Update on Willow. She had her mri today. She has 2 bulging discs and a cyst on the spine. Didnt advise an operation at this time as it would be too invasive. Not what I wanted to hear

Thank u for letting us know . I hope u find a solution for her so she is more.comfortabke and her mobility is not impaired  further

Thank you. I hope so too

I would try to get a 2nd opinion from a specialist vet, especially now you have an MRI to show them.

I had a dog who had an extruded disc in her neck - which sounds like what you are calling a bulging disc - the material inside the disc comes out and puts pressure on the spine. Causing a lot of pain.

We were referred to Fitzpatricks Referrals who did the MRI, said that this is something they deal with all the time and is pretty routine for them - they went in through her throat/neck to get to it and sucked out the material which had extruded. She was instantly pain-free afterwards but a bit wobbly on her feet for a while as her nerves got reconnected again and the signals got through again. Within 2-3 months she was 100% recovered.

We would have had to put her to sleep without this surgery because she was in so much pain. She was 10yo when she had the surgery and I was really unsure whether to put her through it, but she lived another 3 good years of quality life after that and died from an unrelated cause.

A consultation with a referral vet will cost you probably about £100, can be claimed on the insurance, and you can show them the MRI you already have so it's really minimal additional cost from where you are now.

Thank you. She went to a specialist vet. I think it was more to do with the cyst on her spine which is why they didnt think operating was a good idea at this time.

Oh that's a shame. Yes, it does sound like 2 prolapsed discs and the cyst might be more complex than my own dog's one prolapsed disc. I hope you can keep her comfortable :(

I’m sorry the news wasn’t better, and I hope you can find a way to make her comfortable for some time yet. Fingers crossed.

Spoke to specialist vet today to give an update and she said to just give her Loxicom when needed (not too sure how I know that) I asked if it was possible it could heal itself and she just said it could be a slow progression and she would still rule out operation at this time. Have to ring back in a couple of months to let her know how she is doing. In the meantime I have my regular vet. Try to put it on the back burner for now and enjoy what we have

I suppose its a step forward but with the loxicam I would err on the side of giving more frequently rather than less.
Brooke is on metacam I cant see any problems but the oncologist said when looking at the tumour they could see some arthritis commensurate with her age  but no symptoms so  said give her metacam anyway  just to keep her comfortable as the arthritis must be giving some discomfort .
I would do the same with  Maggie and get a prescription for loxicam as it will be cheaper on line

I'm interested to know what is the difference between Loxicom and Metacam.  Both are NSAIDs and look as if they do much the same thing?   Frankie was on Metacam for some considerable time and I had him on as low a dose as appeared to be working for him.  Towards the end, he was on the max amount however.   I note that Animed says supply for Loxicom is difficult at the moment.

Supply for both is difficult.  I think because there is a shortage of metecam so vets are using loxicam now that's become short
I was told by vet they are interchangeable if u cant get one the other is as good

Chronic pain is generally best managed by chronic treatment, not as-and-when treatment.

There are several alternatives for loxicom as mentioned - metacam is the branded version, and theres' Rheumacam, Inflacam and Meloxidyl as well.  I believe all are struggling with shortages now, but worth checking around just in case.

The specialist vet said metacam but I had to get it from my vet and they gave me Loxicom. Said it worked the same

I was a bit concerned about just giving medicine when I thought she needed it. I had to ring my vet to ask about getting a prescription and mentioned this to them. She said it's like us taking Paracetamol. You only take it when needed

> The specialist vet said metacam but I had to get it from my vet and they gave me Loxicom. Said it worked the same

They're the same drug, as are the others I mentioned.  Just different names from different companies.

> She said it's like us taking Paracetamol. You only take it when needed

Yep, and sometimes it's needed continuously.  It's a bit of a pet subject of mine and far too frequently, I see dogs in pain who really should be on daily painkillers, whose owners have been told "only when needed".  And as the dogs can't tell us, and are very careful about giving away pain signs, I tend to err on the side of caution when there's a chronic condition involved.

She may well only need it sometimes but she may need it regularly.  Is there any possibility of a physio assessment?  My oldest was diagnosed with a chronic bulging disc at 6 and I went that route with her.  it was the physio who recommended regular painkillers, and I firmly believe that's why River is still stomping on at 15.  Acupuncture given at the start also made a massive difference to her pain levels.

I have been told to give brooke hers daily not just  if it looks like she needs it .
I agree nikita

Did you give the normal dose daily. My dog is 10k so I've been giving up to the 10 mark on the syringe as the vet said. I'm not sure I'm happy with this if and when. I may have to make an appointment with the vet to talk it through. She's been doing reasonably well and I don't want her to go backwards

Yes brooke is 25kg so she gets the full dose each day . In our case it was the referral vet who gave me the instructions and my general vet who knows what I am doing agrees and is giving me prescription as and when

I agree, when my River was on metacam/loxicam with his luxating patellas I gave him the full dose for his weight every day.

Unfortunately he can’t take it anymore because we suspect that’s what caused a bad bout of colitis, but the Tramadol we use now instead works much better for his pain anyway. And I’m not sure how to describe it but it seems like it’s a lot easier to tell whether he’s had enough Tramadol or not compared with metacam, so I’m confident with giving him half doses and topping it up later if he needs it. He’s very obvious about it. (He’s 3 weeks post-op now and we’re weaning him off it.)

Its much like that which is fine with humans . Regular dose to prevent breakthrough pain

Yes, whatever I've given (and River is on multiple things) has been at the normal dose from the start, with tweaks as needed (if possible of course, depending on the drug).