Spondylosis Info

[AlwaysTango]

Hi all,
Zilla was diagnosed today as having spondylosis. On a scale of 1-10 (with ten being the worst she had seen), the vet said his was about a 6-7. We are making an appt with the specialty ortho/neuro vet tomorrow. He is able to walk, but has developed a pretty severe hump in his back and shuffles when he walks. Up till now we have always thought it was just arthritis in his hips. Our regular vet mentioned something along the lines of spinal stabilazation as a possibility. I did a search, but didn't find anything. I am signing up for the yahoo ortho dogs forum (I used this forum before when Tango had cruciate ligament repair), but was wondering if anyone of you Chow lovers could give me some advice or thoughts?
Thanks!

Edited to add: They sedated him to take the radiographs today, to be able to move him around and not cause too much pain. He's having real trouble walking though tonight, and his hind end seems off balance. I feel lost and angry at this point, wondering if it caused more harm than good. I'm wondering if this is it. I just feel awful.

[chow fancier]

Tracey,

Oh, I am so sorry to hear about this. How is he doing? Healing thoughts and prayers coming your way.

[Sirchow]

So sorry to hear your bad news. Try giving Zilla arnic tablets every hour as they help with bruising, strain and general healing. It might help with the pain from the movements done to Xray him. Please keep us updated on what happens next. Thinking off you an hoping there is something that can be done to make Zilla more comfortable.

[AlwaysTango]

Thank you both for your kind thoughts and words. It has been a roller coaster since I last posted. That night I was sure I was going to lose him. I slept on the floor with him, as it seemed to comfort him. It was a heartbreaking night. In the morning we took him to the neuro/ortho specialist, expecting to hear the worst. After spending all day evaluating him, they sent him home and told us that his spondylosis wasn't really that bad, his neuro evaluation was great, and the inability to hold up his hind end and tail was just soreness from the x-rays the night before. We went from thinking he needed surgery, to feeling like we overreacted...but that's ok...I'll take that. They told us that they think the biggest problem right now is the pred he takes every other day (up to this point it is the only thing that has given him any relief from the arthritis, plus it keeps the pemphigus at bay. NSAIDS have never worked for him). They are trying a combo of a couple of other different meds and we are going to go from there. They brought up the possibility of Cushings disease, but after researching it, he doesn't seem to me to have many of the symptoms, and the ones he has are only there when he is on the pred. As soon as he comes off the pred they go away.

Zill went home and slept all that night and halfway into the next day from the sedation they gave him again. At this point he had not urinated or drank in about 24 hours, and I was worried about his kidneys shutting down. I called our acupuncture vet and she agreed that he needed fluids as well as the rest he was already getting. We ran him into the vet and she gave him an IV and sent him home to sleep. When he would wake up he seemed to not know where he was. Several times during the night we tried to get him to urinate, to no avail. I was fearful that it was too late and his kidneys were shutting down. Early yesterday morning my husband got him up and took him outside for 30 minutes and he still didn't go. Then, right after he came in he whined to go out. We took him back outside and he peed a river. Once he came in he drank water and went back to sleep. After several more hours of sleeping he got us and ate and drank ravenously. Him mobility, which has never been fabulous but has been much worse in the last few months, was better than I have seen it in over half a year. He seems alert and happy and 100% himself. He even wanted a chewie treat to play with. I was so happy!

At this point we are just trying to have him rest as much as possible and continue healing. I started cooking a raw food diet for him last week when this all started, and I am hoping that helps too. We are just going to watch and play it by ear for now, but I am so thankful to have my little boy back. It is such a blessing! I was just sure I had lost him. He's had so many people worried this week...he's the kind of dog that everyone who meets him loves...just a big gentle, loving soul.

Thank you again for the advice, prayers and kind thoughts. I am still worried and I fret over every little odd thing, but I have some hope now and I am just enjoying every minute we have with him.

[LEO's mum]

So glad to hear Zilla is feeling better. Hugs to you all.

Leonora & mum

[Auddymay]

I am glad that Zilla is feeling better. I hope he continues on the high road.