New member with my very first post. My 8 yr old black lab has been diagnosed with a bulging disc. Her right front & rear paws "knuckle." It is very painful to watch my little girl take a step on her knuckle and stumble, sometimes even so bad as to fall down. We live on 25 acres where she was raised to run, jump, play in the woods all day every day. I'm a stay at home dogmom . Now we have to keep her on a leash everytime we step outside . Vet has said one more bad fall & she could be paralyzed from neck down. We can possibly see & neurologist & have spinal cord surgery...at huge financial & physical expense. Long, hard recovery, physical therapy, etc. Not sure it would improve her quality of life, if so, not sure for how long. Has anyone had any experience with this?
I am so sorry to hear about your baby. It's so hard to know what to do when they can't talk to you. I have very little experience with dogs and this. I have had a bulging disc myself and Bella needed muscle relaxers to heal an injury. So hard to keep them on restricted activity when they were so active. My bulging disc was Horribly painful. Did you get any pain management medications? Any medications to help decrease inflammation? Or muscle relaxers? Maybe these would make your baby comfortable for a period of time while you research. I am sure someone will be along who knows something. Just wanted you to know we care.
Thanks CamK . We started with a round of steroids- iv, then oral, to reduce the swelling. She is not showing any signs of pain...thank goodness!! She gets up slowly, then walks and trots like a happy little girl. Don't know if starting her with cosequin would help at all.
@Kuma's mom I have experience of this, with my Weimaraner. I can TOTALLY recommend the surgery, which was a complete cure for my Weim. We went to Fitzpatrick referrals - home of the SuperVets - and saw Colin Driver there. She had an MRI, which revealed an 'extruded' disc in her neck - which means that the inside contents of the disc come out and put pressure on the spinal cord. Before surgery we treated her with gabapentin, metacam, and tramadol. All this did almost nothing to touch the pain any time she stood up - just getting her on her feet long enough to eat a meal and toilet before the pain overcame her, was a challenge. It was awful watching her and yes, her foot knuckled under just as you describe. Our vet said that we needed to get a referral to a specialist or have her put to sleep. At that point she hadn't had an MRI as we live in Jersey and there was no MRI machine here. So we had no idea what would even be found or if it would be operable. She was also 10 years old, at the time - which many would think was too old. We had insurance. I took the ferry over to the UK, drove to Fitzpatrick referrals, waited whilst she had an MRI and got the diagnosis. They said they do this surgery all the time, it has an excellent prognosis and was routine for them. I left her there, drove the car to Gatwick and left it in long-term parking and flew home. 5 days later, I was told to come back and get here - flew back to Gatwick, got the car, drove to Fitzpatrick referrals, picked her up and got the ferry home. Although she was wobbly on her feet for a few weeks, she had zero pain compared to before. I don't regret for one second doing that surgery - we had another 3.5 years with her, before she died of another unrelated condition at 13.5yo. Here is a video of her, just 4 WEEKS after surgery:
How AWESOME to see your pup happy, just being a pup! It's been about a week since she's been off the steroids, prednisone. I don't think she's in any pain. She wants to go outside, play with her toys, eat/drink/poop. If I let her, she'd probably take off running after birds & squirrels. But I keep her by my side outside & she listens to voice commands to not take off running. We don't have pet insurance. Stupidest mistake! I won't do that again! She is my baby. It has been me & her all day every day for the past 8 years. I have made up some indoor mental games for her to play, since her outdoor activities have been restricted. Vet says walking is good for her to strengthen up muscles surrounding the injured disc. So we walk throughout the day, about 4 to 5 times, about 15 minutes at a time. I wonder if all this is enough for her to have a happy life. She wags her tail when I grab her leash. She brings me squeeky toys to play with inside. We sit on the floor in the evenings and watch TV. She has always been such a happy loving dog. Sometimes I wonder if she even knows she's hurt or if the leash is just a new game.
Sounds like life is still very good... Just different. You are a good mama, you have new activities and games. I am
Thanks CamK! I'm pretty sure she's pretty happy. Still don't see any sign she's in any pain. That would be really hard to deal with. I can take her outside now and let her off the leash to walk around. It's been about 2 weeks since she has had a fall. She stumbles here and there while slinging sticks around. I'm hopeful she can have a happy... although reserved... quality of life. Thanks again for letting me vent about my baby girl!
@Kuma's mom I don't want to worry you, but it may reoccur. With our Weim, we believe she originally hurt herself running for a ball and changing direction suddenly when she was about 8yo - she yelped and that was the first incidence we had of it. At that time, we rested her, and used metacam and it seemed to get better and back to normal for a while. Then it reoccurred again... And so on. She eventually was 10yo when she had surgery. Each time it returned, it recovered less and presented in a more severe way. I wonder if it would still be worth taking out pet insurance - especially if she appears to temporarily recover. I would recommend Direct Line (if you're in the UK) - they have been very good with us. There have been multiple occasions when they could have argued that things were pre-existing conditions, but they haven't and they have paid for them. Unlike a previous insurer we were with, who refused to cover something they really should and wriggled out of it. If you haven't had an MRI done and a definitive diagnosis, there is no proof that - should something reoccur - it is the thing she had before and a generous insurer may well still cover it.
