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Parka · 09-19-2018, 06:15 AM

I'm back again. My dog is not having a good year. First hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, then bilateral enucleation surgery, and now this. This will be a long post.

About a month after surgery, he was outside going potty and started having a spasm in his right back leg. He was kicking like a horse, and it was clearly involuntary. I took him to my regular vet, where he kicked the stuffing out of everyone who came near him. They did blood work and xrays and sent him home. There were no issues with either. At the time they suspected a luxated patella that he was kicking to put back into place. It lasted for about 2 hours.

The next week I took him to a vet rehabilitation facility nearby. We have been 4 times in total for acupuncture and laser. They put him on carprofen (NSAID), methocarbamol (muscle relaxer), hemp oil, and some herbal tea pills. He is also being treated with an assisi loop 3-4 times a day. They said he does not have severely luxating patellas and it appears to be a spinal disc issue or a tumor, which seems to make sense with his symptoms. They did not want to refer him for an MRI or CT because he is still ambulatory at this time, albeit sometimes on 3 legs. He doesn't appear to have anything physically wrong with his legs.

He had a rehab treatment last Wednesday. On Thursday he started having a spasm in his right front leg that wouldn't stop. I took him to the emergency clinic (the vet rehab place had no doctors available) and they examined him and sent us home with gabapentin. They offered no help for the issue besides adding another medication. The spasm lasted about 3 hours with limited reoccurrence on Friday and Saturday. He was actively avoiding using the leg during that time.

On Sunday he lost his appetite and hasn't been eating much of his food since then. Which makes giving him his meds a challenge. He's still acting pretty normal otherwise, but typically he is not shy about demanding food and he's looking for the bowl before I've even set it down.

So here are my thoughts... I suspect the gabapentin for the appetite loss. He does not seem much improved with it, so I'm thinking of asking to reduce the dosage. That said, he doesn't seem to be on a particularly high dosage, 25mg twice a day is appropriate for a 7.5lb dog. I've also tried raising the position of his food bowl, using different size bowls and plates, and adding chicken broth to his food. It hasn't worked so far.

The spasming episodes always occur when he is outside, and usually present with a reddened paw. I suggested that maybe he is coming into contact with an irritant, but the vet rehab doctor says he definitely has a spinal issue. I do think she's right. Regardless, I'm trying to think of a solution for going outside. Maybe doggie boots or a neck brace. Considering he is already having trouble getting around, though, I'm not sure I want to introduce any additional obstacles.

Lastly, I am thinking of asking for a referral to the veterinary teaching hospital to see their neurology department. The college is in another city about 2 hours away. We do have neurologists here, and he has seen them previously for a seizure disorder, but I feel like he needs something different here. We've been to that particular vet specialist over and over in the past 8 years - we've seen neurology, internal medicine, ophthalmology, emergency (yes, the same one we went to on Thursday), and orthopedics. None of our experiences have been particularly positive.

Any thoughts you have are greatly appreciated.

09-19-2018, 06:15 AM	#1
Parka Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Roswell, GA USA Posts: 61	Potential Spinal Issues & Leg Spasms I'm back again. My dog is not having a good year. First hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, then bilateral enucleation surgery, and now this. This will be a long post. About a month after surgery, he was outside going potty and started having a spasm in his right back leg. He was kicking like a horse, and it was clearly involuntary. I took him to my regular vet, where he kicked the stuffing out of everyone who came near him. They did blood work and xrays and sent him home. There were no issues with either. At the time they suspected a luxated patella that he was kicking to put back into place. It lasted for about 2 hours. The next week I took him to a vet rehabilitation facility nearby. We have been 4 times in total for acupuncture and laser. They put him on carprofen (NSAID), methocarbamol (muscle relaxer), hemp oil, and some herbal tea pills. He is also being treated with an assisi loop 3-4 times a day. They said he does not have severely luxating patellas and it appears to be a spinal disc issue or a tumor, which seems to make sense with his symptoms. They did not want to refer him for an MRI or CT because he is still ambulatory at this time, albeit sometimes on 3 legs. He doesn't appear to have anything physically wrong with his legs. He had a rehab treatment last Wednesday. On Thursday he started having a spasm in his right front leg that wouldn't stop. I took him to the emergency clinic (the vet rehab place had no doctors available) and they examined him and sent us home with gabapentin. They offered no help for the issue besides adding another medication. The spasm lasted about 3 hours with limited reoccurrence on Friday and Saturday. He was actively avoiding using the leg during that time. On Sunday he lost his appetite and hasn't been eating much of his food since then. Which makes giving him his meds a challenge. He's still acting pretty normal otherwise, but typically he is not shy about demanding food and he's looking for the bowl before I've even set it down. So here are my thoughts... I suspect the gabapentin for the appetite loss. He does not seem much improved with it, so I'm thinking of asking to reduce the dosage. That said, he doesn't seem to be on a particularly high dosage, 25mg twice a day is appropriate for a 7.5lb dog. I've also tried raising the position of his food bowl, using different size bowls and plates, and adding chicken broth to his food. It hasn't worked so far. The spasming episodes always occur when he is outside, and usually present with a reddened paw. I suggested that maybe he is coming into contact with an irritant, but the vet rehab doctor says he definitely has a spinal issue. I do think she's right. Regardless, I'm trying to think of a solution for going outside. Maybe doggie boots or a neck brace. Considering he is already having trouble getting around, though, I'm not sure I want to introduce any additional obstacles. Lastly, I am thinking of asking for a referral to the veterinary teaching hospital to see their neurology department. The college is in another city about 2 hours away. We do have neurologists here, and he has seen them previously for a seizure disorder, but I feel like he needs something different here. We've been to that particular vet specialist over and over in the past 8 years - we've seen neurology, internal medicine, ophthalmology, emergency (yes, the same one we went to on Thursday), and orthopedics. None of our experiences have been particularly positive. Any thoughts you have are greatly appreciated.