Jennie's Emma 8/6 conservative

Jennie, glad to see you have joined us here on the forum. What is your doxie's name?

I sounds like you caught the symptoms early and already you are seeing the nerves comes back. Can you fill us in on a few details so we know better how to support you?

-- What was the date you saw the vet and started the all important 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7 only out to potty …. No laps, no couch, no sleeping in bed with you, no meandering, scooting or dragging around during potty times. No baths, no chiro (aka VOM)?

-- Is there still currently pain - shivering, trembling, yelping when picked up or moved, reluctant to move much or slow to move, tight tense tummy?

-- What are the exact names of meds currently given, their doses in mgs and frequencies? Please include the all important stomach protector such as Pepcid AC. Phrase the question to your vet this particular way:" Is there a medical/health reason for my dog not take Pepcid?" If there is no reason, we follow vets who are proactive in stomach protection by giving doxies 5mg Pepcid (famotidine) 30 minutes before the steroid.  Has the steroid been scheduled for a taper yet?

-- Eating and drinking OK?

-- Poops OK - normal color, firmness, no dark or bright red blood?

With a dog born with  degenerative disc disease any of the  discs are at potential to prematurely age. It an be the same disc having an other problem down the line or a different. This is the nasty part of this disease that there is no predicting if a dog only has one disc episode their entire life or multiple.  

Getting up to speed will play an instrumental role in a good recovery this time and help you to understand the disease should another happen.  I recommend to start with these two pages:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingpage.htm [how healing takes place during a disc episode]
www.dodgerslist.com/healingindex.htm [Shortcut thru IVDD so you know how to fight the enemy and win!]

Excellent that pain med, methocarbamol has been stopped and the taper is so far showing no signs of pain arising. Go my fingers crossed for a smooth completion of the taper. Then all that remains is the healing of the disc itself…that takes 8 weeks of 100% STRICT crate rest. Your catching this very early and committed to 100% STRICT crate rst 2/47 for 8 weeks should avoid surgery. Keep up the good work!

Hi Jennie, my name is Jen. I'm sorry to hear about Emma. 100% STRICT crate rest only out to potty is the best medicine as long as pain is under control.
While on the prednisone you should be giving her a stomach protector like Pepcid AC. Prednisone is really hard on their stomach. You'd want to give it 1/2 hour before the prednisone and give the prednisone with her food. Ask your vet if there is any reason that she shouldn't take Pepcid with the steroid. Also talk to your vet about tapering off the prednisone. Don't just stop it! It can cause withdraw. You need to taper a steroid.
Please read as much as you can here. It will really ease your mind and make conservative treatment easier. We just graduated our 8 weeks of crate rest with our Tucker. He was paralyzed and lost bladder control. It was scary. With the reaserch and support I got from Dodgerslist Tucker is now wobbly walking! Conservative treatment works. You just have up be patient with it.
Sending healing thoughts and positive prayers your way!

Emma will be done September 17, but starting August 28th she will be getting the pill [Pred] every other day... to taper her off it. They said we could do the Pepcid ac if we wanted to, due to her not being on it long term, but I'm going tomorrow to pick some up for her.. This sight is great I learned a lot, wish I know about it last year when we had to put our 3 year old Molly down She was paralyzed , they said the best thing to do was put her down, due to her only having a 5- 10 % chance. I do feel bad for Emma having to stay in her crate even though she shows great improvement, but I'm not taking any chances...