Laura, THANK YOU for providing all the detail about prednisone/prednisolone. Basically the same steroid, Prednisolone has been processed one step more so that the dog's body does not have to convert further. Always good to read about each of your dog's meds. I LOVE the Mar Vista Vet Drug Directory for this purpose:
www.marvistavet.com/pharmacy-center.pml.
So Wriggly has been on pred for 16 days plus since 11/2 going on 18+ days for a total of 34 days now. Typically dogs can get the painful swelling down in about 30 days or less. Some few dogs I can remember did take more than a month. It is known that neck discs are harder to heal simply because the head needs to move when most any other part of the body heals.
In addition you have noted several instances of excessive movement behavior that well may have antagonized the neck disc trying to form good scar tissue. The length of crate rest needs to be of 8 weeks from the point of intial injury or subsequent damaging of early healing disc scar tissue.
IF you could pinpoint pain with those excessive movement behaviors, then crate rest should restart at that date.
If pain reveals itself again when there is a pred taper, then that would be swelling never was totally resolved and when pred went below the anti-inflammatory dose level, pain surfaced. Thus a need for another course of pred.
Which of the two happened, only you might know and be able to report that information. Do you keep a med chart to note correlations of meds/observations and their dates?
D/l and print from here:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/crateRRP/medchart.pdf Getting a consultation with a specialist is not just for the purposes of a surgery, but if you feel your local DVM is not comfortable in Rx'ing pain meds because for your family a surgery just would not be an option. Can you let us know IF it would be time to think about a surgery, it would be something you would consider. If surgery is totally not an option for whatever reason, then continuing conservative treatment is the way to go. I highly recommend reading surgery vs. conservative so you are fully informed, can best ask questions and best understand what a specialist is telling you.
Some surgeons may not have had much experience with conservative treatment so they may lean on their training as surgeons to believe surgery is the best treatment. Other neuros have experience with both treatments. Your being up to speed on IVDD, helps you to understand where a surgeon's thinking is.
If you feel you need better support with meds, then a neuro consult is a good choice rather than sorting though several appts to find a local DVM who is strong on IVDD.
If you feel, surgery could be an option, then a consult with a neuro is a good choice as Wriggly has been on the anti-inflammatory level of pred for over a month. It may be that disc material/a bulging disc is aggrevating the nerves to cause spasms. The disc material/the bulging disc is not shrinking back enough, not being absorbed by the body. The hope with conservative treatment is with time enough shringage will no longer cause pain from aggrevated/pressed on nerves. Surgery is something that immediately goes in to remove the offending disc stuff so that nerves can calm down and pain goes away.
Having a neuro to discuss the pros and cons, can help you decide which way to go. Also your family's budget plays a roll in deciding, too.
AMANTIDINE is not a pain reliever!
Please read up on it to understand why/how it is used w/ actual pain relievers:
www.marvistavet.com/amantadine.pmlPAIN must not be allowed to surface.
Once pain surfaces it is more difficult to get back in control That is the reason pain meds are Rx'd for promptly every 8 hrs. Every 12 hrs has the meds dipping below the pain relief line.
PAIN observations
When the neck spasms are really get going, what do you observe exactly that has you saing they are quite painful? trembling, yelping, holding head high or low? Looking only with the eyes so his head need not turn?
POTTY TIME
Wrigley simply must not be allowed to pull on his harness. Sounds as though you should look into setting up a fenced in potty place. Use an expen or some of that were poke in the ground garden edging fence. The physcial and visual of the fence will let Wrigley know there will be no sniff festing at potty time. And you will not need to use a harness and leash. Until you have that kind of set up, pick Wrigley up when he is pulling on the leash/hearness. Don't allow him to do bad behavior.
STOMACH PROTECTION
What is the stumbling block to getting the must have Pepcid AC (famtodidine) on board with the prednisone? Dogs don't speak up at the first signs of GI tract damage as a person would. Best to be proactive than to have Wrigely having to deal with another problem that could turn deadly on top of all he is dealing with this disc episode. Marjorie's post yesterday tells you specifcally how to ask about Pepcid AC with your vet.
Hope this bit of explanation will help you do decide whether to seek out a neuro consult, We support you with either decision.
