r/IVDD_SupportGroup

My 4 year old rescue frenchie developed serious neck pain about a month and a half ago, I took him in to the vet on the second day I noticed it because the first day his pain went away after about 2 hours. He was diagnosed with a neck strain upon assessment and I was told to give him gabapentin and caprofen and limit his activity. No advice about crate rest or IVDD given.

Two weeks of no improvement, his walking seemed to get worse and I found this sub. I took him in to see another vet and she diagnosed him with IVDD stage 2 based off of physical assessment, walking pattern, and his symptoms that I reported. She advised to see a neurologist, but my husband and I are both students and have a son and barely have the funds for the vet, so I started his 8 week crate rest.

The first two weeks were okay, but after that, the barking started and would not stop. He is on the max dose of gabapentin, caprofen, methocarbamol, and trazadone. We give everything as frequently as possible every 8-12 hours as listed. Nothing is working. I tried a play pen, he tries to jump out, I tried an xpen, he tries to jump out.

He is MISERABLE. He woke my 11 month old up multiple times with his barking. He barks the second I leave the room, so I drag his crate around, but he keeps barking. He is becoming fecal incontinent because of all the meds he is on so I have him in diapers and have to wash his butt and put cream on so he doesn't get a rash.

I was at my wits end last week and I just needed the barking to stop so I let him out for a little bit while he was on a leash. He jumped off of the couch while I was trying to train him to use the ramp and reinjured himself.

I hate myself for even putting him in that situation, but I was just so desperate for a break of barking and him to not be so miserable. He cries all of the time.

I cried and cried and now I realize we have to start the 8 weeks all over again. Now he is in horrible pain like the beginning of his injury originally. I feel like the worst dog mom. I am getting frustrated with him and I know it isn't even his fault. He now hasn't eaten in two days, he is eating treats, but he seems so depressed.

I just want this to be over and I see no end in sight. I now have to shove his meds directly into his throat because he won't eat ANYTHING with the pills hidden in it. So three times a day, once in the middle of the night, I am shoving my hands down his throat and making him take these pills, changing his diapers, taking him outside to use the bathroom, all while wrangling my 11 month old son and trying to pass my classes.

I feel awful, I am at my wits end and I need help.

Is there an end in sight? How can I make him happy? Is he okay? What can I do? I really need help. My dog is so depressed, he just isn't himself. I miss my playful puppy who ran around and got the zoomies. I don't know how I am going to get through the next 8 weeks. I need help.

Our pibble Belle (12 yrs) has had health issues throughout this year. Back in January she tore her first CCL and had a TPLO. Her recovery was long, but steady and then she tore her other knee in June. We decided to do surgery again and she had another TPLO.

She’s still in her recovery period and was doing well, but the past couple of weeks we noticed her walking wasn’t improving as well as it was with her first surgery. She still seemed unsteady and hesitant to walk. When we got her walking she would go, but she didn’t seem as weight bearing as she should be. She would also sometimes lay down on her side and kick her legs like she was uncomfortable. We chalked it up to the surgery recovery and didn’t think much of it because her follow up visits had gone well and vet seemed pleased with her recovery. She also started peeing more inside and when we talked with the vet we thought it could be behavioral at first and planned to discuss further at her next follow up.

Today she started the day out normal and then laid down and wouldn’t get up. She started getting restless and then whining and yelping in pain. It was very out of character for her and you could tell she was in pain. We immediately took her to the emergency vet and, after hours of waiting and evaluations, they think she has a bulging disc in her spine.

The vet said she is able to stand and can walk a bit, but is displaying neurological signs (knuckling and leg crossing). So, he recommended pain meds and anti-inflammatories and a follow up with her normal vet.

We plan to call her vet first thing in the morning and the emergency clinic is sending everything over to them as well, but what I’ve read about bulging discs is unnerving and scary. Has anyone experienced this with their pittie?

I know she’s older and I fear we may be having a quality of life conversation soon and it’s been wrecking me.

[UPDATE] Poor Belle’s condition got worse and we noticed the nails on her hinds legs turned blue, so we rushed her to her regular vet. The vet believes she had blood clots in both hind legs and that it’s not IVDD but actually a vascular cancer that is throwing blood clots. He explained that it fits her symptoms and sudden change in health. Her lab work didn’t look good and he believed that her chances did not look good and that she would never fully recover. We made the very tough decision to euthanize. Our poor girl was the best dog we ever had and she didn’t deserve to suffer any longer. She deserves some peace without any pain and I hope she’s free and having a blast across the rainbow bridge.

So my doggy just just diagnosed IVDD and I'm just gutted. A bit of background, I had a dog previously who was my soul dog with an extreme case of IVDD. Even with my best efforts in trying to save my last dog, I had to make the impossible choice of saying goodbye due to in how much pain she was in and how her body shut down near the end of her life.

Now I'm faced with the same diagnosis but this time, it's incredibly early (My dog is 3 years old) and thankfully a very mild flare up, barely a grade 1. So asking for advice because I feel it's a potential death sentence just given the history I have with IVDD. Anything I can proactively do to give him the best life possible? Should I sign up for physical therapy like swimming to strengthen his back? Any changes in diet regarding joint betterment since hes currently doing a mix of dry and wet food? Sorry for spilling my emotions here, just old wounds coming back again and my desire of giving him the best shot at a full life. Any advice or support is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Looking for guidance on our 2nd IVDD experience

This is Frank, he started experiencing IVDD symptoms in January of this year right after he turned 4 years old. We have always had stairs and took the best precautions as we could since we knew this could happen to our mini dachshund but it still got him. In January, his symptoms were shaking, yelping, fatigue, and standing in weird positions. We took him to the vet and they started him on Carprofen and Trazodone. That same night, he went from just those symptoms to full blown rear legs paralysis. We rushed him to the 24/7 veterinary specialist hospital and he got an MRI and we went through with the $7,000 surgery. When we picked him up after a couple days staying in the care of the nurses, he ran when he saw us. It was the best feeling, he could walk, run, and was back to normal although we did the needed recovery crate rest.

All has been well with him since then until a couple days ago. He hasn’t been himself but it’s more mild this time. Only symptoms have been some whining and shaking. However, yesterday, he started to wobble and stumble. We immediately began crate rest and have started him back on Trazodone to keep him calm and Carprofen that we have left over from his previous injury. We are planning on strict 24/7 crate rest for 6-8 weeks.

He is in a small metal crate with two stuffed animals and blankets to keep him comfortable. We only let him out to eat/drink and go potty. He spends about an hour in total out of the cage a day.

Im just looking for any advice or guidance. Is there anything more we should be doing during this process? I don’t think another surgery is in the cards for us so we are trying to heal his spine with the crate rest. Please give any suggestions for how to make our boy as comfortable as possible with the best success rate at healing his spine.

What are the best red light therapy options for him, does it really work?

Should we take him to the vet or are we doing exactly what they would tell us?

Are there any other medications usually used for crate rest/rehab for this stage?

Is 6-8 weeks the ideal timeframe for crate rest? How will we know it’s been long enough?

Any help is appreciated! He is our best friend and will do anything to get him feeling better and healed. This is taking a huge toll on us. January was the hardest time and this is all hitting us once again. We love him so much and want the best life for him.