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Post by Outdoorstom on Dec 13, 2022 8:49:41 GMT -7
[Original subject line: Kunox ]
i.postimg.cc/BnqHfBN0/Conser-Rest.png i.postimg.cc/HndzvQRF/dox.jpg☆ 1 Kunox does not appear to be in pain.☆ 2 He weighs 24 pounds and is 9 years old. Prednisone 5mg started on 12/8. One every 12 hours for 3 days. 1 every 24 hours for 3 days (that’s where we are now) and tapering down to one tablet every other day until gone. They gave us 15 tablets and want bloodwork done before prescribing more. Garbepentin 100 mg one capsule every 8-12 hours. Quantity - 21. Date of steroid taper? Pepcid ac We are currently giving Kunox one 20mg tablet of Pepcid ac before his meals (eats twice a day). [MED LIST/HISTORY- Moderator's Note. Please do not edit
24 lbs 9 y.o.
prednisone as of 12/8: 5mgs 2x/day for 3 days, then 12/11 test taper for: _pain / _neuro
gabapentin 100 mgs 2x/day
Pepcid AC 20 mgs 2x/day ] There are currently no red flags…eating, drinking, and bodily functions are normal, other than he always pooped twice a day, now it’s once.☆ 4 Kunox is a wirehaired dachshund. My name is Tom.☆ 5 I took Kunox to my regular vet due to him being lethargic and having some discomfort. They xray’d him and said his spine looks good, but he seems to be full of poop and may have an obstruction. They referred us to an emergency vet for an ultrasound to check for an obstruction. $1,000 later and we find no obstruction. I took him home and a few days later I saw his back end was wobbly when I took him outside to pee. I took him back to the emergency vet and they said his back legs definitely have a deficit. They referred us to a neurosurgeon who without even looking at him wanted a $9,500 deposit for an mri because they said they were 95% sure he would need surgery. I was discussing with his breeder and told her I would like to try the conservative route first and she agreed that would be the way to go.☆ 6 We saw the emergency vet on 12/8. We were planning on 3-4 weeks of crate time, but I’m reading now that will be be insufficient. We have been VERY good about the only time he’s out is when I carry him out to do his business. I put a mechanics dolly under his crate so that he’s always in a room with someone.
☆ 7 He has never lost bladder control, but was squatting to pee. Yesterday [12/12] he started raising a back leg again.
☆ 8 I always use a 6’ leash when I take him out and don’t allow him to walk around sniffing. He did try to take off when he saw a rabbit, so I was really happy the leash was on him. His tail wags like crazy when we talk to him or lay down and put our head in the crate with him.
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,928
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Post by PaulaM on Dec 13, 2022 9:56:26 GMT -7
Welcome Tom! Kudos to you for getting Kunox under strict rest to prevent worsening disc damage as the spine moves. The goal is to keep the neuro deficit wobbly walking from deteriorating to worse loss of neuro function. As your breeder mentioned Kunox is a good candidate to heal his disc under conservative treatment! The focus on the next 8 weeks is to get the disc to heal. Often it can take longer for nerves to self repair than the short 8 weeks of disc healing. Yet you are reporting his leg weakness has improved to allow lifting one leg to pee!!! Keep up the good work Tom. Kenos was given a 3-day course of prednisone. The day the pred taper starts is a test to find out if Prednisone has completed the job of resolving all painful inflamed tissue around the cord. Gabapentin hides pain from your eyes and provides comfort to Kunox. During the taper of prednisone, the aim is to know whether to quickly resume the original anti-inflammatory dose if pain exists or to go to completion of the final pred taper dose. Pain meds are usually stopped on the start of the pred taper. Discuss stopping of gabapentin today to get the real read on inflammation still existing or not asap. You can learn more about how anti-inflammatory's such as prednisone are used during a disc episode in order to best be able to communicate and understand your vet's treatment: dodgerslist.com/2020/04/18/steroids-vs-nsaids/Nice job on making his recovery suite mobile to keep him near you! If the rabbit thing or other distractions still exist, you might want to consider placing an 8 panel ex-pen in the grass as a physical and visual that there will be no darting off. How often do you actually give gabapentin: every 8 or 12 hrs? Hope you get the ok to stop gabapentin today in order to verify if pred has completed its job of all painful inflamed tissue resolved. Please let us know if there is any area of concern we can zero in on to assist you in caring for Kunox. p.s. When you are able, please do register and login. It opens the feature to get an automated email alert when you have a post waiting for you. And it helps us to best track Kunox in providing comments to help you both. Thank you in advance. See below if you want more info on registering ▼ ▼ ▼ |
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Post by Tom & Kunox on Dec 30, 2022 11:05:07 GMT -7
I just wanted to give an update on Kunox. He is doing very well, other than wanting out of the crate. My wife and I visit him a lot and make sure he’s always in a room with at least one of us. He is showing no sign of discomfort and is being tapered off the prednisone. He takes one every other day and has 3 left. He’s been in there 3 weeks now and I definitely notice some atrophy.
