This post is specifically for Dr. Krista Magnifico, however anyone is welcome to chime in if you feel you can contribute.

On the evening of Monday, 11/20, our strictly indoor 8yo cat Louie had an accident at home. We aren’t entirely sure what happened, but we observed him jump down from the couch and race across the room, knocking his water bowl over in the process in a way that suggested he was spooked or startled, possibly by an outside noise.

That night he loafed a bit more than usual, but we didn’t think anything of it.

The next day (Tuesday) we noticed he had a noticeable limp in one of his hind legs. He had a slight sprain about six months prior in one of his front legs, and all he was prescribed was rest, so we figured this required the same since he bounced back from that sprain in under a week.

By Tuesday night it was noticeably worse and now both legs were effected, and he was extremely lethargic and kept hiding. We made sure he was comfortable and made plans to take him to a vet the following morning. The next day he was MUCH worse, now dragging his entire body by his front legs with hardly any rear leg movement, and his tail was partially limp as well. Both still had movement, but something was clearly very wrong.

We found a vet who did a quick half assed exam and wouldn’t take x-rays even though we asked for them. She did labwork and prescribed pain meds and said it was likely just a bad fall and he just needed to rest. She told us to follow up with her when we felt it was necessary.

By the next day, Thursday, his rear legs and tail showed absolutely no movement, and he was completely dragging himself with his front legs. And since it was Thanksgiving, everyone was closed, and we don’t have the means to pay for a 24hr emergency facility.

We called the vet back as soon as they opened Friday morning and scheduled the follow-up the same day. We waited in a small room while they took him into another room for a second exam, and when she came back she said his blood work was fine but she recommended putting him down asap because he had developed some sort of neurological issue, likely a slipped disc with his spine. I inquired about treatment options but apparently I didn’t look rich enough, because she just dismissed it as “probably too expensive” and suggested taking him home for some goodbye time, followed by making arrangements.

On Wednesday it was “probably a sprain, just let him rest” and 48 hours later she’s telling us to kill him. Economic Euthanasia in action. Are there treatments? Yes. Can you afford them? No. So fuck you and fuck your cat.

I immediately reached out to another facility for a second opinion. The prognosis was poor, but I was told that there was a chance he could recover with enough rest, attention, love and patience. As long as his appetite remained and he still wanted water, I could let him rest, do physical therapy, pursue acupuncture, etc….and just give him time. He said it could be 50/50 but gave no guarantees. What mattered was he didn’t take away our hope. We were told he wasn’t necessarily in pain, so it wasn’t inhumane to give him a fighting chance. So that’s what we did. The biggest problem was the paralysis meant he couldn’t use his box, so he had to be manually expressed for all his bathroom needs. I could NOT get the hang of it and was incredibly worried about a rupture or blockage. But he had developed incontinence, so even though I wasn’t able to remove his waste myself, it would come out on its own over time. I had to clean a lot of messes as well as clean his backside often, but at least it was coming out one way or another.

Still, he wasn’t examined to my satisfaction, and I wanted to find a vet who took his case more seriously and could actually provide some sort of treatment. After a little research I found one, and they did a FULL neurological exam, asked for his whole story, listened, didn’t rush, and told me how to proceed and what to expect. The did a complimentary ultrasound, two full x-ray sessions and only charged me for one because they did the second just to rule something out, and all in all were angels on earth. They said red light / laser therapy might help, but again couldn’t offer any guarantees. They unit they had on hand was a “Class IV” which is apparently really powerful and efficient, so we began treatment with that immediately, twice weekly.

That was two weeks ago, and as of today it’s now the start of week four. It’s been three full weeks since this all started. Over the last couple weeks, he started showing signs of movement in his right leg. Then his left. Bit by bit. As of today, HE CAN WALK, but only on his “hocks”. His front paws / legs are still fine, and he’s capable of making his way around the house on his own. However he’s still incontinent, and he still isn’t using his box. I’ve been doing my best to clean up after him with warm water and wet wipes (for cats), but he’s starting to develop sores by his anus due to constant over grooming. Apparently I haven’t been doing a well enough job keeping him clean.

