Sierra's Sugarbear 10/4 conserv NECK. -Corgi/aus. GRAD 11/29

Welcome to Dodgerslist. We are so glad you’ve joined us all. We’ve got valuable information we’ve gleaned from the vets Dodgerslist consults with and our own experiences with IVDD since 2002 to share with you!

It is important to know that disc disease is not a death sentence! Struggling with quality of life questions for your dog? Re-think things: www.dodgerslist.com/index/SDUNCANquality.htm

You have done the very best thing by crating Sugarbear. It is Strict crate rest that will help the disk to heal.
The hallmark component of conservative treatment is the very STRICT crate rest part (no PT, little movement). With little blood supply discs are much slower to form good scar tissue than it takes a blood rich broken bone to heal. Those weeks of a cast for a broken arm to heal is similar to the recovery suite being a kind of cast for the disc. 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7 for 8 weeks provides limited movement to allow good strong scar tissue to form.
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/CrateRRP.htm






Is there still currently pain? These are the signs of pain we look for: ☐shivering, trembling ☐yelping when picked up or moved ☐reluctant to move much in crate such as shift positions or slow to move ☐tight tense tummy ☐can’t find a comfortable position ☐Arched back ☐ Holding front or back leg flamingo style not wanting to bear weight ☐head held high or nose to the ground ☐Not their normal perky selves? Full pain relief is expected in 1 hour and stays that way between doses. If not in control your vet needs to know asap to adjust meds. Your dog should not be in pain.






If Sugarbear is not better by Monday, do not be concerned. It can take up to 30 days on the anti-inflammtory to eliminate the swelling in the spinal cord and nerve damage takes even longer to heal.

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--PRINT OUT this link and tape to your fridge: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingpage.htm
--use the printout as your roadmap to avoid dangerous detours in your dog’s care
--make notes/highlight to keep yourself on track

Sierra, could you please register and login. 

The guest board is a temporary Guest courtesy to get immediate help until you can register. I encourage you to register and login. That way all the features of the Forum are available to you, making it faster to reply and get an email alert about replies. It also makes is far easier for us to track your dog, get timely communication to you, and give  the best assistance.  Illustrated what to expect during registration: www.dodgerslist.com/forumads/RegisterFORUM/register.htm

10/4 6:54pm
I am re-writing this post as the information you wrote us on FB has been brought to my attention and it changes a lot of things I would comment on.  Every detail is an important clue to us in best helping a dog.

Please let us know you are not letting her out of the recovery suite to protect that damaged disc (slipped disc) from worsening with great protential to in turn damage the spinal cord.

CLEARLY any vet who is in a comfort zone about IVDD would be VERY, VERY suspicious that Sugarbear has a neck disc episode going on!

When a dog is on an anti-inflammatory drug (carprofen) AND taking a med that masks pain (tramadol) then what does one expect?  One expects the pain to be gone or quite reduced!  That is the danger if this is indeed a disc episode. The dog feels better and does too much movement with potential for severe disc damage that in turn can cause severe nerve damage.

XRAYs can't prove where a disc episode is as they show hard tissue such as bone NOT soft tissue of the disc and the spinal cord.  An xray maybe, might help to suspicion a disc episode with a vet who has a developed a well trained eye. Mostly xray is used to rule out a suspion of other disease not prove where a problematic disc is. Mostly a disc episode is diagnosed without the risky business of taking an xray via the breeds known to be prone to IVDD (doxies, corgies, etc), the way the animal acts at the hands on exam at the vet. 

So I would be quite wary about letting Sugarbear out of the recovery suite except to be carried to an from the potty place  It is the end/stop of carprofen on Oct 9 that is the time for you to monitor for any hint of pain surfacing or neuro worsenng ALL THE WHILE THAT SUGAR remains in his recovery suite.  Tramadol would also be stopped so that if there were to still be painful spinal cord swelling it would not be masked. You would be able to give an accurate report to the vet about pain or no pain.  Actually for a disc episode in the neck, quite often it takes more than a single 5-day course of carprofen. It may take another 7- or 14- day course of carprofen til all the painful spinal cord swelling is gone.  Often, too with a neck disc, because they are so, SO painful, it takes three pain meds. Each pain med covering a differeing type of pain. Please read the extra thing you can do at home to help Sugar. Also at this link are the three pain meds thae are typically on board at the same time to provide full round the clock comfort from pain.
EXTRA THINGS YOU CAN DO for a NECK DISC: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/cervical.htm

So until you are sure Sugabear does not have a disc episode (slipped disc), it is important to maintain 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7 only out for a very, very few footsteps at potty time so that the disc can heal by the end of 8 weeks of limited movement.

