Welcome Caroline! We are glad you've joined us here.
Be sure to no longer allow Mando to use steps, stairs. Sounds very much as though you are reporting pain! Call your vet Monday morning asap vet to let him know what you observe about avoiding pain by not bearing weight on the right leg. If Mando is no longer on Rimadyl, he may need a bit more time on it. Also pain meds may need to be Rx'd til Rimadyl can complete the job of getting rid of all painful inflammation. Pepcid AC (famotidine) to suppress stomach acids for the duration of Rimadyl. Please read why, where to get, the dose ,etc.:
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/06/stomach-protection/ The name of Mando's disease is intervertebral
DISC disease. What needs to self heal is the disc itself. That happens similar to a sprained ankle can heal if we stay off of it. So Mando need to stop pressuring the weak damaged disc that in turn caused neuro damage to the back right leg. It takes 8 weeks to heal a disc with limited movement.
Each time Mando walks the vertebrae in the back move. They press on discs. The early healing disc can have a setback in forming strong scar tissue if there is too much movement.
STRICT REST MEANS:
◼︎No laps ◼︎no couches ◼︎no baths ◼︎no sleeping with you
◼︎ No using steps, stairs.
◼︎ Always carried to and from the potty place. At the potty spot, a very few minimal "footsteps" are allowed to take care of business.
◼︎No meandering at potty times.
◼︎No chiro therapy whys:
dodgerslist.com/2020/04/22/chiropractic/◼︎No PT for conservative dogs during 8 weeks to heal disc
◼︎ 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 such as Mando
STRICT REST! WHY?
If your dog moves around too much, the disc cannot heal.
With appropriate pain medication to mask pain, they won't feel the pain. So it is up to you as the pet parent to restrict your dog’s activity for them.
A prematurely aged and degenerated IVDD disc can often lead to disc herniation. Escaped disc material can in turn injure the spinal cord, nerve functions, or both.
--Keep Mando's mild symptoms of pain and fairly mild neuro diminishment from escalating!
--Avoid an expensive surgery.
--Anti-inflammatory such as Rimadyl works to reduce painful swelling around the spinal cord in a range 7-30 days.
-- Pain meds are provided to give comfort from pain while Rimadyl is at work
-- The body can repair itself if STRICT back/neck motion is implemented. Much like a damaged ankle ligament can self heal by staying off the foot.
-- People with back pain suffer pain but rarely neuro diminishment.
-- Don't be mislead how different dogs are than people. Dogs with back/neck pain most often will suffer with initial pain. However, without STRICT rest dogs can quickly move to loosing nerve function of legs and bladder control!
Quickly get up to speed on the disease Mando was born with:
▶︎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▶︎ Tips and ideas to make the rest of the 8 weeks to heal the disc go smoothly.
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/14/strict-rest-recovery-process/▶︎ Get an over all understanding of Mando's disease for now and for living many happy years ahead with him. Shortcut Thru IVDD:
dodgerslist.com/2020/06/26/time-and-ivdd/QUESTIONS1. What date did Rimadyl start? What date did Rimadyl stop?1a. What pain meds were prescribed on 11/25?2. Since the 11/25 diagnosis date has Mando been using a recovery suite to limit his movement to allow the disc to heal?3. What date did his back right leg have neuro diminishment/pain? 4. Is there a reason you've not been carrying him to and from the potty place? Too heavy for you to safely carry him, or .....?
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