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Post by mastiffmom on Jul 23, 2013 8:38:46 GMT -7
Hi everyone, Does anyone here have experience with giant breeds having disc issues? My 11 year old English Mastiff, Theo, who is 160 lbs, has most likely IVDD. I say most likely because we've chosen not to do xrays or an MRI because of his bad reaction to anesthesia in the past, as well as his stress level from being blind for the last 2 1/2 years. And at his age, it wouldn't be fair to put him through surgery anyway. We saw a neurologist on April 16 and she confirmed that it's some sort of disc problem, L6-S3. Currently, we have a vet that comes to the house to do acupuncture and cold laser therapy. We also just started using the Assisi Loop in the past week. (It's a pulsed electromagnetic field therapy.) He's also on Prednisone, Gabapentin, Tramadol and Amantadine. My husband and I feel like we're managing his comfort level pretty well but he's having more trouble getting up than he did a couple months ago. Once he's up, he can walk on his own. We have a Help 'em Up harness that we use but not all the time. When we're not using the harness, we help him up by grasping the backs of his thighs when he starts to get up. We're just trying to give him the best quality of life at this point for whatever time he has left because we do realize that the problem is progressing and w/o surgery, we know we can't keep him comfortable forever. I should mention that we are also trying to balance his care with our other English Mastiff who is 6 years old and has metastatic cancer.  It's a challenge to say the least but they are our babies and we'll do everything we can for them. Thanks for listening!  Karen |
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,928
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Post by PaulaM on Jul 23, 2013 9:32:45 GMT -7
Karen, welcome to Dodgerslist. I'm sorry to hear Theo is having some sort of disc problem. They can be quite painful. You really do have a lot on your plate caring for your two precious babies with serious problems, my heart goes out to you and the wonderful care you are giving. What did the neuro want for restricted movement/crate rest? With large dogs it is not certain that he has disc disease (intervertebral disc disease), but perhaps the normal aging of discs any person or dog would have. There are also other diseases such as wobblers, a disease of the vertebrae rather than a disease of the disc, that have relatable pain issues but are treated differently…crate rest is not helpful at all with wobblers. Did the neuro explain in detail about Theo's issues? Knowing the exact disease you are dealing with, helps to know the proper care and treatment. Here at Dodgerslist we are narrowly focused on IVDD and that is really our only experience and expertise. If you specifically got a diagnosis of IVDD, we can support you. There are other support groups for the larger dogs should he not have IVDD. handicappedpet.net/helppets has a broader base of expertise with bigger dogs than we do. Prednisone is known to be pretty tough on the stomach lining. Please advocate for a stomach protector, Pepcid AC (famotidine) to counteract the extra acids prednisone causes. Hugs to you, and look forward to learning more about Theo's diagnosis by the neuro. |
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Post by mastiffmom on Jul 23, 2013 14:41:55 GMT -7
Reading from the neuro's writeup after Theo's appt. in April: "Neuroanatomic Diagnosis - L6-S3 myelopathy with add'l chronic orthopedic disease; Differential Diagnosis - 1) L6-S3 myelopathy: intervertebral disc disease, tumor, inflammation, infection, other; 2) Arthritis in multiple joints." In addition, when he stands, his back end sort of starts to sink low to the ground. That was the first symptom of whatever this is and we started treating with acupuncture but as it got worse, we knew it was time to see the neurologist.
So it does seem possible that it's not necessarily IVDD. She seemed fairly certain that it's not a tumor, considering how gradual the decline has been since April and the fact that he's doing better now that he's on Prednisone and not Metacam anymore. Wobbler's has never been mentioned. She didn't recommend crate rest but said we should restrict his activity. And if you knew Theo, you'd know that it's not a problem because he's not very active anyway, and is very cautious when moving around due to his blindness. He's always on leash outdoors and if we're not home, he's gated into my husband's home office area.
I will check out the handicapped pets forum as well. And thank you for advising about the Pepcid AC. It hasn't ever been suggested by the vet.
Thanks!
Karen
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,928
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Post by PaulaM on Jul 23, 2013 15:08:45 GMT -7
Good to hear that prednisone is helping. Best of wishes for both of your dear charges.
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It's a challenge to say the least but they are our babies and we'll do everything we can for them. 
