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My dachshund Lucy is now starting her 3rd week of conservative home care for IVDD from C1-2 with paralysis of front and rear legs with deep pain present in all extremities. She is currently on gabapentin, prednisone, pepcid, and methocarbamol. I’m trying my best to stay hopeful however she still has pain with any movement. The only time I move her is for repositioning, cleaning, and feeding. I can’t afford surgery due to spending several thousand at the ER vets where she was misdiagnosed numerous times. I will however do anything in my power to keep her happy, functional, and pain free. I’m fine with her ending up in a quad chair if that’s the best we can do. Am I doing my best?
My cat is about 14 years old. Male. Last week really noticed he goes to litter often but doesnt go. But sometimes he did have a few times of clumped urine litter. So took to emergency clinic Sat 12/13/30. They could not get any urine to test. Sent home with antibiotics antiflamatory- pain meds and told to get in see regular vet.
Took to vet today 12/15/20. They were able to get a good stream of urine out as well as these blood clots tissues. See image. Said that I would need to ck his bladder ongoing to make sure it doesn’t get rock hard baseball sized. Gave me a medication to help dilate. Did blood panel and Im waiting to hear back on any other medications.
I feel like imaging should be done like yesterday.
If this blood clot tissue can happen again should he have been keep at vet to do something ?
Was this blood clot a actual plug and blockage. So since they got it out the blockage is gone at the moment?
I am just worried and dont want to make a mistake and not know if he has a full hard bladder.
Or did this clot coming out as he is good currently. How long would it take for another clot to form?
Any input advice would be much appreciated
Hello,
I think that all of the questions you pose are excellent questions to ask yourself vet. I also talk to parents about feeding watered down canned food. I often add a steroid and I give cats Sq fluids daily to help flush the bladder. Just things to talk to your vet about. I get super aggressive with these guys. And I offer lots of options for parents to do at home. Along with showing them how to palpate a bladder to monitor at home. I hope this helps. Good luck.
In June my Labrador developed a lesion on her side. She was treated with antibiotics and a medicated shampoo with no success. Her hair started thinning and she developed a lesion on the opposite side. Bloodwork was run to test for Cushings which was negative. As she started to take a Cushings type appearance her docs followed up with an ultrasound. In October she had a punch biopsy. She was treated with Apoquel with no improvement. She has lesions on her chest, both sides near her hips and one near her hind end. I have never seen her itching or chewing. The lesions are crusty and pretty dense. Hair loss is only on her trunk.
A little history: my dog is 10 1/2, has spay induced incontinence, history of frequent UTI’s, frequent urination, and megaesophagus. She is on Dasuquin, Cranmate and Welactin. Despite her plethora of health issues she has never had skin issues. Typically her coat is blue-black, thick and shiny.
She doesn’t seem to be uncomfortable but she seems to have a pretty high pain threshold.
Thank you for your time.
My small 12 pound terrier/chihuahua mix has suddenly (in the past 24 hours) stopped jumping up on things – couch, chair, etc – which is very unusual because she prefers to be on the furniture. She will stand and stare at the couch and seem like she’s going to jump, she even starts to a bit, but then she won’t follow through. If I pick her up and put her on the couch, she will not hesitate at all to jump down when she’s ready. She will let me touch and move all of her legs and has not vocalized in pain. She walks and runs normally and will come up and down the stairs with no problem. I assume she has injured something. Is there an injury to a specific place that would cause her reluctance to jump up but not affect other behavior? (I should note that she is very independent and doesn’t like to be picked up, so it’s not that she’s preferring to be lifted up)
Hello,
Well I would start by saying that I wouldn’t encourage jumping on or off of the couch. I would get her a ramp and train her to use this. My concern is that someday she will land wrong and either strain/sprain/fracture a leg or injure her back. Next the best way to try to understand what’s going on now is to have your vet examine her. I can’t tell you what is going on here without an exam.
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I called the vet but she seems to be back to normal now. I will still keep her from jumping for a while just to be sure.
My dog has episodes of severe gas pain every 1 – 3 months. I have taken him to the ER Vet and her regular vet on several occasions and they do x-rays but can never find anything wrong. They prescribe meds for the pain, but I would like to know how to avoid this happening in the first place. Any advice?
