Beth welcome to Dodgerslist. Sorry to hear he is having a disc episode but your report indicates Jake can be a good candidate to recover under conservative treatment.
The key with conservative treatment is the 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7 only out to potty for a full 8 weeks
In other words do everything you can to limit the vertebrae in the back from moving and putting pressure on the bad disc. ABSOLUTELY NO water therapy!!! No laps, no couches, no chiro, no sleeping in bed.
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. So already seeing leg movement is a very good sign of more nerve healing to come.
Do update the med list with name, dose in mgs and how often each is given. What is the exact name of the steroid injections every three days?
Why does Jack have to be transported to the vet for a steroid injection every three days? Vets usually prescribe at home oral steroid (prednisone or Dexamethasone pills)
It appears Dex was used without a washout of 4-7 days from the Rimadyl. When an emergency is deemed in lieu of the washout TWO (2) stomach protectors are usually on board for optimum GI Tract protection: famotidine AND sucralfate. Dex is a particularly strong steroid well known to cause GI tract damage.
www.marvistavet.com/html/famotidine.htmlwww.marvistavet.com/html/sucralfate.htmlDuring the time on the anti-inflammatory the pain meds do need to be adjusted so that there is no pain surfacing dose to dose of pain relief medications. Pain deters healing. Reluctant to come out of his crate can be a sign of pain. Often there are other signs such as tense tight tummy, yelps, not his normal perky self. Let us know what you are observing, if you think it pain do know Tramadol alone may not cover all the pain. In your new med list please let us know if he is still on methocarbamol. More about pain in order to discuss things with your vet:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingpain.htmOften it takes being at the anti-inflammatory dose of a steroid for 7-30 days before all the swelling is gone. When the vet guesses swelling might be gone there will be a taper. The dose is lowered to less than the anti-flammatory dose your job at home would be to assess just how well reduction of swelling is going by observing for any hint of pain. To have a clear picture on a taper, pain meds are also stopped or backed off too.
Rule of thumb is: pain = swelling = more time on steroid, pain meds and Pepcid AC is needed.
If there is no pain on the taper then it goes to completion. Then no meds at all are needed. Disc healing will continue for the remainder of the 8 weeks. Nerves can continue to self heal…think in terms of months.
Has your vet told you when the taper will start to test if there is any need for the steroid, especially in light of the heart problem. Steroids can have serious side effects and best to use them for the shortest amount of time... once all painful swelling has been resolved.
Self education with this disease is critical. Knowledge is to make sure the right things are being done for best recovery. And for yourself, knowledge lets you step out of a very scary place…"the unknown" and the toll it takes on your emotions.
Get ready to fight this disease with this current episode and in the future by knowing all things IVDD.
So you are savvy about conservative treatment this page is a wonderful place to get a good overview of each of the phases of healing:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingpage.htm Hope to hear you will be able to follow all the informative links and complete your readings in the next couple of days.
We look forward to learning more about Jake with your answers.