We were prescribed a medication called Amoxicillin and Clavulanate Potassium on 12/11 which we were told to give twice daily, 12 hours apart. So we gave him his first dose that night, and twice the next day. He didn’t take well to it and developed horrible diarrhea and vomited a few times as well. Despite this, he still has his appetite and he’s still drinking water. He’s not hiding or showing signs of pain or distress. He still purrs and wants attention, and even wants to play. He just walks on his hocks and can’t use his box. He was also prescribed another medication for nerve pain which was mixed with (I believe) Almond Oil? But he immediately began drooling profusely and had an incredibly adverse reaction to it, and he hated me for the next two days and even became fearful, which was difficult to deal with. Apparently there’s a similar option available in pill / powder form, but our vet won’t prescribe it because apparently it’s too strong for his size.

What all can we do from here on out to help him regain his independence on the bathroom front? What treatments / medications / additional measures would you recommend?

We were told if he were to make a recovery it would take anywhere from 4, 8, or even 12 weeks or more. It’s been three full weeks and he IS walking again (on his hocks), but the bathroom issue is our biggest concern. We’ve laid towels down everywhere but we can’t live like this forever….but at the same time we don’t consider this issue alone to be sufficient reason to end his life. We love him, and he’s family. We’re in it for the long haul.

We were told an MRI to pinpoint the exact spot of his injury would be upwards of 4k and corrective surgery, if it’s a slipped disc, would be 8k – 11k.

We can’t fucking afford any of that, and its safe to say MOST people can’t. What an absolutely predatory situation to be in.

Any advice on how best to proceed from here would be sincerely appreciated. We’re open to anything which has ever shown proven results. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Being concise isn’t among my strong suites.

My cat has laryngeal paralysis. The surgery is far too expensive, therefore i’m looking into alternatives to treating the laryngeal paralysis. I saw that some vets offer acupuncture and electro acupuncture, which is supposed to stimulate nerve movement and could cure paralysis. Is thing something that would really work? I don’t know much about it but it seems like possibly it could get the nerves around his larynx to work again, then it could move properly? If you could provide me with any information asap I’d appreciate it! 🙂

My dog is paralyzed from the waist down. My dog is a 4 year old, 10 pound Shi-poo mix. He suffered from some trauma yesterday (Friday) after getting his paws stuck in some metal grating he seemed ok but then his symptoms exacerbated after running around the park and playing with another dog. At around 5pm on Friday, he was able to poop and urinate and ran around at the dog park but by the evening he couldn’t put any weight on his hind legs. At 8pm, my dog was still able to wag his tail. We went to a doctor this morning and that doctor says he still has sensation in his hind legs (even though they he cannot move them). We have been given the option of MRI followed immediately by surgery but we are not sure if we want to put his body through that much trauma with the risk that he could die on the operating table. We have taken him to a “holistic” vet who has treated him with acupuncture, Chinese herbs, and cortisone. The acupuncturist Vet said he would need 4 weeks with 1 session a week to see if that method could help but also told us we could very well have “missed” his critical cure time if it doesn’t. Nevertheless the acupuncturist said he is very confident as his method has seen much success in IVDD in older dogs. My dog is in a lot of pain and has not urinated or passed stool since yesterday I do not believe he has control over his bowel movements And he is constantly holding his head back and he is constantly propping himself up on his two front legs. I would love a second opinion and an honest opinion of what his chances of regaining full motor function and bowel control are with OR without surgery.

I am so lost in caring for my Chihuahua/dachshund mix. She was diagnosed with IVDD on Sunday December 15, 2019. Surgery was not an option financially so we opted for conservative treatment combined with acupuncture and the Assisi loop treatments. The one thing I can not get a definitive answer on if she needs to 24/7 cage rest of if letting her rest with us on the couch in the evenings okay. Some blogs says strict cage rest for 8 weeks and only out for potty time while many others suggest other treatment plans. I just want to know if I am hurting my fur baby by letting her rest on the couch with me or not. Since the start of her treatments she has gone from full paralysis in her hind legs and being in continent to being able to walk a little and has full control over her bladder/bowels in just a little over a week!

I just got back from the vet. Basically the vet told me there’s no point in going to the neurologist if I’m not considering surgery and there’s no point of an MRI because once again I’m not considering surgery. He prescribed Tramadol along with the galliprant and Gabapentin he’s already taking . I just gave it to him now. I also asked about rehabilitation. He told me that he has seen improvements with acupuncture however he did tell me that I need to consider his quality of life. He told me if he was going to get better he would have already shown signs of improvement .im so heartbroken right now. I’m not sure what to do.

