Does anyone have any experience with cauda equina syndrome? My Sadie was just diagnosed with it and isn't handling meds well. I'm getting worried. Please let me know your experience.

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Sorry....I can't help. What is happening with the meds? My Bella was very sensitive to meds.

She was too drugged up it actually made her walking worse

Oh, poor girl...I hope they made adjustments.

With many medications, the side effects fade over time.  I know Maddie was all dopey with her seizure meds and it took a few weeks for her to stop staggering around.   Did you give it a little time to see if the side effects improve?  It can take a good three weeks or so.

My vet told me to stop them...so not sure if we will restart them. But I will see what he thinks! Thanks for the feedback!

I've never heard of that syndrome.  What is it?  How do they get it? 

 

Hope your girl is doing better! :(

 

It's an issue with a disc in their back, close to the pelvis/hips. The disc is pushing into her spine. It affects her walking; eventually, she may lose use of her back legs. It's from jumping with those long backs and short legs...Ugh. 

I don't know about this syndrome by the name you give, but your description makes me think of what I went through with one of my dogs. The dog was an adult male Alaskan Malamute.  I had gone away for a week and my older kids remained at home.  When I came back, they said the dog had really missed me because he never wagged his tail.  That was flattering, but I knew it was not true, Malamutes are not like that, not a "one man dog".  Upon closer inspection, I noticed his rear fur was somewhat soiled, he must have had difficulty getting in the proper position to poop.... indeed he could not raise his tail, it kind of hung down.  No one knew what had happen.  We went to the Vet and then a Specialist.  It was a lower lumbar disc injury, they proposed surgery.  He was a working dog, pulling sleds, carrying backpacks, doing advanced obedience, which involved jumping once and a half his height.... I was devastated.  I opted not to do surgery.  He was on some anti-inflammatory meds for a short while, but mostly he was rested, more or less confined to an 8x10 area, no stairs, no running around, only gentle walking on leash.  As time went by and he regained ease of motion, we did longer walks, etc. to rehabilitate him, first only on the flat, then gentle slopes, then more hilly terrain.  .  The whole process took a year.  He went back to hiking, completing sledding and back-country packing titles., and he did carry his tail normally and wag it.  The tail was my barometer for his healing progress.  The body has great ability to heal, given the time and conditions to do it.  Best wishes to you and Sadie.

That does sound the same. Thank you for your story. I am hoping she will be feeling better soon, too. Unfortunately, she doesn't have much of a tail (just a nub), so it's hard to tell just based on that for me :( 

I didn't think about that, since my Corgi is a Cardigan! You may be able to judge her progress by the ease, or lack of it, when she gets in position to poop, because that position is hard to achieve with a lower disc injury. 

Hadn't  heard about this condition, at least not by this name. But in humans it seems to be considered very serious.

Years ago my greyhound slipped on a tile floor -- rainwater tracked in had made it slippery and he went down. He hurt his back so severely he could barely stand, and eating was almost impossible. He kept getting worse. I actually took him to the vet to have him put to sleep, because there didn't seem to be any help for it. At this point the vet suggested trying prednisone.

Greyhounds respond bizarrely to meds. Though the vet was a specialist in greyhounds, we weren't sure what the drug would do to the dog, but we decided to take a chance, because it seemed there was nothing else to be done. He dosed the dog and sent me home with a bottle of pills.

The effect was amazing! By the end of the day he was able to pull himself to his feet and limp around. Within a week or ten days he was back to normal.

This apparently was an acute injury. As for whether it would help a chronic thing, I have no idea. But it can't hurt to ask. The worst your vet can do is tell you "no," I expect.

She is back on prednisone now. She was on that and gabapentin, but I think that was too much for her. She seems to be slightly improving with just the prednisone, so we will see!

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