Peggy's TJ 2/25 conservative - CHF

Peggy, welcome to Dodgerslist. We are glad you are here. The reason that the hallmark component of conservative treatment is the 100% STRICT rest 24/7 only out for a very, very few footsteps all for 8 weeks is that is the way the has the environment needed to form good secure scar tissue. There are no medications to help a disc make scar tissue.

You will have a better grasp of the enemy you fight and be able to commit to the treatment that TJ needs if you take on some reading. This page will give you the background info to very quickly get up to speed and to know all four phases of healing and when you might expect each to happen. www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingpage.htm

Do continue to read on for full education on caring for TJ now and for the rest of his life... here: www.dodgerslist.com/literature.htm

Can you  fill us in on a few more details:
-- Is there still currently pain - shivering, trembling, yelping when picked up or moved, reluctant/slow to move head or body, tight hard tummy?

-- How much does TJ weigh? What are the exact names of meds currently given, their doses in mg's and frequencies?
prednisone 5mg  ?x/day  Did the vet indicate the date when the first taper would begin?
tramadol 50 mg ?x/day

Anti-inflammatories can increase GI tract damage. Phrase the question to your vet this particular way:" Is there a medical/health reason my dog may not take Pepcid?" If there is no reason, we follow vets who are proactive in stomach protection by giving doxies 5mg Pepcid (famotidine) 30 minutes before the anti-inflammatory and thereafter every 12 hours.  This directory very good for learning about each of your dog's meds:
www.marvistavet.com/html/pharmacy_center.htm

-- Eating and drinking OK?
- How are poops today- normal color and firmness, no dark or bright red blood?

If the Prednisolone started on 2/25, then he's near the end of the taper of that - 2.5 mg every other day? You'll need to be on the close lookout for any signs of pain during the taper. Usually the pain med is also tapered so a true test for pain can be made. Pain = swelling = more time on meds. I see he still has three more days of Tramadol. If you do see any signs of pain (shivering/trembling, not wanting to move much or moving gingerly, yelping, tight/tense stomach muscles, arched back, not usual perky self), you'll need to immediately let your vet know so TJ can be returned to the original dosage of all meds.

As Paula said, as long as TJ is on a steroid, he should have a stomach protector on board. However, with his diagnosis of CHF, you'll need to check with his vet to find out what he recommends to protect from side effects. Possibly Sucralfate.

Healing prayers for TJ.

My vet said Prevacid was a good idea. I am still concerned about giving it to him because of his CHF. I will read up on that. He wants me to continue tapering the steroid and finish the 10th day of tramadol and then see if there is any pain. That makes me nervous.

Also, TJ was having lots of mucus before his teeth removal/ cleaning. The vet wanted to know if that was continuing. I said yes and that the antihistamine he recommended wasn't touching it. He said he now wants to remove one of TJ's canine teeth. He poked around the tooth during the cleaning but ultimately decided not to remove it. He thinks it is causing all the mucus coming out TJ's nose. I mention ths to you because I think the surgery may have started this whole back problem. I saw a vet tech carrying him to the back room incorrectly and then I have read about them being under and not being able to control their back muscles or something. Plus, he wants to do the removal in a couple of weeks. He said 8 weeks of crate rest is not necessary and that 3 would be plenty. This doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Your advice would be very much appreciated.

Does the Vet think that the mucous coming from his nose is from an infected canine tooth? Perhaps you should ask about a course of antibiotics of they suspect active infection, because oral infections and heart issues are a concern. (I'm not trying to scare you, just expressing concern) You are right to avoid anesthetics while he is under crate re3st for IVDD, and I heartilyt second Pauliana's suggestion of looking for a Vet more familiar with IVDD treatment.
Keeping you in thought and prayer. (((hugs)))

Hopefully, TJ will dodge a bullet and didn't suffer any damage from his escape. If you do see signs of pain, it will be difficult to tell whether the pain is due to a re-injury of the damaged disc or due to the tapering of the Pred. Keep a close eye on him and if he does have pain, he will need to be put back on the Pred and Tramadol. If there is pain, we'll have to assume that it is a re-injury and start his crate rest over. Let's see how he is over the next couple of days.

Usually pain meds are stopped or tapered when the steroid is tapered so a true test for pain can be made. However, due to his escape, you might want to give him a Tramadol tonight at whatever time it's due to be sure he has a comfortable night. The Tramadol given tonight will be out of his system by tomorrow morning. I would not give him a Tramadol in the morning so the new vet can make an accurate examination.

Prayers that TJ didn't damage the disc any further, that his taper of the Pred is pain free and that all goes well at the exam tomorrow. Please let us know how it goes.

It is very easy to NOT be confused about a disc episode and conservative treatment WHEN there is an understanding of what is healing (there are 4 levels of healing). If TJ is out of his recovery suite too soon, well, you will only have more vet bills to pay for..maybe even a very expensive surgery. It will be TJ who will endure more excruciating pain and he might become paralyzed. So why do vets skimp on crate rest? Maybe they find clients just are not committed to it.  Maybe vet's are trained by surgeons who believe this is a surgical disease. For sure if crate rest is skimped on the dog may well need surgery. One thing I have learned from watching 1000's of dogs nothing good comes from cheating on crate rest which gives the disc phase a chance at healing. 

All tears of the disc whether they be the initial tiny little cracks on the surface that allow the disc to bulge out of shape, cause pain OR a bigger tear where there is pain PLUS spinal cord injury/loss of neuro functions take time to heal. There are no medications to heal a disc. Just like there are no medications to heal a scab forming on your knuckle. Move the finger too much and the weak scab will be disrupted. Move that spine/back too much and it pushes on the weak scar tissue forming on the disc. No blood to worry about 'cause discs have hardly any bloods supply. What happens when the scar tissue is disrupted is the potential for disc material to shoot out into the spinal cord's canal. The potential to loose leg function, loose bladder function.

The resource we have for you to read on conservative treatment is your road map for the next 8 weeks and for living with a dog born with IVDD.  Knowing each of the four levels of healing puts you in position to be an instrumental contributor to this healing period and to know when red flag harmful advise is offered.  Start with the yellow "overview" button www.dodgerslist.com/healingindex.htm

As for the tooth, you definitely need to wait til all 8 weeks of crate rest have been complete. Then you will need to see if surgery is actually necessary, if the infection is gone, etc. A big discussion needs to be made with the vet  re: ensuring all members of the dental team transporting TJ properly to and from the surgery, turning him during the dental all in attempt to protect his disc(s) while his sleeping muscles are out of commission to do that job.