|
|
Post by anneli on Jan 17, 2012 14:42:14 GMT -5
My dog Bob has a slipped disco which caused him to collapse at the weekend. He's now in an animal hospital, where they did an MRI and diagnosed the problem ( the local vet was unsure what the problem was so referred us on Saturday).
The hospital has him on cage rest and strong pain killers, they say they don't think they'll have to operate. I'm worried though about what the long term prognosis is. The vet said when I can take him home he needs to stay in a crate for 2 months all the time. He'll never be able to go up stairs as long as he lives, will need a ramp to get in and out of the house or car boots. He will always have this problem so it could happen again that he is in pain, struggling to move, lie down and finally unable to move at all ( this all happened since last Tuesday night).
Has anyone had any experience of this with their greyhound? The other problem is the cost, even though he's insured the cost mounts up very quickly and by the end of the week I'll be over my vet fee limit of £4,000 for the year. Not sure what I'll do if/when he needs the vet again before the end of December this year.
Any advice would be really helpful.....
|
|
|
|
Post by tinar on Jan 17, 2012 15:32:03 GMT -5
I don't have any experience to share but hope that Bob feels better soon  |
|
|
|
Post by francesd on Jan 17, 2012 17:13:02 GMT -5
Hi, I'm so sorry to hear about Bob, you must have been so worried about him One of our lurchers, Fletch has a collapsed disc in his neck however apparently it isn't pressing on his spinal cord so he hasn't had the type of difficulty which Bob has had with needing to have crate rest. I do know what its like though to be going through that worry whilst they do all the testing. Fletch also had to go to hospital and have an MRI. It turned out that Fletch's pain was caused by spondylosis in his spine rather than the collapsed disc but that also caused him to struggle to lie down and now he needs 2 tramadol a day to manage the pain. Its awful to see them in pain isn't it. It sounds hopefull for Bob if they don't think they'll need to operate and hopefully with some changes to his care needs e.g a ramp and no more stairs, he should manage ok The costs certainly do mount up and we were only just within Fletch's £4000 limit when all his investigations and treatment was completed. I guess we would have had to use a credit card if need be. Sending Bob lots of good thoughts and I really hope he feels better after his crate rest. I'm sure he'll feel much better once he's home. Hope its not too long before that happens Fran x |
|
|
|
Post by julies on Jan 18, 2012 3:19:57 GMT -5
Hi My grey girl had two discs damaged by my vet when they moved her during/after an operation .. she went first to The Willows who wanted to operate but luckily they found an abcess they wanted to treat first so I took her home. I use lots of 'alternative' treatments so I took her to my homeopathic vet Chris Day in Oxfordshire .. when we went Tig who was 10 1/2 was on 3x Tramadol plus Metacam a day to just keep her comfy (and only just  ). Chris uses homeopathic remedies, McTimoney chiropractic , lasered her ocassionally and accupuncture .. I think I took Tig one Thursday, the next Monday and Thursday then a week gap then (because I needed to take her to have her checked .. Chris said come when you think she needs more) a month later .. after 3 weeks into Chris' treatment I had to halve her painkillers cos she was running about and I stopped them after about 5/6 weeks  She was back walking off lead and trotting about for good hour walks most days, I took her to him probably every other month just to be re-tweaked On a tour of The Willows hospital last year I asked the vet what they usually do with disc problems and she said they operate up thro the neck, 6 months crate rest and careful rest afterwards ... I did use a ramp with Tig (and usually do with my dogs anyway to get them out of the car) but she had a great quality of life afterwards ... Good luck with Bob, oh and I was in the same predicament as you - The Willows had cost nearly £3000 for 4 days in-care for Tig, Chris Day's treatment all in ... for the follow-up visits too came to about £350 . and worked Julie xx |
|
|
|
Post by chris on Jan 18, 2012 6:47:07 GMT -5
3 years ago my greyhound girl went off her back leg: cause, spinal. She was given 2 weeks worth of steroids to see if that worked (that is usually first form of treatment), but by 8 days no improvement so she then had an MRI. Two discs had disintegrated in her lower back. No choice but for operation as the disc material had extruded onto the nerves that operated her back leg. Anyway, long operation later, 5 weeks in vet hospital before coming home, and all that cost under £4k, this at a recognised excellent orthopaedic practice. Unfortunately she never regained full use of her back right leg due to the extent of the damage to the nerves to that leg, but after hydrotherapy and physiotherapy she has had a very good life these past 3 years. She of course no longer does stairs, and I lift her in and out of the car. I hope your boy recovers well and is soon home. So, even severe disc damage can result in good quality and happy life  . But I am shocked at the amounts you are being charged.  |
|
|
|
Post by anneli on Jan 25, 2012 1:37:20 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for your stories and good wishes. I wish I lived in Oxfordshire as the McTimoney chiropractor sounds great. I'll try to find one in my area (Manchester/Derbyshire). Bob is home now and on 2 tramadol a day and some anti inflammatory drug too. He is sleeping on the rug as I write this and he looks content ( could be the tramadol he's just had!). I'm worried about cost. Meant to take him back to chestergates in 2 weeks, I've run out of insurance ( the week there cost about £3,700) a check up is going to cost £113....I'm tempted to take him to my vet instead. Fingers crossed he gets better.
