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My 8 year old Dachshund, Ruben, was diagnosed with IVDD one week ago by an emergency vet after we weren’t able to speak or get an appointment with our regular vet. This was his second flare up but this time he lost movement and feeling in both his back legs. The vet told us he had no deep pain sensation. Surgery was not a financial option for us so we opted to bring him home and try conservation treatment. Living with a paralyzed dog does not overwhelm me but I do need him to get back his personality and not be in pain anymore.
We are so disappointed with our current vet and how everything played out the day Ruben had his flare up and became paralyzed. We have made calls to a new vet clinic and are waiting to get into their earliest appointment with an educated vet.
From the emergency vet, Ruben was sent home with 4 medications, Tramadol, Metacam, Robaxin, and Gabapentin. It has been one week and he appears to be in much less pain and his body is relaxed, the quivering has stopped and he doesn’t often cry. We stopped giving him the Metacam two days ago because he had all of the side effects that the drug prescribed and we didn’t feel that he needed it for pain management.
In the last two days his appetite has gone downhill, eating very small amounta but then turning away. Even his favourite foods like cheese he wants nothing to do with. He is still drinking water but only when I use a syringe into his mouth.
He has also become extremely lethargic and seems depressed/sad to the point where he won’t move or lift his head without our assistance. All he does is lay there and sleep. We move him around in different positions and he doesn’t cry in pain when we move him, he just doesn’t seem to care. We can flip him over from one side to another and he won’t even life his head. Nothing we do warrants any type of excitement from him. I am terrified he’s losing all his strength and have no idea if this is a normal part of the healing process or if there is something else wrong with him. He does not have bladder control but is peeing often uncontrolled. He also has semi consistent bowel movements, at least one small one per day. No diarrhea but there was some tarry black stool.
My vet appointment is Wednesday, 4 days away still, trying to get in sooner with them but I just don’t know if I should be taking him back to emergency. Please help.
How do you determine if your dog needs a dental exam? My dog is over 10 years old and has always had bad teeth. He is a Yorkshire terrier mix. I knew he would need several teeth extracted but we were not advised that he must have this done by x date. It’s been about 6 months. He has now had two teeth fall out and has another big tooth loose. I do not mind paying for a vet visit if necessary but I wasn’t sure if this was simply part of old age. Should we switch from dry food to wet food? He has a little redness in his mouth, no swelling, no signs of pain.
Hi there- I would call to make an appointment with the vet in the morning. Especially as teeth have already rotted out. There is a good chance that there may be some infection going on that could easily spread. Best to get things taken care of right now and not chance anything bad.
Thanks for the response. I’m glad I asked.
Yep! It’s time for a dental cleaning and extractions of all of the bad (diseased) teeth. Taking care of it now will spare your pup pain, infection and possible complicating diseases like heart disease. It’s never too late to do it! Best of luck!
I’ll call JVC in the morning to schedule!
My 4 1/2-year-old cat Minnie all of a sudden last Saturday was lethargic to the point she slept the entire day, then Sunday a lot of the same where she not interacting, not her normal playful, loving self. It started to look like her eyes where crossed, and she would curl up in a ball. I took her to the vet last Monday – she was there all day and they suspect head cavity polyps, meningitis, or CNS however when the Dr. put her under, she was not able to find anything. Not sure if she checked behind the soft pallet, but will ask in the am. I was referred to a neurologist at that time; they have her a 14 day antibiotic and a steroid injection. She seemed to be doing good, and somewhat back to herself, so I canceled the request for an appt as they did not even have any openings, but the next day Tuesday she was feeling horrible again, sneezing, head tilting, off-balance walk, walking in a circle favoring her left side. Her eyes are watery and run almost like she is crying, and she has this reverse snort/cough. She does still have a good appetite, is eating, peeing and pooping, but is extremely lethargic and I can tell she is still miserable and at time seems like she will not make it. Took her back on Friday, did another exam and they say she still needs some type of imaging to see what is wrong. I am thinking can’t they look to see if there are polyps endoscopically and then just remove them at the same time? Or does she have to go through a complete neurological exam although it may not be necessary? I can’t afford 2-3 k for all the diagnostics then surgery but will do my best to pay if it is necessary. I am terribly worried for her as she is just doing horrible and I hate to see her in so much pain and want to get this resolved for her as quickly as possible.
