Arthritis
She has been on Glucos/Chond. for well over a year. As well, I have tired other supplements that included Green Lipped Mussels with the Glucos/Chon. This past weekend she received her first injection of Adequean. Although I am strongly concerned with the side effects of Rimadel and Duramaxx ( s/c) I feel as though I may not be left with no other alternative. My main concern is with the intake of these medicines, their side effects will weigh far more dangerous to her overall health, yet, clearly she cannot continue to be so debilated. Never having been owned by a dog with arthritis, I am uncertain if her issue of a "falling of the back end" is conducive of arthritis or is there another issue at hand here? If she so much as steps on a shoe, the back end falls to the ground. And now this falling down is progressing to whereas a simple walk can cause her to ( what appears to be) a loss of balance Due to her age ( and I am in agreement) my Vet feels she is too old to risk "going under" for X-Rays. Aside from this issue, she is doing well, to which I attribute Innova dog food as being a large part. Naturally I will be speaking with my Vet tomorrow. If anyone has any suggestions or has had experience with the "falling down" of the back end, I would very much appreciate any advice/suggestions. |
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| Sorry to hear about your girl.... how old is she? How long has she been having difficulty?
Why does your vet #1~want to do xrays and #2~ feel she needs to be under general anesthetic to do them? Is this a sudden debilitation? (explaining the need for xrays) |
| Could be spinal stenosis, closing of the spinal column, that's why the Xray is important. Could also be slipped disc.
Arthritis is bad enough, we don't want to contemplate the above. Simone just finished her Adequan loading......two shots for 4 weeks..or was it 5?? Anyway, I saw some improvement, but not much. I've added HA to her other glucosamines, the Glycoflex III and Cosequin. Maybe coincidence, but the HA seems to have improved a little more. MO's problem is in the front carpus, wrist. She could not take any of the NSAIDS......she'd barf. I've had dogs with hips go bad, in fact Fox is slowing sinking in the rear now. So I'm looking at the same situation for him. We learn to adjust what we expect from them. Walking may need a rear support. The house should be as slip free as possible. If there is stenosis, they may also become incontinent......... These are things we have to face when giving our hearts to these wonderful creatures. Each and every dog who has grown old and infirmed has broken my heart. But I have also learned from them. They don't complain (unless the pain is outrageous). They deal with it, yes they get frustrated. Now that arthritis is in me.....I'm trying to face it like a dog....(though my DH might say more like a "bitch"  ) |
| I am so sorry to hear this and feel for you, I had that last year with my elderly girl, she was 14 and the back end went completely and we had to make a decision to say goodbye because of this, still breaks my heart.
She suffered collasping in the back end from the age of 12, so with proper management we had another 2 years with her. My other girl had poblems too at 11 and she lost her backend as well, she has arthritis in the hips and also damage to the cruciate ligament, she is doing well now, back to her old self, she went through a course of Cartrophen injections and was on Metacam which is a lot better on the system then rimadyl. She is off the metacam now and only has to have a maintenance booster about every 6 months of the cartrophen. She is on all the natural supplements as well and is doing well. I hope all turns out OK, it is so hard and heart breaking when our babies get old. Hugs and best wishes to you both. |
| Hello,
Sorry you're going through this. Please check out my post in this thread: http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?p=59072#59072 |
| Sorry for my insensitivity earlier, I'm sorry to hear to beloved sheepdog is having problems. It is heart breaking.
sheepieboss |
| There is also muscle wasting as they get older, it is likened to a parapalegic being in a wheelchair. As the dog ages the muscles in the back end start to deteriorate and they get weaker. A lot of times the musculature is unable to support the underlying structure.
when Norman, my old dog, forgets that he's old he tries to run and falls down. He has done well with the maintenance meds and physical therapy (swimming and easy walking) has helped to maintain his muscle for longer. Maybe it's a combination of arthritis and the muscle. In a dog of advanced years you do have to expect some degredation of the body so I'm not sure why they would want to do a whole series of x-rays unless they think there is new damage or a new problem. Hopefully you find an answer and a solution! Good luck! |
| I'm so sorry, it's a difficult thing to deal with. If you decide on the Dermaxx you may want to consider adding milk thistle which will help support her liver. |
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