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Post by jennjenn on Apr 13, 2013 8:44:22 GMT -7
Hi I'm new to this page and disease. Im sorry for the lengthly post. I just adopted a 4 year old yorki named Onnie 2 weeks ago. He seemed happy and healthy at first. We had him for 2 weeks before he showed any symptoms of IVDD. I have a 12 year old Rotti who has PRA and is completely blind. I will also add they are never together only because he is blind and Onnie is to small.
Onnies previous owners said they used the same vet as I do. I took him to the vet for a checkup and he received his booster shots as his vaccines were not current. I also found out Onnie had not seen the vet since 2009. The previous owner had told me he was Lyme positive and was treated. Not a big concern to me because Lyme is very popular in my area. Since he did show a positive Lyme in the office and did not see he was ever tested or treated for lyme in his records they sent out for the exact titers. in the meantime i called the previous owner to see if maybe they used another vet prwviously and they said they had not.
2 days after pur visit Onnie became lathergic and was shaking. I took him in to the vet again and his labs had come in and it turned out he had extremely high titers for Lyme disease so we started antibiotics. The vet said the untreated Lyme was most likely causing him discomfort. He also was anemic and undernourished and had ahigh white blood cell count. He said he should start to feel better soon. The following morning Onnie could not walk and i rushed him to the vet. He did do a funny clown walk on his front paws for the vet. He thought the lyme was causing neurological problems but wanted to do X-Rays. We left him for the afternoon and found he had narrowing in his disks. The vet is pretty certain he has disk disease. He said the Lyme and inflamation of his joints could be agravating his condition. He is on doxycycline for the Lyme and Metacam for IVDD. He also said at this point he does not want to add any other medications at this point. He had an injection at the dr pf Metcam and he has been able to walk since. However, He said that we should keep him in the crate for 2 weeks and only out for bathroom. We are on day 2 of crate rest and I feel so bad leaving him all alone. If I put the crate where we are he starts jumping and whining. So for now he is in the crate in my room with the door closed. I am so afraid he will injure himself in the crate. How did you guys get through this? Has anyone had Lyme and IVDD? Any information or advice you can give me? I feel awful leaving him all alone! How can I keep him calm and with us in his crate?
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,928
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Post by PaulaM on Apr 13, 2013 13:11:41 GMT -7
Jenn, I'm sorry to hear your little Onnie is have such a trail of problems. Do know you can be instrumental in helping with a disc episode with strict rest... since he has the ability to walk he is a very good candiate to recover and fully heal his disc. Let us know you are doing the 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7 only out to potty for a full 8 weeks in this way....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 FDA and manufacturer pkg insert indicate gastrointestinal problems are side effects of using NSAIDs like Metacam. The natural defenses of the stomach to shield against stomach acid is hindered when taking NSAIDs. Serious gastrointestinal toxicity such as bleeding, ulceration, and perforation, can occur at any time, with or without warning symptoms. Phrase the question to your vet this particular way:" Is there a medical/health reason for my dog not to 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 NSAID. With all the problems Onnie is dealing with he certainly does not need anything else to deal with. What was the date you started the 100% STRICT crate rest...we guess at 4/13. Let us know. What about pain... Is there still currently pain - shivering, trembling, yelping when picked up or moved, reluctant/slow to move head or body, tight hard tummy? Often it takes being on an anti-inflamamtory such as Metacam for 1-2 weeks or even for some dogs more like a month before all the swelling is gone. So while Metacam is at work, Onnie needs to be in comfort from pain. As I mentioned YOU can be instrumental in ensuring the best recovery for Onnnie.... it will take commitment on your part to read. I can recommend no better place to start with "Overview"the essentials and move to reading all the rest as quickly as possible www.dodgerslist.com/healingindex.htmYou are not the first to have a need for emergency crate training ideas...some really good ones here: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/EmergencyCrate%20Training.htm Many members have commented that Composure Soft Chews which are colostrum based like calming mother's milk and contain 21 mg of L-Theanine really helped. Also an even more effective is to combine with Farnum's Comfort Zone with D.A.P. www.petcomfortzone.com/dogs.html [pheromone diffuser] |
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StevieLuv
Helpful Member 
Conservative Treatment 3x. It really does work!
Posts: 1,335 
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Post by StevieLuv on Apr 21, 2013 7:55:17 GMT -7
How are you and Onnie doing?? Have you had any success in getting Onnie to settle in the crate? We switched to a wire sided crate for our Stevie because she fussed and carried on so much about the solid sided one. It was too isolating for her as she is blind too.
Keep us posted!
Keeping you in thought and prayer.
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