Good morning-
I would write everything down… symptoms, changes in them, appetite, sleep patterns, change in behavior, even things that you’ve previously discussed with the vet…. I would also be upfront and ask exactly what you’ve asked here. Be honest about your budget and your concerns. Ask about all of your suspicions. Hope things work out for you both????????
That is great advice. Thanks very much.
Hello,
this sounds like more of a brain/CNS problem than a polyp. I would make sure that a full blood work panel is done, a fecal, and urine too. I would also inquire about FeLV/FIV status. If you cannot afford the specialists I would ask about which medical therapies might help.. In the symptoms you describe I would make sure this isn’t an ear issue and start looking for possible causes to the clinical signs she is showing. I would also seek the opinion of a feline only specialist. In my practice I have fund them to be as good, or even better than the boarded internal medicine and neurology specialists. I hope this helps, keep us posted. And good luck!
Thanks, Dr. Magnifico…..I had to rush her to the ER due to labored breathing and unresponsiveness and they too were not sure and were really all over the place, but thanks to your video on how to keep pet care affordable, I was able to leave there paying 241.88 instead of 4500 – 5000 to start. I am trying to spend what I have like you said more on the treatment if it comes to that. I was able to get another local vet to at least do some X-rays and go in endoscopically for a start for which my vet would not do. At least from there, I can hopefully get more information on which direction to go. They did give her additional Antibiotics and more meds for the symptoms and she has been better all day. Thank you, Dr. Magnifico, for the advice……and that you are. May God Bless you!
My 6 year old lab mix had TPLO surgery to repair a torn CCL on September 10. Prior to surgery, his liver enzymes were elevated but after 2 ultrasounds and bloodwork, they were unable to identify why. Because of this he cannot take anti inflammatory drugs to help with pain and took longer to be cleared after surgery. He was finally cleared on 12/11/19 and was doing really well. About a week and a half ago, he started limping again. We can’t pinpoint anything he did that would cause a limp. We haven’t let him fully run and don’t let him off his leash hardly at all. I do have another follow up appointment with the surgeon scheduled but wanted to see if anyone else experienced something like this. Thanks!
Hello,
Lots of things can cause a limp post op. The best advice I can give is to keep him calm and leash walk only and see the surgeon ASAP. If he is acting quiet, depressed, lethargic or not eating call your regular vet and have him seen immediately.
Thank you! He is sleepy, but not lethargic. I think that is because of the gabapentin. He has always been a picky eater but I believe he is eating and drinking normally. We have been keeping him on a leash and shortened walks. His appointment with the surgeon is Wednesday.
Our 9 Year Old Border Collie the vet believes has Colon/Rectal Cancer. He did a rectal exam and can feel several large masses narrowing his colon. Our
dog started limping and favoring a back leg 2 weals ago, then 5 days ago has been unable to poop. Just little pieces of poop would come out, and he would
be trying to go for several minutes. The Vet believes the narrowing of the colon due to the masses inside are also pinching the nerves causing his limp, since
our dog did not injure his hind leg, and is not in pain.
He is referring us to a Vet that can image the area, and possibly due radiation.
Does anyone have and advice for us ??? Does anyone have and history to share with us???
We appreciate any feedback.
Good morning- I’m sorry you have this going on. I think that comfort and quality have to play a role in any decision making. And budget. That is the reality of it. Talk with your vet. Talk with the specialist you are going to. Talk about all possible prognosis and all possible options. Be sure to voice your concerns- you may want to start keeping a written list so that you don’t forget anything at your visit. Very best to you. Please keep us posted-
Hi, my female torti Dusty has bumps on her tongue… The vet had me give her doxycycline liquid and prednisone for 2 months… the bumps didn’t change, but while I was there, she also told me to stop giving her wet food. About a week or so ago I stopped her wet food (which is Sheba Perfect portions) and just gave her the puro a one sensitive stomach hard food she has been eating for 2 years (I was doing 50/50)… I noticed she is having issues peeing… no pain, but she takes me to see she is only peeing about a teaspoon or so and she does it very often… she isn’t showing any signs of pain or lethargy, and eating fine. I tried to feel around but not sure if I found a bladder or not, nothing feels hard and she only complains as much as usual so I don’t think anything hurts.