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,928
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Post by PaulaM on Dec 30, 2022 15:02:04 GMT -7
Tom, thank you for registering and thank you for the update. I'm so glad that in the taper which is now nearing the end you have not seen any surfacing signs of pain. At the end of the every other day (EOD) doses you will have comfirmation all swelling is gone.
What remains is to finish out the remainder of the 8 weeks to allow the disc to finish healing. On graduation day 2/2/23 we will have lots of good ideas and tips to transition him slowly back to family life. Muscles will bulk up again when it is safe to have more movement after graduation day.
Love that smiling face picture of him!
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Post by Tom & Kunox on Jan 7, 2023 15:30:55 GMT -7
I have a question for you. If carried from the crate to my recliner, after 6 weeks can he sit in my lap? He is so anxious to get out of there. Before the episode, if I was sitting down, he was in my lap and misses it very much. What is the difference between laying my lap or laying in the crate? Thanks in advance. I truly appreciate the help you are giving me.
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Post by Romy & Frankie on Jan 7, 2023 15:47:15 GMT -7
I know how much comfort our dog's can get by being so close. We pet parents get comfort from the closeness too. But doing this could be very risky. Dogs can do the unexpected in an instance. The doorbell could ring, or a squirrel could run past a window. Even a paralyzed dog could lunge like that.
Something like this could disrupt Kunox's healing disc, causing him more pain and possibly neuro deficits.
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,928
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Post by PaulaM on Jan 7, 2023 18:50:53 GMT -7
Tom, Romy is right about anytime your Kunox is out of his recovery suite, there is a danger to the early healing disc.
--Dogs do the unexpected in a blink of an eye, like jumping down, darting off. The crate is that safety protection to prevent too much movement that could cause restarting at square one.
-- The suite is always flat, never sloping support for the spine, that a lap, cushions cannot provide.
Think outside of the box with me. I have these suggestions to share with you.
-- Place the wire crate suite on top of a sturdy coffee table and pull it up to your recliner.
-- Roll his crate right beside your recliner.
-- Find a folding table or other sturdy table to put his crate on a traction mat. Dogs also like being up a bit high to survey goings on in their home.
--Security ideas for securing suite to table surface bungee cord, tie wraps, rubber traction mat to prevent creep.
Let me know if one of these ideas works for you or if you have a better idea to solve the problem of being able to touch Kunox thru the wires, or rest your arm against the suite he can feel and smell your warm arm/hand.
QUESTION update
How often were you actually giving gabapentin: every 8 or 12 hrs?
Hope, actually by this date with pred concluded, you have stopped gabapentin in order to verify if pred has completed its job of all painful inflamed tissue resolved. Proof that prednisone has done its job is only known when all pain meds (gabapentin) are stopped.
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Post by Tom & Kunox on Jan 8, 2023 8:59:04 GMT -7
Thank you both for the advice. I’ll follow your advice and will not let Kunox on my lap until after the 8 weeks. The crate is on wheels, so he is always near us. I have to confess though that my wife and I a couple times a day crawl in there next to him. He craves human touch more than any dog I’ve ever met!
The gabapentin has been stopped for over a week and Kunox shows no sign whatsoever of being in pain. We were giving it every 12 hours.
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Post by Tom & Kunox on Feb 18, 2023 19:37:28 GMT -7
I’m happy to report that Kunox is doing well. He goes on daily walks, which I’m still limiting to just around the block until he rebuilds his muscles. If I’m sitting down, the big guy is on my lap gazing lovingly into my eyes. We have a gate blocking off the stairway, and pillows on the couch and loveseat preventing him from jumping up there. I want thank you guys so much for all of your help through this stressful time!
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Marjorie
Moderator~ 
Member since 2011. Surgery & Conservative
Posts: 5,724 
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Post by Marjorie on Feb 19, 2023 8:15:24 GMT -7
So glad to hear how well Kunox is doing, Tom! You've taken excellent steps to protect his spine. Keep up the good work and please continue to keep us updated. We love to receive such uplifting updates!
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,928
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Post by PaulaM on Feb 19, 2023 13:26:28 GMT -7
Tom, as Marjorie indiates, it is such a pleasure to hear about Kunox. It makes our day to know he is enjoying life with your guidance in keeping him safe! You inspire those just starting the scary journey to know it is in the cards for a dog to get back to enjoying after a disc episode.
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