Lorena, sorry to hear your Lola is having another disc episode. The good news is that you took her promptly to the vet to get a confirmed diagnosis and crated her to prevent a suspicion of a disc episode from incurring worse damage!! Good job!
Good to hear with the current meds, you believe she is not in pain. However, do t
ake a look at all the signs to verify you see none. Reluctant to walk in grass could be due to pain. Meds can be adjusted IF you are seeing pain signs. Advocate that any of the pain meds be given 3x/day (every 8 hours). Also a pain med for each kind of pain is typical and something to advocate for IF you are seeing any sign of pain.
— Methocarbamol works on the pain of muscle spasms.
— Tramadol is the general pain reliever.
— Gabapentin works on nerve pain.
There should be no sign of pain from one dose of meds to the next. Have no patience with pain as it does hinder healing. Look for your dog to be acting their normal, perky self when pain is fully under control round the clock.
Let us know what you observe.SIGNS OF PAIN:
◻︎ shivering-trembling ◻︎ yelping when picked up or moved
◻︎ slow to move ◻︎ tight tense tummy
◻︎ arched back, ears pinned back ◻︎ head held high or nose to the ground.
◻︎ restless, can't find a comfortable position
◻︎ slow or reluctant to move much in crate such as shift positions
◻︎ looks up with just eyes and does not move head and neck easily.
◻︎ not eating due to painful chewing or in too much overall pain
◻︎ holds front or back leg flamingo style not wanting to bear weight
◻︎ not their normal perky selves
QUESTIONS
- For how many days was carprofen prescirbed for?
- Pepcid AC: ? mgs ?x/day are you giving it?
- How much does Lola weigh?
When giving pumpkin, she should be drinking her normal amount and if dry dog food maybe soak it in equal parts liquid to help should there be constipation. Not drinking enough would contribute to more constipation. 1 teaspoon of plain pureed pumpkin once a day.
Conservative treatment means that crate rest is necessarily more strict than for a post-op dog. Let us know you are on the same page:
The centerpiece of "DISC disease" treatment is the healing of the disc via limited movement of the back via a recovery suite. 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7 for 8 weeks provides limited movement to allow good strong disc scar tissue to form.
-- Super tried and true tips for setting up the recovery suite:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/CrateRRP.htm -- PLUS further guidance on conservative treatment on our "All Things IVDD page:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingpage.htm www.dodgerslist.com/healingindex.htmSTRICT means:
- no laps - no couches
- no baths - no sleeping with you
- no chiro therapy - no dragging or meandering at potty times.
Carry your dog to and from the recovery suite to the potty place and then
allow a very, very few limited footsteps. Using a sling (long winter scarf, ace bandage, belt) will save your back and help to keep a wobbly dog's back aligned and butt from tipping over. A harness and 6 foot leash is to control speed and keep footsteps to minimum as you stand in one spot. An ex-pen in the grass is an excellent alternative to minimizing footsteps with the physical and visual to indicate there will be no sniff festing going on!
A FEW MORE POINTS
--- Giving of an anti-inflammatory (steroid or non-steroid NSAID like carprofen) might tie the hands of the vet as to which med he prefers to give when meds have been started before the vet appt. The most important is to crate at once and get to the vet so he can best diagnose without drugs on board.
-- Avoid touching the back or doing any tests.
-- Avoid any extra walking such on the carpet to see leg movements. Do your observing when she is carried out to potty and allowed only a very, very few footsteps.
When the meds are properly prescribed to fully control all pain dose to dose that happens in one hr. Nerve damage such as knuckling under the paw can take weeks/months to self heal. A reason to seek a neuro consult is if your local DVM vet is reluctant to use meds for full pain control.
XRAYs and other pictures requiring anesthesia
-- A dog's main defense against further disc damage is dependent upon control over the core trunk muscles – this defense is eliminated during anesthesia.
-- MRI's are normally reserved for prior to a surgery as a means to plan the procedure. Recommend getting a good overview of conservative vs. a surgery:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingsurgery.htmHOW TO MONITOR neuro functions to alert your vet
As damage to the spinal cord increases, there is a predictable stepwise deterioration of functions. When nerve healing begins, often it follows the reverse order.
1. √ Pain caused by the tearing disc & inflammation in the spinal cord
2. √Wobbly walking, legs cross
3. √Nails/toes scuffing floor
4. √Paws knuckle under, slow to correct placement
5. Weak/little leg movement, can't move up into a stand
6. Legs do not work at all (paralysis, dog is down)
7. Bladder control is lost. Leaks on you when lifted. Can no longer sniff and then pee on that old urine spot outdoors.
8. Tail wagging with joy is lost
9. Deep pain sensation, the last neuro function to be lost, a critical indicator for nerves to be able to self heal after surgery or with conservative treatment. If surgery is not an option (for whatever reason) then the best option is conservative therapy.
Surgery can still be successful in the window of 12-24 hours after loss of deep pain sensation. Even after that window of time, there can still be a good outcome. Each hour that passes decreases that chance. Precious hours can be lost with a vet that gets DPS wrong. Trust only the word of a neuro (ACVIM) or ortho (ACVS) surgeon about the tricky to correctly identify DPS.
