[Mom of 2 Beagles]

Sadie has had a bad flair up of pain today from her herniated disk. She has been doing real well. We think Sadie and Pooh may have seen a cat or something out the front window and gone crazy jumping and barking at it. This aggravated her back. She was very stiff and shivering this morning. Seemed better after her Rimydly. But when I got home she was shivering and crying. I took her to the vet. She is not staying calm and inactive enough. They have switched her from Rimydly to Prednisone pills. She got a Prednisone shot and a pain shot. The pain shot I think they said Toradol?? Anyway, she is drooling a bit and moaning a bit. I called them to let them know she was doing this. They said that the pain meds have relaxed her and that she isn't really moaning, but the meds tend to make them more vocal. I am worrying. Anyone else had these meds given to their babies? She is resting but very loopy acting. They say it is normal. I just need some more reassurance. The vet said she will call us in the morning to check on Sadie.

Our new plan of action. No jumping or running around no matter what. I've got the spare mattress back on the living room floor with a blanket on it and their room with the couch and window that they like to bark out of closed.

thanks all

 

[Gingergoose]

So sorry to hear of Sadie's flare-up. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif

I do know that prednisone, an antiinflammatory, will hopefully help her pain once it kicks in. But it makes them thirsty, they drink alot and pee alot. Could she be drooling from a dry (thirsty) mouth?

Toradol, if that is the drug that she was given, is a non-narcotic pain med. I took it once a very long time ago for a migraine and it knocked me out. Maybe it is having the same effect on Sadie.

Sorry I don't have much more to offer. Keep doing what you are doing. Maybe offer her a little water if she isn't up and around.

Please keep us posted.

 

[Mom of 2 Beagles]

Thanks, yes it was Toradal. She got a shot of that and a prednisone shot and we were sent home with prednisone pills and pain pills. She is sleeping comfortably now. I'll let her sleep awhile and offer her some supper and water later on. Pooh Bear is laying down with her on the mattress being a good little helper.

 

[we3beagles]

And because she is on the prednisone and drinking so much she can pee without realizing it very quickly. Maybe let her out every couple hours while she is on it. Poor baby. Hope she feels better soon.

 

[debannib]

Prayers for Sadie coming your way. I worry when any of the pups on this board are sick or hurting.....so I do appreciate the updates! I'm proud of Pooh Bear and his brotherly concern....

I'll keep checking back this weekend.... :heart:

 

[Mom of 2 Beagles]

I just looked at the bottle of pain pills. They are Torbutol.

 

[ncdogstar]

So sorry to hear Sadie has had a set back. My beagle Callie (Rainbow Bridge, 3/04) had the same injury, although her disc was up near the bottom of her neck. She had several rounds of prenisone pills, shots and major pain killers, before having surgery. Both of these meds do make them thirsty, and can make them feel better than they actually are. That's one reason it is so important to restrict their activity. Callie would get a prenisone shot and the next day act like her old self. We put steps up to the sofa, and our bed, to keep her from leaping off the furniture. It sounds like you've done a good job of modifying Sadie's envronment.
Sending healing thoughts to Sadie.

 

[threedognight]

Belly rubs and a treat to Miss Sadie from all of us!

 

[Murphys Dad]

M2B,

Sorry hear Sadie is hurting.

Herniated disks require either strict crate rest or surgery. Crate rest will usually allow the swelling to subside as well as the pain. But this does not fix the problem, only surgery does that.

The room for her sounds too big. Have you considered a playpen? The couch ib the room concerns me. She should not be jumping up on anything.

 

[Mom of 2 Beagles]

Thanks all. We have a full size mattress on the living room floor pushed up to the couch. So if she wants to get on the couch, she just has to step on the mattress and then step up on the couch.

You are right, after yesterday's shots she is feeling good this morning. I have not given her the pain pill because she is not in pain. But I've given her the prednisone. She is to take it for 3 weeks. 2 pills for 7 days, then 1 pill for 7 days, then a pill every other day for 7 days.

