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Post by arianna on Mar 22, 2013 18:31:26 GMT -7
Chloe is my 8 years old standard Dachshund (almost 9). She was rescued from a puppy mill where she spent 6 years of her life locked up in a cage having puppies. She has been with me for almost 3 years now, and she has always been a healthy dog. During the day she spends her time in a big pen, and she stays with me for the rest of day when I get home from work (she sleeps in bed with us). One day I got home form work and instead of running around all happy to see me she ran to me and started crying, or better screaming. She was not moving very well and her neck was stiff. The day after I took her to the vet. They took x-rays and found that she has IVDD. The vet also did bloodwork, and everything was fine. They wanted to start treating her with this medicines:
Ramadyl 25mg twice a day for 14 days
Tramadol 50mg every 8-12 hours
Methocarbamol 500mg half a tablet every 12 hours
Dexametasone 1.5mg every 12 hours
After 10 days they wanted to stop the Ramadyl and switched her to Prednisone 10mg once a day for 5 days, and 1 tablet every 48 hours for 5 days.
Famotidine 10mg once a day for 10 days. She seemed to be a little better but was not herself.
We tried to stop the methocarbamol but she started to be in pain a lot.
We reintroduced the methicarbamol and it seemed to make her feel a little better. But when the effect of the medicines fades, she is in a lot of pain. After taking the meds she feels a little better. Now she is done with famotidine and prdnisone, and they switched her on Gabapentin 100mg every 8-12 hours. She has been taking this med insetad of methocarbamol for the last 2 days.
Nothing is really changing for her so far, she is stable. She walks, very slowly, her neck is stiff. She eats enough (she lost a little bit of weight, not much, but Chloe is overweight so I am trying to make her loose few pounds). Her poop is normal, she does not pee in bed and she pees and poops outside normally. I do not allow her to jump o play or to go for walks, but she is a very calm dog and has never been a very active girl. Anyway she does not seem to want to move much. I am very frustrated and worried because It seems like she never gets better. The vet told me that she might need surgery, and she will if shee really needs it. But I would like to try to avoid that [surgery]. Can you give some advices? I was thinking about laser therapy, does it work? If I keep curing her and keeping her at rest, does she have any chance to feel better? Also, it more than a month now that she is on these meds,and I am worried that she might start to have problems with her liver and kidney. What do you think? I do not know if this could be useful, but Chloe shares the house with Max, a great pyrenees, 2 cats, and one or 2 foster dogs (depending on the needs of the rescue group). They are all very good and quiet and they do not bother her at all.
Thank you so much,
Arianna
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,928
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Post by PaulaM on Mar 22, 2013 22:26:19 GMT -7
Arianna, welcome to Dodgerslist. I am so very sorry to hear Chloe has been having a difficult time healing. First can you clarify for us exactly the meds she is currently on today with the dose in mg and the frequency you give the meds. Pain = swelling = the need to be back on a steroid such as Dex.. Neck discs can be quite painful and take time to heal. Here are the extra things you should do to help Chloe www.dodgerslist.com/literature/cervical.htm and you will see how medications are used with a disc episode. Neck discs in particular need aggressive pain meds and maybe even longer time on a steroid to achieve getting all the swelling down. Second as you have read in the above link 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7 only out to potty for a full 8 weeks …. 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) is necessary. In other words do everything you can to limit the vertebrae in the back and neck from moving and putting pressure on the bad disc. I get the sense that crate rest has not been done since the date of injury on Feb 8ish and this has contributed to the disc not being able to heal and all the pain Chloe has been enduring. So I am changing the subject line to indicate that you will make sure Chloe is inside her recovery suite 100% and that she is starting crate rest today. 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 from other pets and kids from bothering them. 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. Laser therapy, acupuncture can help to alieviate pain and can be started right away. Let us know you are using a recovery suite, that you have Pepcid AC on board and most importantly, the right pain meds and an anti-inflammtory such as Dex is on board to give 100% pain control coverage dose to dose. This page can be very helpful to you in seeing the big picture with a disc episode: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingpage.htmHang in there, with the right treatment Chloe may well be able to start getting on the road to recovery. Would surgery be an option for your family if needed? |
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Post by arianna on Mar 23, 2013 7:06:00 GMT -7
Chloe I currently on:Tramadol 50mg 3 times a day
Gabapentin 100mg3 3 times a day
Anything I can do to heal her is an option, surgery too. I just would like to try to avoid this for her if it is possible. I would give her one of my discs if I could. I will call the vet today and talk to her again. I will ask for laser therapy too and I will start crating Chloe right away as you suggested. It breaks my heart because she loves to sleep in bed... but if it helps I will do it.
Thank you so much.
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Post by natureluva on Mar 24, 2013 13:06:26 GMT -7
Hi Ariana, you can put Chloe's crate right on top of your bed (be certain that it will not tip or fall) so that you can sleep next to her, or you can put her crate on a sturdy night stand next to your bed. As Paula indicated, strict crate rest is what heals the disc while the meds reduce inflammation and mask the pain.
How is Chloe's pain now? Is it well-controlled by the Tramadol and Gabapentin? Cervical IVDD is more painful than back IVDD, and sometimes cervical discs take longer to heal because virtually every movement involves the neck. I suggest, if you haven't already done so, that you have Chloe evaluated by a Board Certified neurologist. An expert like this will be able to accurately read the xrays and assess her course of treatment. If when being weaned off of the meds, there is still pain, the neurologist may recommend surgery.
We look forward to your next update. Best wishes, ~Lisa
Please let us know if her pain is well-controlled and how the laser/acupuncture goes. Best wishes, ~Lisa
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