gail
New Member
Posts: 2 
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Post by gail on Oct 3, 2013 9:33:16 GMT -7
My mini dachshund developed neck pain last week. He yelped a few times when lifting his head, and wasn't keen on going up and down steps. I took him to my vet who gave him an injection of loxicom, and he has been taking a daily dose in his food since. Within a couple of hours he was back to his old self. He then had an x Ray which shows calcification of a neck disc and in another disc further down as well as a slipped disc. My vet is to pass his x Ray to a specialist and we go back next week to see what he recommends. Meanwhile he is fine and I've been told to rest him. The thing is I've read all your stories about continued pain and dragging limbs, which chatsy isn't displaying so I'm a bit confused. Also I've not been told to crate rest him so is chatsys problem minor compared to some on here. I'm confused if anyone can offer any advice I'd be very grateful.
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,935
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Post by PaulaM on Oct 3, 2013 10:30:27 GMT -7
Welcome to Dodgerslist Gail. I'm sorry to hear that Chatsy is having a disc episode and it is in the neck. Often neck disc do not invovle loss of legs and bladder but they can progress to that if proper care is not being given….. 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7 only carried to and from the potty place… for a full 8 weeks. It is clear, your vet is not as comfortable with treating this disease that you would like…. as STRICT rest is the halmark component of conservative treatment. Also with a NSAID such as Loxicom the stomach needs to be protected. The FDA and manufacturer pkg insert indicate gastrointestinal problems are side effects of using NSAIDs. Serious gastrointestinal toxicity such as bleeding, ulceration, and perforation, can occur at any time, with or without warning symptoms. Phrase the question to your vet this particular way:" Is there a medical/health reason my dog may not take Pepcid?" If there is no reason, we follow vets who are proactive in stomach protection by giving doxies 5mg Pepcid (famotidine) 30 minutes before the NSAID. From now on, I recommend you do what we do, read up on each med your dog is on. There are no safe meds only vets who use them with safety AND the owner who educates themself on each med. This is the webpage I use for my own dog. www.marvistavet.com/html/pharmacy_center.htmIf there is a question if and IVDD diagnosis is right, or if the medications are right, then certainly a consultation with a board certified ACVIM (neurology) might be in order. So that you can quickly get up to speed on IVDD, please take advantage of our treasure trove of all things IVDD on our main web page. I would start with this particular page www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingpage.htm and then as fast as you can read all the rest : www.dodgerslist.com/literature.htm-- So you do not see any signs of pain. No trembling, no yelping, no reluctance to move much, no tight tense tummy, not his normal perky self? Loxicom is not a pain med per se. It can take 1-2 weeks to get all the spinal cord swelling down, in the meantime pain medication are used to give comfort immediately. Let us know specifically what you observe regarding pain. These are the things owners do to help with a disk episode in the neck: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/cervical.htm |
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gail
New Member
Posts: 2
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Post by gail on Oct 3, 2013 10:48:42 GMT -7
Thanks Paula. No pain whatsoever after about 2 hours of getting his anti inflammatory injection on Friday. He's 100 per cent back to his old self. What is a slipped disk ? My vet never mentioned a ruptured disc, just calcification, so I'm assuming the effected discs have not ruptured, and might not. I'm confused but hopefully will learn more when we return next week.
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Marjorie
Moderator~ 
Member since 2011. Surgery & Conservative
Posts: 5,724
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Post by Marjorie on Oct 3, 2013 13:16:45 GMT -7
Hi, Gail Usually neck disc problems are very painful so please keep a close eye out for any signs of pain - shivering, trembling, yelping when picked up or moved, reluctant/slow to move head or body, nose held to the ground, head held up high, tight hard tummy, arched back, holding leg up flamingo style, not wanting to bear weight on a leg. If you do see any sign of pain, a pain medication needs to be prescribed. Also, even though he now appears to be "back to his old self", the disc is still damaged and needs the full 8 weeks of strict crate rest to heal. It's tempting sometimes when a dog appears to be well again to slack up on the crate rest, but please don't give in to that temptation. The more movement of the spine, the more potential for nerve damage to occur. Thankfully, that hasn't happened yet. This webpage has detailed information about calcification: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/CalcifiedDiscs.htmCalcified discs are discs that may or may not rupture. Whether the term of slipped or ruptured or bulged disc is used, (and you did mention that your vet said there is a slipped disc) the damaged disc is pressing on Chatsy's spine and can cause nerve damage. Please take a look at the video on the page that Paula recommended for more info on that: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingpage.htmPlease confirm that you've contacted your vet about Pepcid AC and have included that with Chatsy's meds. I'm also passing along a link with more info about crate rest and how to st that all up: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/CrateRRP.htm All the best to you and Chatsy. |
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