Hello. I have a 15 year old Dachshund, Brody, who is currently suffering from a cervical IVDD injury. This is Brody’s third IVDD injury in his short life, however, it is the most severe. We are not sure what happened this time since Brody was injured when we got home from work. Today is day 7 since Brody went down. While Brody is able to right himself from the lateral position, he does spend most of his time on his side. Brody is able to lift his head and look around, he can scoot himself from one position to another, he has a fantastic appetite, he has feeling in his hind quarters and only deep pain in his front two. My poor boy is not able to consistently empty his bladder and has required cathing; as of today, with the help of lactulose, Brody has been able to empty his bowels, incontinent.

Brody is not a candidate for surgery due to his age and other health conditions, so we are managing him conservatively. Brody has been seen by his regular vet where he was started on prednisone, robaxin, & gabapentin; he also takes CBD and I just started him on tumeric paste. Brody has seen a holistic vet where he had acupuncture done with electro stimulation.

My question is, how long do I give him before we decide that enough is enough? Brody is not in extreme pain, but he does have occasional neck/shoulder spasms that make him scream. I just am afraid of putting him through more than what I should just because I am not ready to let him go. Brody has been my guy for 15 years and I cannot imagine life without him, but I don’t want him to suffer. I have watched Dr. Magnifico’s YouTube videos about giving IVDD dogs time, but what is a realistic timeframe?

My dog lola has ivdd and hurt her back for the second time. The last time was last year. This time it’s worse, she was at the park running on sat after that everything looked fine until sunday night she looked like she’s in a little pain and monday got worse. She couldn’t walk at the vet she still had deep pain which a day after she lost also. Now she’s paralyzed and doesn’t control her bladder, she was in a hospital for 3 days getting medications. She’s now taking steroids and pain management.. I couldn’t afford the surgery which was about 10k $ so we decided to try cage rest again. Now a week later when I poke her feet it looks like the leg is twitching. How can I tell if it’s a good sign or just reflexes? What treatment will be best from now? I’m thinking about acupuncture and laser.. thank you

My 6 year old Bijon Shih Tzu is a very active dog and has been running, jumping, and using her long legs her whole life. Just a couple of days ago she was about to push off her hind legs to run up the stairs as she has done thousands of times before and immediately screeched and ran off limping and then ultimately losing control of her hind legs. After a few minutes of resting she was hobbling along but was able to stand on all four. However the morning after she could not stand any longer on all four and los control of her hind legs. The Vet says she has IVDD and gave us options of surgery, treatments or putting her down. I couldn’t fathom that idea since she isn’t in pain, still wags her tail, still drinks, eats, and goes to the bathroom. I’m in desperate need of some support and help. She is a trooper and I know this cannot be the end. She is currently on meds from the vet and going in today for acupuncture treatment. She is left in her cage and we try to keep her resting as much as we can. I have watched Krista Magnifico’a videos on this subject and hoping my dog can recover as the beagle she cared for did.

Hello,

My 18 and 1/2 year old lab mix just suddenly lost about 50-70% use of his hind legs few days ago. The vet recommended MRI which was financially not feasible nor did I think giving him anesthesia given his age was a good idea. He sent us home with prednisone and to call back with updates. I took him to a vet acupuncturist but she said that probably won’t be very helpful. I’m going back tomorrow to see if I can convince her to do acupuncture. Boston has otherwise been a super happy and healthy dog (sans nerve sheath tumor surgery 7 months ago from which he has made 100% recovery).

It’s been 5 days and since I wasn’t told about crate rest, I allowed him to wonder/wobble short distances around the house to go potty and to/from bedroom and living room and he has fallen few times when his back legs gave out. Given his age, I just don’t think surgery is an option. If he doesn’t get better in a couple of weeks, is euthanasia pretty much the only option? How much time should I give him? I just hate seeing him in pain but my husband is on deployment and I really want him to hang on until he comes back as it was my husband who rescued our dog 16 years ago. He is currently on prednisone and tramadol. Please advise. I just cannot make any drastic decisions on my own right now but I also want to do the right thing by our loyal and loving baby. Thank you.