Hello all, I have a question about what to do about the pain our lab is having in his spine. Let me start with telling how it all started and what is done. Last year in August, our lab was showing pain in his back. He presented this by doing nasty to our little lab of 10 month old. He never did that, and all of a sudden he couldn't stand him anymore. He also couldnt poo the way he normally did, he was standing, and wasn't able to get started, it took 15minutes before he emptied himself. We went to the vet and she sent us to a clinic. There a MRI was made, which showed a herniated disk, on which he was operated on a few days later. He has been shaved of course, and normally after 6 month you should not be able to see his shaving area. But his shaved fur is still been seen.... There are some spots who are still bold. When I touched it, he shivers and don't want me to do this. A few week ago he growled at me when I accidentilly did that. Yesterday we (my husband and I) went to the vet with him for his vaccinations and we asked about it. She examined him and by doing this he growled at her too! He never does this, and she found his behavior also peculiar, not being himself! She told us that he is in much pain and she wanted to send us to this clinic again to make a MRI. He is 91/2 years of age, and we don't think that an operation will help. We don't have an health insurance for him, and 7 month ago his operation costed €4000,- and it hasn't helped him for he is showing the same symptoms. What do we have to do? He is getting now carprodyl against the pain 1 daily Is there someone who can give us some sort of advise what to do? Annemarie
Re: Herniated disk Hello there I'm sorry to hear about your dog being in pain - I hope the pain medication is now helping? It's very unlikely that anyone over the internet can give you any advice about what to do in terms of treating your dog. I hope you have a vet you can talk to and trust about what is best for your dog going forwards. It must be awful to find your dog is still in pain after undergoing such a serious operation. I'd say the most important thing is to make sure your dog is not in any pain, and stays comfortable with a good quality of life - only a vet that has examined your dog can give you advice about what the options may be to achieve that. If the diagnosis is that your dog is in pain, and your only option is another operation that may also be unsuccessful and is in any case unaffordable for you, then you may - very, very, sadly - be looking at having your dog put to sleep. But you must not leave him untreated and in pain, of course. Wishing you the very best for your dog, I'm sure it's a difficult time and a big worry.
Re: Herniated disk I know that it is difficult for anyone to give advise. For us the main thing is that he is comfortable and without pain. Unfortunately the pain medication has not helped him yet, but we started these tablets only yesterday. We trust our vet completely, but I find it hard to let him undergo such an operation when it won't help and costs a lot and at his age! I wish there was something simple, someone who can tell us this or that I have done with our lab and has helped enormously. I can't stand to see him in so much pain, it has altered him and around his eyes you can see he is suffering..... Annemarie
Re: Herniated disk Hi I'm so sorry to hear about your poor boy and the amount of pain he is in. Hopefully the pain tablets will start helping very soon, if not I would go back and discuss with your vet. Although expensive, it may be worth having another MRi, so that a plan can be made as to how to help him best. Hoping his pain improves over the next day or so.
Re: Herniated disk I'm so, so, sorry to hear that, it must be very upsetting for you. It isn't very likely that there is a simple solution to be found unfortunately, if people tell you there is, a herb supplement or something like that, it's very unlikely to be true. Please go back to your vet and discuss all the options with him - you do have to find a way for your boy to be free from pain. Did the vet say the pain meds should help right away or the effect would build up over time? Usually there is a very quick effect with pain killers...
Re: Herniated disk I`m sorry that I cant offer any veterinary advice , but even more sorry that you are in such a horrible situation with your dear dog . Julie is right , your priority is to ensure that he is pain free , my thoughts are with you and yours
Re: Herniated disk I have nothing really I can offer, only I am so sorry, must be so very hard for you. Really hope you can get on top of his discomfort soon
Re: Herniated disk I'm sorry to hear this. It's awful to see your dog in so much pain. My first dog had a terrible neck (spinal) injury, caused by a severe dog attack. He had to wear a neck brace for many months. Once the underlying injury had settled we found that doggie physiotherapy helped him. He had to be on painkillers at times still (mainly if he got too cold which brought on muscle spasms) and we found Metacam (meloxicam) very effective. It was also important to make sure he was warm enough on cool nights. It might be worth seeing if your vet thinks it worthwhile to try physio. If so, s/he could give you a referral to a qualified dog physio (we used a vet who had got herself highly qualified in physio as well). You want someone very experienced with spinal injuries. Effective pain relief would be a prerequisite before the physio could do anything effective though as your dog does not want to be touched at the moment. I know this must be really hard...
Re: Herniated disk I contacted our vet but we have to try this medication for 10 days. She showed me how to give Euan a massage after he had his pill in the morning and when he benefits most of his medication. She showed me how to do this on our Finn, our younger lab of 1,5 years old. Annemarie
Re: Herniated disk Really hoping that the medication shows an improvement soon and the pain is reduced, particularly with the massage as well.
Re: Herniated disk Update! Euan is doing well on his pain medication. He allows me now to give him a massage. I don't know what the next step will be, after the 10 days of medication. Annemarie
Re: Herniated disk It's good to hear that the pain meds are having an effect and the massage is helping. What did the vet suggest was the next step once the pain was managed. Might be worth making an appointment before the meds run out.
Re: Herniated disk Good to hear the pain medication is working and he isn't in such pain at the moment.
Re: Herniated disk I'm so,glad the pain medication is working and Euan is more comfortable,it must be such a worry to know that he is not right and so,upsetting when you thought his op would help x
Re: Herniated disk So glad the meds are having a positive effect . I agree that it might be worth booking a vets appointment before the meds run out to discuss a plan.
Re: Herniated disk Hi, I called the vet yesterday to ask her what to do when I run out of medication. As he is doing well on the meds, she wants to see how he is doing without them again. I have to keep one or two at hand in case he needs them, so that I can give him one when needed and order later at the vets more when necessary. He is doing well considering. But my daughter saw him this morning and she hadn't seen him for a while. She found him stiff and painfull when he had to sit down. He shivered she said, as if he was in pain again. I guess we just have to wait and see, and when needed give the vet a call on Monday for more medication. Luckily I have some in stock when needed! Annemarie
Re: Herniated disk Fingers crossed his pain doesn't come back. I would definitely keep some pain meds just incase. Let us know how he gets on
Re: Herniated disk After 3 days of being without pain medication, Euan starts getting his pain back. He is grumpy again, and panting after his walk outside. I started giving him his pain medication today and will give my vet a call tomorrow what to do now. She has her day off today, otherwise I would have called her today. I will certainly want to know what to do next, for this medicine is rather expensive. I have to pay €19,- for 10 pills, so almost €2,- a pill.....not that I don't want him to have these! I love him too much! Don't get me wrong there! Annemarie
