Anybody Have Any Experience With Bulging Discs?

[cavvysavvy]

Hi all,

Got my cav xrayed yesterday and it turns out he has two bulging discs??? T11 and T13

Apparently it can be a common problem with cav's.

Has anybody had any experience dealing with this problem and likley prognosis for the dog?

An help is much appreciated. He has currently been placed on cortisone to see how this goes over the next two weeks.

[poodlefan]

Are you talking about IVDD?

[cavvysavvy]

Are you talking about IVDD?

Is that the disc disease? Maybe? Vet just mentioned bluging discs?? Might give hime a quick call for clarification

[corvus]

My corgi had something like that. She had an episode where she was in immense pain and could barely move. I came home to find her lying on the doorstep in the rain. The vet gave her pain killers and she recovered. Later x-rays showed she had degenerate discs just forward of her shoulders. The vet said bulging may have occurred. It made going up and down hills/stairs particularly difficult for her, but otherwise she was okay and it never got worse or happened again.

[Keira&Phoenix]

Have no experience but would recommend you find a good chiropractic vet in your area to see if they can help out.

[Cairo1]

I had a borzoi who had bulging discs in her neck as a result of running into a fence. Yes, they did eventually settle down but occasionally she would have relapses.

At one stage I thought of putting her down because she was in excruciating pain and all she could do was lie on her side. She would scream if she had to get up and

it was a really challenging time for me. Having had neuralgia myself, I can now understand just how debilitating this pain is. She had about three bouts all up and with

anti-inflammatories and rest she managed to pull through each time. It was very stressful when she did have an episode and they usually occurred after she had been

playing too rough and banged herself. She was 10 when she died of heart failure.

So as far as your Cav goes, treated with care and barring any accidents, the inflammation should subside but you will have to take care that he doesn't over-do things

by jumping or getting knocked around.

Good Luck with him :-)

Cairo1

[koolietas]

I have a cat that has 2 bulging discs. She was diagnosed almost 2 years ago at the age of 14 years. We saw her dragging herself down our front path, only using her front legs. We thought she must have been run over by a car (she hadn't) but somehow whatever she had done that morning, had aggravated a likely long term problem that we were not aware of.

She was crated for the first 6-8 weeks (thanks for the loan of the crate Cairo 1!) and has been kept as an indoor cat since then (much to her disgust!) and we restrict her from jumping so as not to disturb the scar tissue that is at this stage keeping the discs from damaging her spinal cord.

She is on Joint Guard (she was also diagnosed with spinal & hip arthritis at the same time), fish oil and an anti inflammatory tonic from Robert McDowell which has kept her in good stead for the past 2 years.

Try to ensure that supplements are taken as required, exercise is still maintained (but should be appropriate for the diagnosis) and that body weight is monitored (any excess weight will place undue strain on the discs).

Hope everything goes well for your cav

[cavNrott]

I have a Cavalier who ruptured a disk and was paralysed from the shoulders down. He had a myelogram to pinpoint the area of spinal cord compression and went into surgery while he was still under GA for the myelogram. The surgery was done within 24 hours of the disk rupture and he's now running and playing normally.

He was diagnosed with IVDD when this happened almost 2 years ago and hasn't had any problems since then.

[pirate]

My Corgi was paralysed this year he is back on his tootsies. He has had intensive Bowen therapy visits to the vet for pentasan injections. He no longer has bones due to weakened back muscles that caused constipation. I include a teaspoon of brewers yeast for the vit b and teaspoon of hemp oil in his food. Hemp oil is a good source of omega 3,6,9. Since he has been the oil he seems to be happier.

[cavvysavvy]

I have a Cavalier who ruptured a disk and was paralysed from the shoulders down. He had a myelogram to pinpoint the area of spinal cord compression and went into surgery while he was still under GA for the myelogram. The surgery was done within 24 hours of the disk rupture and he's now running and playing normally.

He was diagnosed with IVDD when this happened almost 2 years ago and hasn't had any problems since then.

Hi, I clarified with the vet tonight who said its affecting t11, t12 and t13, so 3 vertebrate, and yes he called it IVDD also, not finding much information about it on the internet though. HE has been placeed on a course of prednisolone as the cartropen in the past was not succuesful.

[poodlefan]

Darcy my poodle had a bad bout related to IVDD three years ago. His issue is in his neck.

He had severe pain and partial paralysis and the drug combination that worked for him was Tramal and Valium

He had x-rays and I took him to Sydney for a consult with a veterinary neurologist. Darce has a spinal deformity - two completely fused vertebrae in his neck which can put pressure on the disc behind. I was advised that an MRI and surgery were not going to be helpful. I was also advised that it might never happen again. In consultation with my vet, this is how we manage it.

Keep him lean

No excessive jumping - his agility career ceased that day.

No chasing balls (sadly his favourite activity)

He is also chiropracted monthly and so far no repeat. My vet has told me that as he ages and his muscles weaken, further incidents are likely. Her advice was that Darcy is unlikely to make old bones. Darce is now 8.

I honestly believe chiro is key. Darce had missed a visit prior to the incident.

I don't know what I"ll do if and when new problems emerge. I can't stand to see a dog in pain and Darce is simply not himself when on the medication he needs to assist with the pain.

Edited September 28, 2011 by poodlefan