nayama's Timi 6/10 Conservative Canada

Hi , my name is Maureen. Welcome to Dodgers List, I am sorry that your Timi is having an IVDD episode. Conservative treatment needs 8 weeks of strict cage rest. Not all Vets are good with IVDD - so it is up to us as pet parents to learn and help educate them.
100% STRICT crate rest 24/7 only out to potty for a full 8 weeks is the SINGLE most important thing you can do to help Timi-- it is the hallmark component of conservative treatment. …. 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 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. The rest of the details of doing crate rest to ensure the best recovery in this excellent document:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/CrateRRP.htm

Is Timi's pain controlled?

Here is a good place to start reading too, www.dodgerslist.com/healingindex.htm

Don't worry about a wheelchair right now - there is lots of time to decide if Timi will need one. Here is great article on living with IVDD, www.dodgerslist.com/index/SDUNCANquality.htm

Try not to despair - you are not alone anymore - we are all here for you and will do anything that we can to help. You need to keep a positive attitude to assist Timi to keep healing
Keep us posted - keeping you and Timi in thought and prayer

Nayama, can you fill us in on some 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? That would be an indication that there needs to be extra time on Metacam and pain meds to get all of the swelling in the spinal cord taken care of. If there is no pain then no need of any medications. All that would then be necessary is to finish out all 8 weeks of crate rest in order to let the disc itself heal. Let us know if you are seeing any signs of pain.

-- Eating and drinking OK?

-- Poops OK - normal color and firmness no dark or bright red blood?

Can you tell me why you get up in the middle of the night, what are you doing for him?

Does he have bladder control? That is can he be carried outside to an old pee spot and then let him sniff? Do you then see him choose to release urine? That is proof of bladder control. If you are finding urine leaks in his bedding or when lifted that is indication he does NOT have bladder control and would need to have his bladder manually expressed. Please let us know what you are observing and why you are asking about a wheelchair and incontinence IF Timi can walk and pee on his own.

The very best way to get some relief from fear of the unknown, is to educate yourself on this disease. It is a disease that can be lived with. A good page to start with is www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingpage.htm

Nayama, your English is very good!

Let us know the names of his meds, the dose in mg and how often you are to give them. One med you have not mentioned is stomach protector. The Food and Drug Administration and manufacturer pkg insert indicate gastrointestinal problems are side effects of using NSAIDs. 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 AC (famotidine) 30 minutes before the NSAID. This directory is in alpha order making it easier to look up each of your dog's meds:
www.marvistavet.com/html/pharmacy_center.htm

The truth with this disease is that we just don't know if a dog will have one disc episode their entire life such as my Tasha, or whether they might have multiple ones such as my Clark. There is no one who would be able to say all dogs will become paralyzed and incontinent sooner or later… that statement shows a vet is not comfortable with the disc disease. This is why we are saying it is YOU who has to put in the effort to read about your dog's disease. This way you step up into the position of being the captain of Timi's health care team. You hire a vet who knows IVDD if you need better support, you discuss all meds and know what to monitor for. For example are you aware that any ONE adverse sign of using a NSAID like Metacam would call for you to STOP the med at once and get vet help? This pamphlet is very good in explaining: www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/AnimalHealthLiteracy/ucm196295.htm

Dodgerslist is all about trying to educate owners and vets that having disc disease is not a death sentence. My Clark has been in a wheelchair since 2007. I express his bladder every 6-8 hours and he lives a very happy life doing all the same things he did before becoming paralyzed. Educate yourself so you can pass on that dogs CAN live a great quality of life no matter the degree of healing after a disc episode: www.dodgerslist.com/index/more.htm

Would you help to educate your vet to prevent another dog being given a death sentence should they be incontinent? We have free glossy brochures in English if your vet is bi-linqual... just ask Linda to send you some: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/litorder.htm We do have literature in French that can be printed at home: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/dodgersfrench.pdf

Nayama, you have given us a classic example of why we all must become readers, we can't count on professionals to know this disease, much less a technician with even less veterinary experiences. Reading and getting up to speed on this disease, means we are able to identify which professionals are not comfortable with this disease (that is a polite way to say they are not up to speed). That technician is soooooo sorely under-educated about IVDD it is shameful she is depressing the people she should be helping! You would not depend on the secretary at a bank to give you financial advice on investing just because she works at a place that deals in money. You must qualify each person as to whether they know IVDD or not. Here is why not all know IVDD.

Most DVMs in a general practice see many different species- hampsters, cats, all breeds of dogs, reptiles, birds, maybe even farm animals. They practice many specialties in the course of a day: pediatrics, dentistry, surgery, internal medicine. Is it surprising, that keeping current and indepth knowledge of each and every disease for every species is probably not likely?

Have you begun your readings on our Main webpage  www.dodgerslist.com/healingindex.htm ? If not, how long do you want to wait to brush aside the fears that are bugging you, to know in your heart that there is indeed a bright future for Timi? There is a wealth of knowledge accumulated reviewed by IVDD knowledgeable vets and other articles written by board certified neuro speciallists especially for Dodgerslist dog community.  Timi is a very good candidate to recover under conservative treatment…his symptoms are very mild.

You have made a tremendous achievement in your own personal life, kudos to you!!!!  I know you can again reach down and pull out the needed strength to stand by Timi and give him the chance he needs to heal.  Part of the strength will be to put on a happy face and talk cheery when around Timi.  He'll pick up on negative energy and think he should be depressed too…after all you are his pack leader.  Smiling and happy talk will be good for your own spirits too.

Some dogs need to be on the anti-inflammatory for 1-2 weeks to get all the swelling down.  There are other dogs that have needed more than a month.  Each dog is individual in how long it take to get the swelling down. 

I have a question for you.  Looking at his rear is not a typical sign of pain due to a disc episode. Where there any other typical signs of pain that made the vet put him back on meds?  Shaking, trembling, unwilling to move too much, yelping.

Be watchful on that looking at his rear that it does not progress to wanting to nibble, chew or bit his foot or other body parts. There is a type of phantom pain that can come with nerve damage that is treated with gabapentin and an e-collar. If you would see him wanting to bite or chew, you would fold a towel length wise and wrap around his neck to prevent access to his legs.  Secure closed with duct tape and get to the vet for gabapentin and a proper e-collar. 

Nayama - I am a retired Vet Tech and I saw dogs with wheelchairs that had great lives! Your Tech needs a smack upside the head for saying things like that. Keep the faith!