Honestly, I would talk to your regular vet about it. Discuss what you’re feeding, how you’re feeding (type of bowl, frequency of meals), and ask their advice. They know your dog best and may have suggestions.
That said. I would worry very much about possible bloat in his future. I would invest in a slow feeding bowl and feed scheduled meals. If you don’t want to get a slow feeder, using an old muffin pan is an option worth considering. If you feed dry food, a food dispensing toy is a good option. I have a breed with a higher than normal likelihood of bloat due to chest size, and we opted for a Kong Wobbler for breakfasts and the occasional lunch (as she gets her breakfast dry) and a slow feed bowl for dinners. She is always fed 2-3 meals a day. She is never allowed to graze from an always-full bowl.
I would also look at activity levels around meals. Keeping a dog calm prior to and immediately after a meal is ideal.
back in june i had to take a kitten to the vet for a broken femur. he had been closed in a door at his last home. the vet was able to put it back together and it healed nicely. however the kitten is in pain still and not well. yesterday we figured out it is because of damage to the growth plates in his hips. the pelvic canal is too small and he is having pain with passing stools (primary issue), pain with walking (he waddles, is almost always stationary and has zero kitten-like attitude) and stunted growth in general (he is 1yr old and is the size of a 3 mo old). the vet is an amazing person. he thinks that if he removes a rib he can use it as a spacer to widen the pelvic canal. however, as with all surgery, it is no guarantee. i feel terrible because i dont know what to do. i am inclined to euthanize the poor baby because he is suffering that much, i dont want to put him through more trauma just to end up at the same outcome. what are your thoughts or opinions?
Hello,
This is my personal opinion after working with pets for two decades. I never euthanize without trying. Even if you can’t afford surgery maybe you could manage the difficulty defecating with a canned food only diet? If the hip joint is the issue perhaps an FHO could help? I don’t know we ought about the case to offer more advice. But you can always get a second opinion to help too.
Our chiwinnie unexpectedly slipped a disc the vet recommended laser treatment. She was fine for the first 3 days now even tho her back legs are getting better she’s in a lot of pain and air snapping here is the weird part I can pet her all over run my fingers down her spine and she’s fine but when I try to move her she cry’s a lil bit and air snaps is this normal
I think a phone call to the vet today and possibly a visit, are in order. Your vet can get her on a Rx for pain. Meantime, I would try to keep her quiet and comfortable. Dr. Magnifico has a lot of videos online (YouTube) that you might also find helpful.
She’s been to the vet everyday for treatment I took her back today he couldn’t figure it out either her back legs are improving but she doesn’t want to stand on them she’s just in pain she on pain killers and anti inflammatory she eats and goes potty. She didn’t cry as much today when I got home from work
I have a Golden Retriever/Lab/Boxer mix. He will be 10 years old this month. A couple weeks ago, we took him to a vet specialist. He has a prostate mass that is connected to his urethra. He also has spots in his lungs that are believed to be metastasis of the cancer. I needle aspirate was done to confirm his cancer diagnosis. Recently, he has lost bladder control so we keep a diaper on him when he’s inside. Last night, he started not eating his food (even when it was mixed with wet food) so today I made him chicken and rice. He ate some of the chicken but did not touch the rice. My vet is not recommending surgery due to how invasive it will be. He is currently taking an antibiotic (clavamox) and a pain pill (gabepentin). He’s also been prescribed a medication for inflammation (carophren). My question is… is there anything that can be done for treatment? we wanted to have the mass removed to remove pressure from his bladder (because he peeing frequently). However, the vet nor vet specialist is recommending it. Are there options for metatastic cancer? What are the benefits of giving dogs CBD?
Good morning. I think your best corse of action would be to schedule a visit with your vet simply to discuss ALL of your options and then move forward from there. I cannot really comment on your specific situation, but I can definitely sympathize. This past July we had to finally say goodbye to one of our dogs and towards the end with the loss of bladder control and lack of appetite, it was really difficult to watch and in hindsight deal with. The last month was just to keep him as comfortable as possible and measure his quality of life. I had success getting him to eat by mixing beef broth and rice in with his regular kibble. And peanut butter became a regular treat. I hope that you and your vet can come up with a plan that works.????????
