A Rough Night

As the evening progressed last night, Nathan became more agitated and could no longer lay down.  I was having a hard time even laying him on his side to relax.   By midnight, we decided he needed to go get a strong pain medicine.  So, off we went to the 24-hour emergency hospital.   They gave he an injection of pain medicine and gave us Tramadol to take home.  

This morning, we took him first thing to his regular vet.   After examining Nathan, Dr. C felt that the issue was pain in the neck and shoulder area (in front of the area of the 2 prior surgeries).   He gave him an anti-inflammatory injection that stays in the system for a week at a steady level and reduces inflammation far better than the oral prednisone.    He also did a round of laser therapy.  He wants to do 7 more treatments, every other day, and see if Nathan bounces back.  

As of right now, Nathan is still quite uncomfortable, but he did sleep in my lap for a few hours today which was good since he was basically up the entire night.

More bad news

After giving Nathan a day off on Sunday, Monday was no better.  In the morning, it was clear he could not walk at all.  I had an appointment with the vet who does his acupuncture on Tuesday, so I gave him another day to rest. 

By Tuesday, he was very agitated and still could not walk.   When the vet examined him on Tuesday, he agreed it was not good.   Of course, the only way to know for sure if it was yet another disk would be to do an MRI.  But, my husband and I agree we would not put Nathan through a 3rd surgery in 1 1/2 yrs. So, there really was no upside to doing an MRI.  We would treat him as if it were a disk issue.  It is possible that it is a very bad pulled muscle, but even today, Nathan is unable to stand.

It's clear Nathan's back is just a house of cards.  He's now taking his Double P, prednisone and valium.  He had acupuncture yesterday and today to try to give him some additional relief.  

It's going to be a long week, waiting to see if he can get any better.   I'm heart-broken.

The Roller Coaster Ride Continues...

So, we are 2 1/2 weeks into our new treatment program.   We did not see any change after the first week.  However, after the 2nd treatment (and 1 week on Double P), there was a dramatic change.  Out of nowhere, Nathan starting walking around the house, even on the tile and laminate floors.   It was bizarre because it was so sudden.   He rarely walked on tile/laminate because it was slippery for him.  He'd walk on the carpet, but that was all.

He was suddenly a walking machine.  I let him off leash in our neighborhood (quiet & not a thru-street).  He was like a kid in a candy store.  I can't describe how happy I was!   

Of course, then came the inevitable crash.  After walking great for about 1 week, the last 2 days, he has struggled with his left rear leg (which is his bad leg).   So, we'll be giving him a break today at least to see if its just as simple as he is sore from being a walking maniac.  

Next treatment is on Tuesday.  Looking forward to seeing what happens.

Of course, I also want to talk to the vet about that article that has everyone buzzing......
http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Education/Universities/Cambridge-University-research-offers-hope-to-paralysed-people-19112012.htm

Testing a new protocol

Nathan's acupuncture vet recently returned from an international veterinary Eastern medicine symposium in China.  At the event, a US vet presented a case study of 12 dogs with IVDD.  Some were worse than Nathan, some were not as bad.   The vet presented his course of action.  He used a much higher level of electricity with the acupuncture than would normally be used.  He also felt strongly that the dog must be taking the herb, Double P II.   The treatments are given at a higher and more frequent level.   My vet said this vet had amazing results.

So....We are doing that higher level electrical current once a week and using the herb.  We are just going to do a 3 week test to see if there is any incremental change.  Nathan had his 2nd treatment yesterday.  Too soon to tell anything yet.    If there is no change, then more than likely Nathan has hit his plateau.

Stayed tuned....

A Four-Time Winner!!



Yes, he did it again!!  Frankie is the 4-time winner of the Dox-a-Palooza Lick-A-Lot contest.  He cannot be beat!! :)

He did 160 licks on one minute.   Next closest competitor was 116 licks.  

Nathan was there to cheer on his brother.   He got some attention too as quite a few people stopped us and asked if they could take Nathan's picture because he is so handsome.

So, all in all, I was a very proud mommy that day!!  A fun day was had by all.