Anybody have experience with IVDD in dogs?

[Lula]

This past fall, our 4-year-old cardigan welsh corgi was diagnosed with intervertebral disk disease (IVDD). She was on anti-inflammatory medications and crate rest for 3 weeks, and then reduced activity for another 3 weeks. She seemed to be making a great recovery, but today, after going outside for her morning walk, she's very subdued, and I'm concerned she's in pain again. She sat down to rest in the yard a few times, which was one of the warning signs we noticed in the fall. We'll take her in to the vet, but I'm not sure if I'm willing to go through "conservative" treatment again if it means she'll be on crate rest for weeks, with the ongoing possibility of re-injury. That's not much of a life for a dog. The next step would be surgery which I've read has a good outcome if done early on in the disease. Has anyone else had experience with this disease?

 

[JewelFreak]

One of my dogs has a ruptured spinal disc, Lula. Similar situation. They are in extreme pain with these sorts of problems. Nerves are pinched at the root, by the spine, and without intervention, you're left hoping the spinal cord itself isn't eventually affected, which leads to paralysis or incontinence.

Because my dog was 12 when diagnosed, I chose not to do surgery. We manage it with painkillers. It is not an ideal solution but at his age, I did not want to put him through anesthetic and a long period of recovery.

At 4, though, I would've gone for surgery in a heartbeat. Of spinal operations, according to my veterinary neurologist, it's the easiest & most successful type. He quoted a success rate of 95%. It is important to keep the dog inactive throughout the period they recommend or you end up re-injuring the site & back where you started. But if you comply w/their advice, your dog should be in great shape for the rest of his life.

Without surgery, I imagine you'll have continuing & worsening problems -- you could save the little critter a lot of pain & shortened lifetime by doing it sooner rather than in a few years. Go for it!!! and best luck -- tell us what you decide, I'm interested.

--- Laurie

 

[Lula]

Thanks so much for your post, JewelFreak. It made me feel a lot better about our options. We're taking her in for an evaluation in a few days. She's such a sweet dog; she deserves to have a good, long life!

 

[JewelFreak]

Would love to hear what they tell you, Lula. Best of luck!

--- Laurie

 

[penskip]

Hello, resident diamond-loving veterinarian piping in here ,

Your dog would DEFINITELY benefit from some sort of imaging (ie MRI) and surgery. Having the surgery done at an academic institution or speciality hospital with a board certified neurologist and/or surgeon and 24 hour care is recommended. Even if the initial estimate makes you have a mini heart attack, it will be worth it. Is the disk in her neck or back? This is a common problem in corgis and unfortunately can recur in a different disk even after surgery.

 

[Lula]

Hello, resident diamond-loving veterinarian piping in here ,

Your dog would DEFINITELY benefit from some sort of imaging (ie MRI) and surgery. Having the surgery done at an academic institution or speciality hospital with a board certified neurologist and/or surgeon and 24 hour care is recommended. Even if the initial estimate makes you have a mini heart attack, it will be worth it. Is the disk in her neck or back? This is a common problem in corgis and unfortunately can recur in a different disk even after surgery.

Thanks so much for your reply, Dr. penskip! We do live in an area with an excellent academic institution and a specialty hospital. I've heard "rumors" along the line of several thousand dollars for this surgery; however, jewelfreak's post and your post lead me to believe that this would be money well spent in terms of quality of life. The disk is in her back. The diagnosis was made based on symptoms and an x-ray. Our vet said that we are lucky that we caught it so early, and that's why "conservative" treatment was recommended. But I am constantly worrying that she will re-injure herself and that she is still in pain and hiding it, even though she has not exhibited any symptoms (whimpering, lethargy, weakness) since those I *thought* I saw last week -- hard to know what's worry and what's real! I think I will cancel the upcoming appointment with our vet (who does not perform surgery of this type nor do they do MRIs) and make an appointment instead with the university vet school clinic. I'll follow up after we meet with them. Thanks again!!!!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Lula, just wanted to let you know I'm thinking about you. I would definitely recommend finding a neurologist you like and trust and then do the MRI. We had an MRI done a couple of months ago--our dog was there all day, but they were also doing a spinal tap, which was more involved. I would guess that the images would be great for several reasons: 1.) It lets the neurologist know exactly where the problem is before going in for surgery 2.) If you wanted to get a second opinion, the images can be put on a disk for other surgeons to view and 3.) You could track progress by comparing these images to an images taken in the future.

If the surgery will give your dog a better quality of life, it seems like an easy decision. I wish you lots of luck!

 

[penskip]

It's good to know that your dog is feeling better. We usually give medical management a try prior to surgical management unless the symptoms are severe (ie neurologic). It's usually a three tries and you're out sort of thing unless the time between episodes is short or the pain is severe and refractory to medical management. Generally, in a young dog, the point of doing an MRI is to locate the offending disk (or other problem) in order to do surgery right after, before waking the dog up from anesthesia. A concurrent spinal tap is generally standard.

 

[Lula]

Lula, just wanted to let you know I'm thinking about you. I would definitely recommend finding a neurologist you like and trust and then do the MRI. We had an MRI done a couple of months ago--our dog was there all day, but they were also doing a spinal tap, which was more involved. I would guess that the images would be great for several reasons: 1.) It lets the neurologist know exactly where the problem is before going in for surgery 2.) If you wanted to get a second opinion, the images can be put on a disk for other surgeons to view and 3.) You could track progress by comparing these images to an images taken in the future.

If the surgery will give your dog a better quality of life, it seems like an easy decision. I wish you lots of luck!

Thanks for the support, NEL. I like the idea of getting an MRI for a baseline indicator and/or second opinion. My concern is that she's living in pain and I don't know it (since she is by nature a good-natured dog and dogs as a rule don't show pain), so I am definitely considering surgery as an option. She's young and loves to play, and I am constantly worried that she'll hurt herself (and I know dogs sense worry in humans) so that is not a good situation either.

 

[Lula]

It's good to know that your dog is feeling better. We usually give medical management a try prior to surgical management unless the symptoms are severe (ie neurologic). It's usually a three tries and you're out sort of thing unless the time between episodes is short or the pain is severe and refractory to medical management. Generally, in a young dog, the point of doing an MRI is to locate the offending disk (or other problem) in order to do surgery right after, before waking the dog up from anesthesia. A concurrent spinal tap is generally standard.

Yes, she's definitely feeling better. I'm the nervous wreck, ha-ah. I didn't know about the "three tries" guidelines; it makes sense. She seems to have made a good recovery. So I think a baseline MRI is an excellent option with a consultation re surgery vs. ongoing medical management.

Thanks again, penskip. I'll let you know what the docs say after her appointment.

 

[JewelFreak]

Lula, somewhere I missed that you hand't done an MRI -- definitely the next thing to do. That's not cheap in itself, sigh. But it's the only way to really know what's going on. Then you'll be able to make an informed decision. Good luck -- really want to hear what the outcome is. Glad she's feeling better!!

--- Laurie

 

[Lula]

Lula, somewhere I missed that you hand't done an MRI -- definitely the next thing to do. That's not cheap in itself, sigh. But it's the only way to really know what's going on. Then you'll be able to make an informed decision. Good luck -- really want to hear what the outcome is. Glad she's feeling better!!

--- Laurie

Thanks for checking in JF. I'm still learning about this disease, so I wasn't even aware that MRI is used as a diagnostic tool (our vet just did an x-ray) until I read the responses here. So you didn't miss anything. This thread has been really helpful in knowing what questions to ask when I meet with the vet. I'll make sure to follow up. Thanks again!!