I’ve watched videos on expressing a bladder and catheterizing a male, but I can’t seem to find any info on females (still looking)… my mom’s dog had 3 bladder stones for over a month just peeing a few drops every time and then all of a sudden they just popped out so I’m trying to weigh the cost-benefit with the local vet. Today is Sunday and I wasn’t about to go emergency if she wasn’t in pain, but I’m still afraid they’ll want $500+ to do anything since just a physical with no blood tests or shots is over $100 and I’m sure they’ll want xrays, etc. I’m in Florida and I know vets here charge 2x-3x more than other places.
Any info will help
Female
Indoor
Shorthair
About 10 yrs young
No signs of sick/injured/pain
Hello,
When it comes to cats displaying issues with urination we always worry most about urinary blockage, which can be life threatening. This is less common in female cats. A blocked cat will typically frequent the litter box (obsessively and continuously), and produce no, or very little urine. A cat with bladder inflammation will do the same but NOT typically have a full, hard, distended urinary bladder, which is why an exam by a vet is imperative. We cant tell the difference without an exam and usually a urinalysis.
I have to admit that I never recommend dry over wet for cats. I just find that dry has no benefits.. Not teeth, certainly not weight, and for urinary issues wet it better as you can add water and start to diurese the urine.
If your cat is calm and comfortable you can probably wait until morning to be seen.
If all else failed you could ask the ER vet to just assess for blockage and then ask to be seen by your vet (assuming they can and will have time to see you) tomorrow. If her heart, temp, color, respiratory rate and bladder are all normal I bet they would have trouble saying that she isnt stable enough to wait a few hours.
I always think it is important for pet parents to be proactive, but also provide an honest admission of budget and ask for assistance to make care affordable and accessible. We all owe our pet parents and patients that. Please let me know what happens. Good luck
Thank you. Yes, the only thing is her lack of pee. Today I put her back on the wet food and added water and her pee doubled this last time. Also, since everything I read seemed to say blood in urine, and she wants me to watch her pee, I took a paper towel and put it under her and her pee came out colorless… not red, or even yellow , but the paper towel looks like I put water on it…I will not it is a stronger smell than I would expect, smells like pee, but I don’t think I’ve ever noticed her pee have a smell before (maybe because I never had her pee on a paper towel before, I dunno)
Tomorrow I plan to take her in, they were good about seeing her same day when I took her in for a checkup (2nd trip to a vet in her life…1st was her spray trip when she was about a year old) hopefully they won’t rake me over the coals.
Also I found a video that says to add ACV and water to the food and I happened to have some here so I added it…and she still ate half of it it (I was surprised because she can be picky)…
While I’ve got your attention, since one reason they say in the videos is stress, my husband thinks this may have been caused by my recently changing them to a litter kwitter as I have started toilet training them.. Can holding it in cause a problem? And what are your thoughts on toilet training cats?
Hello,
As with all of these cases they need fairly intensive monitoring and care for the first few weeks. They need the help and guidance of both a dedicated and devoted family and a vet care professional who can closely supervise and assist. In most cases in person every few days until things get settled. I would talk to your vet about which meds are best long term. In my opinion And in the extremely debilitating cases like this I use a steroid bs an NSAID. But this is something you have to discuss with your vet. You also have to understand what each drug does and how it affects your dog. I have to juggle meds for risk versus benefit and not eating might be due to one of the medications. It is also a discussion to have if you are considering a steroid as it can cause gi issues like the NSAID can. Also some of your medications cause sedation which might affect eating. I know how hard these cases are to manage and I wish you luck. Make sure you Keep your dog lean and muscular as this also precipitates back issues. Let us know. Best of luck again