Kristin, welcome we are very glad to have you and Fiona on on this Forum. Mark your calendar for graduation from STRICT REST to heal the disc on Aug 26th.
Here is what is takes to
heal a disc that has almost no blood supply.
Dr. Nicholas Sharp, DVM, ACVIM (neurology) " a disc takes on average about twice as long as a broken bone to heal, as a disc has a very poor blood supply compared to most other tissues including bone."
--- A broken arm needs limited movement to heal that a cast provides.
--- The disc also heals with limited movement of the recovery suite.
* Couches, beds, laps do not provide always provide stable back support, never sloping protection for a healing disc.
* A recovery suite prevents unexpected escaping or darting off and prevents other pets access to your dog. The suite is always supportive of the back and never sloping in.
--- Setting up the recovery suite to make the next 8 weeks of STRICT limited movement go more smoothly.
dodgerslist.com/strict-rest-recovery-process/
* At bedtime choose a recovery suite on the floor near your bed. Or a suite (like a wire crate) that can be placed on your mattress and wedged with wall/headboard for Fiona safety.
* A recovery suite at the right dimentions for the dog allows them to stand on all fours to eat, when lying down ability to fully stretch out their legs. They can easily turn around and change positions in the suite.
Here is the usual
way to heal the inflamed tissue around the spinal cord.
--- Use prednisone at the anti-inflammatory level for a 5-7-day course or even a 14-day course. Your vet chose a 5-day pred course (5mgs 2x/day, then taper pred ib 7.7).
--- The taper provides a window to see if all the painful swelling is actually resolved.
--- With any pain meds (gabapentin) still on board, you will not know if all the swelling is really gone. You and the vet won't know if another course of pred is needed or not.
---
Please bone up on how pred is used with a disc episode: ==>
dodgerslist.com/steroids-vs-nsaids/--- It can take 7-30 days on pred to completely resolve pain. No one knows how long a course to give. A vet simply must guess. It may take more than one course to fully resolve pain. Pred taper doses are too low to work on swelling. And thus are not counted in the 7-30 days range.
* Let us know when the blindfold about pain (gabapentin) will be stopped to know if pred had done it's job or not.
The single MOST important of care is the care at your house inside the recovery suite for 8 weeks of limited movement to allow the disc to heal.
-- ALL vet visits must be carefully weighed as to their benefit vs. the risk a car transport can cause with unnecesary movement to the back.
-- Vets with a good grasp of IVDD understand limited movement. They often will take an update about pain/no pain, etc. over the phone. They will also adjust meds over the phone when necessary.
-- To work with your vet, you'll want to be the IVDD savvy pet parent your dog needs. These tools can help you:
**1) Help all of your family recognize emergency signs and action to take:
dodgerslist.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/emergency-fridge-flyer2.pdf 2) Avoid dangerous detours with the Conservative Roadmap :
dodgerslist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Roadmap-for-Fridge.pdfCould you tell us a few more details to explain what "Loose" rear end means regarding her neuro deficit?
--- Does she wobbly walk?
--- Do her paws knuckle under, slow to right?
--- Do her legs cross?
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Fiona, has a very good chance to heal her disc under conservative treatment IF, you stick to the STRICT crate rest principles for the next 8 weeks with graduation day on Aug 26. Let us know if anything else comes to mind we could comment on for you.
