Welcome to Dodgerslist. Everyone here has or has had a dog with IVDD, so you have come to the right place.
You have a pain emergency. Tori has been prescribed pain meds, but clearly the pain meds are not yet right. According to the Veterinary Anesthesia & Analgesia Support Group, thoughts on codeine; "It should be noted that both morphine and codeine appear to have poor oral bioavailability in dogs and cats, which makes their efficacy questionable. Anecdotal reports of pain relief exist, but the results tend to be inconsistent."
What we have seen work best is a multimodal approach, with three pain meds on board, each attacking pain differently:
Tramadol Rx'd 3x/day as the general pain reliever
Gabapentin for nerve pain also Rx'd 3x/day or Pregabalin (Lyrica) also a good med for neuropathic pain
Methocarbamol for painful muscle contractions 3x/day
Pregabalin and Methocarbamol have already been prescribed for 2x-3x a day. How often are you giving the meds? These meds do not last long in the body and may need to be taken 3x a day for full relief.
Tramadol may be a better choice than codeine for Tori. "Tramadol is one of the most useful drugs available to veterinarians for treating chronic pain."
Tori's current pain regimen is not providing relief. Pain will only slow the healing process. Please call your vet Right Away and tell him what you are seeing that indicates Tori is still in pain. Let him know the pain meds must be adjusted. Tori is counting on you to speak for her.
More information about meds can be found at the link below:
A disc problem in the neck can be more painful and may take longer to resolve because a dog moves its head with almost all actions. That constant movement means that healing can take longer because the neck doesn't get the rest to allow the disc uninterrupted healing.
More information about what you can do to help with a neck disc is here:
Is Tori currently on strict crate rest? This is one of the most important things you can do to help her.
STRICT means:
- no laps
- no couches
- no baths - no sleeping with you
- no baths - no sleeping with you
- no chiro therapy
- no dragging or meandering at potty times.
Carry her to and from the recovery suite to the potty place and then allow a very few limited footsteps.
There is some info on how crate rest works at the link below:
www.dodgerslist.com/2020/05/14/strict-rest-recovery-proc
As long as Tori is on an anti-inflammatory, she will need a stomach protector such as Pepcid AC.
This is because all anti-inflammatories cause excess stomach acid, which can cause serious stomach problems. Please speak to your vet right away about a stomach protector for Tori. Not wanting to drink water may be because of pain, or it may be a sign of stomach damage beginning.
You can read more about stomach protectors here:
dodgerslist.com/2020/05/06/stomach-protection
We encourage you to register and set up email alerts as timely interaction/communications is needed when helping your dog. How to register and how to do the email alerts here:
It is very scary when our dogs have IVDD. It becomes less so when we learn all we can about the disease. Check our main website
www.dodgerslist.com for more information.
You can use the search bar at the top to search for particular topics