It is also important to get Pepcid AC on board with that Carprofen.
marvistavet.com/famotidine.pml  

Yes, I called the closest animal hospital in Bryan college station and they quoted an estimate for an MRI not including surgery would be $3,900 give or take with possible half up front with a payment plan. It’s a lot of money and my plans are to do conservative treatment in the meantime since its very unlikely to reach my goal but I figured a go fund me is at least trying and anything is possible. I would prefer a specialist and MRI with surgery but without proper funding; conservative would be the best hope. I won’t give up because even just a little money could be put towards medicine and vet visits. Or maybe even an IVDD vest brace to help guard her spinal cord from another episode. Sugarbear’s trembling is completely gone while on her medicine but when she moves around in her crate you can see some discomfort. She’s not in as much pain as she was before the vet visits. She has regular poops and pee. I do walk her to go potty which is not far since I am in an apartment. Potty is the only time she gets out and you can tell she enjoys it because she wags her little nubby tail. My veterinarian is closed over the weekend and I have only $50 which enough money for the visit fee which is $44. I really hope her pain is gone by then because pain meds might be out of the question once they are all gone. I am doing what I can and I am an artist so I have a commission I will try and finsh quickly to get some money for Medicine.

Sierra, wrong thinking about the pain she is currently in.  Avoid vet vists as they cause too much movement of the neck and back. Any vet who knows IVDD will take your pain observations over the phone and write an Rx to where you can get best price on meds.

-- Call in today if not too late to get the pain meds adjusted.
--Sugar is being way, WAY UNDER MEDICATED for pain for a 16 lbs dog!
    Advocate on the phone (NO vet visits should be needed to adjust  meds)
     1) Tramadol to 50 mgs promptly every 8 hrs.   Present this idea of an aggressive pain med approach. Never good idea to self prescribe for your dog, that's the vet's job or find a new vet who is used to using an aggressive pain med approach.
     2)  Gabapentin which addresses the specific kind of pain: nerve pain  also every 8 hrs.
    3) methocarbamol.  Addresses the specific kind of pain of muscle contraction that is quite typical to a neck disc and often with a back disc as well.

Be up front with your vet about your personal financial situation.  Meds from the vet's shelf are a convenience of being right there, no stopping off to fill an Rx..  You pay extra for that convenience.  

Do you home work around your town's pharmacies.  Prices change often and pharmacy to pharmacy the prices can be way different.
--- Price shop cost of maybe ten  500mg tabs of methocarbamol (as your vet would very likley cut them into quarters.  Ask where there is a price break maybe it's at 10 pills.
--- Price shop cost of maybe ten gabapentin 100mg capsules. Ask where there is a price break for better per capsule of powder cost. 
--- Price shop cost of maybe 30 tramadol 50mg tablets.  Again is there a better price?break quantity.

When it is not time for a surgery such as it as this point in time, Conservative treatment is the correct way to go.  Most surgeons would not operate on a dog who can still move their legs in a walking motion!  Your vets are really jumping the gun, scaring you. 

For conservative treatment to work, it is very important to be using an aggressive pain med approach these vets are not yet using.  Pain is not only a kind of torture but studies show it will hinder the healing process.  

Call in all chips owed you, pawn something., offer your talent in exchange for $$ now to get that pain in control for Sugar. 

Carry Sugar out your apartment over to where the potty place is. Set Sugar down on an old pee spot. Sugar may not take more than a few footsteps (NO WALKING AROUND anywhere). The entire focus on conservative treatment is the critical part of limited movement of the neck and the back. Once Sugar has gone to the bathroom, pick her up and carry her back to a recovery suite.

You can do this!

Let me know what the issue is to getting registered and logging in to the Forum.  I may be able to help you navigate any stumbling block you are finding.

Do you have any Costco's where you live? You don't need a membership to use their pharmacy.

I've found some of my dogs medications are much cheaper there and my vet called them in for me when I explained about my finances.