pottydotty Posted December 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 I have an appointment in the morning to see vet. I rang today and asked about xrays. Told this would not help since we are dealing with soft tissue and would need an mri. I was told they would have to refer me but see no point as having an mri will not help since charlie is not a candidate for surgery due to his age, diabetes and blindness. I was told it is a long and difficult operation and a very lengthy recovery time and this would not be fair on charlie. I was told that he will not recover without surgery and it will only get worse over time... ... Basically, there is no hope?! Charlie at this moment is fine. I allowed him to walk in and out of the garden himself as this seems more comfortable for him. He peed and sniffed around whilst in the garden. He is on chair where 5 mins ago was playing... he rubs the top of his head on the chair. He was wagging his tail and generally happy. How unfair is thhis. I am not looking forward to feeding him this evening - vet has said to put the dish on the first step of the stairs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 Poor boy , I agree with others about getting a second opinion, a slipped disc needn't be a death sentance , a chiropractor might be worth a shot, I've had one in for one of my dog's, if you get one try and get a Chorly-Mctimmony ( sp ) one, they are much more gentle than the regular ones. therapy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celeste Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 I am not looking forward to feeding him this evening - vet has said to put the dish on the first step of the stairs? Feeding on the step would be a good idea, it will keep his spine straighter, you could also try hand feeding him while he's resting somewhere so he doesn't have to get up at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackmagic Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 I have an appointment in the morning to see vet. I rang today and asked about xrays. Told this would not help since we are dealing with soft tissue and would need an mri. A slipped disc shows up on xray. I get the feeling the vet is reluctant to do anything. If things are only going to get worse then why cant he have pain relief for the time he has left? Is there another vet in the practice you could see? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacobean Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 I'm going through a similar thing with one of ours at the moment only. Our vet thinks it's arthritis at the moment so he's on pain relief and is improving. We are seeing how he goes but have been told if gets bad again first thing to do is X-rays as it shows up a lot of things. Our vet actually mentioned it would show up if he had a slipped disc so I'm afraid if it was me I would be going to a different vets. I hope you get some satisfaction and the little chap shows positive improvement very soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pottydotty Posted December 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 It's after 8.30pm and all is still well. Charlie got his dinner at 7.45pm and he was fine afterwards. I fed him off a plate which was sitting on a small box. I don't know whether that actually made any difference or what, but I thank god that he hasn't had another episode. I dread breakfast. Charlie had a total of half a pain killer tablet (Rimadyl Pal) this morning maybe that's why he is still ok? We are off to the vets in the morning, appointment is at 10.10 so I will be asking the vet many questions and hopefully we are in a better position thereafter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pottydotty Posted December 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 Here's Charlie about 30 mins ago (excuse the dramatic eyes, he has cataracts due to the diabetes)... And just now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooster Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 (edited) Aww bless him!! Glad he's been ok tonight!! Edited December 17, 2010 by gooster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackmagic Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 He look so alert in the first one. I hope your vet visit went well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pottydotty Posted December 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 (edited) This morning, Charlie had another episode before he finished his breakfast. I sat him down and tried to keep him still. 20 mins later not too bad and I gave him quarter pain relief tablet. Short while later I hand fed rest of breakfast and give him his insulin jab. Took him to the garden to pee and poo and he did ok. Settled him down. He was doing ok and about 11 ish back into garden for another pee. Settled him down again and still doing ok. We didn't go to the vets today. One of the reasons, I didn't want him travel so I rang vet and let her know how he was and she was fine with this. We will be going on Monday though. Had to leave him as I needed to go out. I returned about 3.40pm and he was fine. He went into garden and he was fine. I put him on sofa and he was fine. About 15mins later I heard him whimpering and when I came back into the room Sam my other dog was next to him so, not sure if he came over to see why the whimpering or he caused it - Charlie was having another episode. I held him for about 10 mins settling him and he was getting over it quite quickly, I then gave him a quarter pain relief tablet. He was panting a little though, although he didn't look pained in the face. He then settled down. Later he went out for pee. 7.45pm I fed him his dinner. Put dish on the first stair. All was fine afterwards. He then went into garden for pee. All is still ok. I know I'm waffling on but I am trying to give you a clear picture as possible. I don't know if I should be carrying on, or should I be thinking along the lines of what I believe the vet is thinking and letting Charlie go - this is not what I want, never would I want this and if I can carry on keeping him as pain free as possible, then I will but I have to say, I can't see him recovering? I look at him now and he is looking fine and behaving fine but he did have a quarter pain relief tablet a few hours ago. Edited December 18, 2010 by pottydotty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackmagic Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 That sounds typical of slipped disc. There is no quick solution. As I said my bitch had many episodes over the years and each one took six weeks of painkillers and strict rest to resolve. I know how hard it is to see your dog in pain. I used to sit beside her and weep. I could not touch her or stroke her to comfort her as that would cause her to yelp. There were times that I thought pts would be better but my bitch was middle aged and otherwise healthy. It was a very hard and dark time. Nobody else can decide what you should do but your love for Charlie will guide you to do the best thing for him. : GroupHug: :GroupHug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pottydotty Posted December 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 Thank you, blackmagic!!!! xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pottydotty Posted December 20, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2010 Charlie has continued to have episodes over the weekend but only once and in the morning. He had one this morning although no hunching of back and tightening his neck. Not happy though and in some discomfort - gave him 1/4 pain relief tablet. Charlie went to see vet this evening and was back to normal. She couldn't see any sign of discomfort. Of course that doesn't mean we're not going to have another episode and no doubt we will in the morning after breakfast. She said I didn't need to come back to see her unless things change. Things like unsteadiness and weakness in the front legs for instance. I have 1.5 tablets left and when I asked if I should have some more to take me over the xmas period, she said I should not need them, if I do, then I need to come back so that she can decide what's best, but giving more pain killers would not be the right course of action. I can only hope that his episodes are short. Hopefully he won't have many more or at least they will be few and far between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted December 21, 2010 Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 I hope his episodes get less and less, but I'm afraid I would still be asking to see another vet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pottydotty Posted December 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2010 I can't see another vet saying that much different? I mean, I wouldn't put him through surgery as it is quite a long haul ( reading up on this) so I don't disagree with her with regard to this. I was a bit surprised at getting no more pain killers (for when needed)? Or being offered anything else? Charlie hasn't had another episode since yesterday morning. Longest we've went without one - he had a 1/4 of pain killer yesterday morning and nothing since. The most scary part is when he eats but last night and this morning went well. I hope this is a something which will continue. What I have noticed is that his front paw is normal. Previously his right paw sometimes would not open fully. He is still a bit wobbly on back end although I notice this more when he goes into the garden - snow and hard grass does not help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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