I am very worried. She feels good now and I am worried about trying to make her stay inside. She is whining to go outside now. I'm ignoring her.

 

[Mom of 2 Beagles]

"My beagle Callie (Rainbow Bridge, 3/04) had the same injury, although her disc was up near the bottom of her neck. She had several rounds of prenisone pills, shots and major pain killers, before having surgery"

Tess, the above is from your post above. When did you have to finally do the surgery? How did you know it was time to do surgery? How old was Callie when she had the surgery? Is it a dangerous surgery? They push the vertabra back into place? thanks,

 

[Mom of 2 Beagles]

Well, we have had a very restful day. I did give Sadie 1/4 of a new pain pill this morning just to see how she would do with them. Either the pain pill or the Prednisone have made her very sleepy all day today. So I guess that is a good thing.

 

[angelaH]

Here is praying that Sadie makes a good recovery. These are always anxious moments.

 

[Murphys Dad]

Quote:Originally posted by Mom of 2 Beagles:
I am worried about trying to make her stay inside. She is whining to go outside now. I'm ignoring her.

Remember -- you are the Mom and she is the kid (although the "Dog Whisperer" would have a coniption with me using that analogy!). Don't feel guilty for providing restrictions since that is in her best interest. Be firm and keep telling yourself that you are doing the right thing!

 

[Mom of 2 Beagles]

Thanks Judy, you are right. We have done real well today staying in and taking it easy. I am off on Saturday and Sunday, so I'm home with the doggies during the weekends.

Is Prednisone a better/stronger anti-inflammatory than the Rimydly?

 

[Murphys Dad]

I believe that prednisone is a stronger anti-inflammatory than Rimadyl. Better? Impossible to answer -- depends on the dog, the condition being treated, etc. I also think that vets have preferences for treatment based on their own experiences. I have never tried Rimadyl with Maggie -- my vet prefers Deramaxx (for pain, particularly related to arthritis) and Maggie responds really well to it with seemingly no side effects. She has been on prednisone for various infections over the years -- it seems like the vet goes to prednisone when other things don't work. Be sure to tell your vet about side effects you see -- this will help her adjust meds.

 

[Murphys Dad]

Mom to 2, I'm so sorry to hear that Sadie had a setback. It happens sometimes though. We went through a few weeks of good days mixed with bad when Amber hurt her back. Is it Torbutrol that Sadie was given? If so, that is the same medication that Amber had been given more than one time for pain. I don't remember if it was for her back or something else...the poor dog had a ton of health conditions. Anyway, I gave her a full pill instead of a half by accident (I read the bottle wrong) and she literally slept an entire day. She got up to pee once and that was it. Hugs to Sadie. I hope she's up and about and feeling better soon.

 

[Mom of 2 Beagles]

Yes, it was Torbutrol for sure. I read the bottle. She had just 1/4 of a pain pill yesterday morning and another 1/4 this morning. She is not in pain this morning at all. She feels great and Sadie and Pooh detected a critter had been in the yard last night. They wanted to run the scent trail, but I made them come in and lay down. That is when I gave her the bit of pain pill hoping it will make her sleepy and settle down.

For those of you that did weeks of crate rest, did your vet give you something to make your Beagle sleepy?

 

[Mom of 2 Beagles]

Our vet says they start the pet off on Rimydly, if no better after a while, they switch to Prednisone.

 

[Murphys Dad]

Jen posted an article on another thread about how much humans are spending on their pets for health care. Here is a quote from the article about Rimadyl:

The drug Rimadyl, developed for humans but later approved by the FDA as a treatment for dogs' arthritic aches, was aggressively advertised by its maker, Pfizer. But it ended up causing kidney and liver damage in some animals. It has been tied to more than 3,000 pet deaths, FDA records show.

I thought there had been some controversy about Rimadyl but couldn't remember what. You might want to ask your vet to use something else the next time he recommends it.
Hope today is a good day for Sadie!