My 8 year old pitbull is in immense pain due to a slipped disc in his neck between c1 and c2, according to the x-rays, it has calcified. It has been 6 weeks and a day since his diagnosis, 6 weeks exactly since he was discharged after an overnight stay where he was given lots of pain meds through an iv. He did really well for the first few days after that. Then he got bad, and it’s been a roller coaster of good and bad days since, but mostly bad. He’s on a muscle relaxer and 2 different pain meds 3 times a day, and prednisone twice a day. I’ve been trying so hard to stay positive, but it’s getting discouraging. I’ve watched lots of videos and read about dogs that have had paralysis walk again sooner than he has shown any progress. I can’t really afford surgery, I guess my question is, at this point, should I still stay hopeful?
Hello,
You say he is in pain but you don’t say how he is doing. Can he walk? Go to the bathroom? Urinate? Defecate? What does your vet say? I also worry that there might be a different underlying issue. Like cancer. I think it’s time to talk to your vet again.
He is walking fine(just slow, and is weak at times, other times he’sgreat and tries to do his happy trotting), poops and pees just fine. I talk to his vet at least once a week, he has suggested a CT or mri, and possibly surgery, but I just can’tafford it. I also forgot to mention his symptoms came on literally instantly, came home from work one day and his head was down, and his back was hunched. I’ve asked about cancer, and none of the vets he’s seen thinks it’s cancer. He’s had many blood tests, everything comes back normal, but Im not sure if that’s how cancer is tested, though.
2 year old neutered male, indoor only. Was taken to the vets and had crystals removed form his bladder. His kidneys appeared to be a little elevated and was put on amoxycilin, prazosin and meloxidyl. Prazosin for 7 days, amoxycillin for 7 days and meloxidyl for 14 days.
He was absolutely fantastic for about 7 – 10 days. When he was ill previously he was very distant (usually extremely affectionate), hiding under sofa, lethargic, not eating or drinking, struggling to pee and mewing. This time when he was ill he has actually still been affectionate and following the owner everywhere, a little slow and seems sad, but mainly noticed that he kept trying to pee – even outside his litter tray. Took him back to the vets and they recommend euthanasia so went to another vet. They gave him an epidural to relieve his bladder and put him on Hypovase for anti spasm relief, gabapentin for pain and buprenorphine also alprazolam for anti spasm.
All the above happened in the last few weeks
He’s back in the vets again this morning with another blockage and because he keeps removing the cathather they want to remove the urine via needle!!
Any help would be appreciated.
Hi there-
The experience that I had with my blocked cat (years ago) was time consuming. He did undergo surgery to remove the blockage. Then sent home after urinating on his own. We had to keep him confined as he needed to rest and recuperate, plus he was leaking for a while and clean up was easier in less space. He needed Rx food for the remainder of his days. His recovery took a few weeks, but he did live quite a long time after that experience. Our vet had also advised us to change the type of litter we used as some apparently can cause stones/crystals. I know that they did some sort of ultrasound on his bladder at the time to help assess the situation. Perhaps to see the number of crystals and if they could pass? Not 100% sure…. regardless, I would check with the vet about diet, litter, recovery and expectations as to whether they feel all the stones have passed or if further surgery is needed. Please keep us posted ????
Hello,
Most of the cases is see happen like this. It takes weeks, months for the urethra to heal and the bladder to regain full function. I strongly suggest a canned urinary prescription diet and medication options to include a steroid. I also recommend discussing a PU surgery before recommending euthanasia.
Thanks Krista. He’s back to the vets again today to have his bladder evacuated and the same yesterday and the vets wants to do the same until Friday via needle. He been on the urinary food but won’t even do a droplet of urine. The vet is recommending euthanasia Friday because of his suffering….. at a loss!
Hello,
Without knowing the doses that you are using I would say it might be helpful to see if you can get into a neurologist ASAP. I would also ask about increasing the doses of the meds with your current vet. Also acupuncture might help. Lastly I think that at this point you may have to consider rechecking xrays to make sure this isn’t a fracture or neoplasia. I guess I would suggest to regroup and reassess. I hope this helps. Good luck
It does help. We do have an appointment to see a vet acupuncturist but with the holiday they are booked until Jan. 13. We have consulted on Zoom with a neuro who read her CT. Thank you!