Feb 27 Saturday 6pm S. Africa time
Janien, welcome to the the Forum. When having a surgery is not a financial option, then conservative treatment is the best choice. That means no expensive MRI is needed. The cost is for medications to relieve the cause of pain. It means at home she needs to stay inside of a recovery suite (such as a baby's playpen, a wire crate, an expensive). The key part of conservative treatment is the STRICT rest 24/7 to allow the disc to heal on its own. Nerve damage you are seeing can also heal on its own.
It is overwhelming to learn one's dog has disc disease (IVDD). Our mission here is to help you through the hard parts and make sure your Joy can heal without pain. We can do our best when we have all the facts. When you post
--- use names of meds with their dose in mgs and how often you give
--- use dates month/day since you are in different county that avoid confusion
--- Give the name of the disease the vet diagnosed (the disease he suspected.)
--- Tell us your country.
ACTION TODAY, asap
--- Joy must be
inside of a recovery suite with strict to restrict movement. Movement causes further damage to the healing disc.
Super tried and true tips for setting up the recovery suite, the mattress and more! —>
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/14/strict-rest-recovery-process/--- Call the vet to alert them any
signs of pain and advocate for
1)
Tramadol 50mgs every 8 hrs (3x/day) (general pain)
2)
Methocarbamol every 8 hrs (muscle spasm pain)
3)
Gabapentin every 8 hrs (nerve pain)
◉shivering, trembling ◉yelping when picked up or moved ◉Arched back
◉reluctant to move much in crate such as shift positions or slow to move
◉head held high or nose to the ground
◉tight tense tummy ◉can’t find a comfortable position
◉Holding front or back leg flamingo style not wanting to bear weight
◉Not their normal interested in things going on selves?
--
Advocate for an Rx to Nexipraz (esomepraZOLE magnesium) while on Rimadyl. Rimadyl can cause bleeding ulcers. Nexipraz supresses stomach acids.
-- It is necessary to
manually express the bladder if Joy leaks on you when lifted or you find urine leaks in bedding. An expressing lesson is a health issue if she has lost bladder control. Get more out of the hands-on-top-of-your-hands expressing lesson by first reading and viewing the video at this page:
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/05/bladder-bowel-care/Lift and carry. Support both ends and keep her back horizontal to the ground to protect the damaged and healing disc.
Anxiously waiting for your update to learn more about Joy's medications (mgs and frequency).
If she has bladder control and is fully pain free with only tramadol (?mgs 2x/day).
If the swelling is being help by Rimadyl (?mgs, ? times per day, and for how many days is the Rx?).
Is Nexipraz (or another your vet recommends) on board to guard against Rimadyl damage to the stomach lining?