|
|
|
|
Post by julies on Jan 25, 2012 2:46:04 GMT -5
Hi Anneli Trust me - Chris is worth the journey, I use McTs regularly and he's the best one I've found though you could always Google McTimoney chiropractic and try a local one - I usually pay £20 a session so not extortionate ...Frand on here used a Yorkshire vet group called Balanced Being (I think) who sounded very good and would do chiro etc so maybe wort looking at that. Hope your boy improves Best wishes Julie |
|
|
|
Post by francesd on Jan 25, 2012 9:28:33 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by simbasmum on Jan 18, 2013 13:59:18 GMT -5
Hi Anneli,
My greyhound, Simba, who's 5, did exactly this 10 days ago. He was fine, out for a walk as usual and then after a long nao on his bed struggled to get up and control his hind legs.
Suddenly in a lot of pain and distress and even struggling to walk. After a night call and some painkillers from the local vet we had a nervous night and a visit straight to the local practice in the morning. Our vet suggested he had a spine problem and referred him immediately to the Langford Veterinary hospital at Bristol University.
They did an MRI that day and discovered a collapsed disc at C6-7 and operated immediately. Simba was kept there for the rest of the week and has been home since Tuesday. He's making excellent progress, is walking on his own and is in no pain. The vet is hopeful that he will make a full recovery. While he is on house arrest and accompanied in the garden for toiletting only, he is definately not in a cage- and really would not enjoy this!!
The total cost for this did exceed our £3,000 insurance excess, at around £4,500, but as I said, it is hoped that he will make a full recovery, so it's worth every penny.
Hope this helps, if I can give you any more info/share stories some more, do get in touch
Hope Bob can recover as fast as my Simba
xx
|
|
|
|
Post by lankylegs on Jan 18, 2013 23:51:14 GMT -5
Helen Lightfoot, McTimoney animal practioner is excellent.
Helen Lightfoot
Pipe Gate
MARKET DRAYTON
Shropshire
01630 647508
|
|
ritab
Ironing Piling Up
Posts: 218
|
Post by ritab on Jan 20, 2013 3:30:48 GMT -5
After Julie S recommended Mctimoney for my grey I put Mctimoney Animal Association into Google and you can put your post code in and they will bring up any within a certain radius. The one I chose do physio as well and do mainly horses and dogs. It wasn't a serious problem in my case and was sorted after 2 visits, but I do hope you can make your dog comfortable and happy as that's what we would all wish for for our dogs.
|
|
|
|
Post by vickyb on Jan 20, 2013 7:21:00 GMT -5
Maddie has a bulging disc and may need surgery at some point. Obviously she's nothing like as bad a your Bob but the orthapedic surgeon recommended hydrotherapy which has worked wonders for her. Was that suggested once he's allowed out if his crate? I guess he'll need to build his stamina and muscles back up carefully afterwards. Maddies specialist was really confident about operating and says the results are usually very good. Good wishes for you all |
|
