Border collie Jack passed away on February 28, 2022

[peggy0]

Re: Jack turns three, two year anniversary of his adoption!

Poor Jack. I hope they figure it out for you and for Jack Natalie. Let us know how he is doing poor baby

[pgcor]

Re: Jack: bad back and anxiety issues

Oh boy, I feel bad for you and Jack. Poor guy just can't catch a break. I remember my Shih Tzu having spinal issues due to his long back. All we could do was treat the bouts of lameness with pain killers. But, that was many years ago, so hopefully there is something better for Jack?

No wonder he's so anxious. I read you were doing better too Natalie. When it rains it pours.....

[silkiegal]

Re: Jack: bad back and anxiety issues

I am sorry to hear about Jack's back! Silkie had back surgery for herniated discs. He became paralyzed in just a couple of days. But that is ONLY TEMPORARY...surgery will fix that. It was horrible. He had surgery, and after rehab, and patience, he was walking again in a month. Now he is running and doing everything as usual, just no jumping up and down. I hope all is ok, and know, in the worse case senario, surgery is an option. We got through it! If you have questions, I am happy to answer. We have been through 2 major surgerys and now diabetes. (For anxiety, I took perscribed xanax, and it helped, for Jack too!!)

Silkigal

[Margaret Boyle]

Re: Jack: bad back and anxiety issues

Natalie,

Saying prayers and having positive thoughts for wee Jack

I hope everything goes well at the Neurologist I hate them having pain

Hugs

Margaret

[Patty]

Re: Jack: bad back and anxiety issues

Anxious to hear how the visit went.

[buddingartist]

Re: Jack: bad back and anxiety issues

So am I. I've been checking this thread periodically all day.

Hope all with well with Jack and Natalie

Louise

[Dollydog]

Re: Jack: bad back and anxiety issues

Just checking in too to see how it's going....
Jo-Ann

[SeattleCraig]

Re: Jack: bad back and anxiety issues

add my best thoughts to Jack and his worried ma.

I hope the appointment was productive today.

[k9diabetes]

Re: Jack: bad back and anxiety issues

I am sorry to be so slow to get back to the forum and to report on our visit. I have a huge pile of work to do this week and on top of that have had serious trouble sleeping the past two nights. Might be the last of the flu bug as I didn't sleep at all the day I felt so terrible and usually I would. I feel pretty good now but I can tell that there's some vestiges of the flu left.

The neurologist was extremely harried today. I got the impression there was something critical going on in the back with another animal and he had to leave the room rather abruptly for a few minutes mid-appointment. So I wasn't able to get all of the information that I needed.

The potential solutions haven't changed. I mostly wanted him to run his tests and see how much impairment there seems to be.

So... have I bored you silly before getting to the point?

He did the pinch and proprioception tests and was able to see the stiff gait and limping. One thing he didn't find was signs of pain when he pressed on the area where the discs are damaged. But he does believe that there is pain. His feeling is that there is currently some reduction in communication across the spinal cord and that Jack is rotating his legs when he walks because he doesn't have a clear sense of where they are.

I asked if we needed to do something equivalent to crate rest and he felt like we basically are resting him in that his activity is pretty limited. He's not doing anything strenuous.

Options, same as before, are:

- Gabapentin (Neurontin) which treats pain generated by nerves.

- Steroids - antiinflammatory

- Better diagnostics: MRI or Myeologram that would possibly lead to surgery.

Jeff and I both agree we would want MRI cuz of the risks of a Myelogram. And that surgery has to have a demonstrably very good chance of making the situation better.

I sometimes feel like the neurologist gets frustrated because I don't want to go the steroid route unless I have to. But I've been there before and I'd really like for Jack not to be a diabetic or have Cushing's disease (call me crazy) so I just can't make myself put it at the top of the list. I will do it if we have to.

And since he's not paralyzed or incontinent or falling down, we're not ready to go to an MRI yet either - not until we have to resort to a much more serious and invasive treatment if there is one.

So that leaves Gabapentin at the top of the list, followed by steroids, followed by MRI to see if anything else can be done. Jeff is not on board with Gabapentin yet but I think it's worth trying as the side effects and risks are smallest.

One thing I didn't get to ask is why Gabapentin alone or steroids alone would work... maybe I'm confused but my understanding is that they target very different pathways - nerve excitability versus inflammation. So if inflammation is behind the impairment, why should Gabapentin iimprove his gait? It seems like it might reduce the pain but not improve spinal cord function.

As far as what to do about my questions... I may make another appointment and just leave Jack at home. And in the meantime, we may be able to try to Gabapentin and see if it helps.

Natalie

[CarolW]

Re: Jack: bad back and anxiety issues

Sorry about the harried neurologist; that does make things difficult, especially when you are recovering from the flu and not yet fully recovered!

(And I noticed you did a lot of work on the diabetes forum too.)

If I may make a recommendation, which I am also trying to implement for myself (look how well I'm doing), catching up on sleep might be a big help. (I am working on it for me!)

Wishing you and Jack all the best!

BIG HUGS and thanks for all you do!

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 02:35:07 (PST)

[Soaphie & Sydney's Mom]

Re: Jack: bad back and anxiety issues

Wow Natalie. I didn't even realize this stuff was going on with Jack.

Gabapentin was what they wanted to put Soaphie on for her back. After feedback here (and research) we opted to stick with the deramaxx/robaxin combo (and it seems to help her when she needs it).

So sorry you are going through this.

Tami, Syd and Soapherific

[jjefferjo]

Re: Jack: bad back and anxiety issues

Natalie,
Eddie and I are watching and sending hugs.
Jj

[bgdavis]

Re: Jack: bad back and anxiety issues

Natalie,

I've only had one dog with any type of neurology problem and that was the result of a much more serious and fatal problem.

I'm sorry that Jack is having such problems. My only question would be if putting off a MRI and possible surgery until such time that Jack is 'worse', would make repair more difficult. I mean is this a progressing type of damage?

Hugs,
Bonnie and Angel Criss

[k9diabetes]

Re: Jack: bad back and anxiety issues

I go back and forth on this Bonnie. It's possible the discs are bulging and should be removed. It's also possible that it's just inflamed and that it would settle down with a serious hit of anti-inflammatory treatment (hence my confusion about whether Gabapentin attacks the actual problem).

We would need the MRI to sort that out.

When he had the first acute attack of pain, we rested him for two or three weeks and gave Metacam and he fully recovered - good reflexes, no sign of pain for about six months.

This time, it's breaking through the Metacam even though he's a lot less active now than he was this spring.

One of the things I said at the beginning that seemed to annoy the neurologist was whether we should x-ray it again to see if it has progressed.

He thought I meant whether the discs we knew about had gotten worse, which I realize can't be seen on an x-ray. I was talking about just checking to see if any new discs seem to be involved.

I think we can try the Gabapentin for a few weeks - Jeff seems to be moving toward being okay with trying it - and talk about doing the MRI so we actually know what's going on with him... although a trial of steroids would probably also answer that question.

It's not very rational but I am slow to commit to anything that requires anesthesia. And even slower to commit to surgery - depending on what the surgery would be for. There is the potential, even if it's small, to make things worse, not better. I have to balance that with what I hope will be 10+ years of Jack's life. He could be the equivalent of a very old dog in two or three years if we can't get a better handle on this.

Natalie

[eileen]

Re: Jack: bad back and anxiety issues

Natalie,

I have nothing to offer except my support and all the positive vibes I can muster up for Jack, and you.

I follow silently, with interest.