Welcome to Dodgerslist, Rob. We are glad you’ve joined us on the support Forum! While we are not veterinarians, we have lots to share with you.
Please feel free to reach out anytime with any questions that come up.
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 and give the best assistance. Information on
how to register and set up email alerts can be found here: www.dodgerslist.com/forumads/RegisterFORUM/register.htmI'm glad to hear Brick had a successful surgery, and is resting well at home. In order to better help, would you be able to provide some more information?
Medication:For the medication,
please let us know the exact names of meds currently given, their doses in mgs and times per day given. How much gabapentin in mgs and times per day? What is the name of the steroid, and how many mgs and times per day? Is there any other medications on board? Is a date set for the steroid to taper?
The use of any anti-inflammatory drug (steroid or NSAID) can increase stomach acids. Ask your vet if Brick has any health issues to prevent the use of Pepcid AC (famotidine). If given the ok, the usual dose of Pepcid AC (famotidine) with a disc episode is 0.44 mg per pound every 12 hours. The dose for a 65lb dog would be 30mg (round up from 28.6mg - most tablets you find are 10mg) 30 mins before the prednisone and then every 12 hours thereafter.
You can read more about this here:
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/06/stomach-protection/%E2%80%8B?highlight=pepcidStrict Crate Rest:
Strict rest allows the surgical site to heal. Information on setting up a comfortable recovery suite can be found here:
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/14/strict-rest-recovery-process/Please be sure to limit time out of the recovery suite while Brick is healing.
How many weeks did your surgeon recommend for crate rest? Did they recommend any physical therapy?It sounds like Brick is on a good medication regime currently. Do be alert and notify your vet if you see any signs of pain emerging such as:
☐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 dose to dose. If not in control your vet needs to know asap to adjust meds.
Phantom pain is uncommon, but also be on the alert for for any of the following signs:
Neuropathic pain is abnormal, phantom pain sensations with severe spinal cord damage of paralyzed legs. Signs are obsessive licking of paw, leg, genitals, tail. Escalates to biting, life-threatening chewing off parts. Immediately put on an e-collar (or lengthwise folded towel around neck and duct taped closed) to prevent access to lower body. Contact vet immediately for Gabapentin or stronger Lyrica (pregabalin) for this type of pain. Dodgers Digest article on neuropathic pain:
dodgerslist.com/2020/06/10/neuropathy/Healing:Nerves are very slow to heal. There is no timetable anyone can give you when to expect nerve repair to happen. In fact, there is no time limit for nerves to heal...it can take weeks, months or even a year or longer. However, it is known that neurological function usually returns in the reverse order of the damage. The first big sign you want to look for is that wonderful tail wag! More information can be found here:
dodgerslist.com/2020/04/22/healing-nerves/%E2%80%8B?highlight=nerve%20healingWhile we can't give an exact date for recovery, please know that hope is in the cards! Please check in with us, and let us know how things are going for Brick.
