fonzie's back legs are giving out

[Newman]

well, from the video i posted in my update thread, seems like it's getting worse now. poor pupper can  walk but it's really slow and he's limping about 80% of the time per step. sometimes his back legs just totally give out and he falls on his butt. terrible to see. he's gonna be 15 in july.

the hydrocodone+humidifier has been helping his chronic bronchitis a lot, but there's something i've noticed. we took him to the vet about 30 days ago, and my mom was mentioning how she thinks he has arthritis, in pain, etc. which imho i didn't really agree with her, he was running/walking and doing everything just fine. even jumping. yeah not as hip as he was when he was 5 years old, but my mom probably just didn't want him to be in pain, which is understandable.

so the doctor literally touched his backed legs in the exam and fonzie moved a bit, then the Dr said he's got arthritis. i almost laughed and was gonna be like wtf is this buffoonery, but kept my mouth shut

anyways, so dr tooted their horn about some  Librela injection.  now after about 28 days after this trash injection, his back legs give out.  wtf is going on here?

what most likely happened is the injection stuff made his joints and legs feel fine, so he became MORE hyper and energetic. now the effects of it are wearing off, so his legs are extremely sore. that's my take on it

what are your thoughts? fonzie can't  catch a break, trying my best for him and the problems are  still coming

 

edit: outside of these issues, he still loves begging and wagging his tail.  looks really healthy and alive in his eyes 

doctor said he doesn't have an enlarged heart, which is good 

Edited February 1 by Newman

[bradl]

1 hour ago, Newman said:

what most likely happened is the injection stuff made his joints and legs feel fine, so he became MORE hyper and energetic. now the effects of it are wearing off, so his legs are extremely sore. that's my take on it

That sounds likely to me. I think sometimes folks who get cortisone shots for bad knees or shoulders might go through a similar cycle? 

I would be a little surprised if a 14 y/o Cairn didn't have arthritis. All of our guys who have had x-rays for various other reasons usually show some arthritis developing, often at a younger age than I would have expected (6-8). Sometimes apparently it begins with some invisible injury, like a hard landing from a jump, or similar. Some were not showing symptoms it was just there and the vet pointed it out for future reference. Others were clearly getting a bit stiff as they were rather older. 

Dundee (will be 14 in March) has been getting chiropractic treatments for his. When Haggis was 16 we took him for acupuncture every few weeks (for different reasons) and although I was a bit skeptical I had to admit he came home with a fresh bounce in his step every time ... for a couple of weeks. But at 16+ age we treasure every day, never mind weeks. 

Hang in there Fonzie, take it easy on yourself and be sure to rest lots. We old folk like naps, too  

[Newman]

49 minutes ago, bradl said:

That sounds likely to me. I think sometimes folks who get cortisone shots for bad knees or shoulders might go through a similar cycle? 

I would be a little surprised if a 14 y/o Cairn didn't have arthritis. All of our guys who have had x-rays for various other reasons usually show some arthritis developing, often at a younger age than I would have expected (6-8). Sometimes apparently it begins with some invisible injury, like a hard landing from a jump, or similar. Some were not showing symptoms it was just there and the vet pointed it out for future reference. Others were clearly getting a bit stiff as they were rather older. 

Dundee (will be 14 in March) has been getting chiropractic treatments for his. When Haggis was 16 we took him for acupuncture every few weeks (for different reasons) and although I was a bit skeptical I had to admit he came home with a fresh bounce in his step every time ... for a couple of weeks. But at 16+ age we treasure every day, never mind weeks. 

Hang in there Fonzie, take it easy on yourself and be sure to rest lots. We old folk like naps, too  

Wow, maybe we should get fonzie on the chiropractor treatments or my mom was mentioning some physical therapy. Looks like we both have some senior Cairns! Tell Dundee fonzie said hi! I'll tell fonzie about your best wishes too, thank you 

I just find it weird that fonzie was doing just fine before this *** shot (excuse my language I'm kinda upset over this). And now afterwards, he's got this issue with his legs. When before, even if he had a tiny bit of arthritis, he could still function 95% better...

 

Edited February 1 by Newman

[Newman]

 i'm looking on reddit https://old.reddit.com/r/seniordogs/comments/18c51ky/librela_conflicted/ about the Librela shot, and a bunch of people saying it has pretty bad side effects. most are exactly what's going on with fonzie

he was not like this before the shot, his legs were fully functional and could run and jump (just not as he could when he was 5 obviously)

 

 

 

[bradl]

I'd never heard of Librela and found similar reported concerns. I do hope it's a transient effect and resolves over time. 

[Newman]

22 hours ago, bradl said:

I'd never heard of Librela and found similar reported concerns. I do hope it's a transient effect and resolves over time. 

yeah, i hope transient too. seems like his back legs are regaining a tiny bit more function now. still pretty bad. mom and I talked, and we're not gonna give him the 2nd shot.

edit: i hope in a few weeks to see him regain more function in his legs, and maybe just stick to hydrocodone 

Edited February 2 by Newman

[Catalyzt]

Great thread-- and fascinating, b/c I'm a guitarist and my doctor is recommending cortisone shots due to severe osteoarthritis.  I asked her if I could play every night without creating further damage, and she said, "Sure!"

I'm not sure I believe her.

This gets into controversial topics, but my general feeling is that old medications for pain and inflammation may be better than new ones.  I feel the same way about psychiatric medication generally, though there are exceptions.  

Hydrocodone is an opioid, so it is addictive.  That absolutely has to be factored into the equation.  However, not all opiates are created equal.  My own experience has been that this is a drug one can take almost once a day without addiction, though I'm sure there are people who would get addicted immediately.  When I took it 5 times a week, if I stopped for four days, I had no rebound and no withdrawal.  There was some tolerance, but really not much-- it's not like some opiates where you need twice as much a week later to get the same effect.  If they will prescribe it for him, and it works, hey, that's great!

Sending positive thoughts to you and Fonzie!