Simon and Wobbler's Disease
So this is what I learned today. These vets at the neuro clinic are stellar. The vet spent almost 1 1/2 hours with me going over his MRI, Wobbler's in general and treatment options. There are apparently 2 types of Wobbler's. Both are thought to be congenital in nature. The one Annastacia mentioned that her sister's Saint has, which usually presents in giant breeds when they are young, often caused by growing too fast and the thickening of the spinal cord due to the buildup of proteins and calcium. The other is what Simon has, presents in large dogs usually at around age 7. The bones surrounding his spinal cord at the C6-7 are growing into his spinal cord causing compression. He also has a very slight herniation there and an almost imperceptible herniation in on lower lumbar disc that is so small and not related to the Wobbler's and is not causing his weakness. Treatment options are medical management, prednisone and very strict rest for at least a month or two. About 50% of dogs show improvement with this type of treatment. The other option is surgery, possibly two staggered surgeries, one to decompress the spinal cord and then another to stabilize the spine. About 70% of dogs show improvement with surgery. It's a conundrum. I'm going to try the medical management first with the vet's approval and will consider surgery if there is no improvement. His rest will be even more strict than the last time. The neuro vet doesn't think laser is helpful, but his regular vet, the rehab guy thinks it may help with the inflammation so I'll continue with the laser and acupuncture....throwing everything in my arsenal at this to see if we can avoid surgery since the percentage of improvement isn't that much better than medical management. He's home now. He's walking really well, but they gave him a prednisone injection. He's also agitated, probably from the anesthesia, as he's whining and wanting to pace. Poor boy. The neuro vet doesn't think he's in much pain and took him off the Tramadol unless I want to use it for the sedative effect if he gets too antsy. Overall prognosis is kind of a crap shoot but I'm going to stay positive, take it one day at a time and work with the options I have. It could have been worse, could have been a tumor or a nasty spinal infection. And now I know what I'm dealing with. Bella's gonna get a lot more walking/play time out with me so she doesn't get the zoomies and try to engage him in them! Yes, at 6 she still gets the zoomies!  I'm still interested to know if anyone has more experience with this and welcome any insight! |
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At least now you have a diagnosis and can start working on this. I am crossing everything that the non-surgical treatment does the trick.  |
| I don't have any experiences to share but I'm glad to hear you've got a diagnosis and a couple of treatments you can consider. It's always good to have options. Hoping pred and rest will be what gives Simon back his strength and mobility. |
| Knowing is always a good start. Sounds like a logical course of action. |
| Good you have a diagnosis and as you said at least it's not a tumor. Just a thought but how long has he been on the tramadol? It can be a bit addictive so he might be whining and wanting to pace if you've stopped giving it. I'm not sure how long that will last in dogs. Some general human info re tramadol withdrawal: Symptoms may include those of SSRI discontinuation syndrome, such as anxiety, depression, anguish, severe mood swings, aggressiveness, brain "zaps", electric-shock-like sensations throughout the body, paresthesias, sweating, palpitations, restless legs syndrome, sneezing, insomnia, vivid dreams or nightmares, micropsia and/or macropsia, tremors, and headache among others. In most cases, tramadol withdrawal will set in 12–20 hours after the last dose, but this can vary. Tramadol withdrawal lasts longer than that of other opioids; seven days or more of acute withdrawal symptoms can occur as opposed to typically three or four days for other codeine analogues. |
| Glad you now know what is going on with Simon. Sending good wishes and prayers your way. |
| Mim....He had been off the tramadol for about a month and only back on it for a couple days, so I think his anxiety was definitely due to coming out of the anesthesia. He finally settled down last night and slept comfortably through the night...yes, I slept next to him to make sure.... Today he is walking pretty well! Less wobbly. Keeping him very quiet. He goes for a laser treatment tomorrow, an acupuncture treatment on Tues and then he starts with rehab with the most renowned canine rehab specialist here on Jan 23rd who does underwater treadmill among other treatments. He's only about 3 miles from me...who knew? Hopefully, with the combination of prednisone, rest, acupuncture, laser and rehab we'll able to get his Wobbler's in remission and he can have a great quality of life. New statistic I learned..this is from the last in depth study of Wobbler's dogs done at Ohio State University....dogs diagnosed with the type of Wobbler's Simon has have a life expectancy once diagnosed of about 36 months no matter which treatment option is exercised...medical management or surgery...Of course I want my dogs to live forever..  but knowing that's not possible, Simon is 7 1/2. I'll be grateful for another 3 years with him if his quality of life is good! I am hopeful. I feel like I've assembled a great team of vets/support and they all know each other and consult with each other, from neuro vet to the rehab guy. I am so grateful to have these resources. |
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