Welcome to Dodgerslist, Sharon. So glad you’ve joined us all. We’ve got valuable information we’ve learned from the vets Dodgerslist consults with and our own experiences with IVDD since 2002 to share with you! Know more about us and how we team up with veterinarians:
dodgerslist.com/about-team-dodgerslist/
Disc disease is not a death sentence!
Struggling with quality of life questions? Re-think things:
dodgerslist.com/2020/04/18/hope-quality-life/It is important to know that surgery is not the only treatment for IVDD. If surgery is not an option for your family, know that you Oceana can also be treated conservatively. Oceana can still walk, even if wobbly, so she is a candidate for conservative treatment.
The most important component of conservative treatment is the very STRICT crate rest part (no PT, little movement). So Oceana should be immediately crated. This is critical. 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. We have more information about crate rest here:
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/14/strict-rest-recovery-process/
The goal is to allow a very limited amount of movement. Since Oceana is too heavy to be carried to the potty spot, try using a pee pad right outside her crate. At first, she may be reluctant to use it. My dog was. I put a paper towel with another dog's urine on the pee pad and then he used it. Using a sling to support her back while she is pottying may be easier for you than supporting her legs while she goes.
If surgery is not an option for your family than an MRI should not be necessary. An MRI is usually done before surgery so the surgeon know where to operate. When a dog is being treated conservatively all the discs are treated at the same time. MRI's are expensive and they require anesthesia. This can be dangerous for an IVDD dog as all core muscles of the spine would be relaxed and they can be injured if moved wrong or not handled carefully. This goes for anything requiring anesthesia.
You are still seeing signs of pain so Oceana's pain meds are not yet right. IVDD is typically very paiful and neck discs are particularly painful. What we have seen work best for IVDD pain is a combination of three medications.
Methocarbamol for painful muscle contractions.
Tramadol Rx'd 3x/day as the general pain reliever
Gabapentin for nerve pain also Rx'd 3x/day.
Please let the vet know as soon as you can that Oceana is still in pain and advocate for the Methocarbamol and Tramadol to be added to the gabapentin.
For how long was the pred prescribed? Pred usually does make dogs want to drink more and thus pee more. So you may find she needs to be taken out more frequently.
This page gives fuller info on those pain relievers and also lists the things you can do at home to help your dog's neck disc:
All anti-inflammatories, including pred, cause excess stomach acid which can lead to serious stomach damage. To reduce the chances of this damage a stomach protector like Pepcid AC should be used. This is important. The Pepcid should be given every 12 hours 30 minutes before the anti-inflammatory. The usual dose is .44 mgs per lb. For Oceana this would be rounded to 30mg.
We encourage you to register and become a member of the Forum. That way it will be easier for you to reply and make it easier for us to track your dog and give the best of comments and support. Tips on registering:
It is very, very scary when our dogs are diagnosed with IVDD. It is less scary when we learn all we can about the disease. The very best thing you can do for YOU, the caregiver, and for your dog is to get up to speed on IVDD as soon as possible. Begin absorbing the must-have overall sense of meds, care and how the treatment works. Your dog will be depending on your ability to learn. We have some more information including videos here:
dodgerslist.com/category/ivdd-101/-PRINT OUT this link and tape to your fridge:
- Use the printout as your roadmap to avoid dangerous detours in your dog’s care
- Make notes/highlight to keep yourself on track
- Follow all the links in the next days to become the IVDD savvy pet parent your dog needs.
- Use the “search box” to easily locate topics over at our Main website: