Larisa, time does matter when dealing with a neuro loss/diminishment.
prednisone as of 5/23: 15mgs 1x/day for ? days,
then test taper for: √5/22 pain ⚠️ if √5/25-26 neuro
With my own dog, when prescribed prednisone up at the "anti-inflammatory level" within a matter of hours the knuckling turned around to being able to correctly place foot. Once nerve damage is old (days/weeks), it then can take a long time before the body can self heal the nerves.
Hours matter. Have no patience with pain and also have NO PATIENCE with any new increase of neuro diminishment. If right front leg is worse in last day or today, be a squeaky wheel to get that pred adjusted to 15mgs 2x/day, now. This is not any adjustment you should do...
pred adjustments MUST be by a vet. We don't know all of your dog's health history...there may be a reason the neuro did not give the anti-inflammatory level pred dose 2x/day.
A DVM vet at surgeon's hospital, can see Curtis' file, can communicate neuro decline with surgeon. It is well known that neuro decline is an emergency to treat.
If you are not going to have a surgery, but choose to heal with conservative treatment, then vets understand that movement is a danger to a healing disc. So they often will do med adjustments over the phone. I'm so sorry this is happening on a weekend, happening when surgeon is out of town. Still the vet should not be dismissive of neuro decline.
You are left simply to assess your own situation with Curtis and be a squeakly wheel if this is new increased neuro decline.
When you can use date with an event, that is very helpful to us putting things in a timeline for our comments.
MONITORING NEURO FUNCTIONS for you to be aware of
As damage to the spinal cord increases, there can be a predictable stepwise deterioration of functions if excessive back/neck movement for example.
Nerves do heal in the exact opposite order nerve damage occured.
1.
5/22 Pain with initial tear of disc and ensuing swelling
2.
5/22 Wobbly walking
legs cross
3. Nails/toes scuffing floor
4.
5/22 Paws knuckle under. Dog is slow to correct or can't right the paw(s) at all
5. __ Weak/little leg movement, can not reposition body in suite with front/ or w/ rear legs
__ can't move up into a stand
6. __ Legs do not work at all (paralysis, dog is down)
7. Bladder control is lost. Leaks on you when lifted. Can no longer sniff and then pee on that old urine spot outdoors.
8. Tail wagging with joy is lost
9. Deep pain sensation, the last neuro function, a critical indicator for nerves to be able to self heal after surgery or with conservative treatment.
Precious hours can be lost with a general vet who gets DPS wrong. Trust only the word of a neuro (ACVIM) or ortho (ACVS) surgeon about DPS.
🚩A quick overview of conservative treatment vs. a surgery:
dodgerslist.com/surgery-vs-conservative/The difference in the STRICTNESS of Conservative vs. Surgical post-op rest
🚩Dr. Isaacs indepth Interview on surgery and conservative treatment:
dodgerslist.com/dr-isaacs-surgery-answers/What breed is Curtis?
