Poor Raustyk girl * update on pg 5, not too good *

[lv4dogs]

Well, we had our appointments today. I am absolutely drained & busy studying about the results from today, so I will say in advance that this is just a really brief summary of today.
jist
gist

First of all though I want to thank, and I am sure Raustyk does too, all of yous who have kept us in your thoughts & prayers. Sorry but I copied this from my lj post.

The Dr's think that she most likely has a compressed disk(s). Which I believe is otherwise known as disc disease (will ask the docs tomorrow). Although there is still a possibility that it could be a few other things. No definite diagnosis can be done without an MRI (which is $2000). There is talk of surgery (if the mri is done) which could help her with a couple of the possible problems. If I decide not to go with the mri then I will have to at least try physical therapy with her, mostly heat & massage with a small bit of water therapy. On top of that she needs to be on quite a few supplements, especially so with her elevated bun & cre.

edited to add that we did either diagnose "part" of the problem or diagnose "a" problem (she could have more than one things going wrong with her). We found out that a nerve in each of her legs, that controls her inner 2 toes on each of her back legs, is either dead, pinched, something, it is pretty much denying her brain the information it needs to tell her where her feet actually are and/or tells her brain that those 2 toes are not even really there. We won't know unless we do an mri (or if time catches up with us first).

Which we found out that her kidney & appetite problems are probably related to each other but we think her "movement" problem is a separate problem all it's own. We drew some more blood from my girl today (gosh she's like a pin cushion lately, we also biopsied 2 new lumps on her today ) and i'll have the results by tomorrow afternoon. She's been on a mostly home cooked meal the last 3 weeks, no antinflamitories, tons of fluids, etc.. etc.. so we are hoping & praying that some of her levels will be decreased some.
There's a lot to learn about what it is & how to treat possibly cure it. (most likely what ever she has is not curable though, I am heartbroken, but at least we have a chance at treating some things.
There are not a whole lot of drugs we can use so she's on a lot of supplements and special diet. Hopefully they really start to kick in soon and hopefully physical therapy will help. Its so hard because unfortunately my finances are limiting some of my possibilities. I'm making it work so far though thank god. The outlook still isn't all that great though. This is tough.
I'll write in more detail later if yous want it but I'm just not up to it.

[Daisy and Delilah]

{{{{{{{More Hugs}}}}}}}

[Vela]

I'm so sorry it's not conclusive and she's having such difficulties. Hugs to you and her. I hope she improves soon on her supplements and meds!

[chocolatepuppy]

I will continue to keep sweet Raustyk in my prayers. I hope the therapy helps her to feel better. I also hope she is with you for a long time to come.{hugs}

[luvofallhorses]

I will continue to keep lovely Raustyk in my thoughts and prayers. (((HUGS)))

[Jakesmom]

Hi. I didn't read the entire thread, so don't know all Raustyk's symptoms, but my dog Jake has thoracic and lumbar disc disease. We did not do the MRI because we had decided that we would probably not do surgery (surgery in the thoracic area is more risky, with a possibility of paralysis, and he was still functional. Lumbar surgery is not as risky because the spinal cord is not usually involved). In any case, we have used many modalities to treat him, and almost 3 years later, he is doing pretty well (running some, walks, loves to ride in cars, etc). The thing that has worked absolutely the BEST, has been acupuncture. Jake has pain/weakness and proprioceptive defect (doesn't feel where his feet are in space) and both are helped by the acupuncture. He has been doing acupuncture for almost a year now, and goes every 2-4 weeks (weekly for the first 4-5 to see if it would help). He does well during the treatment, and it clearly makes him feel better (though you sometimes don't see the effect for a couple days. I also had acupunture for a cervical disc, and can verify that it helps the pain tremendously. He is also on glucosamine and metacam (with famotadine so his stomach doesn't get upset).

Good luck.

Jake's mom

[lv4dogs]

my dog Jake has thoracic and lumbar disc disease. We did not do the MRI

Thanks for the well wishes! I was just wondering, how did you diagnose the problem without doing an MRI? Or is it just a probable diagnosis? Did they do a spinal tap or myelogram at least? My understanding is that disc disease is nearly impossible to diagnose (a definate diagnosis anyways) without an MRI &/or myelogram. I'm just curious is all, if there is another way to diagnose her problem I'd love to hear about it.

[angelchampy]

These decisions are so hard to make. When my Sherry had back/leg problems at 10 years old, I was told she had spondylosis. That's where there is a (sort of) bone spur or extra piece of bone that grows into a claw-like shape off of one of the vertebrae and eventually, it pinches the nerve. It doesn't always get to that point, but it can. It wasn't that bad yet and they told me not to do anything at this point. At 12, it started to get worse. They wanted to operate. I was not going to let them operate on a 12 year old. The recovery time would be terrible for her and there's no telling if she would make it. I didn't want to put her through it. They said if I did operate, I would need an MRI. THE $$$ were going up, up, up. I would spend anything on my pets, and believe me, I have, but I could not put her through the pain. So, I opted for holistic methods. I got her supplements like Cosequin and at 13, started bringing her to acupuncture every week. I drove over an hour every week and had to take off work one day a week to do it, but I did it. My baby was worth it. She was like a puppy when we first started going. You wouldn't believe the energy and she would run through the rooms. I was so happy, I cried. After a while, it wasn't working as well, but it was stable. At 14 1/2, she died of liver cancer. I believe the reason it appeared not to be working so well after awhile was b/c she had cancer, but I didn't know that yet. Whatever you choose to do, see what you can do naturally. See if there is an acupuncturist in your area that specializes in animals - don't go to one that just does humans. My Sherry was a different girl - just like a puppy. I didn't use any prescription arthritic meds b/c most either destroy the liver or make the stomach bleed. Try to stay away from meds like that and do research on the meds before you give them. In the meantime, I will keep you both in my prayers. I feel for everyone that has to go through decision-making times like these. It brings back sad memories. Good luck and look into that.

[K9karen]

Hugs and Prayers still heading your way