Help - VOM and Canine Cold Laser Treatment
My granddaughter, for some reason, did not get a sheepdog like her Grandmother but got a Shi Tzu. Last week the dog (approximately 2 years old) came up lame and could not move its rear legs. She took it to the emergency vet and they ran x-rays and say it has a bulging disk and might need surgery if it did not get better on its own. The prescribed anti-inflammatories, a pain killer and prednisone. She then took it to a regular vet - they sold her on a series of treatments costing over $600 of VOM and Cold Laser therapy. She is a student so this is a huge financial hit for her but she committed to the treatment. A week has gone by with minimal improvement to the dog - she can sort of move her tail now. Yesterday, when she went in for a treatment - the vet tech suggested that she might want to look into a dog wheelchair for the dog so that it maintains its muscle tone (another couple hundred). At some point, I had told her to ask the vet about swimming or water and she brought that up with them and they told her that would be okay. They also have her doing physical therapy with the dog every day. I have read that this type of thing either gets better with rest or that the dog needs surgery and the sooner that the surgery is done the better the prognosis. Do you think she should get another opinion? Has anyone had any experience with this course of treatment? I really would appreciate your input! |
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First, my disclaimer that I am NOT a trained vet - this is strictly my opinion based on prior experience. (And as my grandfather always said, it's free advice, you don't have to take it!  )I would be inclined to try one thing at a time. Steroids, anti-inflammatories, and pain killers need some time to work, and I would worry that manipulating her spine through physical therapy might be counter-productive. (If you sprain your ankle, you stay off of it to let it heal.) Trying to do too many things at once means that either you won't know which thing worked, or worse, you risk further injury. I would also be reluctant to go to a doggy cart barely a week after her injury, especially since she is getting some movement back. And some final advice: never be afraid to get a second opinion. If both doctors agree, then great! You're on the right track. If not, you have more information. Most doctors are amenable to second opinions, and if they give you grief about that, you need to find a new doctor quickly. You can't rush time and rest.  Good luck! |
| Thanks for your reply. I definitely think that she needs a second opinion. I too feel that it is going to take time - it is the vet that told her she should see improvement within 72 hours which I doubted. I have googled the VOM and it is also used to treat behavioral problems which made me very leery of the treatment. She has paid for the course of treatment - I am wondering if she should continue with them at all? |
Nikkis_Mom wrote: I have googled the VOM and it is also used to treat behavioral problems which made me very leery of the treatment. She has paid for the course of treatment - I am wondering if she should continue with them at all? That makes me leery as well. Perhaps she'll need to accept this as one of those rather expensive "life lessons" that we all experience at some point.  |
Poor puppy.  In the interest of full disclosure, Oscar sees a "regular" vet, a holistic vet (who is a DVM), a chiropractor, and a dermatologist, so you can see that I am open to alternative therapies. I have never heard of this treatment, so I googled it as well. It looks like it falls somewhere between veterinary medicine and chiropractic care, kind of a gray area without AVMA certification. Are the treatments being administered by a vet? Are there other options available, like surgical, or chiropractic? I knew a woman with a Labrador Retriever, Maisie. Out of the blue, Maisie lost all movement in her back end, and it turned out that she had bulging discs. Her vet wanted to put Maisie to sleep, but her owner took her to a chiropractor, who administered acupuncture. I met Maisie about two years later. The only indication this had ever happened was a slight "hitch in her giddyup"  . My cousin has been a vet (DVM) for almost two decades, and has just recently opened a holistic practice. I will shoot her an e-mail and see what her general thoughts are about this type of treatment. Laurie and Oscar |
| We tried it on Panda for hip dysplasia a few years back. I do think it did something because she was more active but the holistic vet retired so treatments stopped. http://archives.record-eagle.com/2005/nov/14vet.pdf I had brought it up here- viewtopic.php?f=9&t=16082&hilit=holistic+vet But Panda was not paralyzed. So much of "doing better" can be subjective. Best wishes to your granddaughter's little one.  |
| Poor shih tzu! I have 2 and have had shih tzus for 25 years and never heard of a disc problem. Hope the treatments help. Rest is a great suggestion. Lots of knowledge here. I don't have any suggestions but will check with my shih tzu breeder. |
| I don't know anything about VOM but my first dog, admittedly a kelpie, had a disc injury and was paralysed from the waist down. We used antiinflams, painkillers and pred too. It took 7-10 (sorry a long time ago) days before he could stand and hobble around and many weeks of careful exercise before he was walking and trotting. He was left with a stiff back but otherwise did well for many more years. We were sent to a vet orthopaedic surgeon for an opinion and based on the gradually reducing paralysis he suggested we not go with the surgery. It is true that it's better to do it sooner though if it's needed. The vets should be checking sensation in feet and legs and reflexes to help assess improvement. I did lots of gentle massage to his back and gentle massage, mobilising and stretching to his back legs every day. It seemed to make him more comfortable and he enjoyed the attention. If its only going to be a couple of weeks at most till she's up and about I really don't think the dog wheel chair is necessary. I hope things start to improve! It was heartbreaking for me at the time so I really feel for your granddaughter. |
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