Debi, welcome to the Forum.
The EMERGENCY you have with Poppy is to report pain asap to the vet tonight. Hospitals have ER hours. Poppy's file can be accessed by the vet on duty to get things right for him.
Naturally since prednisone is on a taper (less than an anti-inflammatory dose), it would be expected if there is still painful swelling, then pain meds would necessarily need to be increased! It is not fair for Poppy to endure pain while waiting on an Apr 11 surgery.
Pain meds only last for about 8 hrs (3x/day dosing).
Usually there are three sources of pain each needing a separate pain med.
Pregablin works on nerve pain
1x/day dosing is not doing the job. How much does Poppy weigh? traMADol works as the over all general analgesic
methocarbamol work on muscle contraction pain.
Could use some dates to go with start of pred and date of taper.What was date you started the all important 100% STRICT rest inside of a recovery suite? It is the STRICT rest that allows the disc to heal. Cheating on crate rest, means the disc can't form good secure scar tissue. In fact too much movement can cause the disc to retear and the need to start from square 1 in 8 weeks of disc healing time.
The hallmark component of conservative treatment is the very STRICT crate rest part (no PT, little movement). 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.
100% STRICT REST means
◼︎ No playing with other dogs. No playing w/toys causing too much back movement
◼︎ No going on leashed walks.
Bare minimal footsteps only allowed at potty time
◼︎no laps ◼︎no couches ◼︎no baths ◼︎no sleeping with you
◼︎no chiro therapy WHYs:
dodgerslist.com/2020/04/22/chiropractic/ ◼︎no dragging or meandering at potty times.
◼︎no PT for conservative dogs during 8 weeks to heal disc
◼︎At home laser or acupuncture for severe neuro damage is best.
◼︎ avoid dangerous detours. Follow the "Roadmap." Tape it to your fridge. D/L and print out:
dodgerslist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Roadmap-for-Fridge.pdf Transports are always a risk to the disc of too much movement. Vet visits must be weighed risk vs. benefit for dogs with little to mild neuro diminishment.
POTTY TIME strictness
Carry your dog to and from the recovery suite to the potty place and then allow a very, very few limited footsteps.
Using a sling (long winter scarf, ace bandage, belt) will save your back and help to keep a wobbly dog's back aligned and butt from tipping over.
A harness and 6 foot leash is to control speed and keep footsteps to minimum as you stand in one spot.
An ex-pen in the grass is an excellent alternative to minimizing footsteps with the physical and visual to indicate there will be no sniff festing going on!
▶︎ Super tried and true tips for setting up the recovery suite, the mattress and more!
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/14/strict-rest-recovery-processKnowledge is key!
Owner understanding ensures proper conservative treatment principals:
▶︎ 4 phases of healing, what it takes to heal each phase:
dodgerslist.com/healing-the-disc/▶︎ Roadmap for your fridge. Stay the course, avoid dangerous detours for the healing disc during conservative treatment:
dodgerslist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Roadmap-for-Fridge.pdf SURGERY
Debi, you are right to have questions about surgery. It is a big deal. We are here to support you in your choice. Make sure you have asked all the questions you need to feel confident you are making a good decision based on all the information you have at hand. These two webpages will be a good check if you might have any missing questions you need answers to:
Dr. Isaacs answered alot of questions we've had about surgery: "Surgery needs to be a decision an owner enters into recognizing the risk, but also recognizes the benefit. This way if something unforeseen occurs an owner can be comforted and at peace with the fact that surgery was the right decision and they did all they could for their dog." You will find it worthwhile to read the rest of his answers about surgery:
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/12/dr-isaacs-surgery-answers/More excellent info to help with conservative vs. surgery decisions:
dodgerslist.com/2020/02/10/surgery-vs-conservative/
Poppy is at Day 10 post surgery and has come a long way since the day we brought her home. Her incision is healing very well and mobility is improving daily. When taking leashed steps to potty, she doesn’t wobble anymore, is still lame for 2-3 steps when first on the ground but then puts her foot down and walks normally with an occasional drag. She is much brighter and eager to get back to life but has adapted to her restrictions. 