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View Full Version : Buddy's back is sore again, IVDD



Ivan
04-29-2015, 03:09 PM
Buddy's back was acting up (on & off) for the past month. He seemed to be favoring his neck & right front leg, so he wore the neck brace 24/7. The 2 wks of Rimadyl helped immensely, and so then we thought he was back to normal. But nope, it didn't remain so. Today, he flushed a critter (groundhog?) from under the deck, and he excitedly chased that rodent at high speed into the back 40. Yippee, right? Ten minutes later, he was in agony, yelping in the kitchen. The yelping didn't subside, and he's arching his back in pain, so it's off to the vet we go....

Vet did some manipulations and decided it was a cervical IVDD issue, not leg issue. Acupuncture settled Buddy down, to almost asleep, and his shaking & yelping stopped. Yay. Strange that the biggest reaction to all those 41 acupuncture needle insertions were at the T12/T13 site of his earlier IVDD surgery, not at his neck. So perhaps the old site is still bothering him? Maybe over-compensating for it up front might be transferring his pain up to the neck area? Anyway, acupuncture helped, so we have 2 more acupuncture sessions scheduled, 1 week apart. Blood tests were perfect, so Buddy also got Vetalog injected into his back, to lessen the inflammation. Hope it works.

Buddy is back in the slammer. Caged for the duration, for conservative IVDD treatment. This time we're gonna be nasty & enforce it for 24/7. He's gonna hate me.

LexieLuvr
04-29-2015, 05:49 PM
Oh, no! Poor Buddy. Acupuncture works wonders and so glad it seemed to help. It helped Jack a lot, too. Tons of :bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz:!

Yolanda
04-29-2015, 05:53 PM
Buddy, Buddy, Buddy. What is daddy going to do with his "hunter"?

Sorry to read this and I hope that he improves immensely. Yes, sometime you do seem to have re-occurring pain near the original site. It could even be a new issue right next ot it. Either way I know you are on top of it.

Hugs and Prayers along with :bigrayz::bigrayz:

Lisa
04-29-2015, 06:59 PM
Oh no! I am very sorry to read that Buddy is in pain. Glad you got him in so fast. I think it is amazing he responded so well to acupuncture. Pixel hated it. But the results can be outstanding!

Lots of get well rayz for Buddy!!! :bigrayz: :bigrayz: :bigrayz: :bigrayz: :bigrayz:

alfina
04-29-2015, 07:21 PM
When they did Buddy's surgery did they do fenestration?

Ivan
04-30-2015, 09:40 AM
Nope, no fenestration. The surgeon said they stopped doing fenestration cuz it didn't seem to help, and it sometimes made matters worse for the surrounding discs. In Buddy's case, he had herniations in 2 adjacent vertebral discs.

Today, Buddy thinks he's Super-Dog, cuz the steroids are awesome, and they mask all the pain. He's not happy being trapped in the crate. I think we'll have to resort to a stroller again.

LexieLuvr
04-30-2015, 11:03 AM
Poor Buddy. More :bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz:

Alex's Mom
04-30-2015, 11:17 AM
Tons of :bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz:...isn't fenestration where they throw people out of the window? :)

lotsadox
04-30-2015, 05:22 PM
Tons of :bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz:...isn't fenestration where they throw people out of the window? :)

I actually have no idea what fenestration is :scratch:

Ivan
04-30-2015, 07:03 PM
Fenestration is an extra prophylactic (ie, preventative) procedure performed during a laminectomy (ie, IVDD surgery). It's optional, and a bit controversial. Btw, these surgeries are same in both humans and dogs.

In our spine, each fleshy disc has 2 parts (ie, 2 kinds of tissue): a nucleus and annulus. The nucleus is the central shock-absorber, and the annulus is the surrounding ring that holds the nucleus in place. IVDD is a disc herniation in which the nucleus escapes from a weak annulus ring, and it bulges out to pinch against the nearby spinal nerves (just millimeters away). Ouch! Laminectomy is cutting away that bulge. Whew, instant relief! Fenestration is cutting open the other nearby disc annulus, too, to remove its nucleus, in the hopes of preventing it from herniating in the future. Basically sacrificing the neighboring discs by destroying them now, in a controlled pain-free fashion. Even though those other discs are still perfectly healthy, at the moment. Hence the controversy. Some doctors fenestrate, but ours didn't.

You can read more about it here:
http://www.dachshund-dca.org/discbook.html
http://cal.vet.upenn.edu/projects/saortho/chapter_62/62mast.htm

alfina
04-30-2015, 07:14 PM
I know fenestration is controversial. Sabrina had it done in 2008 when she had her spinal surgery. She has not had a repeat episode with her back since then. Maybe she is just lucky. We will see how Sebastian does.

LexieLuvr
04-30-2015, 07:18 PM
Good explanation and detailed explanation contained in the link. One of my dogs had fenestration, the other did not. Both recovered well.

Ivan
05-07-2015, 12:17 PM
Buddy is doing MUCH better this week. No yelping, no curtailed movements, no moping (like Eeyore, head hanging). Still favors his right front leg, but walks normally on it. He is voluntarily staying inactive (whew!), so we're not crating him. Instead, he spends his day mostly napping in various doggie beds, cuddling, or sniffing/staring at the patio door. No walkies for him, ATM, none at all. Ahhh, the life of a senior. Eat, sleep, potty, sleep, Zzz, and repeat.

Today, vet was happy with Buddy's healing. He also got acupuncture (round 2 of 3). Doc said many dogs nip at him, but Buddy stayed calm & relaxed & didn't even turn towards doc. Attaboy (treat!). Doc figured high pain threshold? Twisting his neck towards the left side is what still hurts Buddy. The hump in his back is still prominent, but less than last week. At the touch, he twinges back there; same for the withers. That's not a good sign. He's also taking a Chinese herb called "Double P II" (an analgesic & anti-inflammatory), nothing else. The total package is working very well. Buddy is his happy-go-lucky old self, again. His 3rd acupuncture treatment is next week.

Here, we're supposed to be relaxing in the dark, to the sound of waves, with 40+ needles. Ditch the camera, dad. Let's chill.
https://faz1pw.bn1301.livefilestore.com/y2p4jb_wmVTHCidDxXzmjb5uvQRFBJHl_hrrvZbFvHIHCGFi3Q lp1I2rHImmlKze2gCbvF4-p1TBYnrobEV7syA1tlknopWTCMX_CQ3UXRmZKw7wDJj4mSHNGh 2wys16XkobtUZglIrNbyCkI3asBaKHALk7GnpiRzfTTnTzhmhO 0M/IMG_2186_r.JPG

https://faz1pw.bn1301.livefilestore.com/y2pLNJcXP1cHEbLrAdyVi5mmQYoB770Ox4PeceOhxKes6Czz9I kWoI54wu_kqgKPjuBCU9K_QABib4HSmLHIPdc-iZ048TWwew4kNVxp_EaOv2LUV1jv33SbWbm1AeA2uwJoRM3pBO yr1I0bDm6GmBti3-WcM5H1O2zToYxoZUmi-Y/IMG_2192_r.JPG

LexieLuvr
05-07-2015, 01:38 PM
So glad he's iimproving! Laser and acupuncture are amazing. More :bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz:!

RustysMom
05-07-2015, 05:30 PM
Good boy Buddy! Sending more rayz for recovery!


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