[Original thread subject: Increasing pain during crate rest}
Hello all. We rescued our
dachshund Lola with the knowledge that she had an IVDD diagnosis. She is currently having her third flareup (that we know of). The first was prior to her joining our family, treated conservatively, and the second was 2 years ago, in which she went down with paralyzed back legs fairly rapidly; we got her into surgery the next day and she made a full recovery.
We noticed her
shivering more than usual several weeks ago, crated her immediately (10/1) out of caution, and scheduled an
appointment (for 10/3) with our vet who believed the problem to be a disc in her neck. The vet prescribed 1mL
gabapentin 2x/day and half of a 25mg tablet of
carprofen 2x/day, plus
2 weeks strict crate rest with a followup appt.
[MED LIST/HISTORY- Moderator's Note. Please do not edit
12.5 lbs 12.5 y.o.
10/16 severe pain/ neuro diminishment wobbly, slow to correct back paw
carprofen as of 10/3: 25mgs 2x/day for 12 days SToPPED 10/15
Steroid as of date?
gabapentin 100mgs 3x/day
Codeine 7.5 mgs ?x/day
traZODone ?mg ?x/day not yet used] For the last two weeks, she didn't seem to either worsen nor improve. We did notice her
shivering when it was nearing time for her next dose of meds, so we had planned to call our vet today to see if the dosage could be increased as we continued crate rest.
However, yesterday (10/15) evening when we tried to pick her up to take her outside, she
shrieked in pain. We were very afraid to move her at all so we let her relax for the night with her pain meds and made a plan to take her to the vet hospital in the morning if the pain was still severe.
At 6am this morning
(10/16) she started crying in pain so we took her to the vet hospital where she had her surgery 2 years ago, as they have a neuro team. The doctor suspected that the
affected disc was in her back again, not neck. They gave her
methadone & cerenia via IV, and changed her prescriptions to 100mg
gabapentin 3x a day and 1/2 tab of 15mg
codeine 2-3x per day as needed, and
asked us to discontinue the carprofen in case a switch to a steroid was necessary. We were also given
trazodone to give as needed. For most of today she's been pretty knocked out by the IV meds, but she seemed to be doing better this evening and had a seemingly pain-free, successful bathroom trip outside. However, when we placed her back down into her crate, as soon as I tried to carefully remove her harness, she
shrieked again (several hours after a dose of the gabapentin + codeine). We had bought a step-in harness that just velcro's together at the top thinking it was safer than one that pulled over her head just to avoid any neck or back movement, but as soon as I touched it as gently as I could, she cried out.
My concern is that we can't seem to get her pain under control, and she is slowly declining from a relatively mild pain to very severe pain at times. She is
also beginning to become unsteady when she walks,
starting today, which is worrying since she hadn't been having any neuro symptoms prior to this. We fortunately
wouldn't have issue getting her into surgery again if necessary, but we do want to avoid the extra trauma and risk if possible. We are just so heartbroken over her cries and, and we are getting scared to even lift her up for bathroom breaks in fear of causing her more pain. We're unsure what else we can do to avoid movement & pain.
Answering the list of questions:
☆ 1
✔️ reluctant to move much in crate such as shift positions or slow, ginger movements
✔️ shivering, trembling ✔️yelping when picked up or moved
✔️ tight tense tummy ☐can’t find a comfortable position, appears restless
☐ Arched back
✔️head held high or nose to the ground ☐ Holding front or back leg flamingo style not wanting to bear weight
✔️Not their normal perky selves?★2
10.5 years old & 12.5 poundsA..
Currently, as of this evening 10/16:
100mg gabapentin 3x/day,
1/2 tablet of 15mg codeine sulfate 2-3x/day.
1/2 tablet of 50mg trazadone 2-3x/day as needed for anxiety (we have not started the trazadone yet but are considering starting it tomorrow in case her cries are perhaps in anticipation of pain)B.. 🔘 If on a steroid….what was the start date & dose?
N/A🔘
1/2 tablet of 25mg carprofen previously prescribed but stopped yesterday 10/15 at direction of hospital vetC..
No health issues to my knowledge.☆ 3 --
No signs of stomach damage☆ 4
Dachshund named Lola, my name is Emily☆ 5 🔘
Yes, previous diagnosis of IVDD; this current flareup is a "suspected IVDD of thoracolumbar junction" however other possible causes of back pain were not yet ruled out entirely. 🔘 --
Our usual vet is DVM. We are also now working with our vet hospital, which has a neuro team.☆ 6
10/3 appt with our usual vet, 10/16 visit to emergency room☆ 7 🔘
Yes, she has full control of bathroom functions☆ 8
Yes, Lola can still walk at this time. Starting today [10/17] we are starting to see unsteadiness when walking. The vet today also remarked on one back paw that was slow to correct itself that we should keep an eye on.
