It should be an option and would be much cheaper, the MRI requires the dog be anesthetized so it is a pricey test. I'm still shocked that it's over $4000. I would ask for a consult and then proceed from there. Getting a good diagnosis is important so just having a specialists opinion would be valuable.
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Post by Linda Stowe on Jan 7, 2014 14:21:21 GMT -7
Hi Laura, I have emailed Dr. Isaacs at Dogwood Veterinary Referral. He is in Ann Arbor. He quoted me these prices
"If all pre-anesthetic diagnostic tests were performed (CBC, Chemistry Panel, ECG, Thoracic Radiographs) then the total cost (including anesthesia and related costs) for the MRI is $1800. A consult is $125."
Then if surgery is required:
"Our total cost (if the referring vet has done the pre-anesthetic diagnostics) for MRI AND
surgery is $5000-5500."
Their phone # is (734) 369-9555
Dr. Isaacs says to make an appointment for a consult and to go from there.
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lg248
New Member
Posts: 4
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Post by lg248 on Jan 8, 2014 6:52:21 GMT -7
I will give them a call today, and get in there for a consult! Thank you so so much!
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Post by Linda Stowe on Jan 8, 2014 18:33:14 GMT -7
Laura, were you able to get an appointment?
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